Quote:
Originally Posted by Targan
"Pride cometh before the fall" gentlemen. Yes your nation is absolutely militarily preeminent now but that is unlikely to always be the case. Beware hubris.
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Reminds me of the US attitude toward the "inferior" Japanese forces in 1941. Until they sneak-attacked our main Pacific naval base, overran the Philippines, and shot our fighters out of the sky with their inferior Zero fighters. And the US had lots of intel on the Japanese intentions and lots of high-tech goodies, like radar. Complacency is your enemy's best weapon against you.
Technical superiority in weapons is only a fraction of making war. The will to wield inferior weapons in unexpected ways has always been a major factor in warfare: Northwest Territory/Afghanistan in the late 19th Century ("save the last bullet for yourself"), Viet Cong tactics, Kamikazes/Banzai charges in WW2, ChiCom human sea charges in Korea, human bombers in Israel/Palestine, flying commercial aircraft into buildings.... And let's not forget the wielding of the WW2 Red army as a shield that absorbed everything the Wehrmacht could throw against it (at appalling casualty rates).
It comes down to who has the strongest will and is willing to sacrifice the most for ultimate victory, balanced with how much of your society's humanity are you willing to throw away to gain your goal?
One of my Rules of Life:
"There is no such thing as an obsolete weapon or tool, merely obsolete thinking used in its employ."