Raem
22-12-2003, 22:33
I started thinking about wars - in RL and here in NS, and how they're different. I started thinking about the phases of a conflict, from instigation to resolution and beyond. War is much, much deeper than many in NS treat it, so I thought I'd put my thoughts to pen, so to speak, and share them.
War, and Total War
Many players on NS seem unable or unwilling to grasp the difference between war and total war. I can hardly blame the current generation for the blurred line - tactical and strategy games often offer no glimpse of warfare, just total warfare.
For the sake of completeness, here are the definitions of the two:
war
n.
A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties.
The period of such conflict.
The techniques and procedures of war; military science.
I couldn't find a definition for the term "total war", but lookups of the individual words yielded the following results:
to·tal
adj.
Complete; utter; absolute: total concentration; a total effort; a total fool.
war
n.
A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties.
The period of such conflict.
The techniques and procedures of war; military science.
The difference should now become apparent. War is a state of conflict, in which one nation attempts to force another to do what it wants. Total war is mcuh larger, a state of conflict in which one nation devotes itself entirely and utterly to the pursuit of a single conflict. Total war classically involves the complete conversion of an economy to the production of military arms, vast portions of a population being conscripted, and an almost complete lack of any other political concern for the nation engaging in total war.
For instance, World War II was a total war. in the United States, so many men of fighting age were drafted that employers had to seek other sources of labor - women, the young, and the elderly - for work in factories which had been completely given over to the production of war materiel. The entire nation was put on rations, so that the military could be supplied with the foodstuffs it required to fight. Total war involves complete commitment to the utter destruction, or unconditional surrender, of your enemy.
The Phases of War
Wars don't simply happen. An entire range of events has to happen to permit otherwise normal, if tense, relations to degenerate into carnage. The process of waging a war can be broken down into four major phases, only one of which actually involves bludgeoning your opponent brainless.
Inciting Incident and Preface to War
The inciting incident is the event which triggers the process. Whether it's the discovery of new and unclaimed territory, or someone flying a plane into a building, the casus belli is the cause. Arguably the most important moment in the process, the inciting incident is what fuels the preface.
The preface involves diplomatic, economic, and social relations. A nation struggles to come to grips with the inciting incident. The particulars of the preface often vary according to the inciting incident, but usually involve demands of some kind of reparation, threats of diplomatic, economic, and military action, etc. If the threats of diplomatic or economic action are carried through, this is the part of the first phase in which it happens.
Buildup
Simultaneously one of the shortest and longest phases of the conflict, the buildup involves mobilising men and materiel. This is where total warfare is engaged. Mobilising and refitting an industrialized military does not often take long once the decision to go to war has been made.
However, the buildup phase lasts through the conflict phase, as the momentum of creating a military forces becomes the momentum of sustaining it. Spare parts, new weapons, new vehicles, new goods, fresh supplies, engineering materials, and fresh forces must all be supplied to the conflict to see it to its end.
Conflict
This is the easy bit, as far as detailing the process of war is concerned. This is where Nation A breaks out its steel penises and attempts to bludgeon Nation B into compliance. Quite a bit has been said about this phase, so I won't repeat it, except to say that this is one of the most complex phases. Strategic and tactical decisions, intelligence, and continued political pressure collide here, until, at the crucial moment, someone fails to make a critical error, and one side emerges victorious over the other.
Resolution
Whether the resolution is an armistice, unconditional surrender, or the glassing of your opponent, the end of the war marks the beginning of this phase. In this phase, diplomatic relations struggle to normalize, any economic conversion must be undone, and assets must be committed to maintaining whatever it was that cause the conflict to end. The ends of wars often see the rise of new alliances (The United Nations, for instance), a brief economic boom (streamlined factories produce efficiently, after all), and usually social change or unrest. World War I saw so many casualities that it literally helped change the way we view human life, and World War II fundamentally restructured the power balance of the world.
Side-effects of War
As mentioned in the Resolution phase above, war has many side effects, from political, to economic, to social, and even militarily (not as stupid a statement as it sounds, I'll explain below).
Wars can result in spinoff technology being applied to civillian life. Radar, many modern medicinal techniques, computers, and even teflon are commercial applications of military technology, techniques, and research. Likewise, conflict can command research resources that would otherwise be invested in civilian fields.
Military changes as a result of war often take advantage of new technologies developed, new strategies and tactical thinking, new political ideals, and new social change. The elimination of the draft, smart weapons, shifts in force composition and structure, etc, all result from innovations in technology or thinking as a result of war.
War is never, ever simple. It is never just a matter of shooting at someone as long as you please. It is a violent upheaval that can fundamentally change the way a nation thinks and interacts with the world. Total war is even moreso. The buildup to and emergence from war offers far more possibilities for interesting roleplay that the war itself. What would drive an isolationist nation to war? What would make a ruthless psychopath back down? What would the effect of large-scale social unrest be on a long-standing war?
Oh, by the way, i n00k0zred j00.
:D
War, and Total War
Many players on NS seem unable or unwilling to grasp the difference between war and total war. I can hardly blame the current generation for the blurred line - tactical and strategy games often offer no glimpse of warfare, just total warfare.
For the sake of completeness, here are the definitions of the two:
war
n.
A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties.
The period of such conflict.
The techniques and procedures of war; military science.
I couldn't find a definition for the term "total war", but lookups of the individual words yielded the following results:
to·tal
adj.
Complete; utter; absolute: total concentration; a total effort; a total fool.
war
n.
A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties.
The period of such conflict.
The techniques and procedures of war; military science.
The difference should now become apparent. War is a state of conflict, in which one nation attempts to force another to do what it wants. Total war is mcuh larger, a state of conflict in which one nation devotes itself entirely and utterly to the pursuit of a single conflict. Total war classically involves the complete conversion of an economy to the production of military arms, vast portions of a population being conscripted, and an almost complete lack of any other political concern for the nation engaging in total war.
For instance, World War II was a total war. in the United States, so many men of fighting age were drafted that employers had to seek other sources of labor - women, the young, and the elderly - for work in factories which had been completely given over to the production of war materiel. The entire nation was put on rations, so that the military could be supplied with the foodstuffs it required to fight. Total war involves complete commitment to the utter destruction, or unconditional surrender, of your enemy.
The Phases of War
Wars don't simply happen. An entire range of events has to happen to permit otherwise normal, if tense, relations to degenerate into carnage. The process of waging a war can be broken down into four major phases, only one of which actually involves bludgeoning your opponent brainless.
Inciting Incident and Preface to War
The inciting incident is the event which triggers the process. Whether it's the discovery of new and unclaimed territory, or someone flying a plane into a building, the casus belli is the cause. Arguably the most important moment in the process, the inciting incident is what fuels the preface.
The preface involves diplomatic, economic, and social relations. A nation struggles to come to grips with the inciting incident. The particulars of the preface often vary according to the inciting incident, but usually involve demands of some kind of reparation, threats of diplomatic, economic, and military action, etc. If the threats of diplomatic or economic action are carried through, this is the part of the first phase in which it happens.
Buildup
Simultaneously one of the shortest and longest phases of the conflict, the buildup involves mobilising men and materiel. This is where total warfare is engaged. Mobilising and refitting an industrialized military does not often take long once the decision to go to war has been made.
However, the buildup phase lasts through the conflict phase, as the momentum of creating a military forces becomes the momentum of sustaining it. Spare parts, new weapons, new vehicles, new goods, fresh supplies, engineering materials, and fresh forces must all be supplied to the conflict to see it to its end.
Conflict
This is the easy bit, as far as detailing the process of war is concerned. This is where Nation A breaks out its steel penises and attempts to bludgeon Nation B into compliance. Quite a bit has been said about this phase, so I won't repeat it, except to say that this is one of the most complex phases. Strategic and tactical decisions, intelligence, and continued political pressure collide here, until, at the crucial moment, someone fails to make a critical error, and one side emerges victorious over the other.
Resolution
Whether the resolution is an armistice, unconditional surrender, or the glassing of your opponent, the end of the war marks the beginning of this phase. In this phase, diplomatic relations struggle to normalize, any economic conversion must be undone, and assets must be committed to maintaining whatever it was that cause the conflict to end. The ends of wars often see the rise of new alliances (The United Nations, for instance), a brief economic boom (streamlined factories produce efficiently, after all), and usually social change or unrest. World War I saw so many casualities that it literally helped change the way we view human life, and World War II fundamentally restructured the power balance of the world.
Side-effects of War
As mentioned in the Resolution phase above, war has many side effects, from political, to economic, to social, and even militarily (not as stupid a statement as it sounds, I'll explain below).
Wars can result in spinoff technology being applied to civillian life. Radar, many modern medicinal techniques, computers, and even teflon are commercial applications of military technology, techniques, and research. Likewise, conflict can command research resources that would otherwise be invested in civilian fields.
Military changes as a result of war often take advantage of new technologies developed, new strategies and tactical thinking, new political ideals, and new social change. The elimination of the draft, smart weapons, shifts in force composition and structure, etc, all result from innovations in technology or thinking as a result of war.
War is never, ever simple. It is never just a matter of shooting at someone as long as you please. It is a violent upheaval that can fundamentally change the way a nation thinks and interacts with the world. Total war is even moreso. The buildup to and emergence from war offers far more possibilities for interesting roleplay that the war itself. What would drive an isolationist nation to war? What would make a ruthless psychopath back down? What would the effect of large-scale social unrest be on a long-standing war?
Oh, by the way, i n00k0zred j00.
:D