Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character, as stated by Norman Schwarzkopf, who

was a US Army general/commander in chief. It is important to know of different military strategies and how
they are used, as well as their history and development. Our countrys military protects us. The least we
could possibly do is learn about how they do it. For example, strategy and tactics are essential to the
conduct of warfare.

Strategy and tactics have been viewed differently in almost every era of history. For example, in ancient
Sumer, there is a dense tactical infantry formation of overlapping shields called the phalanx in 3000 B.C.
The development of strategy and tactics parallels to some extent the growth, spread, and clash of
civilizations.

The change in the meaning of these terms over time has been basically one of scope as the nature of war
and the shape of society have changed and as technology has developed. Strategy, for example, means
the art of the general. This definition comes from the Greek word for general, which is strategos.

Strategy is the planning, coordination, and general direction of military operations to meet overall political
and military objectives. Tactics implement strategy. They do this by short term decisions on the movement
of troops; while also implementing strategy by the employment of weapons on the field of battle. A military
theorist named Carl von Clausewitz puts it another way. He said, Tactics is the art of using troops in
battle; strategy is the art of using battles to win the war.

Some commonly cited principles are the objective, offensive, surprise, security, unity of command,
economy of force, mass, and maneuver. Most, however, are interdependent.

Unity of command, or cooperation is essential to the pursuit of objectives. It is also essential to the ability to
use all forces effectively and for the concentration of superior force at a critical point. A famous example
that illustrates most of these principles occurred during World War II, when the Allied forces eventually
agreed on the objective of defeating Germany first. They used a direct offensive against the European
continent. They also effectively massed their forces in England, as well as deceived Germany regarding
the point of invasion, collected intelligence on the disposition of German forces, and set the vast maneuver
called Operation Overlord into motion.

Classification of actual military types of maneuvers and their variations have long been a part of military
science.

New technology and weapons havent drastically altered some classic types of offensive maneuvers.
These types include penetration, envelopment, defensive-offensive maneuvers, and turning movements.
Penetration is actually one of the oldest maneuvers that is a main attack. New variations of these include
vertical and amphibious envelopments. Vertical envelopments are basically airborne or airmobile troops.
Noted single envelopments were accomplished by people such as Alexander the Great at Arbela in 331
B.C., Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and finally, Erwin Rommel at Gazala in 1942,
for example.
The historical roots of strategy and tactics date back to the origins of human warfare and the development
of large-scale government and empire.

As previously stated, and example of this is the dense tactical infantry formation of overlapping shields
called the phalanx that existed in an early form. This was in Ancient Sumer in 3000 B.C. Another example
of historical strategy and tactics is the penetration maneuver, which was used by the Duke of Marlborough
in the early 18th century. It was also used by General Bernard Montgomery at El Alamein in 1942.

Many strategies, such as unity of command, economy of force, and maneuver, help the military. Therefore,
it is important to learn about different military strategies, while also learning about their historical
backgrounds. So, in conclusion, leadership is really a combination of strategies and character.