[Featured Article] The Art of NS War

[Jenrak]

Long overdue, but I feel like credit should be given where it deserves it.

[Syvorji]

Nice thread, but it feels like it has already been covered in the stickies. Copy and paste, plus making it conversational just encourages godmodding. I prefer my booze or info, for that matter, nice and straight, and I mean by the info it enjoys. While the style is good, the info is already covered.

[Paddy O Fernature]

Dear Op,

I would like to thank you for making this wonderful little thread. It is stylish, easy on the eyes, and presents the information in a fun yet effective way for new nations such as myself to understand and digest. I would like to take this time and extend a warm and heart felt thank you for taking the time to do this.

Keep up the good work.

[Jenrak]

Nice thread, but it feels like it has already been covered in the stickies. Copy and paste, plus making it conversational just encourages godmodding. I prefer my booze or info, for that matter, nice and straight, and I mean by the info it enjoys. While the style is good, the info is already covered.

Well, it's an interesting take, I would gander, on the war thing, and while the info is already covered, that's also a partially fallacious argument mainly because we've had guides on war for the longest times, and they still get posted up because there's still people out there RPing it poorly.

It's also a fun read.

[Cyrupe]

It felt like it was indeed long overdue. Thank you for sticking this up, Jenrak and thank you for writing it well over a year ago Daehanjeiguk. Hopefully it will help some players as it contains advice (I feel) is very valuable to even the casual NationStates player.

[Mimic]

want a war bring it on ya baby

What a thoughtful and eye-opening post. I'm sure you will prove a valuable contributor to the II community.

[Nydaria]

The concept of war in NS is a sticky one. War is about absolutes, rather than balance. A nations military focuses itself on victory. if both sides are hell bent on victory, there's little point to RPing it.

Sometimes I feel that a more proficient manner would be to lay out ones abilities, disposition and operational plan, and allow outsiders to make judgement, however random and arbitrary, as much of war is sheer luck.

[Anagonia]

You would make Sun Tzu proud!....if he knew about Nationstates and all the other factors, no doubt.

[Scalietti]

tag

TAGGING IS SPAM.

The One-Stop Rules Shop says it all:

*Tag*ing: Creating a post whose sole content was *tag* was a useful search tool on the old forums. No more. Now that we have the "thread subscription" feature (it's in your Profile and a menu option on every thread), there is no further need for *tag* posts. Excessive use of Tags is considered spam.

If any rules-lawyer wants to argue with you that one measly little tag isn't "excessive", rules-lawyer them back by pointing to this as a mod ruling.

[Kroitzheim]

How does someone "start" a war on here, I mean, actually get combat going, is it some seperate program or something, seriously, fill me in.

[The Murtunian Tribes]

War on NS is waged in one of two ways. The first is strictly roleplaying and will take place in the forums, either here or in your own, and has no measurable in-game effects. The second is by using WA nations to forcibly take the delegate spot of a foreign region, thereby gaining access to that regions controls. Assuming there is no founder, you would be the sole ruler of that region.

[Daehanjeiguk]

some replies to indulge the readers:

(1) For godmodding, no manner of style or intervention will defer one's attentions away from godmoddish tendencies if the intention of the war is to wage war. As for the booze and info, I have no idea...

(2) Stylish? yes. Easy on the eyes? *blinks* Presents information in a fun yet effective way for new nations...? Can I haz your drugs?

As for the pleasantries, thanks for the tanks. It's nice when people appreciate the work; it's nicer when people actually demonstrate some of the common sense...

(3) Actually, this was written sometime in 2007, before the move away from Jolt (and even before the start of NS2, iirc... good god, that's a long time ago...). Three years going on four by now.

(4) superfluous slithering snakes said something subliminally subversive...

(5) War is about absolute, but you've got balance it still ... this concept of "victory" is really a matter of preference. Do you take victory with a 100,000 casaulties or defeat with 1000 casualties? Do you seize the enemy's capital and forsake the strategic ground, or do you make the enemy's maneuvers impossible and force his surrender? Do you do Team Edward or Team Jacob? It seems that victory is straightforward, but the paths to victory are many and they each carry their own benefits and costs.

As for the outsiders making a judgment... if you can't decide for yourself what your damages and losses are, then it's probably best that you don't go to war in NS - as hard as it might seem to believe (one of the reasons really why I don't go to war in NS...)

(6) *nukes Lazarus* okay, carry on...

(7) I'm pretty sure if Sun Tzu were alive and here, he'd spend too much time trying to get rid of the n00bs to enjoy Nationstates, but that's for another day to decide...

(8) you're it.

(9) mmm... SPAM...

(10) I'll give you a clue - there's no "START WAR" button on NS. And if you want to start a region war, this ain't the place to look. As for a war on NS, find someone you like (because fighting someone you hate isn't going to go over so well...) and get to fighting over some measly little terra incognita islands with purported rich fishing grounds/oil/superbium ions needed for intergalactic hyperlight-speed travel/etc. But let me say that if you want to wage war just for the sake of waging war, you're going to find yourself on the margins, even if that's where everyone else is.

(11) good grief, who wrote all this non-sense? replies?!? to every single post since Jenrak's posting except for a couple? he must be crazy!

Oh, and I'd much appreciate the TGs about "how to declare war upon regions" be deferred at a minimum to Al Gore's house. He'll solve all of your problems.


and if anyone has issues with my replies, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm not much of an II person anymore, but war is something that I still value for its psychological value.

[Raboso]

This makes no sense.

[Rhoian]

Brilliant... just.. brilliant!

[The Murtunian Tribes]

Just finshed. Very interesting read.

[Ardchoille]

I've just brushed away a few spam-cobwebs. If your comment isn't strictly related to this thread, please don't make it. This is about war in NationStates. If you want to argue the philosophical aspects of war in the real world, go to the General forum.

[Almaniania]

I have finally finished reading the Art of NS War. I would like to say a few things.
First off, Sun Tzu would have been bested. I have read the Art of War, and I believe that this has a much more refined taste.
Second, I loved Chapter 10 a lot, because many forget that in all wars, soldiers become tired. Speaking modern tech, tanks run out of fuel, soldiers become tired, supplies are low... the list goes on. Many often forget that in war, that does happen.
I also love Chapter 7 as well. Again, many forget that discipline is critical in an armed force. Without discipline, there would be no order. Without order, there would be no power. Without power, there can be no armed forces.
I wish to now look Chapter 4. In it, the concept of a Commonwealth is explained. However, it does not go any farther with any closer political unions. An example of such unions would be a Federation (which is the closest two or more separate nations can be without complete Union under one government).
I wish to thank you for such a wonderful guide. Those that are new to NS can learn a lot from this, and even old nations can come back to reading this, and pick up a new idea or two.

[ImperialPoland]

This is very well written, well done!

[Blazing WAR]

I hereby submit the name Daehanjeiguk
To the list of people who I take millitary advice from...and who I would love to clash with over tactics!

Your name now sits with the likes of Karl von Clausewitz, Napoleon, Rommel. Unfortunetly none of those can be my foes as they no longer exist.
*nods*

[Tarsas]

Wonderful thread. I'm gonna recommend all first time RPers here to learn II.

[Parti Ouvrier]

Wonderful thread. I'm gonna recommend all first time RPers here to learn II.

I thought so to. It is educational and specifically an NS version of the 'Art of War'. This is the foundation of NationStates political science.

We've had Sun Tzu here in NS, will Clausewitz be next?

[Raxar]

VERY good read. Excellent job.

[Me and not any of You]

I still dont understand how to wage war. What is the system? Where do you do it? How do you do it? With whom do you do it? and so on.
Please help

[Cyrupe]

I still dont understand how to wage war. What is the system? Where do you do it? How do you do it? With whom do you do it? and so on.
Please help

Basically this just goes into finer details and other various information about NationStates warfare. The basics can probably be better understood from the basic Getting Started thread. Hope you get over the confusion and begin to have fun!

[Free Jacinto]

What this Thread Constitutes is a Modernized Conception of the Art of War on NS, which probably does need to send the greater majority of its military geniuses to an insane asylum before they start hurting people. I will be writing the first thirteen posts, as an obvious and intended make-up of the historic 13 chapters of the original Art of War. Hopefully, this will expand into something bigger, and perhaps even more so than simply a private (i.e. me only) discussion on the affairs of war.

The Art of NS War is completed.

(Image)

Chapter 1 - On War
Chapter 2 - Waging War
Chapter 3 - Armed Contest
Chapter 4 - Friends and Foes
Chapter 5 - On the Right
Chapter 6 - On the Method
Chapter 7 - On the Disposition
Chapter 8 - On the Terrain
Chapter 9 - On the Law
Chapter 10 - Waging Battle
Chapter 11 - On Victory
Chapter 12 - On Defeat
Chapter 13 - On Peace

Originally posted here