How To Divide

Divide and conquer, but, how to divide.

 

Before you start your actions in a system, the system if its stable - that is, have existed since a long time - is balanced; even if that balance is dynamic.

 

[I will elaborate the above line below. This is the pattern I will follow in the rest of the article. First I make a claim, or note an observation, or suggest an action for a given situation; this I will underline. Then I will elaborate it in one or more paragraphs below it; those paragraphs will not be underlined]

 

I am claiming above that a system that exist since a long time is stable. This is not always visible. When its not visible the stability is dynamic.

 

Let me break it down.

 

If a system exist since a long time then its stable, by definition. If it was not stable it would have torned up into pieces by now. 

 

For a system to be stable its not necessary to be static. The system can change states and still be stable. It’s a matter of what states the system goes to.

 

If the system goes to same states again and again then its dynamically stable. If its going to new states then its not stable. If its not changing states then its statically stable.

 

A system is stable only if its balanced. Its constituents either do not oppose each other, or oppose with equal amount of pressure. All the time or averaged over time.

 

Once you know this fact about systems, all systems, you can use it for your advantage.

 

When you start your actions in a system, focus on destroying one type of constituents.

 

Dont even out your efforts on different types of constituents. Target, at the first stage, only 1 type of constituents.

 

The idea here is to break the stability of the system. This is how you get a foothold in the system.

 

A stable system will resist you - an intruder. A volatile system will be too busy in its internal conflicts to bother you in any significant amount.

 

Sure you will get a few blows here and there from a volatile system because you may come across a force opposite to you by chance, but its not concentrated effort. It dont stop you.

 

 As soon as you tilt the balance-of-power the side unopposed by you would become like an allie to you. It will not oppose you even if it dont help you. It will be busy in filling the gap, the vacuum, you create but and here is a key point: since you are present and is the one that created the vacuum so is already present in the area, you will gain some space, fill some vacuum, even if you are incompetent or less competent than the other fillers.

 

You - an outsider - make some net gain, the elements of the system - the insiders - suffer net loss.

 

The unopposed elements wouldn’t fight with you over the spoils because they need you in further assaults on the defeated element.

 

When one type of constituents is sufficiently destroyed - that is, its clear that it cannot rise without help or without change in situation - but not fully destroyed, move towards destruction of the next type of constituents by sub-dividing it and repeating the above process. Keep doing this till you completely or overwhelmingly control the system.

 

There are 3 lessons in above underlined paragraph.

 

1. When you are done with one element move towards another element and so on.

 

2. When you move towards second element and after its destruction to next element and so on, dont attempt to destroy those elements in totality. Sub-divide the element at hand. Then destroy some parts of it. Then move to next element.

 

The second and so on elements have to be treated differently than the first element that you started with. Its because as you destroy an element the remaining elements get stronger and therefore become harder to be destroyed, and because you have to have some rhyme and reason in your actions or nobody would trust you.

 

As stated in above paragraph, first reason of dividing second and so on elements in parts and not doing same with first element is that destruction in totality get harder progressively as you move from element to element. Your actions have side effects, they cannot be clean. Your conquests helps in others' conquests. Your opponents get stronger with you. The second element may not get too stronger for you but the third or any other down the line can very well be.

 

At some point you have to resort to only destroying elements in parts, that is, some parts of it. My suggestion is to start doing that before you are forced to, to get some points in reputation.  Start sub-dividing from the second element.

 

You cannot justify moving against your de-facto allie after destruction of the first element. It will create an image of opportunism, unreliablility and selfishness  of you.

 

You can only go against some parts of the element provided there is a rhyme and reason for that other than they were convenient or rich etc. 

 

If you dont sub-divide the second and so on elements, then any loss of them can result in gain of the first element. This will in effect cancel your efforts though not fully so because you did get some foothold in the first stage.

 

Any loss of the second element that is not a gain for you or yet unopposed elements must be a gain of the second element itself. This is only possible if the second element has parts.

 

Therefore, sub-divide the second and so on elements.

 

3. If an element or a part is sufficiently small then dont destroy it. Let it exist. This will show that living is possible in the new scheme while maintaining one's identity.

 

Being done with an element or part dont mean total destruction of it. Let it stay in a damaged but not recoverable state. It can put some bandages on and have some wounds heal but dont let it grow back limbs.

 

Only way an element or part can grow back, get back its lost limbs, is by re-conquering some or whole of what it has lost. As long as its kept small it cannot do that. When it cannot do that it will remain small and thus get controlled.

 

Your real competition and the only way your conquest can be stopped once you have broken the stability of the system.

 

You can be stopped while the system is stable. A stable system can muster the power of the entire system and that can very well defeat you.

 

You cannot be stopped from within the system once the system is broken down by you. Then you can be stopped only by forces outside the system.

 

You can be stopped if you yourself break down but since you are winning it will not happen.

 

You can be stopped by other outsider invaders. You didnt break their system.

 

Your success as an invader is in a sense self-limiting because it will encourage other outsiders to take their bite of a wounded system. This is where your real competition is now.

 

If there is a dominant then its an element, not a system. Treat elements differently than systems by going for the dominant part first. If you cannot go for the dominant part then dont attack the element.

 

First you have to see if there is a dominant player in the area. Its the one that is controlling others, whose orders others follow.

 

If there is one, then you are not dealing with a system, you are dealing with an element. An element is different from a system, it has greater cohesion because it has a dominant that binds all parts together. In a system on the other hand the constituents think of themselves as equals. 

 

As long as you can, that is, if its not geographically too far away or is too strong for you, go for the dominant part first when bringing down an element.

 

If you don’t go for the dominant part first, then any gain you make would easily be reverted back by the much stronger forces of the dominant itself along with its controlees, must stronger than what you have dealt with so far. By going for a minor part first you make the dominant stronger as it has less to worry about now and therefore can concentrate forces.

 

Ofcourse its not always possible to go directly for the dominant part. Most of the times you have to clear the path. Its okay to bring down lesser parts along the way but your target should be the dominant part. If you find or gain some way to directly attack the dominant part then do it.

 

How To Deal With Other Outsiders or How Could Hitler Have Won The War

 

Both germany and soviet union were outsiders, feasting on continental europe. When one break a country, an element, its necessarily strengthening its rival.

 

The only way therefore for germany to win the war was to silence its competitor, the soviet union. Hilter knew it and therefore attacked the soviet union once it was done with the continental europe. The problem is, he didn’t sub-divide.

 

Hitler went for swallowing the continental soviet union as a whole. This was too big to swallow. 

 

If he had sub-divided it. Showed good behavior towards non-russian eastern europeans such as ukranians he could have won the war.

 

 Another mistake was not going for the dominant part first. Hitler diverted his efforts towards necessary but not dominant parts. He should have concentrated efforts towards moscow. Moscow was the heart, not Caucasus. Direct movement towards moscow would also leave little time for soviets to dismantle and relocate factories.

 

Moscow was what controlled the soviet union. Its from where the orders came from.

 

If it wasnt possible for germany to destroy or capture moscow without first capturing Caucasus' oil then it should either not invade soviet union at all or invade it from the south to have the caucasus' oil along the way to moscow.

 

This solves the eastern front but what about the war as a whole?

 

The other players, the british empire and usa would have invaded continental europe at some point. It just couldn’t be too soon. Their economies and mentality wasn't for total war in the first 2, 3 years of the war. The british isles may be transformed into war economy quickly but not most of the british empire. This gave room to germany to finish off soviet union then come back for a war of defence.

 

While successful conquest of soviet union itself wouldnt bring germany world dominance it would both get it time for military buildup and free resources to defend continental europe from british and american invasion for few years that are needed for the said buildup.

 

What Could Have Stop The British Conquest of India Once British Won The War of Plassey (1757)

 

It couldn’t be the mughals (delhi sultanate). They used to be the dominant force in india but after Nadir Shah's invasion (1729) they were mostly just the figureheads. Provinces were breaking down from the delhi sultanate since. Infact the british won the war of plassey not over the mughals but over the independent nawab of bengal.

 

Only way india could be saved outside of all not yet conquered by british india getting united under mughal banner after 1757 was an invasion from an outsider of the bengal or an invasion from afghanistan that go directly to bengal to defeat british.

 

French did try to conquer bengal in late 1770s but failed.

 

No afghan invader came. Even if one would have come he would have concentrate his efforts in capturing provinces near afghanistan than going directly to bengal which was entirely at other side geographically.

 

Point is, once you have broken a system, it not itself become stable again. It need an outside force to bring back stability.

 

India wouldnt have break, at first place, if it wasnt a system but an element. If it had a powerful and dominant delhi sultanate.