Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

(guerrilla) war. This resulted in modern guerrilla warfare, which has become a comprehensivepolitical, economic, social and military framework for “total” war 67 . In all Boyd recognizedsimilar elements such as a focus on disrupting enemy cohesiveness, use of small shockelements, the exploitation of surprise, the importance of timing and tempo and a focus onenemy weaknesses. And in all again he sees the direct logical connection between actions andthe psychological dimension of war.Boyd next provides a brief introduction on the first, a 20 pages exposé on Blitzkrieg,and Boyd only briefly addresses Mao’s version of guerrilla warfare, leaving a more detaileddiscussion for later when he describes modern guerrilla warfare developments. Beforeembarking on a 20 page long expose on Blitzkrieg, Soviet Revolutionary Strategy is dealtwith in only three pages. Boyd defined the communist task Lenin and Stalin had set as thedestruction of capitalism as well as its offspring imperialism and replace it with dictatorshipof the proletariat. Then he lists the unique features marking their brand of strategic teaching,citing Lenin frequently 68 . This starts with a phase in which the public mood is the target andthe aim is to create, magnify and exploit seams in the societal fabric:Employ agitation and propaganda in order to exploit opposing tendencies, internaltensions, etc. Object is to bring about a crisis, to make revolution ripe as well asconvince masses that there is a way out. This is accomplished when the vanguard is ableto:- Fan discontent/misery of working class and masses and focus it as hatred towardexisting system.- Cause vacillation/indecision among authorities so that they cannot come to gripswith existing instability.- “Confuse other elements in society so that they don’t know exactly what ishappening or where the movement is going”.- Convince “proletariat class they have a function - the function of promotingrevolution in order to secure the promised ideal society”.Select “the moment for the decisive blow, the moment for starting the insurrection, sotimed as to coincide with the moment when the crisis has reached its climax, when thevanguard is prepared to fight to the end, the reserves are prepared to support thevanguard, and maximum consternation reigns in the ranks of the enemy”.Boyd refers to quotes from Lenin for describing when this moment - a “tipping point” inmodern parlance - has been reached:“All the class forces hostile to us have become sufficiently entangled, are sufficiently atloggerheads, have sufficiently weakened themselves in a struggle which is beyond theirstrength”;“All the vacillating, wavering, unstable, intermediate elements - the petty bourgeoisie,the petty-bourgeois democrats as distinct from the bourgeois - have sufficiently exposedthemselves in the eyes of the people, have sufficiently disgraced themselves throughtheir practical bankruptcy”;“Among the proletariat a mass sentiment in favor of supporting the most determined,supremely bold, revolutionary action against the bourgeoisie has arisen and has begun togrow vigorously. Then revolution is indeed ripe. Then, indeed, if we have correctly67 Ibid, p.66.68 Ibid, pp.67-68.197