Warfare Midterm 1 Flashcards
Characteristics of early war
- battles are rare and ritualistic
- raids and ambushes more common
Supposed failing of early war
They didn’t know what they were doing
- small amount of resources actually mobilized
- inadequate supply/ logistics
- no organized training
- poor command/ control
- undisciplined units
- few specialized weapons
Importance of the chariot
- status symbol
- one of the first pieces of equipment engineered specifically for war
Chariot tactics
- use platform for firing arrows
- would allow you to go around your enemy instead f directly into them
- could fire 10 shots a minute
Battle of Kadesh
Purposes of fortification
- defend settlements
- control transport routes and trade
- project power
Elements/ materials of fortification
- obstacles
—> ditch, wall, rivers - earth
- wood
- brick
-stone
Social Implications of fortification
- requires wealth and coercive power
- regular maintenance
- attracts people
- stimulates trade and industry
- attracts enemies
Mycenaean Greece
- Trojan war
- heavy fortification
Siege Warfare
- ladders to scale walls
- 20-34 meter tall walls
- little siege machinery
- long sieges necessary to starve garrison
-military blockade of a city
Military advancements from the Dark Ages
- better/ light armour
- lighter, smaller shields
- Longer, stronger swords
- javelin
Chinese Fortification
- pounded earth
- different soils interspersed in layers
- pottery, sand, straw and river stones added
- stone cladding
- wooden towers added
Trojan war
Paris abducts the wife Sparata
The Iliad
Achilles takes Agamemnon’s skate girl
Heroic warfare
Agnostic society
Primary virtue = prowess
Causes of war in Ancient Greece
- material profit
- conquest of territory
- security
- status
Persian wars
Other Greek wars
- Peloponnesian war
- Thebes v sparta
Macedon v thebes and Athens - complaints of hubris
- status rivalry
- purist of individual glory
Hoplites
-Citizen-soldiers of ancient Greece
Phalanx
-mass of soldiers
-Made up of hoplites
Development of war conduct
- disappearance of pelatasts
- citizen soldiers
- mercenaries more common from late 5th century BC
- social/political dominance of hoplites
- hoplite warfare fits Homeric ideal
Thucydides
- Greek general
- fear, honour, and interest
- realism
- Melina dialogue
Athens
- commercial
- democratic
Sparta
- authoritarian
- militaristic
Peloponnesian Wars
- Athens and Delian League
- Athenian arrogance
- spartan fears
- desire for pre-eminence
- maintenance of prestige
Peloponnesian War 1
- Spartans try to provoke Athens
- spartan conservatism
- Athens hides behind walls, relies on fleet
- Athenian innovation
- indirect approach; avoids direct battles
Peloponnesian War 2
- invasion of Sicily
- Athens fails to make peace
- sparta takes Persian money to build fleets
Fundamental factors of defect and victory
- politics
- weather
- terrain
- command
- doctrine
Art of War
- win quick at low cost
- attack:
1. Alliances
2. Army
3. Cities
Intelligence and Espionage
- the reason the enlightened prince and wise general conquer the enemy
Indirect approach
- secrecy and surprise
- deception
- speed
- attack weakness
Roman Government
- senate and people
- 2 consuls
- pursuit of glory
Make-up of the Roman army
- originally citizen soldiers
- large pool of manpower
- professionalization in the 1st century BC
- power shifts to generals
- resulted in civil wars
Roman generalship
- initially heroic model —> single combat
- replaced by sense that generals job was not to fight bit to direct operations
- tendency to be reckless in order to win glory
- sought out combat
Siege operations
- Syracuse
- Carthage
- Alesia, Gallic War
- Jerusalem and Masada, Jewish Wars
Causes of Roma Wars
- divert attention from domestic problems
- defend prestige and honour of Rome
- slaves and booty
- obtain land to pay soldiers
- fear and desire for security
- aggressive militarism
- glory seeking by Roman generals
- competition for status among generals
Importance of the sea in war
- 70% of the world is water
- transport of goods and people is faster and more efficient by after than by land
- first war- ships in Mediterranean Sea by 1200BC
Triremes
- used in coastal waters only
- used for ramming
- very expensive
- require skillful seamanship
Alfred Thayer Mayan
- president of naval college
- defines sea power:
-command of the sea through naval superiority
- strength in maritime trade and commerce
- control of ocean resources
- ability to project military force into and from the sea
Mahan’s factor of sea power
- geographical position
- physical conformation
- extent of territory
- population
- national character
- government policy
Mahan’s Theories
- wars are won by economic strangulation of enemies
- seapower should be used to gain control of the seas
- naval forces should be concentrated
- focus should be on destroying enemy’s fleet
- disparaged commerce raiding
- build battleships, not small ships
- seapower is the decisive factor in war
Julian Corbett
- sea power should support and power
- preference for:
- joint operations
- amphibious operations
- smaller ships
Later developments of sea warfare
- submarines and torpedo boats
- use of air power at sea
