Strategy and Tactics are a pivotal part of both old and modern warfare, remaining fairly consistent due to the influence of Napoleonic Warfare that dominated Europe. Carl von Clausewitz defined military strategy as "the employment of battles to gain the end of war"1. Strategy and tactics have contributed greatly to changing the nature of warfare having varying levels of effect during the wars between 1845 and 1991. This can in part be attributed to significant advances in technology as well as developments in communication and transport which have also had varying degrees of importance between these periods.
The Crimean War was an example of limited warfare, highlighting the need for a strategy of defence in a war where attack was at the forefront. Against the dated Napoleonic tactics of the Russians, the British and the French were able to initially dominate the war. Lacking mobility, the war was dominated by the use of trenches and cavalry charges. The Charge of the Light Brigade highlighted the ineffectiveness of an outdated cavalry centric strategy with the cavalry unable to cope against the unprecedented strengths of modern weaponry. The strategy was plagued with miscommunication, and despite making use of advances in technology and strategy the resulting events were not favourable. …show more content…
had adverse effects on morale but army generals had accepted the inevitability mass death adapting tactics to account for this. Trench warfare in ww1 created an environment where "the weapons of defence were stronger than the weapons of attack" with the machine gun dominating the battlefield. Trench wa tactics exploited the strengths of "the master of the battlefield" giving soldiers crossine No Man 's Land almost no chance of survival and the ability to mass produce weapons made their effects even more
The Crimean War was an example of limited warfare, highlighting the need for a strategy of defence in a war where attack was at the forefront. Against the dated Napoleonic tactics of the Russians, the British and the French were able to initially dominate the war. Lacking mobility, the war was dominated by the use of trenches and cavalry charges. The Charge of the Light Brigade highlighted the ineffectiveness of an outdated cavalry centric strategy with the cavalry unable to cope against the unprecedented strengths of modern weaponry. The strategy was plagued with miscommunication, and despite making use of advances in technology and strategy the resulting events were not favourable. …show more content…
had adverse effects on morale but army generals had accepted the inevitability mass death adapting tactics to account for this. Trench warfare in ww1 created an environment where "the weapons of defence were stronger than the weapons of attack" with the machine gun dominating the battlefield. Trench wa tactics exploited the strengths of "the master of the battlefield" giving soldiers crossine No Man 's Land almost no chance of survival and the ability to mass produce weapons made their effects even more