Chapter 1 - The Fundaments of Strategy
Let's start with the basics shall we? What is strategy? A quick look at most dictionaries would probably result in an answer similar to that we are given by Mirriam Webster:
Strat·e·gy, plural strat·e·gies:
- The science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological, and military forces of a nation or group of nations to afford the maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war
- The science and art of military command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions
Now that doesn't seem to far off, does it? Well, no. It doesn't really, and considering the multi-faceted nature of language it can't be called wrong either, but it's not exactly what can be meant by the word strategy, especially considering how the word is used as a military term. A dictionary is meant to give you the definition of the commonplace usage of the word. It might have different meanings considering context, academic setting or a number of other different reasons. One is correct in calling what is described above strategy but to avoid confusion I'd like to take a while to explain the four levels of doctrines of which strategy is only one. These levels are, in decending order, as follows:
- Grand Strategy, or High Strategy
- Strategy
- Operational
- Tactics
Grand Strategy
Grand Strategy is the highest form of national co-ordination towards a certain goal. The role of grand strategy is to focus and direct all the resources of one or several nation towards the attainment of the grand strategic goal. It contains elements of military strategy - such as calculating the needs between different military branches. It also contains in its essence a political goal and has a not insignificant overlap with foreign policy. One military historian said of grand strategy that;
"[...] while the horizons of strategy is bounded by the war, grand strategy looks beyond the war to the subsequent peace. It should not only combine the various instruments, but so regulate their use as to avoid damage to the future state of peace - for its security and prosperity".
The Great Game between Imperial Russia and Great Britain can be said to have been one of a grand strategic nature. While open military conflict between the two did happen, it was the exception rather than the rule. Still, even while at peace, the two nations sought to compete over influence of the Near East and Central Asia. The same can be said about the conflict between the USSR and the USA during the cold war.
Let's take a look at a few examples of grand strategy.
During and before the second world war the goals of Germany were the establishment of Germany as the dominant political, economic and military power in Europe, the accumulation of Lebensraum for the aryan race and the total obliteration of Communism as a political rival. In order to try to achieve this, the NSDAP government supported far-right and fascist parties everywhere from Spain to Sweden, they entered into economic trade pacts with Romania among others, which were said to make Romania completely dependent on the German economy, as well as a focus on rearmament and the annulment of the Versailles treaty. During the war it sought the destruction or isolation of any force which could threaten their new order, be it communist partisans in Yugoslavia to the reduction of the French military to a maximum of 100.000 men.
As for the Soviet Union, in the early years of its existence it sought the spread of the revolution to other European countries. They argued that if the newly established republic were to be isolated and be the only bastion of socialism they would be encroached on by capitalists from all sides which would either smother the revolution or cause it to stagnate. This belief was strengthened after the interventions in the civil war by capitalist powers. As such, they considered it to be of absolute importance to connect the revolution to the ongoing revolutions in Berlin, the Bayerische Rätesrepublik and the Hungarian Republic of Councils. After the failure to do this they refocused their efforts to the development of industry and agriculture and the ending of the impopular policy of War Communism. This was perhaps codified even more after the split between Trotsky and Stalin when the debate raged between the theory of
permanent revolution or
socialism in one country. After the defeat of Trotsky the grand strategy of the USSR aimed at the development of Soviet industry. The USSR was hostile towards Nazi Germany and fascism in general during most of the inter-war period but the failures of France and Britain to curb Nazi expansion convinced them that total war between Nazi Germany and the USSR was inevitable. In order to, at the very least, buy some time and prepare for the coming conflict and to increase its chances the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was signed. This policy can be summed up by two quotes from Stalin; "
Hitler thinks he have tricked me - but it is I that have tricked him", as well as
"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us".
Strategy
Military Strategy is the art of the application of military force in order to pursue and achieve strategic goals. It is the task of the military strategist to insure the safety of the resources and assets vital to the survival of the fighting capabilities of the nation as well as the destruction or seizure of such assets from the enemy. Examples of such assets can be the resource rich East Indies (conveniently named "southern resource are" by the Japanese), the industrial heartland of the Soviet Union, or important bases from which to launch air- and sea raids (such as Gibraltar or Malta). Deciding what the strategic goals are can be of vital importance for the war effort. The decision by Germany to invade Norway was to secure naval bases for harassment of British shipping as well as protecting the shipments of metal from the mines in northern Sweden. Commitment to the North African theater was made in order to make sure the British did not acquire it as a launch pad into Italy and opening another front. Wrong priorities among strategic goals can also be disastrous, such as Hitler diverting many forces of the Army Group South away from Stalingrad and towards the Caucasus, leaving the German flanks to be held by their weaker and less well equipped allies.
The Operational Level of War
The operational level of war, or the operational art, is the level between tactics and strategy. Its goal is to coordinate between the strategic goals and the details of tactics. It should try to achieve these strategic goals through directing tactical forces such as corps and divisions as well as supporting them well enough to reach their objectives. Combined arms is an important aspect of an operation and the proper deployment of different types of forces must come into consideration at the operational level. Where should air-power be applied? Where and when should mobile forces engage and try to disrupt enemy lines? To which line of the front should operational reserves be deployed? How can the front be shaped to achieve an advantage? All these, and more, are questions that must be answered in order for an operation to achieve the desired goal.
Military Tactics
The essence of tactics is how to deploy forces on a small scale in order to be successful in battle? Seeking out heights, rivers, swamps are one way. Forcing a choke-point in a city is another. Some aspects of tactics are without our influence in Hearts of Iron 3 and is simulated instead through the battle phase with the tactical choices by leaders (such as break-through, shock, assault, etc.) but things we can influence are for example frontage and river crossing penalties. Ensuring the best possible outcome of each battle is decision making on a tactical level - be it assaulting a province from multiple directions to retreating and conducting a fighting retreat.
