XI

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Arc XI?Chapter?1

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Field Manual

Revised Version

Amegakure Military Academy

Intended for educational use

Preface

In the wake of our recent military reforms with the clear and unmistakable intent to strengthen the means of national defence and strength, we invite the reader to explore the end of such policies, and by extension, the very nature of war. There should be little doubt left even among the common man that the military is, ultimately and by inherent necessity, an institution created for a sole purpose, war! Regardless of whether consisting of ninja, samurai, soldiers, or other combatants, the military is an institution dedicated to war, yet what is war?

Answers might diverge depending on various interpretations, but war remains, in its essence, an act of military force, armed with ever more potent weaponry to subject our enemy to our will. We strive to subject our enemy to our will through the use of force. It is the compulsory submission of the enemy to our will that is and must be the ultimate object of our forces, the ultimate object of all our efforts. In order to achieve such domination of will, we must deprive the enemy of any means of further resistance. It must be our prime goal to degrade the enemy forces to the point of rendering them ineffectual.

Our actions will place the enemy in a position more disadvantageous to them than the concessions that we demand in return, yet the disadvantageous nature of their position must be naturally not transitory in nature, otherwise the enemy will refuse to yield, and instead continue fighting in the hope of a change of fortunes. Any continuation of the war must thus become unbearable to a degree necessary to allow us to enforce our will, enabling us to realise our ultimate objectives.

The more limited our objectives, the more limited the price we ask for, the smaller the resistance the enemy will employ, the less force will be required to make the enemy comply. Conversely, the less significant our objectives, the less value shall we place upon them, and the more easily we will be induced to give ours up altogether. Our objectives must thus determine both the aim and scope of our military efforts.

As such, war is, despite its unrestrained and intrinsically violent nature, is never an isolated act, nor, contrary to common perception, an irrational affair. Waged by chieftains and nobles, waged by kings and conquerors, founded on reasons of personal ambition in the ages of old, the wars of this day and age, the wars of whole nations and states, are born in contrast from political motives, forming a collective effort of will. The wars of our age transcend the boundaries of the individual, instead entering firmly the realm of policy, not as merely a political act, but as a real political instrument. We can say, therefore, that war is a mere continuation of policy by other means, a continuation of our dreams, our hopes, our aspirations, our livelihood. Such is the reason that such importance must be placed upon the study of the arts of war and their continuous evolution. Such is the lesson that you, the reader, the keen student, the aspiring officer, the very future of our strength, should never forget. It is upon your shoulders that duty falls.

Combat and Leadership

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