“He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious”
The Battle.
B. H. Liddell Hart describes the German strategy in France in 1940 as meeting with great success because of the German speed in the element of surprise. Similar to the success achieved by the United States in the first Gulf War when US forces exploited the element of surprise, the Germans also attacked at unexpected points with speed that had never been seen before on the battlefield. German airborne assaults used to secure bridges, and lightning attacks to secure the advantages of their armour resulted in the British being driven back to the sea at Dunkirk in World War II.
Comment
In business, if you wait to hear the thunder clap it is often too late. Political, economic, and legal shifts within nations can take place with blitzkrieg speed. As a Canadian SME business leader it is imperative that you scan your ecosystems for telltale signs of pending seismic shifts and emerging trends like those we discuss on this site. Who saw the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics? Is Vladimir Putin today indicating a return to some of Russia’s former communist values? Will the Chinese currency rival the US dollar as the world reserve currency? Or more recently the speed of the collapse of the Afghanistan government and capitulation of its military to the Taliban? What will the turbulence this regime change will bring to The Grand Chessboard? (Link to
The lesson — Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted…
The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (our book tab)
The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997) is one of the major works of Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski graduated with a PhD from Harvard University in 1953 and became Professor of American Foreign Policy at John Hopkins University. He was later the United States National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981, under the administration of President Jimmy Carter.
See Amazon – As the twentieth century draws to a close, the United States has emerged as the world’s only superpower: no other nation possesses comparable military and economic power or has interests that bestride the globe. Yet the critical question facing America remains unanswered: What should be the nation’s global strategy for maintaining its exceptional position in the world? Zbigniew Brzezinski tackles this question head-on in this incisive and pathbreaking book. The Grand Chessboard presents Brzezinski’s bold and provocative geostrategic vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century.
Central to his analysis is the exercise of power on the Eurasian landmass, which is home to the greatest part of the globe’s population, natural resources, and economic activity. Stretching from Portugal to the Bering Strait, from Lapland to Malaysia, Eurasia is the ”grand chessboard” on which America’s supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to manage the conflicts and relationships in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East so that no rival superpower arises to threaten our interests or our well-being.
The heart of The Grand Chessboard is Brzezinski’s analysis of the four critical regions of Eurasia and of the stakes for America in each arena—Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and East Asia. The crucial fault lines may seem familiar, but the implosion of the Soviet Union has created new rivalries and new relationships, and Brzezinski maps out the strategic ramifications of the new geopolitical realities.
He explains, for example, why France and Germany will play pivotal geostrategic roles, whereas Britain and Japan will not. Why NATO expansion offers Russia the chance to undo the mistakes of the past, and why Russia cannot afford to toss this opportunity aside. Why the fate of Ukraine and Azerbaijan are so important to America. Why viewing China as a menace is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why America is not only the first truly global superpower but also the last—and what the implications are for America’s legacy.
Brzezinski’s surprising and original conclusions often turn conventional wisdom on its head as he lays the groundwork for a new and compelling vision of America’s vital interests. Once, again, Zbigniew Brzezinski provides a philosophical and practical guide for maintaining and managing hard-won global power.
