Patterns of Conflict
| The works of |
| Works of John Boyd |
|---|
OODA WIKI Edition
Quantico Transcription
In the background, remember we talked about— I’m just using this as sort of a scheme, don’t play it too tight. We talked about fighting the Battle of Leuctra and Leuthen, which what was the big thing when I talked about Leuctra and Leuthen? Remember, this is people’s minds, the commanders’ minds. Remember, they were examples of successful what?
Single outflanking, or single envelopment scheme, remember. Remember we talked about the circumstances surrounding it, that’s all I’m talking about when I use that. Not that we’re going to fight it like Leuctra or Leuthen, but the fact they represent the single envelopment or single outflanking scheme.
The Battle of Cannae, double outflanking, double envelopment scheme, remember? And the Schlieffen strategic maneuver was on a grand scale, all it was, was a single envelopment scheme.
Okay. And I just trying to play back and you look at— how many ever read about Napoleon’s Ulm maneuver? That’s a big, huge, wheel too, but except it was a fluid wheel, not the rigid wheel that they had in Schlieffen. And as a result, in fact it was his best maneuver, he pulled it off, and Mack didn’t know what the hell to do, so he surrendered. Threw his whole force in, didn’t even fight, threw the towel in. Yet people talk about how great Napoleon was at Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstadt, you know, other battles. But note the word, those were battles, the other was a maneuver and the guy threw the towel in, threw in his whole force.
Got so screwed up by the way it happened, he couldn’t keep up, cope. Yet it’s hardly ever mentioned. Okay?