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It's not enough that the imperial superprofits will never result in a peace dividend, you can't even buy guns right.

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[-] 9to5@hexbear.net 72 points 4 days ago

Hyper militaristic society. Wages one war. Loses.

[-] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 36 points 4 days ago

Ain't that fascism in a nutshell?

[-] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 27 points 4 days ago

If I remember correctly, treating war as a boring logistics war (as callous as it is) is arguably MORE effective than what fascists want.

Be the biggest baddest dude and you win from sheer badassery.

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 38 points 4 days ago

Military history can be summed up by one group going "War is best fought by a bunch of people who would rather be doing literally anything else, like accountants, teachers, engineers, and logistics managers", followed by another tough guy going "Nah, war is about me being a glorious badass, and... ARGH! I'm dead!"

[-] Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 37 points 4 days ago

"Nah, war is about me being a glorious badass, and...

ARGH! I'm dead!"

I feel there's a mid-point here where they're like "Hey these guys can fight back! That's cheating! No fair!"

Basically the response of ex-military who went to Ukraine and were crying about Russians having air support; also the response of military today that Iran can give them a bloody nose

[-] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 14 points 4 days ago

That’s the one I’m looking for!

[-] alexei_1917@hexbear.net 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

"I am supposed to be teaching ninth grade history, not fighting a war!"

"Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."


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[-] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 29 points 4 days ago

Clausewitz talks about this at length, 90% of success in war is making sure shit's in the right place at the right time.

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 25 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It's funny that Clausewitz became *the war guy' when his career consists of the Rhine campaign (Had to be bailed out by the Austrians), the war of the fourth coalition (loss), working a background role as the Prussian army was reformed along Napoleonic line, defecting to Russia and participated in one battle that he lost, going home to Prussia to negotiate Prussia betraying their alliance with France so he could participate in the battle of Ligny (loss) and the battle of Wavre (loss) at which point he retired from combat.

He was involved in a battle that resulted in the occupation of a major European capital 2 times on the losing side.

[-] Collatz_problem@hexbear.net 22 points 4 days ago

TBH, he never commanded himself, just was a staff officer, and wrote a book drawing from his experiences on the dumb shit that resulted in defeats.

[-] Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago
[-] Keld@hexbear.net 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

He spent most of his time as a teacher on sick leave because he was shitting out his doo doo ass, and most of the work on the thing he's most known for ("On War") was done by his wife while she was also busy having two other jobs. Incidentally she also got him his promotion to colonel and his teaching job.

The man was hard carried through life by his wife.

[-] Mindfury@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago

I was about to say "well, at least he had the ability to self-reflect and write about why he lost and all the fuckups he made" and then you reveal that it was all his wife lmao

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I'm not saying he didn't do anything for his magnum opus. That would be unfair. But his wife finished his magnum opus after he died leaving a bunch of unfinished manusccripts and a bunch of notes and got the result published.

[-] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 2 points 3 days ago

For all of his faults, it seems he was a good husband. And sometimes, that is all that counts.

[-] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

He clearly has a lot of experience losing, so he knows what's the opposite

[-] 9to5@hexbear.net 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

You got it ...Thats it. Thats the meme

[-] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 28 points 4 days ago

Surprisingly common occurrence.

[-] Lussy@hexbear.net 24 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Honestly, what the fuck are chuds doing if this is the result of their hog lives?

Like, admittedly, most leftists in this country are pencil necks with ZERO training, and yet we’re not far behind as a fighting force. Imagine if we did train lmao they fight for nothing, they’d be fucked

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 31 points 4 days ago

In an actual firefight, most chuds would die the second they had to run into cover.

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 31 points 4 days ago

History has proven over and over again that those who romanticize war fucking suck at war.

[-] NinaPasadena@hexbear.net 18 points 4 days ago

Almost always the best at war are those who will try not to fight it

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

Is that a quote? I know ive read something almost exactly the same by someone before. Probably just cause im far from the first person to notice this. Telling your populace they have an enemy that is weak snd strong at the ssme time can work until they meet the enemy, who time and time again turns out to know what the fuck theyre doing in their own land and csn defend it quite well or at least make every victory as empty and strategically meaningless as possible. And much like their prison system, the people they unfairly expose to war end out getting better at it.

Its a piss poor doctrine cause that's what gets the doctrine guys paid the most for the longest time. Those who profit from war usually also suck at conducting it. A big major trick to beong good at war id having a fucking goal.

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

I mean, sounds kinda like Sun Tzu's whole "win without fighting".

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 11 points 4 days ago

All the people they lost against still suffered devastatingly while the American citizen was just fine and dandy. They fought a lot and materially and human cost wise lost quite a bit more in comparison. America hust didnt get what it wanted after killing all those people. They can force a vert pyrric victory

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 2 points 4 days ago

I meant that's what the quote sounds like.

[-] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Sun Tzu's whole thing for that is basically, before you decide to go to war, make sure you understand exactly what you are trying to achieve first. Which is literally basic effective project management tactics in a nutshell.

If you can achieve that objective without ever having to field soldiers, then you should always achieve it without fielding soldiers. As well, fighting simply to fight is not a good enough reason, as you will usually lose to the defender's advantage, even if you have vastly superior numbers and technology. It is better to use the threat of overwhelming force to force your opposition to do something than actually test it, as warfare can be extremely unpredictable, like casting dice on a craps table. Moreover, any amount of damage you sustain, even if you are victorious, leaves you vulnerable to a third party who did not participate in the conflict.

The annals of history are littered with the corpses of empires who defeated their primary political opposition in war, only to lose to a player that wasn't even considering playing the board until the other two players had weakened themselves.

[-] hotcouchguy@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago

an enemy that is weak and strong at the same time

Makes the whole "know your enemy" thing a lot more difficult

[-] NinaPasadena@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago

Not quoting anyone directly tho like you I'm sure I'm not the first to say this or express this sentiment

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago

Something about it is dettimg off my 'ive resd this somewhere else' brain. It felt like a wuote by someone who i probably should remember. Most likely a coincidence but now I wanna know who it reminded me of, cause its someone

[-] Enjoyer_of_Games@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It's almost certainly some paraphrasing of Sun Tzu.

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Copying Sun Tzu's homework is a pretty common way to write wise leader characters. You've probably seen a dozen variations on this.

[-] NinaPasadena@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago

Well definitely let me know if you find out... Curious who I am channeling...

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 15 points 4 days ago

The closest person I can think of who's an exception is Napoleon Bonaparte, and even then, there's still more to it than that.

[-] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 1 points 3 days ago

Except Napoleon didn't romanticize war before he fought in it. Big difference.

[-] Lussy@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

They would fight by making marketing slogans and setting narratives as they get shot

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

They wouldn't even bother to leave their porches

this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
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