General
This essay focuses deeply on the question of why “Western way of war“ becomes so dominant. The essay summarizes the several answers to the question above starting from the origins said to be classical Greece and Rome to middle ages all the way to world wars and the Gulf wars (Parker 4). The practices of the western war have been noted to reappear generation after generation hence becoming the history of western victory. The explanations of why the current western armies don’t fear any external force apart from themselves. How the patterns of change and where they are experienced in the western way of war are determined.
Supporting points on the subject
The author describes some qualities which emphasized and made the western way of war most outstanding. Firstly, the existence of the advanced technology, there were excellent weapons and armor which were used by the western people. This left them outstanding from one generation to the other. Superior discipline was another quality among the soldiers (Parker 7). Several effective trainings were conducted and the trainees were willing and ready to be trained, this made the soldiers to far ahead as they knew what was expected of them and united. Ingenuity in response, there was a repeated brilliant tradition which was not originated from the government or religion. This led to continuous improvement among the military challenge. Civic militarism made the preferences of the citizens to be considered as they participated in military decision making, this made the military to grow stronger through the support of the citizens. There was a quality of decisive engagement which made the military to face their enemies head on and later resolve that fight quickly and decisively (Parker 11). The dominance of infantry, there was notions that even the strongest men, or men with horses, or with missiles they cannot win the war alone. The men who were going to the field were well cared for through the collected taxes, and borrowed money and enough materials to be used by these men in the field for a very long time. Finally, there was a moral opposition to militarism, different groups from religions, politics and arts demanded for justification and explicit explanation concerning the war. They used such information to regularly question and even arrest those who tried to apply the restricted ways in the military force. All in all war was not regarded as the preferred course of events but termed as a tragedy among humankind. Out of the above qualities only four of them which determine how deep and classical the western way of war should be perceived. They include technology, civic militarism, open deliberation, and capital.
Significance
The continual use of the advanced technology is very essential and a well realized goal. During the First World War the machine guns were introduced in European by Germans. By the year 1914 armies were unknowingly depending on weapons such as riffles and machine guns (Parker 9). The use of machine took over and motivating them became irrelevant in all ways for them to win the battle they only needed enough water and bullets. The continuity of superior discipline is expected as with training and respect of one another are very crucial. There is always a high possibility for a poorly trained unit to loose in critical moments as they are caught up by unexpected events. Discipline plays a great role in uniting together members of a unit. Currently, in every organizational level ingenuity in response is applicable in all war fighting experiences.
Works Cited
Parker, G. The Western Way of War. In The Cambridge History of Warfare, 1–11. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.