How to Explain the Traits of Warfare and Leadership

This article explains the traits of warfare and leadership.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Warfare and leadership can be very ambiguous. On one hand, there seems to be a very distinct blueprint for success. When looked at from a different angle, there seems to be no parameters at all. Alexander the Great learned from Aristotle and other top thinkers of his time due to the wealth and prestige of his family. President and former Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower rose from very humble beginnings to become a great leader and general. The development of weapons of mass destruction was meant to avert broad future wars. Today the possible mass proliferation of these same weapons of mass destruction threaten the safety and stability of the world as we know it. Warfare and leadership has evolved over the years. Future generals and leaders can come from the impoverished urban areas as well as the affluent areas of society. One intangible that has not changed about warfare and leadership is the fact that even with technology only the most capable
   and competent armies will be able to ensure the survival of its’ society. The history of warfare and leadership should be studied very closely by those blessed to see the value of it in todays’ dangerous political climate. The survival of mankind may well depend on these studies.
2. One courageous and competent military leader is better than a thousand average soldiers. Frederick II of Prussia revolutionized warfare in the eighteenth century. Frederick raised the level of his infantry soldiers by formulating superior training tactics. Fredericks’ infantry soldiers were trained to outfire their foes at a rate of 5 to 2 volleys a minute between fifty to one hundred yards. Frederick aligned his
   howitzers together in a tight formation when close to the enemy infantry and he used them to penetrate the enemy lines on some occasions. Frederick searched for more innovative ways to wage war. Frederick trained his infantry to the point where his horse-drawn guns could move almost step for step with his cavalry. Fredericks’ military genious was so contagious that he had one soldier for every twenty-five citizens in Prussia. This ratio clearly dwarfed the ratio of one soldier for every 150 citizens in France. Alexander the Great never boxed himself in with rigid parameters when waging war . When Alexander waged war against the Persians he used psychological warfare to break down the Persians defenses. On the night of September 30 Alexander kept the Persians standing to arms all night in preparation for his attack. This caused the Persians to mentally fight a battle before the actual physical battle. This tactic of Alexander the Great is used to this day by U.S. Special Forces. In Some battles Alexander charged forward and in some he used unorthodox methods to achieve success.
3. Many leaders such as Wellington lead by their extraordinary example. Wellington paid immense attention to detail. Wellington did not shield himself from imminent danger and was willing to share the fate of his troops. Wellington was not shy about making the important decisions in battle. Wellington was known to go without food and water when necessary. While planning his war strategy against Napolean, Wellington slept nine hours over 4 to 5 days when he received word that Napolean had commenced his attack on Wellingtons’ Prussian Allies. These exemplary acts gained Wellington the respect and Admiration of his troops.Leaders who lead by example are able to get the most out of their troops.Soldiers are known to respect a leader who will not ask anything of them that he will not do himself /herself. Wellington is a prototype of the selfless leader leader who puts his troops first and always puts forward superior effort. It was this type of display that allowed Wellington to defeat Napolean.
4. Men of science have been very helpful to the evolution of warfare. Benjamin Robins was a British mathematician who did important work in ballistics. He improved upon theories established by Newton and Galileo. Robins also proved that air currents have a significant effect on a cannonballs flight. Nicolas Appert came up with an innovative way to preserve food in specially constructed glass bottles. These bottles were made by being placed in boiling water for prolonged periods of time. Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier built the first successful balloon. Balloons would later be used for reconnaissance missions in war. Nicolas Leblanc found a cost-efficient way to make alkali. Leblanc used sulphuric acid to treat the salt which made a salt cake. Leblanc then roasted limestone with the salt cake to make sodium carbonate and calcium sulphide. He then dissolved the sodium carbonate in water to crystallize it.
5. The development of weapons of mass destruction has prevented many wars over the years. American dominance in this area enabled them to win the Cold War with Russia. Today a new threat has emerged as terrorist nations scramble to acquire the technology to make their own weapons of mass destruction. The economic collapse of Russia makes this threat even more dangerous, as they seemingly have more weapons of mass destruction than they can count. They have also been known to have relationships with terrorist nations seeking wmd technology such as Iran and Syria. Preventing the proliferation of these weapons will be a huge undertaking in the millennium years to come. Warfare has been greatly aided by the leadership of great men willing to give maximum effort to find innovative ways to lead their troops to victory in war. By bringing men of science into the military arena, warfare and leadership has evolved into a discipline of endless possibilities.