The war, la guerre, der Krieg, la guerra

While in Europe nations were busy with wars like the Greco-Persian Wars (including the Battle of Thermopylae, when King Leonidas from Esparta, with his 300 soldiers, faced the troops of King Xerxes from Persia), in China people were living under the Zhou Dynasty. Sun Tzu, the author of “The Art of War”, and Confucius lived and developed their work at this time. The latter deeply influenced China and his philosophy is still at the root of today’s society. He based his teachings on family devotion, rituals, and a sense of community, refusing the idea that wealth and power were paramount. Complementarily, Sun Tzu stated in his book that “supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting” (chapter III, #2). Chinese culture was based on the belief that diplomacy and trade was more effective than war and war should only be considered as a last resort, only when it was absolutely unavoidable. When finally going to war, according to Sun Tzu, five factors would be taken into account: the moral influence, time, terrain, commander, and doctrine. In other words, they would carefully study the enemy, the terrain and its conditions before they would attack.

Nearby, Feudal Japan was permanently in war because warlords were always fighting for power. Samurai were a group of warriors (called bushi) that were allowed to carry swords everywhere and had a licence to kill. The word means “to serve”, as in serving their master, their daimyo. The onna-musha, meaning “female warriors”, were women-samurai, who fought alongside men-samurai. Over time, samurai became more powerful, rising to an aristocratic level and being even more important than warlords.

However, at that time, there were other groups of warriors. Ninjas, meaning a “person (ja) that perseveres, conceals, moves stealthily (nin)”, were trained very secretly in different martial art techniques, especially ninjutsu, to become spies and assassins. The ashigaru, meaning “light foot”, were former peasants turned into foot soldiers that were under the orders of samurai. The ikkō-ikki were rebels that stood against samurai. Then there were the “monk soldiers”, the sōhei, who had their own agenda. A final mention to the rōnin, who were samurai that had lost their master and were roaming the country. Often, they would become trouble makers.

If Robin Hood and his gang were Japanese, they would belong to the ikkō-ikki class. In Feudal Europe, instead of daimyo there were kings, instead of samurai there were knights, instead of ashigaru there were mercenaries. Knights were loyal to their kings or to their religious order (like Templars). If Templars were Japanese, they would belong to the sōhei class. Mercenaries were men hired by the armies to fight for money. Back then, the notion of “nation” or “country” was very different from today’s concept and men didn’t fight out of patriotism. It was a job, like any other, and men would fight for whoever paid higher. It could happen that they would fight one day for an army and fight for the opposing army the next day. They were loyal only to money. Before their country would become neutral, Swiss mercenaries were considered the most prestigious soldiers. They were regarded as “elite”.

Germany was also a great provider of mercenaries and this had an impact in its culture, namely in some idiomatic expressions that are still used today. For example, in the battlefield, there were men whose job was to hold the flag to serve as reference for the troops. It was not easy, but they would “bei der Stange bleiben” (“stick with it” by standing by the pole). There was also a lot of dust, with horses running up and down and warriors fighting fiercely. Those who would desert during the battle would “aus dem Staub machen” (“make a run for it” by getting out of the dust). If they would desert outside the battlefields, they would only have “die Flinge ins Korn werfen” (“throw in the towel” by tossing their rifle to a corn field). Back in the day, mercenaries didn’t wear a uniform, like military do nowadays, so they would only be recognised by being in the possession of a rifle. If they would get rid of their rifle, they would kind of stop being a soldier. However, they could leave the army without deserting if the army would one “Laufpass geben” (“end the relationship” by giving a pass).

According to the United Nations, peace «not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation». This definition is included in the “Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”. In a way, this is in line with the Chinese ancient view of war: to avoid it and focus on trade prosperity instead. In fact, peace is much more advantageous, economically and socially. Check the examples of Germany and Japan after the Second World War. However, war fills mythological stories around the world. Warriors are seen as heroes and conflicts are often shown as necessary to defend a nation from aggressive, powerful, and overwhelming armies or to liberate some oppressed nation. The “best” stories are those where a few defeats many. On the other hand, there are also stories about the consequences of the war on civilians during and/or afterwards.

The Second World War is the period with (by far) most “stories”, mainly because of spies. Oh, yes. A spy in this context is someone who is paid to “spill the beans” about the enemy. In Britain they are known as “spooks”. This means that “ghosts” are trying to find and disclose secret information, like “flies on the wall” (someone who hears without being seen).

Wars continue to evolve, even if they are basically the same and are based on similar “justifications”. Nowadays, new concepts are emerging like cyberwar and hybrid warfare. In an increasingly globalized world, where everything and everyone is connected, war is also becoming a global issue and the ways to fight it are getting similar from country to country.