Major General Jonny Lindfors’ latest article, curiously in English, on the need for change within the Swedish Army really summarises the previous Swedish articles. I thought I would reply to this latest article by presenting how I would go about findin…
Författararkiv: Andrew Wallace
Nothing New Under the Sun
Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) can be seen as an example of the need to continually adapt and develop. It can be argued that it takes Joint Operations a step further as a result of changes in society and technology. Adding cyberspace, space, and the cog…
Nothing New Under the Sun
Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) can be seen as an example of the need to continually adapt and develop. It can be argued that it takes Joint Operations a step further as a result of changes in society and technology. Adding cyberspace, space, and the cog…
The Art of Playing Red Queen
Alice looked round her in great surprise. “Why, I do believe we’ve been under this tree the whole time! Everything’s just as it was!” “Of course it is,” said the Queen, “what would you have it?” “Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a littl…
The Army needs to change? Yes, but to what?
I would argue that the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) are very professional military, but they are a very professional peace time military. This article is in response to an article written by Major General Jonny Lindfors et al. entitled “En armé i behov a…
Boyd and Manoeuvre Warfare
The theoretical foundations of manoeuvre warfare goes back in time 2,500 years to China and text such as the “Art of War” by Sun Tzu and the “Thirty-Six Stratagems”. However, much of the modern theory was developed during the twentieth century through …
Umeå vs Covid-19
In the centre of Umeå is a hidden gem. This green emerald is Sweden’s National CBRN Defence Centre, otherwise know as a SkyddC. SkyddC deals with all the worst elements found on a modern battlefield; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBR…
The Need to Read
Introduction “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.” Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 400 BC) It is wise to learn from your own mistakes. It is even wiser to learn from the mi…
A Special Interest; Culture, War Fighting Theory, and Design
Foto: shutterstock.com Abstract Vice-Admiral Rosenius’ article highlighted an interesting point regarding the defence debate; the low ceiling. This, to my mind, results from a culture that seeks consensus and becomes defensive if anything threatens the consensus. The first part of this article addresses that problem. The article then went on to ask some […]
The seeds of disaster
The defeat of the French army in 1940 came as a shock. How could such a modern army be beaten by, what should have been, an inferior army so quickly? Brig. Gen. Doughty points out that the French were not stupid (”The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919-39” by Brig. Gen. […]
Over the Ice
Flexibility is key to success. Photo: Mats Nyström, Försvarsmakten. The most popular tourist attraction in Helsinki is Suomenlinna, the Swedish built fortress of Sveaborg [Sveaborg]. The fortress was built over eight islands and had walls 10 m thick. It was built to protect the harbour of Helsinki from a Russian attack from the sea. Helskinki […]
On territorial defence
by Andrew Wallace Resumé Territorial units such as the proposed territorial battalions and the current military regions have their advantages and disadvantages. This article looks at some of those advantages and disadvantages from a manoeuvrer warfare perspective. I argue that local territorial knowledge is not as great an advantage as it was in the past. […]