Sword Point [antikvár]

Foreword War is the realm of chance. No other human activity gives it greater scope; no other has such incessant and varied deahngs with this intruder. Chance makes everything more uncertain and interferes with the whole course of events. —KARL VON CLAUSEWITZ This is a story about a war and the people fighting it. The time and place of the war are unimportant. What is important are the people, their roles and their experiences. It is easy for modern man to focus on the technical aspects of war and seek solutions and resolution through science and technology. Science, after all, is logical and predictable. Technology is understandable and controllable. The Soviets, comfortable with science and technology, approach warfare and combat in a scientific manner. The ideal military system, from the Soviet viewpoint, is one that can deliver predictable results by using proper force ratios and other such definable inputs. Hence they establish norms and place high value on conformity and discipline so that actions in battle are a predictable constant, not an unknown. Doctrine in the Red Army has the same weight as regulations, and orders to subordinates are detailed and restrictive. The United States, on the other hand, places its trust