What is the best way to give yourself a classical military education? I want to be like Hannibal and Alexander.
>I want to be like Hannibal and Alexander.
If I had a fedora saved on my computer right now I would post it
>>1011684
Out in the field.
>>1011684
I want nothing to show for my efforts
>>1011710
>That is not practical or realistic in modern day
literally what
there is nothing stopping you from joining up except for your own fat ass.
Go play some Total War
>>1011710
>Practical
You've thrown all of that out the window when you mentioned Hannibal and Alexander. You won't get much useful out ancient warfighting in classical antiquity outside of basic principles.
>>1011890
So what should I study
>>1011684
You're probably already superior to them in most practical regards. In fact on a purely knowledge basis both Hannibal and Alexander would likely be amazed at what an average Highschool graduate knows. Shit like astronomy, calculus and basic biology would just completely blow their minds.
However in terms of strategy and stuff, read Sun Tzu, Plato, Aristotle and learn how to play chess.
>>1011910
>chess
lol
>>1011910
>However in terms of strategy and stuff, read Sun Tzu, Plato, Aristotle and learn how to play chess.
Also learn how to socialize, flirt and manipulate people into liking you.
Play Total War all day every day. But seriously, you should probably just look into the kind of stuff they teach officers in the modern day military. There's tons of manuals and other things like that that are readily available on the internet.
>>1011916
It's what they had, well similar games. It's just a mental exercise, puzzles to work your brain, but it's part of what those two would have done. I guess you can find out what games were played in Macedonia and Carthage in their respective times but finding people to play might be hard.
>>1011892
Depends on where you want to start, the wars you want to fight, and the scope of your command.
>>1011929
Oh, OP meant modern day. Yeah do this. You can find the curriculum for various officers schools online. Modern or outdated.
>>1011963
Shit, even the Sally Ann in my neighborhood stocks a bunch of military books.
>>1011892
>>1011684
There's a ton of publicly available resources.
Air University covers lots of military history and lessons learned
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-hist.htm
Reading Army pubs is also a good idea.
http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/index.html
A good place to start is "Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad" http://www.apd.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/fm3_21x8.pdf
Of course, there's always the option of going to OCS, ROTC, etc. Just don't expect to become Yang Wenli.
>>1011963
They might be out of date. There's been huge advancements in counterinsurgency doctrine in the past few years, for example.
>>1011936
The Eastern Front is the highest form of land combat, if you could call it that when its conduct was so low. Involving over 30 million Soviet troops alone, the scale is almost impossible to take in and it influences almost every military's high command today. From the streets of Stalingrad to the plains of Kharkov and the skies above Moscow, it has everything. Soviet deep battle and German armored tactics.
>>1011918
How do I get people to like me?
Now here's the real question
How does someone apply this knowledge?
After all it's useless without practice.
Total War is too gamey and chess is too abstract
>>1011995
Gary Grigsby's War in the East.
>>1011995
Wargame: ALB or Red Dragon.
>>1011936
Let's say I want to be a guerilla commander.
>>1012006
>What about unconventional warfare
Any of the hundreds of civil wars/revolutions in the past century, the most striking being Vietnam, the Chinese Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, and although it's neither of these, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
>naval warfare
Pacific war in WW2.
>information warfare
Read about the alleged US/Israeli made viruses designed to shut down Iranian nuclear plants.
>>1011985
Read a book on the subject and follow what's outlined in the book.
Or have a lot of money, either way.
>>1012012
Mao Tse Tung "On Guerrilla Warfare"
Che Guevara "Guerilla Warfare"
IRA "The Green Book"
Ali Ahmad Jalali "The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War"
You could also seek out your local ISIS terrorist cell. But I wouldn't recommend it.
>>1012020
>Or have a lot of money, either way.
Generally speaking it's a lot easier to get a lot of money if everyone likes you and is willing to help you.
>>1012014
Studying history itself presents the problem of learning the wrong lessons or applying lessons in a context outside of the what worked historically. Are you familiar with the saying "generals always prepare to fight the last war"?
>>1012043
How would someone studying on their own look to remedy this problem?
>>1012100
You kinda have to join the military. Some things you can't learn through books. Some things can only be learned through experience.
>>1011684
A time machine.
