Tag: spies

Key place: CHINA | “The Art of War”, by Sun Tzu

For thousands of years, rulers and governments have used war to reach their political goals. Warfare has evolved, and still does even today, with new tactics and new equipment, although it has developed differently in each country or region. “The Art of War” was written in China, in the 5th century, in a time of chaos. These strategies were game-changing and all kings who used them added territory to their realms. Later, the book left China and travelled the world. Nowadays, it is part of the military curricula of many countries and it is even used in other areas, such as business.

The 5th century was a turning point in warfare. In Europe, the mighty and invincible Roman army was becoming weak and vulnerable. The great Roman Empire, which ruled Europe for about 500 years, had been founded on the fear of his army. They were disciplined and would train intensively, having some manoeuvres planned to defend and attack. In the meantime, in China, battles were unfolding according to some chivalrous-kind-of-rules, where war was more like a game than a way to get a victory.

Sun Tzu changed all that. He viewed war from a strategic perspective and not only as a clash of powerful and bloodthirsty men. Besides discipline, which Sun Tzu thought was essential, he believed that soldiers had to be competently guided, according to a bigger picture. “Little” details like the terrain, the weather, supply lines, the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, needed to be analysed carefully and decisions on the field should be based on such information. Instead of finding a way to kill as many soldiers as possible, the idea was to apply techniques that would undermine the opponent even before the battle would start. War was, thus, the last resource and should be fought in accordance with other initiatives that would lead to the final and total victory.

Unfortunately, we are currently going back to war time. Therefore, there are many military commentators on different TV channels explaining what is going on in different battle fields. If we pay attention, we will notice that many of the strategies they talk about are exactly what Sun Tzu discussed 1500 years ago. For example, tanks cannot circulate through a forest and the battlefield gets muddy in the rainy season [Chapter 10, about the terrain conditions]. This shapes decisions on how to attack the enemy. When Napoleon marched his army into Russian, he did not consider the weather (it was freezing and the soldiers did not have warm enough clothes) nor the terrain (they got stuck in mud). Besides, the army distanced themselves from their supply chains. Therefore, many men were lost on the way to Moscow. This is the opposite of what is stated in Chapter 7 about getting the army as a whole to the final destination.

Sometimes we hear about cities that are won (or lost) by one side of the conflict. The strategic importance can be related, for example, to the terrain (if it is situated on high ground, for instance) or their intersection to supply chains. Attacks on troops’ supply lines and on energy facilities aim to demoralize soldiers and the civilian population. However, in Chapter 3, Sun Tzu states that attacking cities is not advisable at all. Therefore, the best option can be to choose other alternatives. The Battle of Stalingrad, in World War II, is a good example of what could happen if a city is attacked. In that Chapter, Sun Tzu also talks about the ratio of the number of men in each army and what to do in every situation. For example, if the number of enemy soldiers is much greater, the army should retreat without fighting. Otherwise, all men would be dead. What happened in Dunkirk during World War II illustrates this.

Preparation is key and information gathering is paramount to get to know the enemy very well, especially their strengths and weaknesses. Chapter 1 discusses how to get duly ready for war and how to deceive our opponent, making the population ready to support the government and the army. Modern campaigns are also based on years of preparation. Every time we hear about an attack, we also hear commentators saying how many years that attack took to be planned in detail. Propaganda is widely used, especially through media, to get the population on the government’s side (this is valid, of course, for both sides of the conflict).

Chapter 13 refers to spies and how to distinguish them. The information collected by them can be useful for preparation and also to follow what the enemy is doing during the war. There was no more fertile time for spies than the Cold War. They were literally everywhere. All the types of spies mentioned by Sun Tzu were employed by every country (and they still exist, more than we realise).

In a nutshell, “The Art of War” was so complete that current situations were already included in this 1500-year-old publication. Hence its ongoing success.

 
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This article is part of the THE INTREPID BOOK SOCIETY series

The Intrepid Book Society is a fictional book club. Every month, a book (or more) is recommended and/or discussed according to a keyword.

 

 

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.