Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdahl!amdcad!military From: cew@venera.isi.edu (Craig E. Ward) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Learning in War Message-ID: <27388@amdcad.AMD.COM> Date: 21 Sep 89 05:18:59 GMT Sender: cdr@amdcad.AMD.COM Organization: Information Sciences Institute, Univ. of So. California Lines: 36 Approved: military@amdcad.amd.com From: cew@venera.isi.edu (Craig E. Ward) In article <27299@amdcad.AMD.COM> chenj@cmcl2.NYU.EDU (James Chen) writes: >A common feature of war is the need for a nation to relearn >the old lessons of previous wars or of the mistakes of >other nations. It has often been said that armies do not reform until after they've been beaten. This leads to a more interesting question: How can a military establishment unlearn the lessons of past victories? Technological change often renders the successful strategies and tactics of the past inappropriate. Examples are easy to find. By the mid-nineteenth century, weapons had advanced beyond the tactics of Napoleon, yet it took the armies of the Confederacy and the Union several years to begin to change -- at a terrible cost in lives. Even with the American Civil War and a Prussian *defeat* in a battle of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French Army of 1914 marched off with the mentality of 1814 and suffered accordingly. The French experience of WWI was so horrible that they resolved to never let it happen again. As a result, they were much better prepared for a 1914 war in 1939 when WW2 began. Unfortunately for the French, they found themselves ready to fight the wrong war. What does this mean for the military establishments of today, not just for the US and NATO, but also for the SU and the Warsaw Pact? Are they ready for the next war or the last? - ARPA: Craig E. Ward PHONE: (213)822-1511 ext. 111 USPS: USC Information Sciences Institute 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 1100 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Slogan: "nemo me impune lacessit"