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As a military work, the description of some things in "Strategy" is relatively vague, which is very fatal for a military classic. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

It's like Hasdrubal, who is also a general in Carthaginian military affairs.

He also has an identity, that is, Hannibal's younger brother.

In "Strategy", it is told that when Hasdrubal was supporting Hannibal, because of some subtle military measures, he was finally completely destroyed by Scipio's army:

While in Spain, Publius Scipio found the Carthaginian leader Hasdrubal early in the morning, and before breakfast had taken his ranks, lined up, and prepared for battle. Scipio hid his men and stayed until one o'clock in the afternoon. He ordered everyone to rest and eat their bellies. When the enemy, hungry and thirsty, exhausted from long waiting with weapons in hand, began to return to the camp, Scipio suddenly ordered his troops to attack, and he won a great victory. (206 B.C.E.)

In these cases, "Strategy" has considerable merits:

Metellus Pius in Spain at war with Ilturaeus. At dawn Ilturaius had his troops assemble and march toward the position of Metellus. Metellus had his troops sit in tents until noon. It was the hottest season of the year. Later, when the enemy was exhausted by the scorching sun, Metellus easily defeated them, for his troops were in good spirits and the strength of his troops was not affected in the slightest. (76 B.C.)

It was also the same Metellus, who repeatedly challenged Spain after joining forces with the anti-Sedorius army of Pompey. But the other side put up a free card, they thought that they could not compete with the two armies. After a while, Metellus found that the morale of Sedorius's troops was very high, and they were all gearing up for battle. He thought it would be better to avoid their fanaticism, so he withdrew his team, and urged Pompey to do the same.

It's just that in other aspects, many of the contents of "Strategy" can be regarded as "rhetoric":

What to do to stabilize the position when the general loses confidence in his troops:

1. When the Vorskis prepared to attack the camp of the consul Titus Quinctius, Quinctius left only one infantry brigade on duty and left the rest of the troops to rest. He also ordered the trumpeters to mount their horses and make a circle around the barracks while blowing the trumpet. He used this show of strength to separate the enemy from himself at a certain distance, and kept the opponent in a very tense state throughout the night. The next day, just after dawn, he struck out suddenly, and the enemy, exhausted from the night's sleep, was easily routed. (468 B.C.)

2. In Spain, Quintus Sedo was far inferior to the enemy in terms of cavalry, and the enemy confidently pressed straight on his fortifications. So he dug many trenches overnight and deployed his lines of battle in front of them. Subsequently, when the cavalry rushed forward as was customary, he pulled his line of battle back. The enemy pursued them so hard that they all fell into the trenches and were defeated. (B.C.)

3. At one time, the Athenian commander Kares was waiting for reinforcements to arrive. He feared that the enemy would attack his camp before reinforcements arrived, believing that he was weak. He then ordered some of the soldiers under his command to go out from behind the camp at night, and to return so that the enemy could see their direction as clearly as possible, so as to give the impression that a new force had arrived. In this way, he strengthened his belief in self-defense with the expected reinforcements before the expected reinforcements arrived. (B.C.)

4. On one occasion the Athenian Iphiclates encamped on a flat field. He was informed that the Thracians were coming down the mountain at night to rob his camp, and that there was only one way down the mountain. So, he quietly pulled his troops out and deployed them on either side of the road that the Thracians had to pass. When the enemy attacked his camp, the lights were still on, but only a few people lit them there, so as to give the impression that most of the main force was still in the camp. In this way, Iphiclates was able to attack the enemy from the flank and crush him. (389 B.C.)

Although it is said that in terms of these contents, it can be regarded as a topic, but this kind of relatively empty example quotation is undoubtedly not too subjective.

Especially in many cases, some examples are simply impossible to replicate, and these examples are quoted more of a meaningless description.

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Retreat:

1. The Gauls gave their treasure of gold and silver to their loyal protectors before the battle with Attalus, and instructed that if their army was defeated in battle, they would scatter it all over the land for the enemy to plunder. If so, it will be easier for them to escape.

2. After the defeat of the Syrian king Teraiphon, he sprinkled money and goods on his retreat. Antiochus's cavalry was too busy to grab the money and he was able to retreat. (134 B.C.)

3. Quintus Cedo was defeated in battle by Quintus Metellus Pius. Believing that an organized retreat might not be safe, he ordered his soldiers to disperse and tell them where to regroup. (75 B.C.)

4. Biriato, the leader of the Lusitanians, used the method of Sedogius to break his troops into pieces and then to gather them to get rid of the predicament in which he found himself and the threat posed to him by our army. (B.C.)

5. When Poulsona's army pressed on Horatius Cocles, Cocles ordered his men to quickly retreat across the bridge and return to the city. In order to prevent the enemy from chasing after him, he also ordered the bridge to be blown up. While doing all this, he himself stood guard at the bridgehead like a guard, blocking the oncoming enemy. Later, when the explosion told him that the bridge had been blown up, he jumped into the river. Despite his multiple wounds and exhaustion, he swam to the other side with his weapons. (507 B.C.)

6. Afranius leaves Caesar near Ilelda, Spain. When Caesar pursued him, he set up a camp. So Caesar also set up camp and sent his men out to gather grain. At this time, Aphranius suddenly gave the signal to evacuate again. (49 B.C.)

7. Anthony was trying to get rid of the Sabbaths' oppression, but whenever he set out at dawn, his retreating troops were attacked by barbarian arrows. So, one day, he asked his men not to return to the camp until near noon, thus giving the impression that he had been camped for a long time. As soon as the Sabbatarians had no longer doubted this and had withdrawn, he immediately began his orderly march undisturbed by the rest of the day. (36 B.C.E.)

8. Philip suffered a defeat at Epirus, and in order not to annihilate the Romans while he retreated, he requested a truce so that the dead could be buried. As a result, the sentinels let their guard down, and Philip took advantage of the escape. (198 B.C.)

9. Publius Claudius was defeated by the Carthaginians in a naval battle. Knowing that he had to break through the enemy's siege, he ordered the remaining twenty ships to sail in as victors. The Carthaginians really thought that our side had the upper hand in the encounter. In this way, Claudius frightened the enemy and succeeded in withdrawing. (249 B.C.)

10. Once, the Carthaginians lost a naval battle and wanted to get rid of the Romans who were following them and were in hot pursuit. So they pretended that their ship suddenly ran aground on the beach, and it really seemed that it could no longer move. In this way, the Carthaginians made the victors fearful that their ships would suffer the same misfortune, so the Carthaginians left a way to retreat.

11. Defeat at the hands of the godlike Caesar, Confucus of Atlebat, flees from Gaul to Britain. When he arrived in the channel, there was a tailwind, but it was already low tide. Despite the fact that the ships were stranded on the beach, he gave the order to raise the sails. Caesar, who had followed him, saw the windswept sail from afar, and thought that the Comus had escaped from his palm and had taken a long way away. He gave up the idea of chasing and destroying.

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How to dispel the fear of unfavorable aura in soldiers:

1. Scipio transports his army from Italy to Africa, where he tripped and fell to the ground as he landed. When he saw that the soldiers were frightened by this, he turned the fears of the people into a morale-boosting force with his steadfastness and conceit. He cried out, "Celebrate me, my men! I have struck Africa hard." (204 B.C.)

2. Gaius Caesar was about to board the ship when he suddenly fell to the ground. He exclaimed, "Mother Earth, I want to hold you tightly. He explained it this way, as if to indicate that he was destined to return to the land from which he was now leaving.

3. When the consul Tiberius Semprodnius Gracchus was in battle with the Pisents, a sudden earthquake shocked both sides. At this time, Gracchus encouraged and urged his men to attack the enemy with new strength and mental strength, but the other party was overwhelmed by this sudden incident. So he brought his enemies to their knees and defeated them. [Note: According to Florus, it was the consul Sompronius Sophus who defeated the Picents in 268 BC.] ]

4. As a result of the accident, the shields of Sedogius' cavalry and the chests of their mounts were splattered with blood, which Sedogius explained was a symbol of victory, since the shields and the chests of the horses were usually the places where the blood of the enemy was splashed.

5. The soldiers of Epaminonda the Theban were all in despair, for a gust of wind blew off the streamers of his spears like a hairband, and were blown all the way to the grave of one of the Spartans. Epaminonda said, "Don't worry, boys! Except for funeral services, tombs are generally not decorated. (371 B.C.)

6. One night, a meteor streaked across the sky, and everyone who saw it was shocked. It was the same Ibaminonda who said, "This is a light from heaven from the gods. ”

7. Once, before the war with the Spartans, the chair on which Ibamidanda was sitting suddenly fell at his feet. The soldiers muttered that this was not a good sign. But Ibaminanda said loudly, "It's nothing, it means we can't just sit and wait." ”

8. Gaius Surpicius Gallus not only told the soldiers that there was going to be a lunar eclipse so that they would not think that another monster was coming, but also told them the causes and reasons of the lunar eclipse. (168 B.C.)

9. When Agasocles of Syracuse was fighting against the Carthaginians, his soldiers were in terror before a battle when they encountered a lunar eclipse. They see this phenomenon as a sign of a monster coming to an end. He explained the reasons for this phenomenon and went on to explain that it was a natural phenomenon anyway and had nothing to do with their mission. (310 B.C.)

10. When thunder and lightning thundered over Pericles' barracks, his soldiers were terrified. Pericles gathered the soldiers together and struck two stones in front of everyone. He told the soldiers that thunder and lightning were like two clouds colliding in the sky, and that he was dispelling fear.

11. Timosius the Athenian was preparing for a naval battle with the Corfurates. As his fleet set sail, his helmsman suddenly signaled to evacuate because he heard the sneeze of an oarsman. Timotheus exclaimed, "Are you astonished that one of these thousands has a chill?" (375 B.C.)

12. The Athenian Cabrias prepares for a naval battle. A thunderbolt struck him right in front of the bow. The soldiers were amazed by this bad omen, but he said: "Now is the real time for war, for the mightiest of the gods, Jupiter, has appeared and his power has descended on our fleet." ”

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And in "Strategy", there is an example that has to be said to be really interesting:

King Cyrus of Persia wanted to boost the morale of his men and sent them to do the tiring work of deforestation, working all day from morning till night. The next day he feasted them in a great way. During the dinner, he asked everyone what kind of days you like to spend the two days before and after. When the crowd replied that they liked the day of the feast, he continued: "But only after the bitterness of the previous day will there be sweetness of the next, that is, if you cannot conquer the Medes, you will not be free and happy." In this way, he aroused everyone's desire to fight.

And this example is unlikely to be fully applied in a sense. After all, in many cases, the composition of a unit is different, and the effect of such tactics will also change to a certain extent or even have no effect.

For example, for a Roman cavalry of aristocratic origin, such an approach would have the opposite effect. (To be continued.) )

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