The One Word That Describes Nearly Every War
What can we learn from military catastrophes of history
Millions. Sometimes a single word can express the problems that came from the past. As historians like to remind, history is but a sequence of events that have already happened. So how can a single word define such events? Well, you have to know what the subject is.
Take war as an example. If we look at history from a military lens we would think that human history is the story of conflict. The battles fought are a symbol of the urge to fight. Primal vigor expressed through pointless confrontation. But no war was declared merely to fight. There was a purpose, even if it was not moral.
Rome never fought wars because war was a sport. Rome fought to gain power. From the Punic Wars to the civil wars, the clashes of armies had a goal of dominance. They were not there just fighting but gaining an advantage on one another. Rome was not willing to lose and would break their laws to destroy their enemies. This affected the lives of millions that would be born to the empire. And even more who would live in its wake.
This was no different after the Romans when nations would fight on a global scale to gain the upper hand. England moved troops to the Netherlands to help with an insurgency that led to war with…
