Causes, Practices, and effects of War

Warfare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the way (Tao) to survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed.-The Art of War Sun-Tzu 5th century b.c.

What is War? War therefore is an act of violence intended to compel our opponents to fulfill our will.On War - Carl Von Clausewitz 1780 to 1831

He makes an attempt to understand the rapidly changing nature of war in Napoleonic Europe, as the old military order was destroyed and first national armies were raised.He tries to explain how the war is now fought for ideas or a cause rather than spoils. He was the first military strategist to explain this fundamental change, and his book became the standard text of warfare in the 19th and early 20th century. The ideological nature of war that Clausewitz first outlined was demonstrated in its extreme form on the eastern front in the Second World War, where historys bloodiest battles were fought between the extreme right-wing (Nazis) and the extreme left-wing (Soviets) ideologies. It was a war of total destruction and, as Clausewitz had predicted, one with extreme costs and casualties and finishing only when one of the belligerents was completely destroyed.

Why do we fight?The political objectiveWar is a mere continuation of policy by other means. - Von ClausewitzEconomic motive We want what our neighbors have Class warfare - Marxist point of viewIncludes wars of liberationHonor, fear and interest ThucydidesKagan explainsHuman nature - Aristotle

Why should we study warPrevention idealistic- human nature can be changedSo we can win realistic- we will always fight so lets make sure we come out on topWe can minimize the inevitable by reducing the likelihood of war and its impact neo-realist or soft realist.

Types of WarI. Total WarExamples World War I 1914 to 1918 World War II 1939 to 1945 Characteristics Entire population mobilized for war effortComplete defeat of enemy- unconditional surrender

Retaken fromOn the Road to Total War: The American Civil War and the German Wars of Unification, 1861-1871 (Publications of the German Historical Institute). German Historical Institute. August 22, 2002. p. 296. ISBN 0-5215-2-119X.

Certain actions regardless of legitimacy or illegitimacy can characterize total war, such as:

giving no quarter (i.e., take no prisoners), as with Hitler's Commando Order during World War IIstrategic bombing, as with the strategic bombing of enemy targets during World War I and World War IIblockade, as with the Allied blockade of Germany during World War Iscorched earth policy, as with Union General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War

suppressing resistance movement, destroying entire human settlement localities, and/or deliberately killing or executing civilian inhabitants in collective punishment and reprisal for any suspected or actual resistance activity, as with The Rape of Belgium during World War Icommerce raiding or unrestricted submarine warfare, as with the German U-Boat campaign during World War I against enemy and neutral merchant shipsthe use of civilians and prisoners of war as forced labor for military operations, as with Japan and Germany's massive use of forced laborers of other nations during World War II (see Slavery in Japan and Forced labor under German rule during World War II)

Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812. Napoleon's Grande Arme had lost about half a million men.

The Taiping Rebellion (18501864) was one of the deadliest wars in history, and the first total war in modern China. About 20 million people died, many due to disease and famine

Civil War Characteristics 1. Fought between forces of one nation2. Two sides vying for power3. Sometimes involves separatists- independence movement4. Foreign support for one side or both is commonExamples1. Spanish Civil War 1935 19382. Chinese Civil War 1946 19493. Mexican Revolution 1911-1920

Berdal, Mats, and David M. Malone. Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. Lynne Rienner, 2000. ISBN 1555878687

International DefinitionThe Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949 (Volume II-B, 121) does not specifically define the term "civil war." It does, however, describe the criteria that separate any act committed by force of arms (anarchy, terrorism, or plain banditry) from those qualifying as "armed conflict not of an international character," which includes civil wars. Among those conditions listed are these four basic requirements.The party in revolt must be in possession of a part of the national territory.The insurgent civil authority must exercise de facto authority over the population within the determinate portion of the national territory.The insurgents must have some amount of recognition as a belligerent.The legal government is obliged to have recourse to the regular military forces against insurgents organized as military.

The American Civil War was fought in 18611865 between the "Union," a group of 24 Northern states, and the "Confederacy (Confederate States of America), a collection of 11 Southern states. The Confederacy declared their independence from the United States in 18601861. The most commonly cited cause for the war is the issue of slavery, but the conflict was in fact more nuanced.

The Salvadoran Civil War was fought between 1980 and 1992 and involved the government of El Salvador against a coalition of leftist and communist forces known as the Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN). This coalition challenged the ruling military regime because of poor economic conditions following El Salvador's war with Honduras in 1969. The government also organized death squads targeting members of the opposition.

The Korean Civil War was fought between 1950 and 1953. The war was the result of the division of the country for use as a buffer zone in the Cold War. The northern half of the peninsula was supported by the Soviet Union, the southern half by the United States. Leaders of both halves wanted to reunite the peninsula under their regime, and in 1950 the North Koreans began attacking in order to do so. The United Nations condemned the attack, and with American aid, the government of South Korea was reestablished and the communist forces driven back to the dividing line of the peninsula, which remains the 38th parallel.

Limited War Characteristics1. Post WWII Nuclear threat2. Limited objectives avoid escalation3. Use of Proxy forces no national mobilizationExamples Korean War 1950 to 1953Vietnam War 1964 to 1973

A limited war is a conflict in which the belligerents participating in the war do not expend all of each of the participants' available resources at their disposal, whether human, industrial, agricultural, military, natural, technological, or otherwise in a specific conflict

Many American Indian groups practiced limited warfare or similar behaviors. Eastern groups at the time of contact with Europeans often wouldn't kill all enemies; they would capture many for adoption to replenish their own populations. This is related to mourning wars. The Aztec did flower wars to keep subordinate nations symbolically defeated as well as capture sacrificial victims (who were symbolically adopted). These wars left non-combatants and materials without risk of physical harm. It begun in 1622

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Lord Palmerston decided to fight a limited war against Russia, since waging a total war would have required massive reform of the armed forces. Ended in 1855

The Vietnam War also known as the Second Indochina War, and also known in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a Cold War-era proxy warthat occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War (194654) and was fought between North Vietnamsupported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies

I. Guerrilla WarA. Characteristics1. Strong vs. Weak/Oppressor vs. Oppressed/Regular vs. irregular2. Associated with independence movements and civil wars3. Can be used in all sorts other wars.4. Depends on indigenous population for concealmentB. Examples1. Vietnam war 1960 to 19682. Partisans in Europe during WWII

The Cuban Revolution (19531959) or the revolution on Cuba was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement and its allies against the government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953,and finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state.

The Iraqi Kurdish Civil War was a military conflict that took place between rival Kurdish factions in Iraqi Kurdistan during the mid-1990s, most notably between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party

TerrainOpen Plains Favors Mechanized Infantry, Armor, Airpower - Hard to defend, poor for guerilla WarfareDesert Same as open Plains but logistics criticalMountain Favors Infantry, Airpower, - Easy to defend poor for Mechanized, and ArmorForest/Jungle Favors Infantry, Guerilla tactics - Poor for Mechanization and ArmorUrban Favors Infantry , guerrilla tactics Poor for Armor

Key Technological innovations during War in the 20th century.

Tank British WWI ended Trench WarfareAirplane WWI - Many different reasons Added 3rd dimensionJet Engine Germans - WWII Changed AirpowerRadar British- WWII - Early detection, helped win Battle of Britain

Aircraft Carrier US/Japan - WWII Changed Naval CombatBallistic Missile Germans - WWII Unstoppable and long rangeNuclear Bomb US WWII - Most Bang for the BuckHelicopter US Korean War - Resurrected Cavalry, Saved a lot of lives.

Military TermsMilitary organization led byArmy - depends on need Gen.Corp - many divisions Gen.Division - 2 to 3 Brig./Batts. Gen.Brigade - 2 batts. + 1 comp.- ColBattalion - 4 to 5 companies- Maj.Company - 3 platoons - CaptPlatoon - 3 squads - Lt.Squad - 10 men Sgt(NCO)

Military Ranks Army OfficersGeneralColonelMajorCaptainLieutenant EnlistedSergent (NCO)CorporalPrivate

Navy OfficersAdmiralCaptainCommodoreCommanderLieutenantEnsign EnlistedPetty Officer(NCO)Seaman/sailor

StrategyThe big picture. overall plan for a war or battleTacticsThe methods used to implement the strategySmaller scaleFlanking attacking from the side or rearLogistics getting people and supplies to the battle or war.Reconnaissance scouting and spying, finding out where the enemy is

Infantry foot soldiersArmor Tanks, Armored Personal Carriers(APC)Artillery big cannons or rockets, shot from a long distance usually Ballistic Missile guided and self powered projectile usually rocket poweredCapitol ships biggest vessels in navy used to project power