From Robert Hope
General Green presents "brain box” paper to Professors at the Virginia Military Academy
In assisting the southern war effort, General Green is reported to have presented a brain box paper to professors’ at the Virginia Military Academy. The former pupil of the Academy presented his paper entitled “Fire At the Right Time” (FART) to Professors’ of Natural and Experimental Philosophy".
Based on General Green's extensive military career as a Mexican war veteran, the paper recalls that in 1861 and 1862 - that both sides employed the tactics proven in Mexico. This found that tactical offence could still be successful, but only at great cost in casualties. Now men with rifles, BLR's and BLC's in defence are generally ripping frontal assaults to shreds. The paper acknowledges that these significant changes in weapon technology have in turn lead to new strategies and tactics being employed on the field of battle.
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| Van Moltke |
Drawing upon more recent events and our three fights for independence in 1863 against a cosmopolitan mix of the Austro-Hungarian's within the "German Brigade", his paper takes a fresh look at current military doctrine derived from Van Moltke: “That no plan survives first contact with the enemy".
The brain box thinking behind the paper considers in depth something that has largely been overlooked – the mental health and well-being of the General. "The "Achilles Heel" of Van Moltke doctrine is that as the General you will find yourself stressing out when you plans don’t go as you want them to. You might be too disappointed when they go a bit awry. Such shock is believed to cause physical injury to the nerves leading to a form of post traumatic stress disorder. In some cases it is known to cause the General to act like a possum on the field of battle. In due course, in the worst cases this is likely to result in the General putting his underpants on his head and sticking pencils in his nostrils and so ending up in the State Lunatic Asylums for the Insane.
To avoid this, the paper by General Green recommends setting out on something which gives you the general the freedom to simply look forward to the outcome of the battle. For example, if you do not have a have plan - so what can go wrong ? In this way, hopefully, you’ll rarely find yourself getting disappointed !
