Averting Hollywood Tactics

So I'm considering writing a war story but I don't want to seen uninformed about the technical side of war that doesn't deal explicitly with the lives of the soldiers. I'm talking about tactics and equipment, as well as organization. Is there any good way (preferably an easy way) to start learning about what competent military strategy and leadership would look like?

Ask soldiers. Nobody would know better than the people who do this all their lives. Read up on battles set in the period most like your own story, see what went wrong or what was done right and learn from that.

Read history.

I personally would suggest reading some stuff related to the Art Of War if you wish to portray tactics right as well as how to treat one's troops. Likewise, I'd say look to books on war strategy & tactics.

Ninja'd. I was about to mention the Art of War.

Plus, good old common sense can go really far.

What time period are you looking for? Depending on your answer, I may be able to help!

Another, less well known but nonetheless essential (IMO) read for strategy is Clausewitz's Vom Krieg (On War), in particular his discussion of the concept of "friction".

You all do realize that strategy and tactics are different things?

Yes, I do.

However, in the sense of the trope, if memory serves I've seen it being used to describe both strategy and tactics - hence I am just generalising for the sake of avoiding unwieldiness.

Yes, but the OP specifically said:

which is why I think it's a bit odd that people are offering famous works on strategy.

Well, to my understanding there aren't really any famous works on tactics per se. Furthermore, it is difficult to recommend more specialised works without knowing what era he is gunning for. Or to put it another way, Medieval tomes are of limited use to someone writing a modern war story and the same is true of field manuals if applied to a fantasy work.

This is a good starting point if you want to make warfare accurate to a certain time period.

The Art of War and Vom Krieg are both fantastic works on general strategy, but applying their adages to the tactical level can be difficult. Strategy is an art; tactics are a science. (Operational art is their bastard offspring.) See Strategy Versus Tactics.

(Note that Hollywood Tactics is a catchall term that can refer to mistakes made at the grand-strategic/strategic/operational scale, not just the tactical scale.)

Tactics 101 would depend on the era of history you want to study; how a company of troops fights will depend on a whole host of factors. Also recommended are works on economic history (which will affect how they're provisioned and sustained), technological history (their equipment), social history (the composition of the men), and the like. Military history is something that requires you to draw from all disciplines of history to understand.

edited 20th Nov '14 1:58:57 PM by sabresedge

• Cracks knuckles**

Ask any question. I will answer.

Or technically, I'll relay your questions to my buddies who'll answer, since I know nothing (Jon Snow). They have extensive experience in modern weaponry (know a gunsmith), modern tactics (know a tank gunner and a former recon marine) or general knowledge (most of my friends).

But other than answering questions, honestly I can't really give you any good sources besides knowing someone with lots of practical knowledge, like a Marine or someone from Special Forces, who are willing to answer questions.

Also, if you want answers on specifics, there's the Military Thread in OTC and Sky-High over in Yack Fest for questions on the what, and the Combat-Writing Thread over here in Writer's Block for how to depict. (As it stands, though, none of the three locations will be able to help you with your initial question because it's far too broad to answer.)

A brief reminder is the immortal adage: "History is more stupid than fiction."

In other words, Hollywood Tactics sometimes prove to be Truth in Television. Not all military commanders are sane, reasonable, knowledgeable people.