...From Jomini to Clausewitz: Tactics and Strategy HIST 202 SEC 6380 Christopher P. McCuiston 22 September 2013 In times of war there always the unknown and even known factors that are unpredictable. Many seasoned war veterans from generals to seargent majors have contemplated the strategies and theories of how to win a war. Throughout history wars have been fought for a multitude of reasons; religion, politics, economic, land disputes, and to defeat tyrannical leaders who have committed atrocities against mankind. War has been waged for other than the aforementioned reasons, but are usually related to political or economic causes. Historically there are many strategist and tacticians who have put forth theories that have stood the test of time, however two have provided theoretical and philosophical concepts that are still being taught to our most prominent military leaders to date. Major General Carl von Clausewitz and General Antoine-Henri Jomini who both lived and fought during the late 18th century and early 19th century attacked the premise of war from two very different angles, yet they brought forth enough substance in each of their theories to stand the test of educational time. Experience earned from fighting in a military campaign can jog the mind to contemplate the major aspects of strategy and tactics. During the course of the French Revolution there were three theoriest that emerged and wrote of their experience; the Austrian Archduke Charles, General Antoine-Henri...
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...In the Civil War, there were several battles such as the Battle of Bull Run. The passage, “The Battle of Bull Run,” and the novel, Soldier’s Heart, have several similarities which include the fact that Abraham Lincoln wanted to attack the Rebels, and that there were spectators watching the gruesome and horrifying battle. In both the passage and the novel, they mentioned how President Abraham Lincoln wanted to attack the rebels to win the Civil War. Charley states in Soldier’s Heart that a rumor was going around about Lincoln wanting to attack the rebels harder and with more grit. Charley states, “But the rumors said that Lincoln...was very dissatisfied with McClellan’s ‘lack of bite’ and wanted some attack made on the Rebels, somewhere, at some time soon,” (59). This shows how Lincoln wanted to attack the Rebels sometime soon....
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...After crushing the Theban revolt in late 335 B.C., Alexander returned to Macedonia to gather his forces and prepare for his invasion of the Persian Empire in Asia Minor. One year prior, in autumn of 336 B.C., all the Greek states – minus Sparta – appointed Alexander the supreme commander of the Greek “war of revenge” against the Persians. In the spring of 334 B.C., Alexander’s campaign was finally in order. He set out for the Hellespont with over 30,000 infantry and over 5,000 cavalry. One of Macedonia’s most respected generals, Parmenion, was in charge of ferrying Alexander’s army across the Hellespont, which took 160 triremes and many more freighters. Alexander would be the first Macedonian to disembark, doing so in full battle array, casting his spear upon the banks of Asia Minor, claiming it as his own. Once disembarked, Alexander and a few of the Companions, most notably...
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...During the period of 1861-1865 that is commonly known as the Civil War, both the northern and the confederate states exhibited variegated forms of what it means to be civilized. At the bottom of it, the Civil War exhibited the most bloodshed on American soil at a singular point in time. For this reason it must be stated that both The Union and The Confederates both acted out bloodthirsty and carnal impulses. The difference that was displayed was that the liberalism and regard for expanded civil rights that was the basis for The Union’s war stance was countered by a stalwart reactionary ideological platform that The Confederacy clung to. Essentially, civility was at an all-time low during the bloodshed of the Civil war. Over 500,000 lives were claimed, however the etiquette and ideological platforms of both sides proved to be The old world charm of the South was encapsulated by John Mosby and his revenge against a Union trooper killing a young child in front of the child’s mother. Mosby exclaimed that revenge was not a primary, or even a secondary motivation. He honestly believed that he had to kill in order to stop the killing (Civil War Times, 31). This etiquette and honor displayed during the bloodshed was in contradistinction to the crass and needless killing committed by the Union soldier. This shows how oftentimes ideologies can mask the deeper, truer feelings and...
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...postal system, and was mentioned 22 times in the old testament. Not only did he build one of the most powerful empires in ancient times, but he made its glory last by organizing it and expressing his tolerance of different races and religions. Alexander the Great lost his father and became a king at the age of 20. While he was king, he expanded Macedonian territory. He did this through conquest and was never defeated in battle. In fact, he conquered half of what was known in the world at the time. He also founded a city in Egypt and named it “Alexandria” (after himself, of course) and Wheatley2 discovered trade routes in Asia. But, because of the excellent battle strategies he was known for, he is often called the greatest military leader of all time. These great leaders were very different in the ways that they ran their kingdoms, but they did have some things in common. For one, they both had large and exceptional empires. Also, they were both born princes and became kings of small kingdoms and sought through conquest to enlarge them. But the biggest comparison I found was that it was said Cyrus had an influence on Alexander. In...
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...The most important source to mention is The personal Memoirs of U.S Grant published in 1895. He also used Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant, U.S Grant's wife to contrast both. There is also a great use of other biographies and historical books about the civil war. Books like The Generals-Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee written by Dwight Scott Anderson gave the author a source for comparison of Grant to other leaders and generals. Vicksburg, 47 Days of Siege by A. A. Hoelig gave the author a chance to see General Grant tactics in action. The sources are carefully chosen and include primary sources which are a great addition to the bibliography. They also add a lot of diversity to the book which does not make the book biased or only concentrated on one characteristic about Grant's...
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...Additionally, Davis’s strategy was to gain foreign support in areas they were most weak such as naval power, financial assistance and foreign trade in the hopes that they could offset the Union’s numerical advantages. However, no foreign European nation would recognise the Confederacy unless they could demonstrate an overwhelming military victory, which it could not. Hence, the South was in no state to withstand an extended war, and this significantly influenced the outcome of the conflict. Historian David Potter sees Jefferson Davis’s poor management of the war as the central reason for the South’s defeat. Although, Abraham Lincoln also had his faults, such as some initial hesitation over military issues, his political governance by comparison proved to be more effective in maintaining morale and unity. Lincoln was very gifted politician, who was able to persuade Congress and the public that his policies would bring victory. He was also flexible in his tactics and delegated jobs appropriately. His election victory might have been the spark that ignited the war, but his presidency was also responsible...
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...statement is to be the leader in delivering off-premise pizza convenience to consumers around the world. They have set to accomplish their mission by being fanatical about product quality and service consistency, providing product variety to meet all customer needs, placing team member and customer safety and security above all other concerns, creating an environment in which all team members feel valued (because they are), building and maintaining relationship that rewards franchisees and other partners for their contributions. 2.0 Content A successful business is better to be first than it is to be better. If it couldn’t be in the first category, set up a new category that it can be first in as marketing is not about battle of products, it’s a battle of perceptions. Hence, the most powerful concept in marketing is to own a word in the prospect mind as 2 companies should not own the same word in consumer’s mind. Strength refers to the competitive advantages and other distinctive competencies that a company can exert in a marketplace. Weakness refers to the constraints that hinder movements in certain directions. Both strength and weakness are parts of SWOT analysis: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. A business should gain its advantages and be flexible by applying the strengths and coping with...
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...Contents Preface Acknowledgments ix xiii PART ONE OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 1. Strategic Management The Nature and Value of Strategic Management Dimensions of Strategic Decisions 4 Formality in Strategic Management 9 Benefits of Strategic Management 11 Risks of Strategic Management 11 The Strategic Management Process 11 Strategic Management as a Process 16 Summary 18 Key Terms 19 Questions for Discussion 19 2 3 PART TWO STRATEGY FORMULATION 2. SM_Prelims.indd 17 Company Mission What is a Company Mission? 23 The Need for an Explicit Mission 24 Formulating a Mission 24 Basic Product or Service; Primary Market; Principal Technology Company Goals: Survival; Growth; Profitability 26 Company Philosophy 28 Public Image 29 Company Self-Concept 33 Newest Trends in Mission Components 33 An Exemplary Mission Statement 35 Boards of Directors 37 Agency Theory 38 22 25 2/8/2012 10:17:09 AM Contents How Agency Problems Occur 39 Problems That Can Result from Agency 39 Solutions to the Agency Problem 40 Summary 41 Key Terms 41 Questions for Discussion 41 Appendix A: Company Vision 43 Appendix B: BB&T Vision, Mission, and Purpose 3. 4. SM_Prelims.indd 18 44 Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics The Stakeholder Approach to Social Responsibility 52 The Dynamics of Social Responsibility 54 Types of Social Responsibility 57 Corporate Social Responsibility and Profitability 60 Sarbanes-Oxley...
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...The Art of Standards Wars Carl Shapiro Hal R. Varian S tandards wars—battles for market dominance hetween incompatible technologies—are a fixture of the information age. Based on our study of historical standards wars, we have identified several generic strategies, along with a number of winning tactics, to help companies fighting today's—and tomorrow's—battles. There is no doubt about the significance of standards battles in today's economy. Public attention is currently focused on the Browser War between Microsoft and Netscape (oops, America On-Line). Even as Judge Jackson evaluates the legality of Microsoft's tactics in the Browser War, the Audio and Video Streaming Battle is heating up between Microsoft and RealNetworks over software to deliver audio and video over the Internet. The 56k Modem War of 1997 pitted 3Com against Rockwell and Lucent. Microsoft's Word and Excel have vanquished WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 respectively. Most everyone remembers the Video-Cassette Recorder Duel of the 1980s, in which Matsushita's VHS format triumphed over Sony's Betamax format. However, few recall how Philips's digital compact cassette and Sony's minidisk format both flopped in the early 1990s. This year, it's DVD versus Divx in the battle to replace both VCRs and CDs. Virtually every high-tech company has some role to play in these battles, perhaps as a primary combatant, more likely as a member of a coalition or Prepared for the Cnlifornia Management Review.Jh'is material...
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...would argue that, the statement ‘generals win battles, logistics win wars’, is true to some extent. Throughout the Napoleonic era, Napoleon had won countless of battles that were against set the odds. To win a battle, it is prominently down to the leaders, and Napoleon is identified as being a very good leader, with his charisma, ruthlessness as well as his ability to motivate his men. Napoleon had used Guibertian warfare to his advantage, Austerlitz is one of the most significant battle for Napoleon, as it highlights him as a great leader. Although Napoleon was never innovative, he was great at implementing them, at the Battle of Austerlitz, the French were heavily outnumbered and were at a major disadvantage seeing as the Russians were on the high ground. However, despite this the French army had trust in Napoleon, and believed that he would find a way to defeat the Russians. The French skillfully tricked the Russians to abandon their high ground, and when they did they had seized the opportunity and attacked from the rear, and the point of contact was led by Davout, who had been following Napoleons plan. Leadership plays a prominent role in motivating men, even when the chances of victory seem unlikely. Napoleon maintained this position within his army, and inspired his soldiers to not see defeat as an option. This had help in many of their battles, having the morale high had maintained their goal and had won several battles against the odds. However, although Napoleon was...
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...“The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made I such form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need.” John Keegan, “The mask of command” The book “The mask of command” by John Keegan is one of the greatest collection about leaders separated in time and history space, and analyzing technical aspect of warfare of particular historical time related to Alexander the Great, Arthur Wellesley, U.S. Grant, and Adolph Hitler. The mask of command is a work based on facts, real events, real people, character description, styles, and places separated into four chapters and conclusion. The first chapter, “Alexander the Great and Heroic Leadership”, describe the life, personality and its achievements. Alexander, son of Philip II of Macedon would become known worldwide as founder of Hellenistic world and the most famous general of antiquity what no other could be before or since. The second chapter, “Wellington: the Anti-Hero” examine Wellington’s military career in Britain during the period of his exile in India to its peak of career the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Moreover, John Keegan talk over Wellington’s numerous rewards and later achievements as Prime Minister of Britain. The third chapter, “Grant and Unheroic Leadership” is focused on military growth of Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant starting with the period of being solder to obtaining the position...
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...African colonialism During the years of 1870s and 1900s the idea of colonialism sparked. The European industrial revolution was a time that Europeans were forced to find additional resources and placement for the surplus of people that were not as fortunate as the rich capitalist in Europe. Poverty and homelessness were on the rise due to the surplus of people that couldn’t be absorbed in the system. The Europeans thought to solve the economic issue by migrating to Africa to acquire colonies and export sources, such as raw materials. The settlers set up colonies in parts South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. This led to a movement called “scramble for Africa”. Africa was divided for control of people, power, resources and goods. The “Scramble for Africa” is an example of colonialism. The European countries of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium came into Africa to try to expand their territory and exploit the African people. The new borders created during the Berlin conference would force the indigenous people to share citizenship with other ethnic groups and governments. These borders still remain. To prevent wars and conflict between the Europeans and the indigenous people, treaties were created. (Wikipedia, 2014). The Berlin conference, initiated by Otto von Bismarck, laid down ground rules for the participating countries to even out competition and decrease chances of conflict amongst themselves. After the country was divided, treaties...
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...Japan’s Reliance on Mahan’s Strategy during World War II Geographically, Japan is an island nation that is slightly smaller than the state of California, with an area of 377,915 square kilometers. However, Japan has a coastline that is almost 30,000 kilometers in length in comparison to the United States coastline, which is 19,924 kilometers in length. It is narrowly separated from modern-day Russia, North Korea, South Korea, and China by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. On maps the largest cities in Japan are on the Eastern side of the island chain, looking toward the Atlantic Ocean, and it boasts few natural resources, besides fishing. The geography of Japan and its proximity to its neighbors has shaped the strategic policy of Japan for centuries, and has driven the necessity of a strong navel strategy. However, it did not always have naval aims. During World War II, while Japan strongly relied on the writings on Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) in developing their national and naval strategy. However, their strategy had some fatal flaws that would prevent a victory or a negotiated settlement with the United States. Mahan is often compared to the highly esteemed Jomini and Clausewitz, who were famous for their land-based military strategy. However, many of his ideas were not new; they were derived from historical sources from which he distilled and clarified some major concepts. Mahan’s huge contribution to Navel strategy was the organization and the...
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...Business research, is a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide managerial decisions. More specifically, it is a process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that, in turn, maximize performance return on investment (ROI). At its most simplistic, when we measure ROI, we calculate the financial return for all expenditures. Increasingly, organizational managers want to know what strategies and tactics capture the highest return. management dilemma, the problem or opportunity that requires a management decision. Several factors should stimulate your interest in studying research methods: 1 1. Information overload. Although the Internet and its search engines present extensive amounts of information, the information’s quality and credibility must be continuously evaluated. The ubiquitous access to information has brought about the development of knowledge communities and the need for organizations to leverage this knowledge universe for innovation—or risk merely drowning in data. 2. Technological connectivity. Individuals, public-sector organizations, and businesses are adapting to changes in work patterns (real-time and global), changes in the formation of relationships and communities, and the realization that geography is no longer a primary constraint. With the increased acceptance and use of mobile technology, information...
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