Re: Auftragstaktik

Karl wrote:

>and Caesar may have written
>his commentaries to justify his actions to the Roman public ( OK, to
>the Roman nobility)

Nope, you got it right the first time, Caesar was writing for the people
of Rome, he cared not one whit what the nobility thought provided they
backed him...which most failed to do hence the Rubicon and all that
followed (but the people didn't mind because Caesar had succesfully
wooed them to his side!).

Go back further to the Punic wars, and before that to the Peloponesian
war, all of which were heavily politically motivated, and influenced.
Politics is the major influence on whether wars are won or lost, history
is very clear on that. The demagogues in of the Athenian democracy and
the consequent catastrophe at Syracuse are a perfect example of this.

Regards,

Matt Tope