Applying Art to the Total War: Waging War

Waging War: Waging war is the second of the 13 points of the book. the author is not as specific in the subdivisions of the topic as he is in the first part of the book. I'll point out some advices and then compare them to the game.
Sun Tzu says that "there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare". This fits in the game up to a certain extent. Though the player can attempt and many times success in being in peace with the neighbouring reigns, sooner or later someone is going to attack you, and you need to be prepare and to have a regular army to respond swiftly to the attack.
What Sun Tzu enphasizes in this part of the book is that provisions shoould be taken from the enemy, thus you save money by not bringing it from home. that lengthy campaigns are not profitable, and having the chance to forage the enemy's land, a soldier has to do it. In the game, there is no such a thing as provisions for the soldier or foraging the land, but after a siege and if it results in victury, the player can either occupy the settlement, sack it (great income) or exterminate the population. The last two give a bonus to law and order by inflicting fear. 

Every unit has a fixed upkeep cost, so it does not matter where your troops are, they will always "suck" the same amount of resources. Another factor that might affect how long you wage a war against another nation, is that in order to "win" in the game, the player has to have under control a certain amount of provinces, therefore if attacked, then you concentrate all your troops in attacking and conquering the other faction. But sometimes you have to stop the bloodshed because the POPE! asks you to do it, otherwise you might be excommunicated and if it's already difficult to wage war against one nation, waging it against all Christendom will not help you at all. 

Applying Art to the Total War: Laying Plans

The objective of all the previous publications was merely introductory. What I really want to know is how faithful can be (or is) the Artificial Intelligence of the game to what Sun Tzu explains us about war and its different situations. To do so, each of the 13 points described by Sun Tzu will be compared to the different aspects that the Total War experience offers in this game.

1. The first point treated by Sun Tzu in his book is Laying Plans. Five other points are described as being essentials to that topic. 
•  The moral Law is about people being in complete accord with their sovereign, so they can follow him until the last consequences. How is this reflected on the game? The player has to keep the population of all the settlements and castles "happy", by giving them health, money, places to visit and security. If the level of unrest in a specific settlement is really high, it might end in a riot or even worse, you could lose that settlement at the hands of rebel troops. That... means one source of income lost, and the expenditure on troops in order to recover the settlement back.
•  Heaven: it makes reference to night and day, the seasons, heat and cold. In the game your troops are affected in the battlefield map. Arrows are not that effective during a rain, some infantry units are better fighting in woods or snow; some generals are able to attempt attacks by night, which means that no reinforcements are to be expected from the enemy side.
• Earth: According to Sun Tzu earth comprises distances, narrowness and extension of the ground, possibilities to live or to die, danger and security. In the game this is known by the statistics given before every battle, and the place where your troops are to face the enemy. 
• The Commander:  stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness. In the game wisdom is not really achieved through the commanding skills that each general has... but a general (usually family members) it is known by his piety, dread or chivalry, command, and his loyalty. 
• Method and Discipline: Sun Tzu makes reference to the marshalling of the army (in the game the only way to "train" your troops is by upgrading their amour and weapons); to maintenance of the roads to provide supplies to the army (this is not seen in the game, there is no need to send "them" supplies); graduation of ranks among officers (the player is the supreme commander, no need to do that); and the control of military expenditure (here you DO have to control it, otherwise would be in serious problems)

Introducing? yes... it is still an introduction

The Battlefield map:

I already talked about the campaign map, still...there is also important to know about the battlefield map. As mentioned in the previous post, wherever you are attacked or wherever you attack, that is how the battlefield map is going to be. Meaning that depending on the geography of the place where your troops are, that would be reflected on the battlefield map. Before the battle begins, the game shows the two sides that are going to fight, and the superiority of one army over the other, showing a sort of statistics that reflect the possible outcome of the battle. In the battlefield map, before battle, the general usually gives an speech either taunting the enemy or trying to increase the troops' morale. The player may choose not to listen to this, though there are some tips that, if the player is unaware of the enemy troops, can help in order to prepare a strategy. If the player is attacking, then has the possibility to wait a 3 turns (battlefield turns) before starting the battle, what for? weather conditions affect your troops. arrows are less effective if it is raining, other troops fight better in the snow and even the visibility can be reduced (which is only bad for the player... the computer does not have "eyes").
Every unit carries a banner, that help you to identify them on the battle field. 
Geography plays a really important role. if being attacked try to locate your troops on a hill, that would make the enemy troops to waste their energy trying to reach your position and would face fresh troops which is an advantage. Your units give you information about their condition on the battlefield; if they are tired, exhausted, eager to fight, wavering, confident, their numbers and what they think: "victory seems certain, only a fool could lose this battle."

Introducing Medieval 2: Total war

Now we "know" up to a certain extent what is the art of war... but as mortal and common human beings, that usually don't really take many risks... where to apply then THAT knowledge? thanks to Sega and The Creative Assembly (and many others) we have the chance to experience war and command an army without leaving the comfort of our own house, and sparing all the horrors that REAL war means. What I am talking about is the strategy game Medieval 2: Total War. This game, and all the total war series, enables the player to  be in charge of a whole nation, of a whole empire if you want. The game places you in the Middle Ages, between 1080 - 1530, and it has two modalities to play it. The first one is the campaign map. In the campaign map you have a perspective of the medieval world, you can see settlements, castles, armies on the move, ships, ports and several geographic characteristics of the region you observe. and the battlefield map, which is where the player leads his/her battles.


The Campaign Map

In the campaign map, as mentioned before, is where all the rest of the activities which are not fighting take place. In the campaign map you can:

1. Manage your settlements: settlements are the major source of income for the player, there is where you train diplomats, merchants, spies, assassins, priests and troops of a lower kind. markets and ports enable the player to open trade routes and to increase your incomes. Buildings in settlements are meant to be for "peace". therefore you can build churches, cathedrals, palaces, inns, etc. the payer has to keep the population happy if he/she does not want to face a riot.
•  Diplomats are what connects your kingdom in terms of politics with the rest of the factions, they can negotiate trade rights, map information, peace, request tributes, make payements, establish alliances, ask for military assistance (or offer it) etc.
• Spies give you the chance to "predict" more or less what the enemy pretends to do. If we connect it to what Sun Tzu says in his book, the use of spies is really important. you can know where the enemy army stands,what kind of troops they have, how many they are, their strength and the kind of general that leads them. also the spy gives you information about the map, and the buildings that are in a certain settlement. their garrison and also there is the possibility that during a siege, the spy might open the gates for you to invade the city.
• Priests play an important role in converting the population of a certain region. This is very important because within the historical context, religion...Catholicism was really important. During the game the player constantly receives orders, missions or requests from the pope himself!!! and lacking of pious governors and population might end up being the target of inquisitors and probably your faction might be excommunicated. Having good relations with the Papal state is imperative. You can be asked too to join a crusade, or be the object of one, depending on which side you stand on. Priests also are in charge of denouncing heretics and witches that provoke religious unrest on your population. 
2. Manage your Castles: castles don't provide you with a large amount of income, but they are the centres for the training of elite troops. Here is where knights, swordsmen, infantry and archers are trained. The player has to be careful of keeping a balance between the amount of castles and settlements, for the army's upkeep can lead to bankruptcy. Also, it is important to have castles in regions where enemies are likely to invade, in that way you prevent your income to be lowered by invasions or sieges. also castles have fortified walls that help the player to locate the troops in a more advantegeous positions when attacked.
3. Move Armies: Moving armies through the map might be a bit complicated sometimes. The game works by turns, in each turn a certain unit is capable of moving a specific distance, then it has to wait until the next turn to move again. If the place where your troops are counts with paved roads, the distance they can move is increased. They can move through forests, mountains, deserts and plains without many inconvenients. Your army can lay siege, blockade a port, prepare an ambush or simply confront an army. It is important to remark that, wherever your army attacks or is attacked, that is how is going to be in the battlefield map; so avoid attacking in mountains, or if the enemy is on a bridge...it is really difficult to get your troops to the other side without being massacred during the attempt.

The "Art" of war?

Well...that's the name given to a book written around the fifth century B.C. by someone called Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu is known as one of the greatest general and strategist in the whole world. His work is known and used even for modern warfare and businesses.
the book itself consists of 13 points with their correspondent subdivisions. each point treats a different topic regarding warfare and advices how a good general should act in front of certain situations. though they are really explicative and sometimes didactic, most of the points require the general's previous experience in some kind of confrontation. When one reads the book, you realize that many statements repeat throughout the points, it gives you the sensation that indeed it is some kind of compilation of manuscripts under the one name of Sun Tzu.

But why call it an art? probably people would tend to think when first encounter the book that, it would probably describe how to fight, how to kill, and the most effective ways of inflicting pain on the enemy. It is not so, "The Art of War" deals with how a general should lead his army as to win a war without fighting it, saying that war is based on "deception". now THAT is what I might consider "art". The advices given are not meant to foster brutality but rather prudence, caution and diplomacy. It does not say either how to train your troops, the best physical training, or the sort of weapons, the best armour, etc. It "teaches" the general to identify hints, signs from the enemy and therefore be prepare for what might come. Sun Tzu says that "plans should be modified according to favourable circumstances."
The 13 point in the book are:

1.  Laying Plans: Sun Tsu says that the art of war is governed by 5 important factors
• The moral Law
• Heaven
• Earth
• The commander
• Method and Discipline
2.  Waging War: In the book is described how expensive is to raised an army of thousand men. Also that no country benefits from prolonged wars.
3. Attack by Stratagem: This makes reference to attacking by knowing very well the potential of the other army and thus gives five essentials for victory.
• He will win who knows when to fight and when not to.
• He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces
• He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks
• He will win, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
• He will win who has military capacity and it's not interfered by the sovereign.
4. Tactical Dispositions: Sun Tzu says: "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself." basically it means to attack or to defend with full knowledge of the enemy's capacity.
5. Energy: Energy refers as to how a good general should control an army, where to attack and focus the troops. 
6. Weak points and Strong: I will present just two examples which are self-explanatory.
• Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.
• Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.
7. Maneuvering: Sun Tzu describes the relations with the neighbouring powers, and when to attack an enemy army.
8. Variations in Tactics: Sun Tzu says that there are just two: the indirect and the direct. The combination of both creates an endless possibility of confronting an enemy.
9. The Army on the March: In this passage is described the different difficulties that moving an army implies, and how to do it as best as possible.
10. Terrain: A description of the different terrains either on the battlefield or during the march that the army may encounter, and how to maneuver. 
11. The Nine Situations: In this part the author describes the different grounds on the battlefield and the way to confront an enemy according to the physical conditions of the ground.
12. The Attack by Fire: how to use fire, when and with what purpose.
13. The use of Spies: As all warfare is based on deception, it is imperative to know what the enemy is planning.

Those are the 13 points treated in the book, obviously there are more details to be studied. As you see, the art of war is not just about bloodshed and battles, it also implies diplomacy, power, organization, deception, analysis, study of the terrain, the capacity to change and combine tactics according to the situation, etc. All this requires the previous knowledge of the general in question, of his experience in battle.