Optimo Loco ad Pugnam
(Finding
the Cookie Jar)
By
Gordon S Fowkes, KCTJ
Grand
Historian of the Grand Priory of St Joan of Arc of Mexico and Latin America
April
23, 2012
St
Joan of Arc Disclaimer: The opinions
herein are those of the author and not endorsed by the Grand Priory of of
Mexico and Latin America.
Author’s
Disclaimer: This is a military analysis of the Crusader Era “operating
environment’ and includes conclusions and theories. The conclusions are only when validated with
different theories. and the theories are only if validated with different
facts.
What’s Important?
Definitional Interruptus: There is no longer any use in
using the terms “tactical, operational, strategic and/or grand strategic” in
the discussion of “levels” of war. It
depends on the size of the frogs and the size of the ponds. The city-states of Genoa and Venice of the
period were very small places with a huge appetite and a long reach. Their landward sides were vulnerable to
infantry, and their fleets were not. The
strategic importance of Jerusalem had operational considerations that told
Richard I that it was not worth taking, although he had the tactical
capabilities to do so.
Tactics: What’s in range?
Operations: Getting there.
Strategy: What’s it worth?
Tactics: What’s in range?
Tactical considerations include consideration of giving and receiving the
bullet, buffet or blade of over the four tactical imperatives: Duel, Defense,
Attack and Contra Attack. Tactical considerations are in part physical
as in range, ranging, devastation, and speed.
Tactical considerations replicate
the equivalent functions of the human body: brain, eyes, arm, fist, feet and vital organs. The eyes are the sensory array as in visual
or by extension: electronic. The arm is that which delivers the fist to
the target, it has speed, range, and flexibility. The fist is the terminal
effect of the weapon system; it is the warhead, the tip of the spear, and the
arrow head. Feet are the mobility of the
weapon platform.
Operations: Getting there, getting resupply,
and getting on or getting out (See Jomini Below)
A Byzantine dromon (cruiser) had tactical
considerations in its’ design and armament, that had an operational reach from
Gibraltar to the Crimea, and was a way of projecting force to enforce the will
of the Byzantine Emperor (also used by Venice and Genoa). If a new device (ship rigged with broadside
guns on a deck) came along, the tactical value of the dromon disappeared from
dominance of the sea lanes in the Mediterranean.
Handy Terrain Analysis
Handy Terrain Analysis uses your
own hands to illustrate common terrain features formed by erosion and their
effect on fire and movement from a tactical and operational point of view.
COCOA: This is an old US Army acronym for terrain analysis to see how the ground
helps or hinders either side. There is
an old acronym “COCOA” which is easier to remember the new and improved one on
analyzing terrain. COCOA has a sensory
component to aid in remembering, just think of a cup of Cocoa, smell and
remember:
Critical
Terrain,
Obstacles,
Cover
and Concealment,
Observation
and Fields of Fire, and
Avenues
of Approach .
The current system replaced Critical Terrain
with Key Terrain. They don’t quite mean
the same (IMHO). Critical terrain is
that which must be taken, held, and/or denied to the enemy. Key terrain
dominates critical terrain. The road
junction in the valley may be critical, but it can only be controlled from a
hill just in range (Key).
1. Geography. The effect of relative relief, of rivers and
ridges that make movement easier or harder create choke points to restrain or
enhance movement. The erosion of tilted
block create rivers and ridges which
channel movement with the grain, and the passes, fords, and forks that cross
the grain.
 |
| Water cuts through rock which makes it easier to rock |
Over time, water smoothes the
craggy rocky convex outcroppings by erosion and by depositing the earth into
alluvial fans which form concave patterns.
The combination of the two creates complex terrain features with convex
slopes combining with the concave The
importance of slope is on ease of travel, observation and fields of fire.
2. Geometry.
The geometric pattern of objects on the ground one to another create
opportunities and challenges for the commander.
This includes the concepts of lines of communication, of fronts, flanks, and rear, and of interior vs. exterior lines each with
tactical and operational mandates. These
concepts are the work of General Antoine-Henry Jomini. Of all the writers on
the art of war, his book “Art of War” is the primer for all others. This is one to commit to memory.
From his pen
to here;
Extracts from the Art of War by Antoine Jomini, available on
line at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13549)
SUMMARY
OF
THE ART OF WAR.
DEFINITION OF THE ART OF WAR
Jomini, Art of War, page 13
To recapitulate, the art of war
consists of six distinct parts:—
1. Statesmanship in its relation to
war.
2. Strategy, or the art of properly
directing masses upon the theater of war, either for defense or for invasion.
3. Grand Tactics.
4. Logistics, or the art of moving
armies.
5. Engineering,—the attack and
defense of fortifications.
6. Minor Tactics.
[Pg 14]It is
proposed to analyze the principal combinations of the first four branches,
omitting the consideration of tactics and of the art of engineering.
Familiarity with all these parts is
not essential in order to be a good infantry, cavalry, or artillery officer;
but for a general, or for a staff officer, this knowledge is indispensable.
Jomini, Art of War, page 75
Independently of its topographical
features, each theater upon which one or more armies operate is composed, for
both parties, as follows:—
1. Of a fixed base of operations.
2. Of a principal objective point.
3. Of fronts of operations,
strategic fronts, and lines of defense.
4. Of zones and lines of operations.
5. Of temporary strategic lines and
lines of communications.
6. Of natural or artificial
obstacles to be overcome or to oppose to the enemy.
7. Of geographical strategic points,
whose occupation is important, either for the offensive or defensive.
8. Of accidental intermediate bases
of operations between the objective point and the primary base.
9. Of points of refuge in case of
reverse.
 |
| Characters portrayed in "Kingdom of Heaven" by Ridley Scott |
Jomini, Art of War, Page 89
The decisive point of a battle-field
will be determined by,—
1. The features of the ground.
2. The relation of the local
features to the ultimate strategic aim.
3. The positions occupied by the
respective forces.
Jomini, Art of War, pages 101-104
It is somewhat different with lines
of operations, as they are divided into different classes, according to their
relations to the different positions of the enemy, to the communications upon
the strategic field, and to the enterprises projected by the commander.
Simple lines of operations are those
of an army acting from a frontier when it is not
subdivided into large independent bodies.
Double lines of operations are those
of two independent armies proceeding from the same frontier, or those of two
nearly equal armies which are commanded by the same general but are widely
separated in distance and for long intervals of time.[11]
Interior lines of operations are those
adopted by one or two armies to oppose several hostile bodies, and having such
a direction that the general can concentrate the masses and maneuver with his
whole force in a shorter period of time than it would require for the enemy to
oppose to them a greater force.[12]
Exterior lines lead to the opposite result, and are those formed by an
army which operates at the same time on both flanks of the enemy, or against
several of his masses.
Concentric lines of operations are those
which depart from [Pg 103]widely-separated points and
meet at the same point, either in advance of or behind the base.
Divergent lines are those
by which an army would leave a given point to move upon several distinct
points. These lines, of course, necessitate a subdivision of the army.
There are also deep lines,
which are simply long lines.
The term maneuver-lines I
apply to momentary strategic lines, often adopted for a single temporary
maneuver, and which are by no means to be confounded with the real lines of
operations.
Secondary lines are those
of two armies acting so as to afford each other mutual support,—as, in 1796,
the army of the Sambre and Meuse was secondary to the army of the Rhine, and,
in 1812, the army of Bagration was secondary to that of Barclay.
Accidental lines are those
brought about by events which change the original plan and give a new direction
to operations. These are of the highest importance. The proper occasions for
their use are fully recognized only by a great and active mind.
There may be, in addition, provisional
and definitive lines of operations. The first designate the line adopted
by an army in a preliminary, decisive enterprise, after which it is at liberty
to select a more advantageous or direct line. They seem to belong as much to
the class of temporary or eventual strategic lines as to the class of lines of
operations.
3. Psychology.
Battle
as Braggadocio
Being
culturally sensitive doesn’t necessarily mean being nice, or considerate, or
exceptionally nasty. Of the letters in
the acronym METT-TC that is the all-purpose checklist for planning and
adjusting operations from the Oval office to a foxhole in some far off
unpronounceable place.
MISSION, ENEMY, TERRAIN, TROOPS
AVAILABLE, TIME AND (CULTURE).
Culture,
as defined above, affects each of the other considerations including time,
terrain, troops, enemy, and ultimately the Mission. That includes battle:
The
purposes of battle as in actual engagements with fire and/or movement, is three
fold:
We
use battle as a method of persuasion by grabbing or smashing something of value
to either or both sides, and then brag about it. Sometimes, the bragging is the most important
part of it. Bragging raises your sides
morale, and saps the others. Better yet,
it gets the other side to do something stupid.
The
movie “Kingdom of Heaven” featuring the most telling of Templar Knights of the
age takes us from the Siege of Kerak to the disastrous defeat of the Crusades
at the Horns of Hattin.
 |
| Characters from Kingdom of Heaven |
Such
was too the case in the Battle at the Horns of Hattin in July 1187 by
Grandmaster Girard de Ridefort, our Grandmaster. His recent accession to the post from outside
the Order, an event always rife with contention over whose sword is
bigger. In his case, he countermanded,
contradicted, and confused the orders to the Army marching into a desert and
without water. All this likely to save face in his own eyes.
Guy
de Lusignan, also newly crowned King of Jerusalem (as portrayed in the movie)
was an arrogant “jock” with more body than brains. He was captured at Hattin and released by
Saladin, and broke his word not to fight, but wound up with Cypress as a
consolation prize his family ruled for another three hundred years. Considering that he had married his way onto
the throne, maybe he had a proper gene pool after all. His strength was in family values as in competitive
survival.
To
this potent mix, add Raynaud de Chatillon who also rose to prominence by his
prominence in expertise dans les affaires
d'amour
and married his way into prominence into positions of marital prominence in the
Latin Empire of Byzantium. He was
prominently involved in considerable raiding and pillaging those who got in his
way until he pillaged himself into Muslim prison for seventeen (17) years in
Aleppo. The Emperor Manuel bailed
Raynaud out of jail for 500 kg (1,100 lbs) of Gold in 1176.
Reynaud
aided King Baldwin IV (the leper king) to defeat Saladin at Montgisard. Later he
built raiding ships and raided the Red Sea to the gates of Medina. He escaped, but his crews were beheaded.
This
is a man with enormous energy, innovative, reckless to fault, and utterly
devoted to catch up with compensation for wrongs done to him and mete out
vengeance to those he could catch. His
cultural center of gravity Reynaud de
Chatilliion is an ideal example of a vicious cycle of the victim becoming the
victimizer
The
cultural template and drama diagrams of any given culture may assign a high
emotional content to certain geographic locations (Jerusalem, Mecca, Damascus,
Rome) which may or may not have much to do with military or economic
considerations. That they have social
significance makes them important to the Cultural Center of Gravity.
There is also a good chance that the “Cookie Jar” is also a Center of
Gravity” in the Clauswitzean sense around which important outcomes are
sought. The ports of the Levant were
the last to fall to Islam and the mainstay of the defense of Crusade
territory.
The Cultural Center of Gravity
(CCOG)
Given
these disparate persons and a tool to analyze their individual and collective
cultural strategies, it is possible to make estimates (SWAG) on the Cultural
Center of Gravity based on how each of the rules weigh against each other and
which dominate the survival strategies.
This
is a CCOG analysis diagram for a notional Knight Templar.
 |
| The Order was a military organization under the religious Rule of Bernard |
We
show here that the Social Status of fealty to the Cross and the Order is the
single strongest rule in accordance with the Rule of St Bernard de
Clairvaux. The travails of the physical
world as well as the pleasure is subordinate to the Rule. We find a similar emphasis with a notional
Saracen warrior of faith.
By
way of contrast, we can take a notional member of a crime family (Mafia, Corse,
Soprano, Yakuza, or Corleone) whose focus on “Da Business” as a set of
obligations in the acquisition of wealth and firepower. The issue of “face” is important in this
culture, insults to face can only be washed with blood and/or cash. The Cultural Center of Gravity shifts to the
right compared with the religious orders.
 |
| Based on a cultural analysis of the Corleone-Soprano Family |
The relation
between face, fortune, body and ground in this world is often quite literal.
Islam
Descent from Mohammed the Prophet is an inherent
legitimacy in Arab succession. That the
Arab keeps very close tabs on heredity issues is a direct carry over from
breeding the best horses in the world.
The comprehensive integration of Islamic law into political life grants
the interpreter of the will of Allah an edge in political affairs that can
supersede civil and political obligations.
 |
| The roles of hero and villain are reversed depending on being a hero or a villain |
The written works of Islam have provided a template for
governance, economics, and social life that has
had a long shelf life. The impact
of the Crusader presence in the Holy Land has made social and political
evolution more hesitant lest “crusader” influence will jeopardize Islam. This concern took a highly sophisticated in
science, the arts, and governance into eventually a more conservative and
controlling attitude towards innovation. The Ottoman presence reinforced that
to keep Turkish control over non-Turkish peoples.
That we have Sunni, Shi’a and Salafist competing factions
today after 1400 years, is a clue as to what counts as authority in Islam. The post WW1 departure of the Ottoman
authority which had assumed the
religious and political mantle of the Arab caliphates for over five hundred
years plus another two hundred under Seljuk Turkish rule left a vacuum for that
dual source of authority that combines both secular and religious.
The time of the Crusades marked the transition of Arab
caliphates from Arab control to various factions of Turkish control.
 |
| El Cid and Saladin |
The Turks who
had defeated and taken over the former Arab kingdoms and empires legitimized In
part by conversion to Islam, created “slave” armies with no previous
connections of blood or obligations that might rival the Sultans. The most famous of these were the Mameluks,
followed after the Crusades with the Janissaries. .
Saladin led a slave army to conquer
Egypt. These slave armies had an
undesirable habit of going independent as soon as the conquest was complete. Saladin established his own dynasty on such a
slave army. We know them as Mameluks, who Napoleon integrated into the French
Army. He used them to restore order when
order needed to be restored,
Temujin, the Genghis Khan
The succession of the tribal or clan CEO in
migrating or nomadic peoples was the survival of the survival of the most
dangerous. The China, India, the Middle
East, and Europe had little to fear from the Mongols unless an able warrior
climbed to the top of a pile of murdered relative and rivals. Such was Temujin, later called Genghis Khan
whose father was murdered. His mother and he were expelled from the tribe, and
left to fend for themselves in the wild.
 |
| From cast out, sold as a slave, double crossed to the emperor of history's largest empire (that's a lot of brown stamps) |
The extensive
grasslands of the Steppes provided the fodder to fuel the life style and war
across an entire continent. The terrain
was relatively flat so enormous wagons drawn by oxen carried huge Yurts filled
with supplies. This rich and flat land
promoted factionalism in tribes and families.
Genghis Khan
replaced the tribal basis of organization into multiples of ten, with
collective responsibility of the whole for the successes and failures of one.
He added a courier and reconnaissance capability, likely as a result of
contract with the advanced state of the military art in China. Promotion in the Mongol Hordes was based on
merit. Consequently, the quality of the
top leadership and the chain of command were world class above and beyond
anyone else’s.
 |
| Do it before it is done to you, and ride like the wind |
Later the Ottomans solved the problem of the loose
slave army problem by kidnapping Christian children into the Janissaries, an
elite and ferocious fighting force whose atrocities would make the SS turn
green with envy.
Hic desinit
lectio
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