Strategy, Tactics & Your Military Story

"Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics."  Omar Bradley

I ran across this old and possibly apocryphal saying and it got me to thinking about war in speculative fiction.  I haven't considered writing military sf or epic fantasy with epic battles between good and evil; but that's because I don't feel qualified.  However, it's occurred to me that I probably would benefit from a wider knowledge, a deeper understanding of the subject.  I mean, when my only real knowledge is from reading David Weber's Honor Harrington series and having been a garrison-only MP dog handler in the Army twenty five years ago, you don't have a lot of real tactical knowledge.

First off, it would probably be useful to fully understand what that quote from General Bradley means.  What's the difference between strategy and logistics?  I always understood logistics to be about things like your supplies and keeping the troops fed and sheltered and with enough ammo to keep fighting.

A very informative article on the subject of strategy and logistics is here, where they describe the various aspects of this topic.  I quote:

• Grand strategy is political. It sets the long term and short term goals both in and out of war. It decides who to attack when and what the goals of a war are to be.
• Operational strategy or just strategy is the planning and the execution that leads to the fulfilment of the goals set in grand strategy. If the goal of a war is to capture an island with three cities on it then the strategy decides which order to take the cities in and what sort of force will be required.
• Tactics is deployment of troops to execute the strategy. Tactics often includes small set pieces of troop movements and deployments that are known to be effective.
• Logistics is all about making sure that the troops are where they’re meant to be before the fighting starts and that they have all the support (normally supplies, but can include other things) that are required.

Just the breakdown of the whole war thing into categories of thought is helpful.  Not that it wouldn't cause a horrendous amount of research and dry, dull reading should I wish to embark on a military sf story; but it's a starting point.  However, if you take away the basics that tactics are the movements in the field and logistics are all about preplanning so everything you need is where you need it when you need it, you've got the gist of the Bradley quote.

Also, this 'art of war' information can be useful for business and political situations.  Probably for relationships as well.  I mean, how often have you considered that the relations between the sexes is more about war than love?  They even call make up war paint!  Anyhow, it never hurts to broaden one's knowledge.  Whatever you learn tends to find its way, somehow, into your writing as one more useful tool in the writerly toolbox.

If you are considering writing a military story, you can also read a few books on the topic:
Sun-Tzu's Art of War
Musashi's Book of Five Rings
Machiavelli's The Prince & Discourses
Von Caluswitz' On War
Che Guevera's Guerrilla Warfare

And I leave you with this final thought, via Machiavelli:
"A corrupt and disorderly multitude can be spoken to by some worthy person and can easily be brought around to the right way, but a bad prince cannot be spoken to by anyone, and the only remedy for his case is COLD STEEL."

Comments

[sex]

Wow, how timely. We just went over a battle scene in last night's crit group, and while I got a few suggestions, a lot of what we were saying was "I dunno."

Yeah for battles! (In fiction, that is.)

[Tyhitia]

Thanks for the info., Written. I've heard some people being afraid to write about war---as far as accuracy, but with enough research, they should be fine. Great references. Thanks! :*)

[Nicole Kelly]

Great post! Thanks!

[Charles Gramlich]

I've actually read most of those books on war. I think the quote is accurate. The ultimate key to winning is having the most war material at the battlefield at the moment it is needed. Doesn't matter how much you have behind the lines.

[Clare]

This is a great article! How did I miss this one!

-Clare