Tactics and Strategy?

[Alice]

Let me explain.

I've been trying to find other sources (be it by book or website) about military tactics and strategy due to my novel in progress. I need something more than The Art of War, Thirty-Three Strategies of War, and the likes. Anyone who has something can post here because I honestly need more material on this!

Thank you very much!

 

[Butterfly]

I found the series Battlefield Britain to be a useful source of tactical info, right from the days of Boudicea to WW2.

Battlefield Britain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google

They also compiled a book to go with the series ... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battlefield...7895/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1346080853&sr=8-4

Another one was Hannibal Barca

Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare | Documentaries Full Online (2012)

 

[Telcontar]

You can learn much about this by reading wikipedia articles on wars and battles throughout the ages. Prepare to do lots of reading. This is a good place to start.

 

[FatCat]

Here's some examples of the two.
Greek Warfare
Roman Strategy
Medieval Warfare

 

[Zero Angel]

I'll double check when I am out of the office, but first, make sure you read the annotated Art of War that actually talks about ancient Chinese tactics. I've read several different versions and seeing the Art of War applied is much better than just ruminating on the different statements.

I have a couple at home that I've read (and that is why I need to check at home), but there are a bunch of books out there that are like "most decisive battles" and "battles of the ancient world". The ones with the maps are the best!

For sci-fi, Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow talk about tactics and strategy also.

Book of Five Rings is also worth perusing.

Also, make sure that the tactics you are reading about make sense when applied to your world. For instance, if you have archers, then anything Roman and before probably does not apply completely (although it could apply in parts).

As an example, I am involved in the SCA and the style of fighting that we do was basically refined about as far as it could go by the Romans. This is because archery is practically a non-issue in most mass-melee SCA events (although if anybody could ever organize them then it would be a whole new ball game). The Romans used a unit, I believe called a maniple, which consisted of shieldmen up front, followed by polearms followed by long spears. This way all members could be defended by the shieldmen but all members had about the same effective reach because of the distances from the frontlines.

Interestingly, in the SCA usually the spears go out front to "play". They definitely don't want to be there if there is a sudden press though!

 

[ExpertNovice]

Hi Alice,

I was asked to speak at WORLDCON this year on military affairs in fiction, being an active duty military officer who also writes geek fiction. I have a series of articles I'm writing at my website, Loose Threads, that you might find useful, though I haven't gotten to the tactics one just yet.

Until then, what kind of tactical data are you looking for?

Note From Black Dragon: I approved the link to Joseph's site, even though he's a new member. It's full of useful info, and he is actually a recognized expert on this subject matter, and a respected author to boot.

 

[Alice]

Wow, I'm surprised on the numerous responses on this thread. Thank you very much, guys!

Ah, my apologies on how I forgot to clarify on what kind of tactical and strategic data I'm looking for. Since my world's in a medieval setting, I'm just taking what I can get as long as the stuff provided to me doesn't relate to modern warfare. So, I'm pretty much looking for ancient warfare, but I have to draw the line at WWI/WWII since I have no guns and the likes in my story.

Hoo boy... XD I got a lot of reading to do, huh? Then again, I don't mind at all! :bounce: I enjoy this particular topic, so it looks like lots of research has to be done!

 

[Zero Angel]

I have a series of articles I'm writing at my website, Loose Threads, that you might find useful, though I haven't gotten to the tactics one just yet.

I've only made my way through #7 on logistics, but I thought it was very well written and would give people that haven't thought about this much yet a lot to chew on. I especially liked the examples. I have been studying military tactics and strategy a lot the last few years, but I don't know many real-life examples. Thanks for the valuable link and welcome to the site.

Since my world's in a medieval setting, I'm just taking what I can get as long as the stuff provided to me doesn't relate to modern warfare. So, I'm pretty much looking for ancient warfare, but I have to draw the line at WWI/WWII since I have no guns and the likes in my story.

Just like the Art of War is still applicable today, a lot of the lessons learned in modern warfare can be extended "backwards" to deal with medieval type warfare. Please don't discount these battles and lessons just because they use something like bullets.

 

[Alice]

I'll keep that in mind, then, Zero. I can use more information in those eras (WWI and beyond that, that is), then, if you think it'll be helpful.

Of course I'm happy to have information like this, but... XD I better not get too caught up in research! I might distract myself from my novel and I don't want that to happen!

 

[Godzilax99]

Tactics and strategies used in modern warfare will varies from the medieval times warfare mainly due to the weapons and the availability of technologies at that age. But at the same time, something could still be applied..

A squad of longbowmen could be the same as a artillery firing of anti personnel weapons, while a trebuchet can be the 50mm rounds.

A sniper team of 2(in case some people don't know a sniper team consist of the shooter, and the spotter), could be a team of 2 men assassin team using heavy crossbows or bow and arrows.

You might be able to blend in some tactics of modern and ancient times. Give it a try and I'm sure many of the people here can advice you accordingly.

One thing you can consider looking into is the weapons and equipments that they used. It's really interesting to see how tactics can change because of weapons.

 

[Alice]

Will definitely keep this in mind too, Godzilax, thank you very much! The information you gave me is also helpful!

Going to keep it as realistic as I can get, then! After all, I don't want to mess this up~

 

[squishybug87]

If you get tired of reading, Netflix is your friend. They have a pretty decent military documentary section on streaming that goes from ancient times until more modern warfare. You can also read about specific military leaders, wars, etc. Alexander the Great is a good one to study. Henry V won a huge battle while facing huge odds. The Battle of Stalingrad from WW2 is another good one to study; scrappy Russian soldiers defeated the Nazi hoard. If you look at Vietnam as a whole, you see the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare against traditional military strategy. I'm going to be doing the same type of research in a bit, so we're in the same boat.

 

[Alice]

I see! Huh, those are good topics to start with too when it comes to researching on this subject. I'll keep this in mind, thank you. Nice to see I'm the not the only one who's researching about this~