The art of war
“Two world wars and the Korean war thought us that war is chaos, plain and simple.
And most of all, that there's no such thing as clean wars.
The idea of a confrontation in which victory belongs to the best, is a nineteenth century idea. It's something for boxers, not soldiers.
Forget ideas like 'confrontation', 'fighting', or the law of the survival of the fittest, because war is everything but a some kind of fair 'duel'.
And the art of war is the art of trickery and foul play”
There was a while of silence.
None of the recruits moved a single muscle
Then Trautman continued:
“You will always cross on the battlefield someone out numbering you, outgunning you or just smarter than you... Always. If you can't accept that, it means that you are living outside the reality and that you are not the men I am seeking for. And so, that's the door. Am I clear?”
No one replied him.
“In this chaos the stronger often wins, but not always.
Sometimes being more intelligent is what will make some prevail over the others, or being smarter.
Some other times being the more violent is enough to get the victory, or defeat.
You may use punches but receive a stab in return... Which is the difference between sport-fighting and war.
If you throw a rock, a thousand rifles may return fire.
Something very similar is happening in Vietnam right now, I have to say.
Anyway, you should forget about the Genevieve Protocols, international accords, the Hague conventions and all of these kind of things. Those things doesn't really exists.
The battlefield is no country with war-sheriffs walking around and ready to take down those who play dirt, and that you call 'war criminals'.
You are going to be on your own over there and inside a world ruled by his own rules, and them only.
And this world that has nothing to do with what you think about war”
The recruits started to look at each other.
“When the Vietcong decide to shoot in the forehead our surrendering soldiers, there's no invisible hand coming down from the sky to magically stop them, because they are breaking an international accord of some kind.
In Vietnam journalists die, businessmen, doctors and nuns, and everyone else in the very same way.
Our soldiers armed with the most technologically advanced weapons of mankind are daily killed by farmers with muskets, and just because they did the 'wrong move'.
This is no defeatism, but the reality plain and right, and you will have to be strong enough to accept reality as it really is.
Otherwise, and I repeat it, that's the door... 'Cause I don't need no men of your kind.
Clear?”
Inside the mess the silence was complete.
“War is the return of men into his animal state and the wildlife is run by chaos, not just the law of the stronger.
The stronger should win, but there's no rule in the world saying he will win for sure.
The purpose of this course, is to deeply understand the laws ruling this chaos.
I will teach you to think in the same way as the war goes.
And when we'll be done, you will have a so deep knowledge of war that you'll be able to safely move inside the most dangerous environment of the world, and the most unpredictable one.
During the Ia Drang battle, three years ago, the Vietcong used to make some night time rounds to finish off the GIs wounded that couldn't come back from the no man's land on their own feet.
They slipped in the darkness of the jungle to find the wounded and shoot them in the head, or stab them.
Two of our soldiers didn't just survived those bullets in the head, but got back to their team mates on their own and in the dark, while so seriously wounded.
One had a bullet hole through his eye, and the wound infested with ants too. He woke up in the jungle alone and horribly wounded, and he found his way on his own through the jungle, but when he finally found his mates, he risked to be shot on the spot, because he couldn't remember the password when asked.
So, that's it. That's the war, and the real one...
The one that you are going to fight”