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The literature of war holds a mirror to our bestiality, alerts us to our most primitive urges, warns us of the inextricable link between hubris and destructiveness – shows us clearly that we pay an enormous price for who we really are. In the war stories themselves, we glimpse not only our destructiveness but also our political failures and the paucity of our ideas; war stories reveal our best-kept secrets. But we also find there in those stories signs of grandeur: willing sacrifice for the welfare of others, deep love for comrades, redemptive acts of mourning, the revelation of character, the knowledge of what it means to be responsible, the acknowledged ache of loneliness. War literature catches us at our worst and at our best. And when the literature itself is good, when it captures the essence of war, it spares no one – neither civilian nor soldier – because it speaks of our deepest primordial urges. In The Soldiers' Tale, one of the most comprehensive accounts of war ever written (especially of war from the soldiers' point of view), Samuel Hynes tells us that the “story of the Vietnam War is a cautionary tale for our time, the war story that can teach us most” (177). Hynes is right; it is a war that we Americans have still, as a nation, not come to terms with, a war whose lingering impact on the relationship between the soldier and the state has been largely unexamined.
The nature of warfare never changes, only its superficial manifestations. Joshua and David, Hector and Achilles would recognize the combat that our soldiers and Marines have waged in the alleys of Somalia and Iraq. The uniforms evolve, bronze gives way to titanium, arrows may be replaced by laser-guided bombs, but the heart of the matter is still killing your enemies until any survivors surrender and do your will.
The difference between prehistoric and ancient warfare is less one of technology than of organization. The development of first city-states, and then empires, allowed warfare to change dramatically. Beginning in Mesopotamia, states produced sufficient agricultural surplus so that full-time ruling elites and military commanders could emerge. While the bulk of military forces were still farmers, the society could support having them campaigning rather than working the land for a portion of each year. Thus, organized armies developed for the first time.
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.[5] The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus.
Once a major empire of superpower proportions,[1][2] Persia as it had long been called, has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded and occupied by Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and others—and often caught up in the affairs of larger powers—Persia has always reasserted its national identity and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity.
There are overall approaches to warfare that change how wars are conducted. Here are some of the ways of doing this:
* Alliances: Bringing your friends in to play.
* War of Attrition: Wear them down.
* Battle war: Engage in a series of pitched battles.
* Blitzkrieg: Power and speed.
* Cold war: Conflict without direct fighting.
* Crippling: Take out key abilities.
* Guerilla war: Asymmetric force.
* Scorched earth: Retreat, leaving them nothing.
* Terrorism: Random acts, big impact.
* Trench war: Dig in and fight every inch of the way.
* Siege War: Taking out major citadels.
Note also that individual tactics may be used on a wide scale as a general strategy, rather than being decided separately for individual actions.
There are a many tactics that are used on the battlefield. Some planned within the overall strategy. Others will be decided on the spur of the moment as opportunity presents itself or events force some particular action. * Ambush: Catch them unawares.
* Beheading: Take out their leaders.
* Decoy: Confuse them about what's where.
* Encirclement: Surround them, then tighten the noose.
* Feint: Moving to deceive.
* Flanking: Go around to attack their sides.
* Harassment: Keep them on their toes.
* Hold by the nose and kick up the backside: Engage at the front whilst out-flanking.
* Isolation: Cut them off.
* Lure: Tempt them away.
* Pincer Movement: Two groups to encircle or attack.
* Retreat: Living to fight another day.
* Starvation: Cut off their supplies.
* Surprise attack: When they are least expecting it.
* The Wedge: Cut into their force.
During the Age of Discovery, Spain began to settle the Caribbean islands and conquistadors soon toppled native empires such as the Aztecs and Incas on mainland South America. Later expeditions established an empire that stretched from present-day Canada in North America to the Falklands in South America. The Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation started by Ferdinand Magellan in 1519, and completed by Juan Sebastian Elcano in 1522, achieved what Columbus had longed for, a westward route to Asia, and brought the Far East to Spain's attention, where it established colonies in Guam, the Philippines and surrounding islands. During its Siglo de Oro, the Spanish Empire comprised the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Italy, parts of Germany, parts of France, territories in Africa, Asia and Oceania, as well as large areas in the Americas. By the 17th century Spain controlled an empire on a scale and world distribution that had never been approached by its predecessors
France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India, following Spanish and Portuguese successes during the Age of Discovery, in rivalry with Britain for supremacy. A series of wars with Britain during the 1700s and early 1800s, which France lost, ended its colonial ambitions on these continents, and with it is what some historians term the "first" French colonial empire. In the 19th century, France established a new empire in Africa and South East Asia. Some of these colonies lasted beyond the invasion and occupation of France by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, leveraging the latest developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, by an accidental landfall on the South American coast for some, by the crown's secret design for others, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe and in the process, established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires bestowed, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia.[3] A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (Britain, following the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. However, the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence was a blow to Britain, depriving it of its most populous colonies. Despite this setback, British attention soon turned towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of effectively unchallenged dominance, and expanded its imperial holdings across the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, some of which were reclassified as dominions.
The Age of Revolution was a time period experiencing a change of power: from absolutism to a more free, democratic government. The Age of Revolution is a term used to denote the period from approximately 1775 to 1848, a time in which a number of significant revolutionary movements occurred on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe and the Americas.[1] The period is noted for the change in government from absolutist monarchies to constitutionalist states and republics. The Age of Revolution includes the American Revolution the French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, the revolt of the slaves in Latin America, and the independence movements of nations in Latin America. The period would generally weaken the imperialist European states, who would lose major assets throughout the New World. For the British, the loss of the Thirteen Colonies would bring a change in direction for the British Empire, with Asia and the Pacific becoming new targets for outward expansion.
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to the application of modern mass conscription. French power rose quickly, conquering most of Europe, but collapsed rapidly after France's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon's empire ultimately suffered complete military defeat resulting in the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France. The wars resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and sowed the seeds of nascent nationalism in Germany and Italy that would lead to the two nations' consolidation later in the century. Meanwhile the Spanish Empire began to unravel as French occupation of Spain weakened Spain's hold over its colonies, providing an opening for nationalist revolutions in Latin America. As a direct result of the Napoleonic wars the British Empire became the foremost world power for the next century,[1] thus beginning Pax Britannica.
Pax Britannica (Latin for "the British Peace", modelled after Pax Romana) was the period of relative peace in Europe (1815-1914) when the British Empire controlled most of the key naval trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power. It refers to a period of British imperialism after the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, which led to a period of overseas British expansionism. Britain dominated overseas markets and managed to influence and almost dominate Chinese markets after the Opium Wars
American empire (American imperialism) is a term referring to the political, economic, military and cultural influence of the United States. The concept of an American Empire was first popularized in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898. The sources and proponents of this concept range from classical Marxist theorists of imperialism as a product of capitalism, to modern liberal and conservative theorists analysing U.S. foreign policy.
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again, y'all
War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing Listen to me
Ohhh, war, I despise
Because it means destruction
Of innocent lives
War means tears
To thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons go to fight
And lose their lives
I said, war, huh
Good God, y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing
But a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Ooooh, war It's an enemy to all mankind
The point of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest
Within the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die
Aaaaah, war-huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it, say it, say it
War, huh
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again y'all
War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, it's got one friend That's the undertaker
Ooooh, war, has shattered
Many a young mans dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean
Life is much to short and precious
To spend fighting wars these days
War can't give life It can only take it away
Ooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Peace, love and understanding
Tell me, is there no place for them today T
hey say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way
Ooooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
You tell me S
ay it, say it, say it, say it
War, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Stand up and shout it Nothing
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed
and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that
nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for
which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his
own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of
being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than
himself.