Most of the information collected during the war is contradictory, and many are false, and most of them are quite uncertain. Under this circumstance, officers must have the ability to distinguish, and this ability can only be obtained through the knowledge and judgment of things and people. Here he must follow the law of probability. Before the two sides actually engaged in the actual battle, when the initial combat plan was drawn up in the combat room, the difficulty in distinguishing the true and false of all kinds of intelligence was no longer small, and when the chaotic battle started, intelligence came one after another like snow, and it was difficult at this time. It will increase indefinitely. If these pieces of information contradict each other, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and people need to distinguish between them through brain analysis, then they are relatively lucky. For an inexperienced commander, the worst situation is not as mentioned above. On the contrary, it is an intelligence that supports one intelligence, confirms and supplements another intelligence, as if the picture is constantly adding new colors, and finally All the information proved that the information was accurate, so the commander had to make a decision in a hurry, but soon discovered how stupid this decision is, because all the information is false, exaggerated and wrong, even some of the other party Set traps and traps.
Generally speaking, people tend to believe bad news, not easy to believe good news, and tend to exaggerate bad news. Although the dangerous news delivered in this way will fade away like ocean waves, it will reappear like ocean waves without warning. At this time, the commander must strengthen his belief, like a rock standing in the sea, withstand the wind and waves, to do this is not so easy. If he is not born optimistic, or has not been tempered by war, and his judgment is not strong, then he had better follow this principle: forcing himself, that is, denying his inner thoughts, trying to overcome fear, and facing hope. Only in this way can we maintain true composure. If people can correctly understand this difficulty that forms one of the greatest resistances to war, the result will be completely different from what people imagined. The impression obtained by feeling is often stronger than the idea produced after careful consideration, and the intensity is so deep that the commander has to work hard to overcome the initial generation when planning any more important military operation. Some new doubts. People are very susceptible to the opinions of others, and most people cannot act decisively. They always feel that the actual situation is inconsistent with what they originally imagined, especially when they hear the opinions of others, they are even less confident. Even a person who personally makes a battle plan, when he sees the actual situation with his own eyes, can easily doubt his original idea. At this time, only firm self-confidence can make him resist the impact of temporary illusions. Only when he was pushed onto the stage of war by fate, the prospect of all kinds of dangerous scenes was dismantled, and his eyes suddenly became clear, his original beliefs could be finally confirmed. This is also one of the biggest differences between making a plan and implementing a plan.
Resistance in war
People who have not personally experienced wars cannot understand. What are the difficulties in wars that are often said? What role do the genius and extraordinary spiritual power that a commander must have? In their eyes, everything in the war is so simple, the required knowledge is so simple, and all actions are so common. Compared with these, the simplest problem in higher mathematics can also surprise people with its certain scientific value. However, after they have experienced the war firsthand, all of this is understandable. However, it is necessary to explain in detail the reasons for this change, and to say that this invisible but real existence, and what are the factors that work everywhere, it is indeed Extremely difficult.
Everything in the war is indeed very simple, but even the simplest things are also difficult. These difficulties accumulate and form resistance, and it is impossible for people who have not experienced war to have a correct understanding of such resistance. Suppose a traveler plans to finish the last two stops of this day's journey before dark. This only needs to ride a stagecoach on the wide avenue for four or five hours. However, when he arrived at the first stop, he could not find a horse or a good horse, and the rugged mountains in front of him, and the sky gradually darkened; when he had gone through many difficulties, he finally reached his destination and found it. A very simple residence, even though he was very satisfied. In the same way, in the war, due to the influence of countless small accidents that could not be considered in advance, everything did not go smoothly, so that the set goals were not reached. Only by relying on the strong will of steel can we overcome these resistances and eliminate all kinds of obstacles. This kind of obstacle, of course, the machine, the army, will inevitably suffer great damage. We will talk about this later. The strong will of the general, like the obelisk on the main streets of the city, occupies a very prominent position in the military field.
Resistance can probably be said to be the only concept that distinguishes actual wars from wars on paper. Military machines, that is, the army and everything that belongs to the army, have a simple concept and are relatively easy to understand. However, it should be considered that no part of the military machine is a single piece. It is composed of many independent individuals, each of whom will have their own resistance in various aspects. The battalion commander is responsible for carrying out the orders of the superior. Since the battalion is integrated through discipline, the battalion commander must be recognized as a diligent person. When the whole battalion acts, it will act like a shaft sleeve rotating around its axis with less resistance. In theory, this way of talking sounds good, but in practice it is not. Many of the elements contained in it are exaggerated or false, and they will be revealed immediately when the war breaks out. Camps are always organized by a certain number of people. If chance happens, sometimes even the most insignificant among them can cause obstacles and even chaos. The dangers brought by war and the fatigue it requires people to endure will greatly increase resistance. Therefore, danger and fatigue should be regarded as one of the most important causes of resistance.
This kind of terrible resistance, unlike in a machine, only appears on a few fixed parts, but is in accidental contact everywhere, and often causes some things that cannot be predicted in advance. The reason why these things are difficult to predict is because most of them are unpredictable. It was caused by chance. For example, changes in weather are the product of chance. Sometimes, heavy fog prevents us from detecting the enemy early, preventing the timely firing of artillery, and even preventing us from passing information to the commander; sometimes, rainy weather prevents this battalion from coming and that battalion cannot reach its destination on time, and even causes the horses of the cavalry to fall into the mud. It was unable to attack effectively, which affected the victory or defeat of the battle.
Here are a few examples just to illustrate the problem and help readers understand the meaning, otherwise these difficulties will be too numerous to read. In order for readers to have a clear concept of the many small difficulties that must be overcome in the war, we tried our best to make some vivid metaphors so as not to make everyone feel bored and bored. Below, we will make one or two metaphors to further explain the meaning.
Action in war is like movement in a medium of resistance. People in the water, even walking, which is the most natural and simple movement, can't be done easily. The situation in the war is similar, and even moderate results cannot be achieved with ordinary power. Therefore, a true theorist should be like a swimming coach, able to teach others to practice the movements needed in the water on land, and these movements may seem absurd or exaggerated in the eyes of people who have never swim before; but those who have not Practical experience or a theorist who cannot sum up general principles from his own experience can only teach the action that everyone knows-walking.
In addition, each war has its own characteristics, and there are many special phenomena. It is like an unsailed sea full of reefs. Although the commander can’t see these reefs with his own eyes, he can feel it with his intellect. These reefs, and can bypass them in the dark night. If there is another headwind suddenly, that is, some major accident that is not good for him will happen again. In this case, he is required to have higher skills and wit, and make more efforts. However, to those who stood watching from a distance, everything that happened seemed to proceed smoothly. Familiarity with these resistances is a major part of the often praised combat experience that a good commander must possess. It is true that those commanders who fully understand resistance, but are afraid of resistance—the fearsome ones that are common among experienced commanders—cannot be classified as the best commanders. The commander must understand this resistance so that he can be prepared to overcome it in advance when possible, and at the same time, he does not force to achieve goals that cannot be achieved due to such resistance when acting. In theory, it is impossible for people to fully understand this resistance. Even if they can recognize it, they still lack the ability to judge through actual training. People call this the ability to adapt. In areas full of complex and small issues, this ability is more needed than in situations where there are decisive and major issues, because in the latter occasion, people have time to think and have the opportunity to discuss with others. The reason why a sociable person can speak and behave in a timely and appropriate manner is because he has become a habit when he needs to make judgments. Similarly, only an officer with rich actual combat experience can make appropriate decisions and deal with issues large and small; and only in this way can he judge without thinking what is feasible and what is not. Therefore, his shortcomings are not easy to show. If a commander often exposes his weaknesses in war, it will shake the trust of others in him, which is extremely dangerous.
At this time, resistance, or what is called resistance, makes things that seem easy to achieve difficult. We will also mention this issue later, and then it will gradually become clear that, in addition to rich experience and strong will, an outstanding commander must also possess extraordinary spiritual qualities that others do not possess.
Concluding remarks
The dangers, fatigue, intelligence, and resistance mentioned above are factors that constitute the atmosphere of war and are the media that hinder all military operations. These factors can be included in the big concept of resistance in terms of their hindrance. Is there a lubricant to reduce this resistance? There is, and there is only one. It is not conceived in the mind of the commander or someone in the army, but is obtained by the commander and the army through war.
Exercise can make the body bear great fatigue, put the spirit under great pressure, and can also make the judgment not affected by the initial impression. Through exercise, you can also obtain a valuable quality-composure, which is necessary for soldiers from soldiers to commanders, because it can help the commander reduce the difficulties in operations.
When people enter a dark room, the pupils of the eyes will naturally expand, and the eyes will absorb the only weak light, slowly recognizing all kinds of things in the room, and finally can see very clearly. The situation of a soldier who has been trained in the war is similar to that in the war, and the new recruits who have entered the war for the first time, just like those who have just entered the dark room, will only feel the darkness before them.
War training is something that no commander can bestow on his soldiers. The usual actual combat exercises can remedy some, but there is always a gap with actual warfare. This gap is compared with actual combat experience, not with military training for the purpose of training mechanical skills. If some of the above-mentioned resistances are arranged in ordinary exercises to exercise the judgment, thinking, and even decisive ability of military commanders, then the significance of such exercises is much greater than those without actual combat experience would imagine. It is especially important that resistance can prevent soldiers-no matter what level they are, from the first time they see the panic when they see them for the first time on the battlefield. As long as they saw such a phenomenon once before the war, they were half familiar with it. The same is true for the problem of enduring fatigue. Exercise in this area not only must make the body, but more importantly, make the spirit accustomed to fatigue. In a war, soldiers who stepped onto the battlefield for the first time could easily regard overwork as the result of a serious mistake in the overall command or helplessness, which would lead to frustration. If they had exercised in this aspect in their usual exercises, the above situation would not have occurred.
Another way to obtain war training in peacetime is to recruit foreign military officers with actual combat experience. Although this method cannot be widely adopted, it is extremely necessary. There are not many times when the whole of Europe is in a state of peace. Judging from the situation of other continents, wars have never stopped. Therefore, countries that have been in a state of peace for a long time should find ways to frequently recruit some outstanding military officers from those countries that have wars, or send them. His own officers came to them to get acquainted with the atmosphere of the actual war.
Although the number of these officers is extremely small compared with the entire army, their influence cannot be ignored. Their experience, spirit, and character cultivation will have an impact on their subordinates and colleagues. Even if they can't be allowed to hold command positions, at least they can be regarded as special talents familiar with a certain situation in a certain area. In many specific situations, we can consult them for their opinions and use them for my use.