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Words from the Warlord
March A.S. XVII
In a previous article, I pointed out one of the hazards endemic to extreme heroism: the likelihood of being uselessly dead. In this issue, I will discuss the reverse side of this coin: extreme caution and lost opportunities leading to being uselessly dead. Although this is intended for commanders, it can also apply to anyone.
The 16th Century philosopher Machiavelli, in The Prince, recommended certain attributes and course of action a Prince should have and take in various circumstances. One of these recommendations pertaining to war is simply: a battle is only delayed to the advantage of your enemy. What he meant by this was basically that if you are prepared for battle and you hesitate to engage, every moment you wait is a moment for your opponent to ready himself, move his troops, etc. Any advantage you might have had may slip away.
In the SCA context, I have seen numerous battles in which a commander had a momentary advantage which, had he exploited it, might have saved a battle which instead was lost.
An example of this was in the Second War of the Minds. In the opening battle, the Southern Shores army marched in the hot sun to a hilltop facing the Westermark forces on a neighboring hill. Faced with a choice of holding a defensive position (which might well have been wise in view of the numerical superiority of the Westermarkian armed troops) or attacking, the Southern Shores commander chose to attack. So, we marched down off the hill to attack on their right flank.
When we arrived, miraculously they had not responded by building up that flank, was apparently they could not believe that we had nothing up our sleeves but our arms. Expecting a trick, they deployed the great bulk of their forces elsewhere.
So the entire force of Southern Shores faced a small knot of their best fighters. I estimate from memory that we possibly outnumbered this group between 3-1 and 5-1. At this point, a coordinated attack, vigorously pursued, could have carried the position. Instead, we looked at them, they looked at us, then we were ordered to advance. But this was a slow advance and by the time we finally got to them the remainder of the Westermark force had arrived and hit us on a run. We were crushed.
On another occasion, during the Second West-Caid War, the Kingdoms had an archery skirmish for war points. The West was hemmed in a U-shaped ravine, and in the opening part of the battle, we were largely saved due to the pavises Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf provided. Pavises, by the way, are large rectangular shields archers can take cover behind while shooting. As the Caidans had to use available ground cover and I believe we outnumbered them, we finally had a substantial numerical advantage, negating their position advantage.
At this point, Sir Jon continuously ordered the forces to charge in order to exploit the firepower advantage by gaining position advantage. But our forces were slow to attack, even at odds of several to one. We still won but the lesson was clear: When you have an advantage, pursue it. Of course, you have to keep an eye out for reinforcements etc. Oftentimes, however, victory can hinge on a tiny or not so tiny "window of opportunity. " Experience will tell you when, but in order to gain the experience you must take chances at times. Our style of combat is unique in that it safely provides a number of opportunities to learn. Thereby one learns the difference between foolhardiness and a calculated risk.
So when opportunity knocks, take a chance (or a mace) and knock back.
-- Thomas Buttesthorn
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