Strategy and Tactics in War

It is not enough to only have a good regular army, which is well trained and well equipped with weapons. All good armies should have good tactics and strategy.

The word Tactics means the use of fixed drills in an intelligent manner so as to destroy the enemy in battle. Strategy on the other hand is about deployment of all resources of a King, in peace and war to be victorious at all times. It is about ways and means to win a war.

Planning for war involves making good strategy while actual fighting in battle is done by sound tactics. What were the tactics and strategy followed by the ancient Indian armies?

Any war is preceded by a number of actions to be taken by the King and the army. The actions required to be undertaken by armies have been very well documented from ancient times.

1. Marching

Armies have to march from one place to another. Before a battle takes place, they have to march to the war front and camp. The strategic considerations for a march will require detailed planning for the route to be taken, protection of the route against invaders, weather and climate, how far the army is required to march etc. Accordingly the route will be reconnoitered including locations of camps en-route. The terrain or geography of the area will also be studied to see good battlegrounds, local agriculture and other resources for feeding the troops.

While marching, armies follow a battle order or tactical order of march-single line i.e one soldier behind another, was a marching order followed when going through forests. Similarly, different marching orders were followed depending upon the terrain. Drills were rehearsed for areas such as crossing a river or mountain where enemy can surprise the marching army by attacking from flanks. The various marching orders have been well described in Agnipurana. Agnipurana is a sanskrit text and is one of the Puranas.

2. Camping

The next strategic point for consideration was the camping site to rest the soldiers after a long march. The camp site should be big enough to house the entire army and must have dry and level ground for all animals, chariots etc. to enter and exit the campsite. It must offer protection from all sides. Campsite must be near a water source such as pond or river. The camp also served as a place for resting the troops, treating the wounded and replenishing the units.

3. Selection of Battlefield

Strategy in selection of battleground was based on the ease of movements of chariots, cavalry and elephants. The ground should not be marshy or have clay soil because the wheels of the chariots could get stuck. The ground must be big open land with soft mud to enable the army to use the tactics of encirclement and flanking maneuvers. There was also a consideration of space available for formations such as half-moon, arrow, etc.

Tactics concerns the method of use of the army units in actual battle. An army in attack mode adopts speed, flanking manoeuvre, etc., to defeat the enemy. An army in defence adopts various formations such as the one shown above and is called tactics in defence.

Naval Warfare

The creation of Admiralty by Kautilya during the period of Magadh Empire is evidence enough of the existence of Naval force. Ships and boats along with their design characteristics have been well written. Ships have been used for commercial purposes during the vedic period and also by empires of South India.

The ancient Tamils used ships for expeditions and conquests especially in South East Asia. The Kings of Southern India undertook expeditions to establish their supremacy in Lanka as well as Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Cheras and the Chalukyas maintained strong fleet of naval war ships.