Limited war
A limited war is a war carried out by a state that uses less than its total resources and has a goal of less than total defeat of the enemy.[1] It is very often the high cost of war that makes limited war more practical than total war.[2]
In a limited war, a state's total survival does not depend on the outcome of the war. For example, when Augustus sent his Roman legions to conquer Germania, the fate of the Roman Republic was not at stake.[2] Since 1945, nuclear weapons have made limited war become the normal type of warfare.[3]
The United States has a strategic position that has made since World War II find itself involved in a number of limited wars.[4] The Korean, the Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq were all examples of limited wars.[4]
The goal of at least one of the parties in a limited war is to maintain its freedom and to preserve itself.[3] The strategy that is often used, especially against a much stronger enemy, is to draw out the fighting until the other side gets tired and finally decides to quit.[3]
That worked for George Washington in the American Revolutionary War.[3] Although the British Army was the strongest army in the world at the time, the war dragged out until the British got tired of the war draining its resources.[3]
The Taliban and other Islamist groups today keep their wars going trying to wear out their enemies in the Western world.[3]
Problems
Limited wars are rarely successful.[5] From the time of the Roman Republic to modern times, limited warfare has usually not had the desired results.[5] It also runs contrary to what military leaders are taught, which is to win at all costs. Those who make policy often choose the middle ground of limited war when faced with decisions between total war or do nothing at all.[5] The only problem with doing nothing is the example of Adolf Hitler.[6] While the world powers did nothing, he continued to invade weaker countries until finally a world war was all that could stop him.[6]
| “ | “In war, there is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy, in the minimum amount of time.” General George S. Patton.[7] | ” |
Historical examples
The concept of limited war is not new.[8] The military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) wrote about two kinds of war. One kind has its the goal being the total destruction of an enemy. When that is not possible, the other kind is limited war,[8] often because one of the parties to the war does not have the capability of completely annihilating their enemy.[8]
The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), World War I (1914-19) and World War II (1939-1945) are examples of total wars.[8] Any war that is limited by geography, resources, or goals or is intentionally limited by the participants is a limited war.[8]
- The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought between Russia on one side and France, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire on the other side.[9] It was a limited war, limited mainly by geography.[10] From 1815 to 1854, Britain and Russia were the two main world powers.[11] In September 1854, the allies invaded Crimea to protect the Ottomans from Russia.[9] Britain used its shipssl to control the region. In 1855, the allies captured Sevastopol, but they did not have the manpower to capture all of Crimea. Russia was bankrupt and could not continue fighting. Emperor Alexander II of Russia finally agreed to the peace demands and signed the Treaty of Paris in 1856.[9]
- The Falklands War (1982) was an example of a limited war that was limited by geography, time, and means.[12] After a long dispute over ownership with the United Kingdom, Argentina had its troops invaded the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982.[13] On June 14, 1982, the Argentine forces in the Falklands surrendered.[13] On June 20, the British declared the war was ended.[13] Despite the settlement, Argentina still maintains claims on the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.[13]
- The Vietnam War (1955–1975) was fought between North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union, China and North Korea, and South Vietnam, supported by the United States, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The conflict between communist and capitalist countries was both part of the Cold War and a proxy war. American leaders did not recognize Vietnam as a limited war,[14] which is clear from the Pentagon Papers in 1961 and 1962.[14] Instead, they focused on how to engage in fighting a war guerilla forces[14] and thought the solution lay in military operations and in political [eforms.[14] At first, the Americans began to send military advisors to help train and support the South Vietnamese Army. After the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, the President of the United States was given the power to run large-scale military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war. After 58,193 American deaths in Vietnam, US President Richard Nixon decided to get out of Vietnam. Under the Paris Peace Accords, which were signed on January 27, 1973, American military forces withdrew from South Vietnam, and prisoners-of-war were exchanged. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and the war ended.
References
- ↑ "limited war". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ian Bertram (13 September 2016). "The Return of Limited War". RealClearDefense.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Taylor Dinerman (27 October 2011). "The Limits of Limited War". Gatestone Institute. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Spencer D. Bakich, Success and Failure in Limited War: Information and Strategy in the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Iraq Wars (Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2014), p. 2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 David Ignatius (9 October 2014). "The problem with America's limited wars". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Hitler's Aggression: Could Adolf Hitler have been Deterred from Launching WWII?". U.S. History in Context. Gale Cengage Learning. Retrieved 17 September 2016.[dead link]
- ↑ Ron Ewart. "Sacrifice of American lives where their sacrifice was and is essentially for naught". Canada Free Press. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Misconception of Limited War". Academia. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 J. Rickard. "Crimean War, 1853-1856". The History of War. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ Andrew Lambert, The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy against Russia, 1853–56 (Farnham, Surrey, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2011), p. 33
- ↑ Andrew Lambert, The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy against Russia, 1853–56 (Farnham, Surrey, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2011), p. iv
- ↑ Lawrence D. Freedman (Fall 1982). "Reconsiderations: The War of the Falkland Islands, 1982". Foreign Affairs Magazine. Council on Foreign Relations, Inc. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Kennedy Hickman. "The Falklands War: An Overview". About Education. About, Inc. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Stephen Peter Rosen, 'Vietnam and the American Theory of Limited War', International Security, Vol. 7, No. 2, (MIT Press, Fall, 1982), p. 88