Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bu.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: news@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Civil War technology
Keywords: Ironclads, Civil War
Message-ID: <1990Oct24.152016.16726@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 24 Oct 90 15:20:16 GMT
References: <1990Oct11.050851.29295@cbnews.att.com* <1990Oct15.034315.14142@cbnews.att.com>
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Followup-To: soc.history
Organization: University of Oldenburg, Germany
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From: news@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de

[mod.note: Followups to soc.history. - Bill ]

In sci.military you write:
>* * also... the ACW was the first prosecution of the concept of
>* * "Total War"  it wasn't enough to destroy the enemies' armed
>* * forces, we also had to destroy their ability to make war, hence
>* * Sherman's march to the sea.
>
>* credits Napoleon with inventing "Total War".  Who's right?  (Actually, I'm 
>to the best of my knowledge napoleon never used scorched earth
>as an offensive tactic.
I think you are right. HE didn't use it. But it was used against him
by the Russians (1812). I believe that this tactic was the cause for  his
retreat. (So, in some way, he introduced the tactic of scorched earth
back into modern history).
In ancient times the tactic of scorched earth was widely used.
(e.g. Ceasar used it against the Gauls. Almost 1/3rd of the population
in Gaul died in this war). The first example that is known to me are
the wars of the Assyrians against there neighbours. (Although this
is not exactly "scorched earth", genocide is more accurate. It was
definitely a "total war".)

  Axel