Thanagal's Various Writings

[Thanagal]

A Sith's Role in War
By: Acolyte Thanagal

Preamble

This treatise is inspired by the writings of Neophyte Xulia Horuset, as available in the acolyte archives. In contrast to that piece, I write this one on my own initiative without having been tasked to do so. I accordingly am able to explore the topic in greater depth with no limitations of the assigned parameters of the task. I intend to take a broader, holistic view to this topic rather than just focusing on battlefield command. I shall instead examine in broad strokes the three main facets of modern warfare: Grand Strategy, Strategy, and Tactics. In each section I shall give an overview of the concept in general before going deeper into the particular facets of interest to the Sith in each of these areas of interest. This disquisition is to be understood in purely academic terms, I myself am no great warrior and lack much of any combat let alone war experience, this text is based entirely in my own review into this topic.

Grand Strategy

In war, a state’s Grand Strategy is the broad view of any and all means by which it attempts to accomplish its aims. This includes both military and non-military matters both during times of war and times of peace. It is to be understood in primarily instrumental terms, the policy goals (or ends) that the strategy seeks to meet are set forth separately from it by the appropriate mechanisms of government of the state. Grand strategy is accordingly the discipline of aligning means to ends, marshalling the relevant resources, organizing in the relevant ways and making the relevant decisions. The compiling of a Grand Strategy requires a holistic rather than a compartmentalizing view, one must ‘see the whole board’. An effective Grand Strategist knows how to effectively wield and coordinate military doctrine, force readiness, military production, civilian production, domestic compliance and propaganda, internal security, external intelligence, diplomacy, scientific development, resource management, and much much more.

Introducing the Sith into Grand Strategy adds a few extra facets to consider in relation to this. Firstly Sith are warriors and thusly a military asset to be wielded, their raw skill as killers both on a battlefield and as part of special forces being nearly unmatched. Secondly, Sith are beings of great influence, capable of swaying and manipulating through guile and diplomacy, capable of commanding loyalty in their subjects and uncovering secrets from their enemies. Within the Horuset Powerbase itself we see this manifest with the various Pentarch’s themselves showcasing the various kinds of influence a Sith can wield and the various domains and areas in which they can become experts. Lastly, Sith are beings of dominance, by their nature it is expected they will rise to positions of power and function themselves both as the Grand Strategists and as the setters of policy on which the Grand Strategist acts. It is accordingly the duty of the Sith to study Grand Strategy, to learn to think holistically rather than narrowly and to familiarize themselves with the practical facets of rulership rather than confining themselves to mystical minutiae.

Strategy

Strategy, sometimes called Theatre Strategy or Operational Strategy is the level just below Grand Strategy. More narrowly focused on the actual conduct of war, strategy deals with the orchestration and conduction of whole military campaigns. The same relation Grand Strategy has to policy and ends, strategy has to Grand Strategy. The Grand Strategy sets forth the broad military objectives to be achieved and the parameters in terms of material available and strategy is therefore the art of effectively wielding these resources as effectively and as efficiently as possible to achieve said goals. One could write a thousand volumes on strategy and its various applications, from troop movement and deployment to deception and formation and command structure and offensive and defensive primacy and so on and so forth. There is accordingly also a broad based view that needs to be taken when considering strategy, as there exist a thousand paths to the goal of ultimate victory. When it comes to the Sith within this domain, one naturally may consider the position of the Sith Commander. Sith are often in positions of command, controlling entire fleets and invasions. Following in Sith teachings such commanders lack many of the qualms others would when engaging in warfare. They are willing to sacrifice much to achieve victory, willing to take many losses to crush their enemy. They focus on total domination of their enemy as opposed to small scale and roundabout victories. In pursuit of this goal they are fond of using guile and terror, infiltrating the enemy, sowing chaos, destruction and fear on their Homefront. The Sith however are not a monolith in this regard, some focus on more diplomatic approaches even within the context of direct warfare, some take an effort to primarily secure strategic resources rather than total domination.

Another facet of the Sith view in strategy can be seen in the Sith code itself which places as one of its goals victory, the same ultimate goal of any strategy. The code guides the Sith into following their passions with every action and utilizing those passions to strengthen themselves and through this strength they achieve power, domination over reality and others. In strategy these facets manifest in Sith military organizational structures, the Sith demand supreme loyalty from their subordinates and enforce that loyalty through their will. They manifest this will not only internally with their own but also externally against their enemies. To a Sith, warfare is a manifestation of their will, pure force wielded to enact their own desires upon existence. When done properly, the Sith code teaches, one achieves victory. Victory under the Sith code is seen rather similarly to how it is seen in strategy. Under the Sith code the victor can forge truth and fiction, declare what is real and forge things in accordance with their own will, just like the view in strategy where victory is not a single universally defined thing but is rather in accordance with the policy in question and its stated goals and objectives.

Tactics

Tactics is the art of war on the level of the particular battle or engagement. It shares the same relationship to strategy above it as discussed before. The strategy details the goals, the meaning of victory in the relevant battle or engagement and assigns the available means by which to achieve it. On this level we see the ‘on the ground’ considerations that effective field commanders must contend with. Coordinating positioning, support (in the form of air support or escorts), maneuvers, feints, logistics and morale among others. The field commander must manage all these as well as often engaging in the battle themselves in various roles while also coordinating with the higher levels. It is often wrongly assumed that tactics is a matter simpler than strategy or Grand Strategy because it is often the domain of lower ranks. This is a grave mistake, tactics are in many ways more complex, involving difficult real time analysis and decision making. The reason for the lopsided arrangement of experience and skill to position is mostly because one has a larger impact the higher up one goes rather than it being a matter of the requirements in terms of skill and ability. 

When it comes to the Sith specifically as field commanders their uniqueness comes primarily in psychological effects. While they are doubtlessly powerful warriors they possess a unique acumen in causing abject terror in their enemies on the battlefield, both through conventional means and through training and skill with the force. This psychological aspect manifests itself in their own troops as well, many who’d prefer death against the enemy than the wrath of their own commander. Soldiers under the command of Sith are accordingly very unlikely to desert or show cowardice. In addition to this consideration there is much that can be said about unique tactical applications of the force and the varied abilities it grants, particularly when considering sorcery and alchemy open whole new avenues which are hardly thought of in conventional circles.

Conclusion

Thus concludes my cursory examination of the primary facets of warfare and the particularly unique points of consideration for the Sith within them. I feel this broader base view which takes into accounts the multiple levels on which warfare is considered does greater justice to the topic. There exist many more areas to expand upon, each term used can be the subject of a treatise in its own right and should it be seen fit I look forward to expansive deliberation on this topic and its varied considerations.