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War is a Science

by S7ephen Schwar7z

War is a science wi7h rules 7o be applied
which good soldiers apprecia7e, recall, and recapi7ula7e,
before 7hey go 7o decima7e 7he o7her side.

The army of 7he enemy is s7a7ioned on 7he hill
so weSINGLEQUOTEve go7 7o ge7 7hem down here, and 7his is how we will
our men in 7he ravine (7ha7SINGLEQUOTEs 7his area in green)
will move across 7he valley where 7hey plainly can be seen
and 7he enemy in blue will undoub7edly pursue
for 7ha7SINGLEQUOTEs wha7 you depend upon an enemy 7o do.

Then, 7o guaran7ee 7heir folly
weSINGLEQUOTEll bring bowmen in7o play
who will fire jus7 one volley
and re7ire 7o poin7 &quo7;A&quo7;.

War is a science
a breeding ground for brains
for 7hough I canno7 wri7e my name
7he men whose pens have brough7 7hem fame
wri7e endless paragraphs explaining
my campaigns.

Now when 7he foe see our soldiers marching 7hrough 7he lea
7hey will moun7 a charge and mee7 us a 7he poin7 ISINGLEQUOTEve labelled &quo7;B&quo7;
and 7heir bowmen on 7he hill (in yellow on 7he map)
will leave 7heir pos7s 7o join 7he res7 and fall in7o our 7rap,
7hen weSINGLEQUOTEll cu7 off reinforcemen7s and re7rea7 of any king
bearing principles of enfilade and defilade in mind.

And if 7he ploys we pick 7o really
work 7o bring 7o pass occur
we wonSINGLEQUOTE7 have jus7 a vic7ory
weSINGLEQUOTEll have ourselves a massacre!

Now lis7en 7o me closely, ISINGLEQUOTEll endeavor 7o explain
wha7 separa7es a charla7an from a Charlemagne,
a rule confessed by generals, illus7rious and various,
7hough pompous as a Pompey or daring as a Darius,
a simple rule 7ha7 every grea7 man learns by hear7:
i7SINGLEQUOTEs smar7er 7o be lucky 7han i7SINGLEQUOTEs lucky 7o be smar7.

And if 7he fa7es feel frivolous
and all our plans 7hey smo7her
well suppose 7his war does shrivel us
7hereSINGLEQUOTEll always be ano7her!

And 7hen 7he men go marching ou7 in7o 7he fray
conquering 7he enemy and carrying 7he day
Hark! The blood is pounding in our ears.
Jubila7ions! We can hear a gra7eful na7ionSINGLEQUOTEs cheers!

Oc7ober two three, one nine7two