Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/713

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STRATEGY. 615 STRATFORD DE REDCLIFEE. jective, against which all cfl'orts should be di- rected at the outset, is the enemy's main ai'my. (3) Every ell'ort must be made to bring to- getlier at the decisive moment all available forces. These relate to the general objects of the war, tlie theatre of operations, and the entire held army as a whole. Separate actions may take place in various parts iif the theatre, and they, too, will involve strategic principles, similar in character, but of minor importance. (4) The ofl'ensive alone promises decisive re- sults. (5) The defensive can only avoid defeat; it cannot win victory. (U) It is impossible to be too strong for a decisive battle. (7) Concentration of the foi'ces is a necessary condition for decisive action. (8) No alteration in the plan of operations should be made after the campaign has definitely opened, unless enforced by the enemy or by the elements or unforeseen circumstances. During the progress of military events certain of the latter will generally have a common ob- ject, and will be clo.5ely related in other respects. Every such group of events, composed in general of marches, positions, and battles, is designated an opeiation. A group of closely related opera- tions constitutes a campaign. To-day the opera- tions of a campaign are practically continuous, but, in order to be so. there must be a hase of supplies, where ammunition, food, forage, and so on are accumulated for the support and main- tenance of the army in its advance. Formerly this base was fixed, and could be fortified and stocked with supplies beforehand, but modern war demands a movable base, usually a network of railroads, but sometimes furnislied by a fleet. The lines along which the army advances from its base toward its objective are called lines of operation, and those by which the armj' obtains its subsistence and supplies, lines of communi- cation. The base, the lines of operation, and the lines of communication, being of vital importance to the operating army, are naturally the objects of the enemy's attacks and mananivres. The strategic events of a campaign will usually take place in the following order: Preparation, mobilization, strategic deploy- ment, plan of operations, and the military opera- tions themselves. The operations may be strategically offensive or strategically defensive, or finally alternately offensive and defensive. The strategical ofl'ensive may be combined with the tactical ofl'ensive or the tactical defensive; and the strategical de- fensive may also be combined with either tacti- cal form. All strategists and tacticians unite in giving the preference to the strategical and tacti- cal ofl'ensive combined, but eireinnstances may force one of the other combinations on an army, at least for a time, or perhaps only in a particu- lar part of the theatre. In that case, however, the ofl'ensive must be taken up at the earliest opportunity, if decisive results are desired. The great principles of strategy apply to naval warfare as well as to wars on land, but certain modifications result from the fact that the lines of communication in the case of a fleet are less clearly marked, and bases and coaling and repair stations which are absolutely essential to suc- cess in naval warfare can be improvised and, if need be, changed. Again, cond)ined naval and land operations, the traiisiliou from the purely naval contest to extended operations on land, involve some new principles not set forth here: the control of the sea by the attacker's fleet is one of the first conditions for the success of such combined fiperations. Hini.ioou.M'iiY. Von der Goltz, KriegfUhrung (Berlin, KS!)5) ; English translation, 'J'hc Con- duct of ll'ur (KiUisas City, 1001) ; Holienlohe, Letters on Strategy (London, 18i)8) ; (Junther, Heerncsen und Kriegflilaung in unserer Zeit (Berlin, 1!)02) ; Loringhoven, Htudien iiber KriegfUhrung (ib., 1901-03) ; Napoleon, Com- mentaries (Paris, 1807); Maillard, liUmenls de la guerre(ib.. 1891) ; liigelow , Principles of Hlriil- egy (Philadelphia, 1894) ; Keim, Kriegslchre ■und KriegfUhrung (Berlin, 1889) ; Derrecagaix, La guerre moderne (Paris, 1885) ; Gizycki, atralegisch-taktisehe Aufgahen (Leipzig, 1897); Pierron, Les methodes de guerres tictu- cllcs et vers la fin du XlXenie siecle (Paris, 1903) ; Frobcnius, Kriegsgesehiclitliche lieispiele des Festungskriegcs (Berlin, 1903). See Tactics, MiLiT.vRY: Tactics, Naval; Battle; War. STRAT'FORD. A town and suburb of Lon- don, in Essex, on the Lea. 4 miles east of Saint Paul's (Map: London, D 8). It has a fine town hall and is the seat of various extensive manu- factures. There are flour mills, distilleries, and chemical works. The prosperity of the town has increased through its connection with the Eastern Counties Railway and the extensive works the company established here. Population, in 1891, 38,012; "in 1901, 44,825. STRATFORD. A port of entry and the capi- tal of Pertli County, Ontario, Canada, on the Avon River, and the Grand Trunk and the Georgian Bay and Lake Erie railroads, 88 miles west of Toronto (Map: Ontario, B 4). It has good water power, and there are flour, salt, and planing mills, and manufactures of iron east- ings, mill machinery, boots and shoes, and farming implements. The Grand Trunk Railroad shops are here. The county buildings are at- tractive. Population, in 1901, 9959. STRATFORD DE RED'CLIFFE, Stratford Canning, Viscount (1780-1880). An English diplomat, born in London. The influence of his famous cousin, George Canning, secured for Stratford in 1808 the secretaryship of the Em- bassy at Constantinople, under Adair, and on the latter's resignation in 1810 Canning was made IMinister Plenipotentiary. In this position at a most critical moment in the great struggle against Napoleon, he negotiated the Treaty of Bucharest between Russia and Turkey, in 1812. In 1820 he was made Minister to the I'nited States, where he was successful in the settlement of the diflicult questions arising out of the War of 1812. After performing various diplomatic services and holding a seat in the House of Commons, he was sent in 1841 as Am- bassador to Constantinople. The most dramatic and important event of his service at the Turk- ish capital was his diplomatic contest in 1853 with Prince Menshikofl', the Russian Ambassador Extraordinary. The result of the struggle — through which Canning obtained the name of 'Great Eltchi,' or 'the great ambassador' — was a victory for Canning. He remained at Constanti- nople throughout the Crimean War and until