As a tangent on the neato commentary by Skorzeny, Dragontooth et al, I've been pondering the whole chicken-and-egg problem of having weapons decide tactics versus tactics deciding weapons. A current buzzword in the US military is "asymmetrical combat" where a supposedly weaker opponent can have success by finding an asymmetry and exploiting it (i.e. numerical superiority against technological superiority).
Over the course of recorded history, it seems like a lot of the supposed paradigm shifts are really just the consequence of one participant choosing to ignore the "rules" and fighting in circumstances to his benefit. For example, the development of the "sleeved" bayonet in the 18th century. The assumed "rules" in Europe were that you used a plug bayonet, thus you knew when your opponent was going to stop firing and charge when they jammed their bayonets in their musket muzzles. The first time the sleeved bayonet was used, paradigm shift; the guys could still fire one more volley!
Thus, I think the spotty performance of European armies against Arab, Turk, and Mongol opponents back in medieval times was partly due to the inability of the Europeans to adjust to "rules changes." They were still in the grips of "battle as the sport of kings" instead of "battle as a life-or-death struggle for dominance."
Likewise, the Germans failed to adjust to the Allies heavy use of concentrated, accurate artillery in the ETO during WWII. They believed in an infantry-oriented battle, whereas the American approach was artillery-oriented.
There seems to be an opposite principle that the other guy's strengths may be enough to overcome your strengths. The classic example is that of Napolean's European conquests. At the time, warfare was becoming the purview of the civil engineer because of all the fortifications, yet Napoleon developed an army that was better at traveling and applying the siege (Napolean was "Mr. Artillery" after all) than the defenders were at defending against the siege. Napoleon kept turning the crank on that formula, and ended up ruling most of western Europe.
I think some of this speaks to Dragontooth's question about mobility versus armor in pre-gunpowder warfare. It seems to me that a static defender can make better use of armor, because he doesn't get tired. The battle comes to him. Likewise, heavy cavalry have the advantage if they can engage the enemy on a plain on which their opponents haven't prepared a static defense (a la Agincourt). Light infantry has the advantage in mountainous terrain, because cavalry is slowed and channeled into trails that become "kill zones." So the wise tactician knows his capabilities and his opponents, and strives to arrange the battle to occur where and when his force has either a symmetrical advantage or an asymmetrical advantage. The unwise tactician puts strength against strength or allows himself to be maneuvered into a position of disadvantage when the bugles blow.
A third principle seems to be that combat style and weaponry develops in a context of technological, cultural, and economic environments. As an example, the weapons of medieval Europe and Japan aligned with their cultural situation; the upper class had rare, costly weapons requiring continual training, the rank-and-file soldiers had simpler, cheaper weapons, and the irregulars had basically whatever farm implements they could bring. Whereas in other places like Africa, less technology and a less convoluted social structure led to a more homogeneous weapon set (spear, sword or long knife, and shield for almost every man), and the nomadic nature of many of the tribes required simplicity of manufacture and portability.
So, do these principles make sense? Along with Murphy's Laws of Combat, what other principles should be chiseled in stone?
Over the course of recorded history, it seems like a lot of the supposed paradigm shifts are really just the consequence of one participant choosing to ignore the "rules" and fighting in circumstances to his benefit. For example, the development of the "sleeved" bayonet in the 18th century. The assumed "rules" in Europe were that you used a plug bayonet, thus you knew when your opponent was going to stop firing and charge when they jammed their bayonets in their musket muzzles. The first time the sleeved bayonet was used, paradigm shift; the guys could still fire one more volley!
Thus, I think the spotty performance of European armies against Arab, Turk, and Mongol opponents back in medieval times was partly due to the inability of the Europeans to adjust to "rules changes." They were still in the grips of "battle as the sport of kings" instead of "battle as a life-or-death struggle for dominance."
Likewise, the Germans failed to adjust to the Allies heavy use of concentrated, accurate artillery in the ETO during WWII. They believed in an infantry-oriented battle, whereas the American approach was artillery-oriented.
There seems to be an opposite principle that the other guy's strengths may be enough to overcome your strengths. The classic example is that of Napolean's European conquests. At the time, warfare was becoming the purview of the civil engineer because of all the fortifications, yet Napoleon developed an army that was better at traveling and applying the siege (Napolean was "Mr. Artillery" after all) than the defenders were at defending against the siege. Napoleon kept turning the crank on that formula, and ended up ruling most of western Europe.
I think some of this speaks to Dragontooth's question about mobility versus armor in pre-gunpowder warfare. It seems to me that a static defender can make better use of armor, because he doesn't get tired. The battle comes to him. Likewise, heavy cavalry have the advantage if they can engage the enemy on a plain on which their opponents haven't prepared a static defense (a la Agincourt). Light infantry has the advantage in mountainous terrain, because cavalry is slowed and channeled into trails that become "kill zones." So the wise tactician knows his capabilities and his opponents, and strives to arrange the battle to occur where and when his force has either a symmetrical advantage or an asymmetrical advantage. The unwise tactician puts strength against strength or allows himself to be maneuvered into a position of disadvantage when the bugles blow.
A third principle seems to be that combat style and weaponry develops in a context of technological, cultural, and economic environments. As an example, the weapons of medieval Europe and Japan aligned with their cultural situation; the upper class had rare, costly weapons requiring continual training, the rank-and-file soldiers had simpler, cheaper weapons, and the irregulars had basically whatever farm implements they could bring. Whereas in other places like Africa, less technology and a less convoluted social structure led to a more homogeneous weapon set (spear, sword or long knife, and shield for almost every man), and the nomadic nature of many of the tribes required simplicity of manufacture and portability.
So, do these principles make sense? Along with Murphy's Laws of Combat, what other principles should be chiseled in stone?