Page 19 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

II Grand Strategy

The use of national power and influence to attain natiol1<l1 secu- concepts rank with the most profound of all time, and most of his
rit)' objectives is known as gnmd strategy. It is the most important ideas are just as applicable in our world today as they were in his.
and least understood <lspecl of national defense. The lifeblood of Another great ancient strategist was Alexander the Great of
a nation and trillions in national treilsure relies 011 i.l dependable Macedonia (356-323 B.C.), the first Western grand strategist.
gri.\l1d strategy. Since we are i1 government of ,mel by the people, He dreamed of a world empire, an idea many since him tried to
all Americans should be knowledgeable about U,S. grand strategy; achieve without as much success. Alexander determined that war
this is our national plan for the future. is always conducted on two levels: physical and psychological. His
campaigns can be studied today as examples of how to apply every
principle of war, both militarily and in other ways.
National, Grand, and Military Strategies Hannibal of Carthage and Scipio Africanus of Rome. the
Strategy does not pertain only to the military or to armed COI11- major opponents in the Second Punic \Val' (2 18-201 13.c.), were
bat. Both civilian and military Ic,ldeI's mllst consider strategic mat- both exceptional military strategists. So was Julius Caesar 010--44
ters at the nationallc\'cl. Natiol/al strategy combines all the capa- B.C.). Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1519), the great r-Iorentine polit-
bilities of a nation, during peace tlS well as war, to attain national ico-military theorist. broadened strategic thinking when he wrote
interests and objectives. \Vithin national strategy there are polit- on the sources, applications, and limitations of power. His unscru-
iCll, economic, diplomatic. legal, and naval and military strate- pulous concepts of diplomatic and military conduct later served to
gies, both international and domestic. All of the national strategies inspire the dictators of the twentieth centur)'.
together constitute gralld strateg)~ the art and science of employing During the sLxteenth century, knowledgeable thinkers of
national power to exert desired degrees and t)'pes of control over the day began to differentiate between strategy and the tactics to
the opposition. This Ciln be done through threats, force. rewards, achieve it, linking military action with political policy at the inter-
diplomacy. subterfuge, and other means. national level. Frederick the Great of Prussia (17 t 2-1786) became
lHilit(//,y strategy involves physical violence or the threat of such the next great grand strategist, developing from his central geo-
violence. It seeks victory through force of arms. Grand strategy. if graphic position the concept of "interior lines" on the battlefield.
successful, will attain national objectives without violence. Perhaps However, he used statesmanship to even better advantage to secure
more important, grand strategy looks beyond victory to a lasting the foundation of the German Empire.
peace. Military strategy must be controlled by the grand strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte of France (1769- 1821) applied existing
which it is an important part. The true aim of grand strategy, then, strategic theories to perfection. Except for his liS military max-
according to British strategist Liddell Hart, is to "seek a situation so ims he did little writing, but he made many strategic contributions
advantageous that if it does not of itself produce the decision, its indirectly through subsequent writers who critically reviewed his
continuation by a battle is sure to achieve this." Even the first strat- campaigns. The two most important of these were Antoine Jomini
egist, Sun TZl!, said that "to subdue the enemy with,out fighting is (1779-1869) of France and Karl von Clallsewitz (1780--1831),
the acme of skill." a Prussian. Jomini began the modern, s)'slematic study of the
subject of war, pi1rticularly the maneuvering of troops to occupy
Evolution of Grand Strategies territory. The nineteenth-century French military leadership and
mallY American Civil \Var field commanders used Jomini's strate-
A study of grand strategy is such a complex ilnd I~lscinating task
gic concepts.
that it is impossible to cover the subject in a brief chapter such as
C1ausewitz concerned himself with the basic nahlre of war.
this. One way to shldy strategy would be to try to digest the concepts
His book. \'0111 Kriege (On \·Var). is generally acclaimed as the 1110st
and principles of straleg)' as written and Ciuried Ollt by the world's
influential dissertation all strategy ever published. j'vfuch of it can
greatest acknowledged strategists. This wOltJd include The Art of
be applied successfuU), to modern times, though some modifica-
Hill; written sometime between 400 and 320 13.c. by the first great
tions have to be madc for present-day circulllstances. Clausewitz
mind to shape strategic thought, the Chinese general Sun Tzu. His
showed that war has both social and politicll aspects. Probably his
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