George Washington Waged A War Of Attrition

QUESTION: You said the the US is not certain of victory against Iran. Could you explain that view?

Sam

ANSWER: George Washington did lose more battles than he won early on losing New York was his worst. Nevertheless, his overall record shows he understood that winning the war mattered more than winning every battle. He was seriously outnumbered. Once he understood that all he had to do was NOT lose!  He waged a war of attrition. He understood that maintaining a major force on foreign soil is a major logistical disadvantage. I have warned, that Iran is waging a war of attrition.

Washington may not have been formally educated in a university, that did not mean he was unread. He apparently read Roman history intensely. He was a brilliant strategist. His strength was in seeing the “big picture” and maintaining the army’s very existence. He embraced a “Fabian Strategy” of avoiding large, decisive battles that could destroy his army, instead choosing to fight smaller engagements and retreat when necessary to preserve his forces.

The Fabian Strategy was developed by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, a Roman statesman and general, during the Second Punic War (218-201BC). Fabius was appointed as dictator of the Roman Republic in 217BC, following devastating military defeats by the Carthaginian general Hannibal. To counter Hannibal’s superior military skill and strength, Fabius devised a new approach.

His core tactic was to refuse to engage Hannibal’s army in a major, decisive battle, as Hannibal had proven superior in such confrontations. Instead, Fabius employed a strategy of harassment and attrition. He kept the Roman army close to Hannibal’s forces, shadowing their movements while sending out smaller detachments to attack foraging parties and disrupt supply lines. This was what Washington adopted.

Fabian also ordered residents in the path of the Carthaginian army to burn their crops and take refuge in fortified towns, denying Hannibal the resources his army needed. This cautious approach allowed Rome time to recover its strength. It was initially unpopular with the Roman public, who saw it as cowardly, but after another Roman army was annihilated at the Battle of Cannae in 216BC, the value of his strategy was recognized, and it was adopted again.

Further proof that Washington was self-taught in Roman History is his formation of the Order of the Cincinnati. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a two tim Roman dictator. He was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue. The story of Cincinnatus that was recounted in Livy’s History of Rome and elsewhere, impressed George Washington but it is usually accepted that Cincinnatus was a historical figure who served as consul in 460BC and as dictator in 458BC and again in 439BC. He was the head of the army and handed back power when his term was up.

George Washington did not create the Society of the Cincinnati. While he was deeply connected to it, the honor for its creation belongs to another Revolutionary War figure.That honor belongs to Major General Henry Knox, the Continental Army’s chief of artillery. Knox was the principal author of the Society’s founding document, the Institution. Washington became its first president.

Washington beat an overwhelming opponent the same a Fabian defeated Hannibal – a war of attrition. Just because the US may possess the largest military, history is consistent in this regard. That does NOT guarantee a victory no matter what century we examine.