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Understanding Americas Wars
In order to fully understand any war, we must develop the ability to break down the war and
understand it at its core components.
When exploring any war we will need to consider the following criteria.
Consider this quote by the famed 19th century Prussian philosopher of war Carl von Clausewitz:
“Everything in war is simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and
end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war.”
Some causes of friction are powerful, constant, and obvious. These would include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Geography
Climate
Technology (firepower)
Politics
Genius of man
The five forces above are constants throughout the history of war. There are however, forces
of friction that impact war and vary throughout American history. Consider these factors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Economics
Social issues
Alliances
Values: (freedom, oppression, liberty)
Cultural forces
As we advance in this course we will be studying both “wars” and “battles”. War speaks to a
broader sense of conflict between opposing forces that often times consists of a large number
of individual battles. For example, the American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865,
the war is filled with famous battles such as Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Shiloh. Wars are often
fought in various theatres as well; consider World War II, which was fought in the Pacific
Theatre, the North African-Mediterranean Theatre, and the European Theatre. These various
theatres often consist of individual battles such as the Battle of Midway Island in the Pacific
Theatre of WWII.
As we dissect wars, theatres, and battles, I want us to consider this matrix as the basis of our
understanding. Our goal will be to develop an understanding of each of the wars in American
History, while understanding the individual battles that make up the war.
War: Battle of Salamis (Example)
Dates
Cause
Adversaries
Locations
Seminal Event
Political Factors
Technology
External Factors
 Economic
 Social
 Cultural
Wars Outcome
480 B.C.E
Persian King Xerxes the Great moved against the city states of Greece
(Athens and Sparta at Thermopylae). Greek colonization into Turkey
(Persian lands) aroused the Persian animosity that had been building in
Persia since the defeat at Marathon 10 years earlier.
The Greek Polis (Athens, Sparta, et al, v. Persia)
Thermopylae and the Saronic Gulf near the Island of Salamis, just west of
Athens.
 300 Spartan Hoplites sacrificed themselves to buy time for the
Greek naval forces.
 Thanks to a brilliant naval siege at the straits of Salamis the
Athenians were able to neutralize the overwhelming size advantage
of the Persian forces.
 Themistocles naval strategy.
A vein of silver had been discovered in 485 B.C.E. The popular opinion of
the Athenian assembly had been to divide the extraordinary wealth
amongst the Athenian citizenry. Rising to challenge this view was the
Athenian naval commander Themistocles. Themistocles devised a plan to
use the 100 talents of silver to instead build a fleet of triremes.
Themistocles was able to convince the Athenians that they should focus the
100 talents on building a fleet not to rival the Persians, as that would have
created hysteria, but rather to focus their efforts on combating the
potential danger posed by the neighboring city-state of Aegena.
The Persians, content to rely on their extraordinary battalion of marine
forces had no counter to the strength of the new Athenian force of
Triremes. Triremes were the fastest ships of the day equipped with a 6
foot bronze battering ram at the tip. The maneuverability of the trireme
enabled them to bear down on the Persian ships without mercy. The
larger, slower, and less maneuverable Persian navy had no chance of
combating the triremes.
As Persian forces mounted the Oracle at Delphi proved crucial to
understanding the need for the triremes, as when the oracle was consulted
by the Athenian assembly the message was clear. “Find safety behind the
wooden walls” making “vague” reference to the walls of the Athenian
citadel. However, Themistocles had a different interpretation; he referred
to the walls of the oracle as not the city’s walls, but their new fleet of
triremes.
Athens was able to level the Persian navy, preventing the Persians from
keeping open their supply lines. Persia battling the famed Spartan hoplites
on land, until the Persian marines realized that they had no choice but to
retreat to Persepolis. The Athenians with their extraordinary new weapon,
the Trireme, were now able to reign completely supreme in the
Mediterranean. Persia, despite its size would not be able to match the
Athenians on the seas, and had grown disinterested in battling the Spartans
any further! The power in the region had shifted dramatically towards the
Greek city states, Athens and Sparta would co-exist as regional powers
occupying the same peninsula.
Battle Studies: Battle of Thermopylae
War
Who
What
Where
When
Why
Seminal Event
Outcome
Greco-Persian Wars (Battles of Salamis and Thermopylae)
Persian marines and Spartan Hoplites under the command of the
Spartan King Leonidas
Spartans maintaining control of the strait of Thermopylae until
Greek forces could gather and converge on the Persians.
By the spring of 480 Xerxes' army had reached Macedonia in the
north of Greece. In response a contingent of 300 Spartans and
several thousand allies were sent to occupy the narrow mountain
pass of Thermopylae, not far from the Greek fleet that was anchored
off the nearby coast at Artemisium.
Spring of 480
To halt the Persian offensive in Northern Greece and preserve the
safety of Athens and Sparta.
The Spartans were killed to the last man, mainly by vast clouds of
Persian arrows. The messenger sent by Xerxes said: "be warned, our
arrows will blot out the sun". To which one of Leonidas' man,
Dieneces, answered: "Good, then we will fight in the shade".
It was a suicide mission, designed to detain the Persians just long
enough for the rest of the Greek allies to gather their forces. Led by
King Leonidas, the Spartans heroically held the Persians at bay for
nearly a week until - outnumbered, betrayed and outflanked - they
were finally defeated.
Battle Studies:
War
Who
What
Where
When
Why
Seminal Event
Outcome
Battle Studies:
War
Who
What
Where
When
Why
Seminal Event
Outcome