The First Indochina War (1946-1954) was fought between the French colonialist forces and the Viet-Minh, a communist-led movement aiming for Vietnam’s independence. By 1950 the war was turning against the French. In October of that year, a large French force was in retreat from Cao Bang after a series of defeats in the Battle of Route Coloniale 4. The command group had gathered at HQ tent for a meeting when a Viet-Minh bomb by fluke exploded right on the spot. The whole command was wiped out. The force of about a battalion in strength was left with the last surviving corporal in charge. The incident serves to demonstrate how the sudden loss of command and control during a conflict can lead to chaos and catastrophe and collapse of an army.
The Israeli Defence Force has decimated the Command, Control and Communication of Hezbollah. Although Sun Tzi never mentioned directly about destroying the enemy's CCC, he talked about "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." It's left to be seen whether Hezbollah will collapse after this although my money is, like the Hydra, other heads will grow. In the short term however, chaos reigns in the enemy camp. Israel has the upper hand and it is left to see how IDF will take advantage of the situation. Having neutralised the head, will it go for the body now in confusion.
This is a strategy known as decapitation, or Command and Control Warfare (C2W). It is a strategy of eliminating the enemy's Command, Control, and Communications which focuses on crippling the enemy’s ability to coordinate, organize, and make effective decisions. Let's examine a few examples here.
Six-Day War (1967)
Israel launched preemptive air strikes against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan to successfully take out air bases, military headquarters, and communication systems. The attacks were devastating, especially for Egypt, which lost the majority of its air force within the first few hours of the conflict. By crippling the command and communication networks, Israel achieved rapid victory, occupying key territories in just six days.
The Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm 1991)
The US-led coalition implemented a strategy that targeted Iraqi command and communication networks in the early stages of the air campaign. The coalition forces focused on hitting command centers, communication nodes, and infrastructure that allowed Saddam Hussein’s regime to coordinate military actions. Saddam Hussein and his field commanders could not communicate and Iraqi forces were left disorganized, unable to effectively respond to coalition maneuvers. Iraq fell within a matter of days as allied forces swept across the desert easily. The precision strikes on these key assets significantly degraded Iraq's ability to resist and led to the quick collapse of its defenses. Recall the set of playing cards the US Army distributed to troops to identify the most high-ranking members of the Iraqi government wanted, dead or alive. President Saddam Hussein was the Ace of Spade. All 52 were captured. By 2021, 11 had been released. The rest died.
The Battle of Issus (333 BC)
The small army of Alexander the Great faced the huge army of the great Persian Empire (today's Iran) under Darius III near Issus in 333 BC. Alexander's strategy was to hit the heart of the Persian army where Darius III was located. By leading a cavalry charge directly at the Persian center, Alexander created chaos within the Persian ranks. When Darius fled the battlefield, the Persian command and control system collapsed which caused the entire Persian army to panic and break apart, as no one was able to issue new orders or rally the troops. The loss of command led to a decisive Macedonian victory. The strategy of focusing on eliminating the enemy leader to decimate their C2 was a hallmark of Alexander’s brilliance.
The Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE)
During the era of the Three Kingdoms period, there was a famous and pivotal battle fought between the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan against Cao Cao, the warloard who was the power behind the dying Han Dynasty. In the naval battle, Cao Cao had overwhelming numerical advantage but he had less naval warfare familiarity. Liu Bei’s strategist, Zhuge Liang, used cunning by launching a fire attack on his fleet. The fires caused a breakdown of command and control within Cao Cao’s ranks which led to a devastating defeat. This was a pivotal battle which halted Cao Cao’s expansion and preserved the autonomy of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Fame of the The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms novel may have blurred story telling and historical facts, but it illustrates the importance of the decapitation strategy in war.
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE)
This was a very important battle between three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus and some disparate group of small Germanic tribes led by Arminius. One Roman legion was about 6,000 men. Arminius had experience fighting for Romans and he knew how they fight. He cunningly chose his battle ground, in the forest of Teutoburg. He lured the Romans into the forest where they were totally annihilated. Today the forest is thought to be haunted by the ghosts of Roman soldiers. This was a battle that stopped the northward expansion of Rome and drew a line that prevented German from being assimilated by Italian culture. Romans used to deploy in large Phalanx formations in which men fought shoulder-to-shoulder where command, control and communication was easy. In later years they learnt the Phalanx formation was difficult in certain terrains and transited to use the maniple system. This was basically breaking into smaller independent units but still held together in checkerboard formations called quincunx. It allowed for more flexibility and mobility but at the expense of stretching communication. Once the three legions entered the forest, the dense woods made communication extremely difficult. Varus and his Romans were slaughtered by the Germans' hit and run guerrila warfare tactic.
I wonder if our Generals are paying attention to current events in the Middle East. Will the command and control warfare of IDF against Hezbollah be a watershed moment. A lesson is being played out in real time that ought to make into the library of SAFTI under the annals of historical military strategies.
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