read the art of war by niccolo machiavelli, translated by ellis farneworth and introduced by neal wood: imprisoned and tortured early in 1513..with all his reliance upon, and plagiarism of, the ancient sources, machiavelli has done something more..a militia is always an instrument and a bulwark of republicanism..he fails to assign to artillery more than a very minor part in combat..he also slights the potential of a well-ordered force for heavy cavalry; to him cavalry means light cavalry, useful in scouting and skirmishing..a distinction made by aristotle in his criticism of plato's republic, an army acts in unison, while a civil society should be a harmony
to retrieve our lost virtu
rome remained free for four hundred years and sparta eight hundred, although their citizens were armed all that time
"if they come as ambassadors, they are too many; if as soldiers, too few"
the romans taught their soldiers to thrust rather than cut with their swords, because thrusts are more dangerous and are harder to ward off; he who thrusts does not expose his own body as much, and is readier to redouble than he is to repeat a full stroke
hannibal's army..placed 80 elephants in his front; next to them, his auxiliaries; behind them, his carthaginians; and last of all, his italians, in whom he had but little confidence
not long ago, the grand turk routed the shah of persia and the sultan of syria merely by the use of harquebuses - their explosion struck such terror into his enemies' cavalry that they turned tail and ran away. the spaniards, in their battles with hamilcar, used to place ox-drawn carriages full of flax in the front of their armies; they set fire to the flax as soon as the battle began, and the oxen were so frightened that they rushed in among the enemy and opened their ranks
sulla, who, seeing part of his legions begin to flee before the army of mithridates, rode up to the head of them with a drawn sword in his hand, and cried out, "if anybody should inquire after your general, tell them you left him fighting on the plains of boeotia"
no other alternative but to conquer or to die
joan of arc (1412-1431)
i shall now proceed to say something concerning the guards necessary in a camp, because if that point is not duly attended to, all the rest of our labor and care will be to no purpose
cast lots and put every tenth man to death - this was called "decimation"
everyone knows that our soldiers, instead of imitating the regularity and sobriety of the ancients, are a parcel of intemperate, licentious, and drunken fellows
king pyrrhus used to say that with an army of 15,000 good soldiers, he would fight the whole world
a general ought to endeavor to divide the enemy's strength by making him suspicious of his counselors and confidants..by sparing the possessions of some particular men in whom he confides and not letting their houses or estates be damaged in a time of general plunder and devastation, or by returning their children and other relations when they are taken prisoners without any ransom. thus when hannibal had ravaged and burned all the towns and country around rome, he spared the estate of fabius maximus alone
it is best to call both the innocent and guilty together; for if you summon the offenders alone, they might suspect your design and become contumacious
caesar acquired such reputation for his justice in paying for the wood which he cut down to make palisades for his camps in gaul, that it greatly facilitated the conquest of that province
romans took many towns by suddenly assaulting them on every side, which they called aggredi urbem corona
for dogs, and geese too, have sometimes saved a fortress, as they rescued the capitol at rome when it was besieged by the gauls. when the spartans laid siege to athens, alcibiades ordered that whenever he should hoist a light in the night, every guard should do the same upon pain of severe punishment in case of neglect. the athenian iphicrates, finding a sentinel asleep at his post, immediately killed him and said he had only left him as he found him
such order, discipline, and obedience among them that if there should happen to be a tree full of ripe fruit in the middle of the camp, not one of them would dare to touch it
6/12