The Relationship Between Culture and War

The Relationship Between Culture and War

Guy Regina

Park University

Abstract

The case study that I have chose is chapter seven from author Wayne Lee's Warfare and Culture in World History, entitled German Military Culture and the Colonial war in Southwest Africa, 1904-1907. This chapter details how German culture bred a regime of destruction and pride throughout its military and political world, their perceived weakness by the rest of the European nations, and the overall outcome this had on their warfare. Additionally, I will tie this case study in with my major, Logistics, and with the current global issue regarding the war in Afghanistan and how the German conflict in Southwest Africa mirrors it in many fashions. Throughout history culture has continued to influence the way in which the world wages war.

German Military Culture and the Colonial war in Southwest Africa, 1904-1907 from Wayne Lee's book Warfare and Culture in World History-, details the German conflict in Southwest Africa between before World War I. This chapter explains the culture of the German people and how it influenced their practices on the battlefield. It is evident throughout history that what defines the way in which the soldier fights is the culture of his country. War, however, does not define culture. This is the reason I have appropriately titled this case study "Culture and War." I believe culture takes precedence over war. In relation to my Logistics and Management major, the breakdown of the Germans logistical supply chain was a contributing factor to the prolonged engagement in Southwest Africa. The Germans expected and demanded quick and swift victory similar to the expectation of the American people in the current war in Afghanistan. However, as history has shown, as deeply patriotic citizens believe in their culture and reasoning for war, their adversaries often do too. This creates prolonged conflicts on the battlefield and in the political arena.

One of the key components to the Germans extended stay in Southwest Africa was their lack of or failure in the field of logistics. Simply put, the German soldiers did not have what they required to fight nor an adequate supply of rations to sustain themselves in battle. Lee states "Provisioning (logistics) was the stepchild of the German military. No ambitious officer chose to specialize in it, for the German military culture stressed fighting above any and all ancillary activities." (p.151). The German's logistical supply chain was so haphazard that they often planned on the off chance that they would acquire provisions from locations near the battlefield. This often led to mass malnutrition and scurvy among the German troops as they were only provided two- thirds rations per day. This lack of supply inevitably led to half of the Germans 1500 casualties. The frustration this caused among the troops leads into the next aspect of this case study which is relating this chapter to a current global issue: the war in Afghanistan.

Similar to the German conflict in Southwest Africa, the United States and the United Nations war in Afghanistan has been strongly influenced by the cultures of their respective countries. Germany expected a quick victory, after all how long could it really take for these "superior Europeans" to defeat the "inferior Africans"? The Germans failed to realize that the Africans also had a culture and something to fight for, maybe even more. This better than them mentality also rings true in Afghanistan today. Nobody in America could have imagined that over ten years later we would still be fighting a war against "inferior terrorist Afghanis." The term inferior is used in this case study to generalize the mindset of the powerful countries over the weak. Once again, American mentality, how can we possibly lose or be outsmarted by people in caves and villages wielding nothing more that assault rifles and small explosives? Americans have the planes, the ships, the tanks, the bombs, and the technology. So, why have they taken so long to win with such a huge advantage? The answer simply boils down to culture. The Afghanis fight for more than victory: they fight for religion, their beliefs, their families, and their lives. This astounding determination has kept the United States there for 10 years and continues to feed the American dogma that Americans are just better. It all goes back to culture and unfortunately this current American culture is, in my opinion, the reason America is unfavorable to so many countries around the world. A prime example of culture defining war was seen in 2003 when the United States launched its "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq. The goal of this operation was to showcase the pure might of the American military to the Iraqi leaders in order to urge surrender. Again, American culture defined how they chose to handle the war. But, even after this shock and awe campaign, Saddam Hussein's supporters still fought. After the barrage of air power and the parade of tanks, the Iraqis still stood, with nothing more than an AK47 and a pair of sandals. Their unfaltering culture would not let them give up that easily. Now the real question is: who really got shocked and awed?

Returning to the German war in Southwest Africa, the German culture was the sole reason the war went right and wrong in so many ways. Germans had something