US Marine Corps College PC Game 兵推

【Comment】

這篇文章，只是美國海軍陸戰隊學院的課程中，使用PC Game來兵推的練習課程。（所以後段，翻譯較為粗糙）。等於是市販品的兵棋，加上專業軍人的推演的結果。

這些學員，至少是少校，正好是軍方實戰的中間幹部。

裡面有幾個重點：1.  給戰爭經費、2.  給準備時間、3.  給開戰場景。

出現的問題是：1.  前線指揮官會按耐不住，想動用戰術核武、2.  外交很重要、3.  美軍只會對台灣有海空軍支援，不會有陸軍上陸、4.  日本陸上自衛隊會上陸。

意思是，台灣要自救才行。

不自救也可以，事後拿錢還換。

HOW DOES THE NEXT GREAT POWER CONFLICT PLAY OUT? LESSONS FROM A WARGAME    JAMES LACEY  War On the Rock 20190424    Taimocracy翻譯

https://warontherocks.com/2019/04/how-does-the-next-great-power-conflict-play-out-lessons-from-a-wargame/?fbclid=IwAR3E_pBjQonMJyJPlRROivX5Oqz0QbddvkENHySi3cqiwGPqZJd1rEnWcZg

The United States can win World War III, but it’s going to be ugly and it better end quick, or everyone starts looking for the nuclear trigger.

美國可以贏得第三次世界大戰，但它會變得醜陋，最好快速結束，要不，每個人都會開始啟動核武。

That is the verdict of a Marine Corps War College wargame I organized that allowed students to fight a multiple great state conflict last week.  To set the stage, the students were given an eight-year road-to-war, during which time Russia seized the Baltics and all of Ukraine.  Consequently, the scenario starts with a surging Russia threatening Poland.  Similar to 1939, Poland became the catalyst that finally focused NATO’s attention on the looming Russian threat, leading to a massing of both NATO and Russian forces on the new Eastern Front.  China begins the scenario in the midst of a debt-related financial crisis and plans to use America’s distraction with Russia to grab Taiwan and focus popular discontent outward.  And Kim Jong-un, ever the opportunist, decides that the time has arrived to unify the Korean peninsula under his rule.  For purposes of the wargame, each of these events occurred simultaneously.

這是我組織的海軍陸戰隊戰爭學院戰爭遊戲的結局。它允許學生上週與多重大國衝突作鬥爭。為了搭建舞台，學生們獲得了8年的戰爭準備期。在此期間，俄羅斯佔領了波羅的海和整個烏克蘭。因此，情景開始於洶湧的俄羅斯威脅波蘭。 與1939年相似，波蘭成為催化劑，最終將北約的注意力集中在迫在眉睫的俄羅斯威脅上，導致北約和俄羅斯軍隊在新的東部陣線上集結。中國在與債務相關的金融危機中介入這種情況，計劃利用美國對俄羅斯的分心，來併吞台灣，以向外導引民眾的不滿情緒。金正恩，一直是機會主義者，決定現在已經到了將朝鮮半島統一起來的時候了。為了戰爭遊戲的目的，每個事件同時發生。

Investing for War 戰爭投資

The wargames were played by six student teams, or approximately five persons each.  There were three red teams, representing Russia, China, and North Korea; combatting three blue teams representing Taiwan, Indo-Pacific Command (Korea conflict) and European Command.  All of these teams were permitted to coordinate their activities both before the conflict and during.  Interestingly, although it was not part of the original player organization the Blue side found it necessary to have a player take on the role of the Joint Staff, to better coordinate global activities.

戰爭遊戲由六組學生團隊對戰，每組約五人。有三支紅隊，分別代表俄羅斯，中國和朝鮮；攻擊代表台灣，印度太平洋司令部（朝鮮衝突）和歐洲司令部的三支藍隊。所有這些團隊都被允許在衝突前和衝突期間協調他們的活動。有趣的是，雖然它不是原始組織的成員，但藍方認為有必要讓成員擔任聯合參賽者的角色，以更好地協調全球活動。

Prior to the wargame, the students were given a list of approximately 75 items they could invest in that would give them certain advantages during the game.  Nearly everything was on the table, from buying an additional carrier or brigade combat team, to taking a shot at getting quantum computing technology to work.  Each team was given $200 billion dollars to invest, with the Russians and Chinese being forced to split their funding.  Every team invested heavily in hypersonic technology, cyber (offensive and defensive), space, and lasers.  The U.S. team also invested a large sum in directed diplomacy.  If they had not done so, Germany and two other NATO nations would not have shown up for the fight in Poland.  Showing a deepening understanding of the crucial importance of logistics, both red and blue teams used their limited lasers to defend ports and major logistical centers.

在戰爭之前，學生們獲得了他們可以投資的大約75件物品的清單，這將在遊戲中給予他們一定的優勢。幾乎所有東西都擺在桌面上，從調度額外的航母或旅級團隊，到採取量子計算技術的工作。每個團隊獲得2000億美元的投資，俄羅斯人和中國人被迫分配資金。每個團隊都投入巨資投入高超音速技術，網絡（進攻和防守），太空和雷射。美國隊也在直接外交上投入了大筆資金。如果他們沒有這樣做，德國和其他兩個北約國家就不會出現在波蘭的戰鬥中。紅色和藍色團隊對後勤的至關重要性有了深入的了解，他們使用有限的雷射來保護港口和主要的後勤中心。

Because the benefits of quantum computing were so massive, the American team spent a huge amount of its investment capital in a failed bid for quantum dominance.  In this case, quantum computing might resemble cold fusion — ten years away and always will be.  Interestingly, no one wanted another carrier, while everyone invested heavily in artificial intelligence, attack submarines, and stealth squadrons.  The U.S. team also invested in upgrading logistics infrastructure, which had a substantial positive impact on sustaining three global fights.

由於量子計算的巨大優點，美國團隊花費了大量的投資資金，未能成功獲得量子優勢。在這種情況下，量子計算可能類似於冷聚變 - 十年之後也將永遠存在。有趣的是，沒有人想要另一艘航空母艦，而每個人都投入大量資金用於人工智能，攻擊潛艇和隱形中隊。美國團隊還投資改善後勤基礎設施，這對維持三場全球戰鬥產生了實質性的積極影響。

Early Strategic Decisions  早期戰略決定

As there was not enough American combat power to fight and win three simultaneous major conflicts, hard strategic choices were unavoidable.  The American team quickly decided that losing Taiwan was not an existential threat to the United States, and except for a token Marine Corps force, Taiwan was left to fend for itself on the ground while substantial American air and naval assets challenged China’s access.  The U.S. players viewed Taiwan as an economy of force effort that would be reinforced with ground troops once the big fight (Russia) was won.  In the meantime, Team America opted to defend Taiwan with air and naval power, which continuously plagued Chinese attempts to reinforce their troops on the island.  Similarly, South Korea, while viewed as crucial to long-term U.S. security, was also responsible for its own defense, although the American 2nd and 25th Infantry Divisions arrived in force early-on, as did two regiments of American Marines.  Still, the bulk of the fighting was left to South Korean forces.

由於沒有足夠的美國戰鬥力來戰鬥並贏得三次同時發生的重大衝突，因此艱難的戰略選擇是不可避免的。美國隊迅速決定失去台灣不是對美國的生存威脅，除了象徵性的海軍陸戰隊部隊之外，台灣只能在地面上自生自滅，而美國的大量航空和海軍資產則挑戰中國的進逼。美國隊的成員認為台灣是一種力量的經濟體，一旦（對俄羅斯）大戰獲勝，這種力量就會被地面部隊加強。與此同時，美國隊選擇用空中和海軍力量捍衛台灣，這種力量一直困擾著中國在島上加強部隊的企圖。同樣，雖然美國第2和第25步兵師在早已抵達，但美國海軍陸戰隊的兩個團也是如此，但韓國雖然被視為對美國長期安全至關重要，但也對自己的防禦負責。儘管如此，大部分戰鬥都留給了韓國軍隊。

Believing that China and North Korea had no military ambitions beyond their immediate objectives, the U.S. team adopted for a “Europe First” policy, similar to the strategic decisions the nation made during the Second World War.  Consequently, eight American Army divisions, most of the Marine Corps, and significant air assets made their way to Europe.  Interestingly, the U.S. team decided to send almost all of its naval assets to the Pacific, which made the GIUK gap vulnerable.  The scenario allowed for a lengthy strategic build-up in Europe.  But because the conflicts in the Pacific were more opportunist, they were mostly “come as you are” affairs.

美國團隊相信中國和朝鮮沒有超出其近期目標的軍事野心，採取了「歐洲優先」政策，類似於第二次世界大戰期間國家製定的戰略決策。因此，八個美國陸軍師，大部分海軍陸戰隊和重要的航空資產都進入了歐洲。有趣的是，美國團隊決定將幾乎所有的海軍資產都送到太平洋地區，這使得GIUK脆弱。該方案允許在歐洲進行漫長的戰略積累。但是因為太平洋地區的衝突更多是機會主義式，所以他們大多是「愛來就來」。

 

What Happened When the Guns Started Firing? 開戰後會怎樣？

The South Koreans had time to alert their border forces and begin moving troops up from the southern part of the country.  But the North Koreans struck before these reinforcements were fully deployed.  The original North Korean intent (as shown in the picture below) was to strike hard, bypass Seoul, and drive deep into South Korea.

韓國人有時間提醒他們的邊防部隊，並開始從該國南部調動部隊。但朝鮮人在這些增援部隊全部部署之前就已經開始襲擊。最初的朝鮮意圖（如下圖所示）是嚴厲打擊，繞過首爾，並深入韓國。

The North had some initial success in front of Seoul and managed to break through South Korean lines in the center.  Fortunately, the North Koreans were unable to exploit this success before U.S. Marines and the Army’s 2nd and 25th Divisions, advancing from the south, built a second defensive line along the Bukhan River.

北方在首爾面前取得了一些初步成功，並成功突破了該中心的韓國線路。幸運的是，朝鮮人無法利用這一成功，然後美國海軍陸戰隊和陸軍第2和第25師從南部前進，在北漢江沿岸修建了第二條防線。

With the center offensive halted by American reinforcements, the North Koreans shifted the bulk of their assaults toward Seoul, which acted like a magnet upon any forces in the area.  By now the North Koreans were behind schedule and congestion was slowing the build-up of North Korean combat power along the battle-line.  To regain momentum, the Chinese committed their 79th and 80th Armies to the offensive (circled in red below).  But with American forces supporting the South Koreans in front of Seoul and along the Bukhan River, the attack’s progress slowed.  It is worth noting that much of the American success was due to huge amounts of sorties flown from bases in South Korea, Japan, and nearby carriers.  However, when China entered the fight, the carriers were forced to pull back beyond DF-21and DF-26 range.

由於美國增援部隊阻止了主力部隊進攻，朝鮮人將他們的大部分攻擊轉移到首爾，這吸引該地區的任何部隊。到目前為止，朝鮮人已經落後於計劃時間表，並且沿戰線增加朝鮮戰力也減緩。為了重新獲得動力，中國人將他們的第79和第80軍隊投入進攻（下面用紅色圈出）。但隨著美國軍隊在首爾和北漢江沿線支援韓國人，襲擊進展緩慢。值得注意的是，美國的大部分成功歸功於從韓國，日本和附近航母飛來的大量飛機。然而，當中國加入戰鬥時，航母被迫退出DF-21和DF-26範圍。

With South Korea under extreme pressure, the U.S. team shifted the 82nd Airborne Division from its reserve position in Warsaw, Poland to Seoul.  After redeploying to the other side of the globe, the 82nd was immediately injected into the fight.  This proved enough to stymie the Chinese offensive, at least temporarily.

由於韓國面臨極大壓力，美國隊將第82空降師從其在波蘭華沙的預備位置轉移到首爾。重新部署到地球的另一邊後，第82空降師立即介入戰鬥。事實證明這足以阻止中國的進攻，至少是暫時的。

In an attempt to get things moving again, the North Koreans resorted to chemical weapons.  With no adequate conventional response to chemical strikes, which inflicted tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties, the INDOPACOM commander requested nuclear release authority.

為了讓事情再次前進，朝鮮人使用了化學武器。由於無針對化武攻擊足夠的常規反應，造成數万軍事和平民傷亡，INDOPACOM指揮官要求啟動核武。

In Taiwan, after a brief but spirited defense of the nation’s beaches, Taiwanese troops were forced, by a successful Chinese airborne assault that captured a port in their rear, to retreat into the nation’s mountainous interior.

在台灣，在對國家海灘進行短暫但充滿活力的防禦之後，台灣軍隊被中國成功的空襲，攻擊迫使其撤離到該國的山區內部。

As the Chinese consolidated their beachheads, brought in heavier forces, and moved cautiously inland, the Taiwanese fell back on Taipei.  Here they intended to launch local counter-attacks and hold at least a portion of the island until the United States came to their aid.  The Chinese build-up was severely hampered by U.S. naval and air power, which, despite the retreat of the carriers, was able to inflict serious losses upon the Chinese invasion armada and damage their debarkation ports in Taiwan.  On the ground, the resistance of the Taiwanese forces was stiffened by the insertion of Japanese forces into the line — a result of American investments in pre-war directed diplomacy and a Japan concerned that both Taiwan and the Republic of Korea might fall to China.  The Chinese, unable to make headway in the rough terrain and suffering from numerous local counter-attacks, as well as drawn out clearing operations in urban areas, soon settled into static positions, while they awaited more combat power to arrive from the mainland.

隨著中國人鞏固他們的灘頭陣地，帶來更重的力量，並在內陸謹慎行動，台灣人回到了台北。在這裡，他們打算發動當地的反擊並至少佔據該島的一部分，直到美國援助他們為止。美國的海軍和空中力量嚴重阻礙了中國的集結，儘管這些航母撤退，但仍能夠對中國的入侵艦隊造成嚴重損失並損壞其在台灣的登陸港口。在當地，台灣軍隊的抵抗因日本軍隊加入戰線而變得更堅挺 - 這是美國投資戰前指導外交的結果，也是日本擔心台灣和大韓民國可能落入中國的結果。中國人無法在崎嶇的地形上取得進展，遭受多次地方反擊，也從在城市地區撤退其行動，很快就陷入了靜態陣地，同時他們還在等待從大陸抵達的更多戰鬥力。

The fight in Poland was beyond brutal.  By student estimates, the NATO forces lost over 60,000 men and women on the first day of the fight — shades of the Somme.  The Poles, determined to hold as much of their national territory as possible, refused to fall back on the main NATO defense line and were severely handled.  As the map below shows, U.S. Army divisions were initially set well back from the line as a counter-attacking force.

波蘭的戰鬥是殘酷的。根據學生的估計，北約部隊在戰鬥的第一天失去了超過6萬名男女 - 索姆河的陰影。波蘭人決心盡可能多地佔領他們的國家領土，拒絕回擊北約的主要防線並受到嚴厲處理。如下圖所示，美國陸軍師最初作為反擊力量從陣線中恢復過來。

Despite the NATO commander’s best intent, it proved impossible to hold the American force together for one massive counter-strike.  Due to unrelenting Russian pressure along the front, the American leadership was forced to disperse all its divisions to prop up wavering allies.  Interestingly, this led to the third Battle of the Masurian Lakes or Tannenberg — the first being in 1410 and the second in 1914.

儘管有北約指揮官的最佳意圖，但事實證明不可能將美國軍隊聯合起來進行一場大規模的反擊。 由於俄羅斯前線無情的壓力，美國領導層被迫驅散其所有部門，以支持搖擺不定的盟友。 有趣的是，這導致了馬蘇里湖或Tannenberg的第三次戰役 - 第一次發生在1410年，第二次發生在1914年。

To stop the Russians, the NATO Commander was forced to employ 10th Mountain Division to prop up the battered Poles (white units on the map), while the 1st Cavalry and 1st Armored Divisions counter-attacked further south.  The result was a bloodbath that left every Allied and Russia unit engaged gasping, with most suffering about 50 percent losses within a 72-hour period.

為了阻止俄羅斯人，北約指揮官被迫部署第10山地師來支援被毆打的波蘭人（地圖上的白色部隊），而第1騎兵和第1裝甲師則向南進一步反擊。 結果是一場血腥屠殺使得每個盟軍和俄羅斯部隊都陷入了喘息之中，大多數人在72小時內遭受了大約50％的損失。

After days of hard fighting, NATO managed to stabilize its front, making it possible to pull several heavy divisions off the line and launch a devastating counter-attack on the Russian southern flank, while a marine expeditionary force trapped an entire Russian division in the north.  At this point, intercepts of Russian communications indicated their commanders were asking for nuclear release.

經過幾天的艱苦戰鬥，北約成功地穩定了前線，使得有可能將幾個重型部隊撤離並對俄羅斯南部側翼發動毀滅性的反擊，而一支海上遠征軍則在北部俘獲整個俄羅斯師。此時，對俄羅斯通信的攔截表明他們的指揮官要求使用核武。

Observations and Lessons Learned 觀察與心得

The post-conflict after action review was informative and left the students with much to ponder.  Before listing just a few of the lessons learned, it is important to note that they are the result of only two days of game play.  Moreover, these games were designed to help the students think about future conflicts and operational art, and not for serious analytical work.  Still, there were several observations that may point the services and Joint Staff toward areas that require more serious analysis.

行動後審查後的衝突後提供了豐富的信息，讓學生們有了很多思考。在列出一些經驗教訓之前，重要的是要注意它們只是兩天遊戲的結果。此外，這些遊戲旨在幫助學生思考未來的衝突和操作藝術，而不是用於認真的分析工作。儘管如此，仍有一些觀察結果可能將對參謀首長聯席會議有用，並導向需要更嚴肅分析的領域。

The high rate of loss in modern conventional combat challenged student paradigms ingrained by nearly two decades of counter-insurgency operations.  In just the first week of the war, U.S. forces and their allies suffered over 150,000 losses (World War I levels of attrition) from the fighting in Poland, Korea, and Taiwan.  For students, who have spent their entire military lives viewing the loss of a squad or a platoon as a military catastrophe, this led to a lot of discussion about what it would take to lead and inspire a force that is burning through multiple brigades a day, as well as a lengthy discussion on how long such combat intensity could be sustained.

現代常規戰鬥中的高損失率挑戰了近二十年的反叛亂行動所紮根的學生範式。在戰爭的第一周，美國軍隊及其盟國在波蘭，韓國和台灣的戰鬥中遭受了超過15萬的損失（第一次世界大戰的消耗水平）。對於那些在整個軍人生活中看到失去一個小隊或一個排作為軍事災難的學生來說，這導致了很多關於如何領導和激勵每天耗盡氣力的多個旅的討論，以及關於這種戰鬥強度可以持續多久的冗長討論。

Because of these huge battlefield losses and how long it would take to get National Guard and Reserves into the fight, the decision was made to strip these forces of most of their trained personnel and use their troops as replacements for battered active units.

由於這些巨大的戰場損失，以及將國民警衛隊和後備軍隊投入戰鬥需要多長時間，因此決定剝奪大部分受過訓練的人員的這些部隊，並使用他們的部隊替補受創的現役部隊。

To ease the students into the complexity of this wargame, logistics was hugely simplified.  Still, much of the post-game discussion focused on the impossibility of the U.S. military’s current infrastructure to support even half the forces in theater or to maintain the intensity of combat implied by the wargame as necessary to achieve victory.

為了讓學生更容易進入這場戰爭遊戲的複雜性，後勤區中一半的部隊，或者為了取得勝利而保持戰爭遊戲所暗示的戰鬥強度。

Airpower, the few times it was available, was a decisive advantage on the battlefield.  Unfortunately, the planes rarely showed up to assist the ground war, as they prioritized winning dominance of their own domain over any other task.  Only when the Air Force had completed a multi-week campaign to take down the enemy’s Integrated Air Defense System( IADS) and win the air-battle, were they willing to assist the ground battle.  In the Pacific, the unwillingness to risk carriers within the 900-mile range of Chinese DF-21s and 26s made them close to useless, unless they could operate under a land-based air defense umbrella.

空中力量，幾次可用，是戰場上的決定性優勢。不幸的是，這些飛機很少出現協助地面戰爭，因為他們優先考慮贏得自己領域的優勢，而不是任何其他任務。只有當空軍完成了為期數週的戰役，以擊落敵人的綜合防空系統（IADS）並贏得空戰時，他們才願意協助地面戰。在太平洋地區，不願意在900英里範圍內的中國DF-21和26s範圍內使航空母艦承擔風險，這使得它們幾乎毫無用處，除非它們可以在陸基防空傘下運行。

Neither America nor its allies had any adequate response to the use of chemical weapons by the enemy, short of requesting nuclear release.  It is worth noting that every battle headed rapidly toward total war, as both sides commanders sought to escape restraints on what weapons they could employ within a theater.  Every time a theater commander met with a military setback they requested authority to employ nuclear weapons

美國及其盟國都沒有對敵人使用化學武器作出任何充分的反應，而不是要求使用核武。值得注意的是，每一場戰爭都迅速走向全面戰爭，因為雙方指揮官試圖逃避對他們在戰區內可以使用的武器的限制。每當戰區指揮官遇到軍事挫折時，他們都要求有權使用核武器。

Neither U.S. forces nor allied forces had an answer to counter the overpowering impact of huge enemy fire complexes, which accounted for most American and allied losses.

無論是美國軍隊還是盟軍，都無法應對巨大的敵人綜合火力體，這些綜合火力造成美國和盟軍的大部分損失。

Cyber advantages always proved fleeting.  Moreover, any cyberattack launched on its own was close to useless.  On the other hand, targeted cyber attacks combined with maneuver forces always proved to be a deadly combination.

網絡優勢總是被證明是短暫的。此外，任何單獨發起的網絡攻擊都幾近於無用。另一方面，有針對性的網絡攻擊與機動武力的結合，一再被證明是致命的組合。

When NATO is all-in, it can put a huge effective force in the field.  But it is important to remember that NATO was only all-in because the students took a huge amount of their investment budget and applied it to directed diplomacy, aimed at rebuilding frayed alliances.  Still, the Russian occupation of Ukraine, the Baltics, and Belarus did a lot to focus the attention of NATO allies on the looming threat.

當北約全數介入時，它可以在該領域投入巨大的有效力量。但重要的是要記住，北約只是全數介入，因為學生們花費了大量的投資預算並將其應用於定向外交，旨在重建受損的聯盟。儘管如此，俄羅斯對烏克蘭，波羅的海國家和白俄羅斯的佔領使得北約盟國的注意力集中在迫在眉睫的威脅上。

In Korea, the allies must hold for approximately 10 days before the North Korean logistics system collapses.  It’s important to note, however, that the fighting remains brutal even after North Korea’s logistics system collapses.  Moreover, the restrictive terrain and density of forces leads to particularly intense combat.

在朝鮮，盟國必須在朝鮮後勤系統崩潰前持續大約10天。然而，值得注意的是，即使在朝鮮的後勤系統崩潰之後，戰鬥仍然是殘酷的。此外，限制性地形和力量密度導致特別激烈的戰鬥。

How Did We Play? 我們要怎要做？

For those interested, the games used are all part of GMT’s Next War Series,designed by Mitchell Land and Greg Billingsley.  I have found these commercial games are far more sophisticated and truer to what we expect future combat to look like than anything being used by most of the Department of Defense’s wargaming community which is often decades behind commercial game publishers when it comes to designing realistic games.  In fact, if I was to fault the Next War series for anything, it is that it may be overly realistic and therefore very complex and difficult to master, and time consuming to play.  Thankfully, the designer has agreed to produce a simplified rule-set that will allow for more student iterations without sacrificing realism.

對於那些感興趣的人來說，所使用的遊戲都是由米切爾蘭德和格雷格比林斯利設計的格林威治標準時間下一戰爭系列的一部分。我發現這些商業遊戲比我們期望的未來戰鬥看起來更複雜，更真實，而不是大多數國防部戰爭社區使用的任何東西，往往比商業遊戲發行商設計逼真的遊戲晚幾十年。事實上，如果我要為下一個戰爭系列做任何事情，那就是它可能過於現實，因此非常複雜，難以掌握，而且玩起來很費時。值得慶幸的是，設計師同意製作一個簡化的規則，允許更多的學生接續而不犧牲遊戲的現實性。

The War College was also ably assisted by Col.  Tim Barrick and Mark Gelston from the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab’s Wargaming Division, and by some folks from the local gaming community who were indispensable in helping with the mechanics of each game, allowing the students to focus on operational and strategic decision-making.

戰爭學院也得到了海軍陸戰隊作戰實驗室戰爭部門的Tim Barrick和Mark Gelston以及當地遊戲社區的一些人的大力協助，他們在幫助每個遊戲的機制方面是不可或缺的，讓學生能夠集中精力在運營和戰略決策方面。

Thoughts on Wargaming in Professional Military Education 戰爭遊戲在專業軍事教育的思考

In 2016, I wrote an article on my employment of wargames as part of a larger program of historical teaching at the Marine Corps War College (MCWAR).  In that article — which caused quite a stir according to my editor — I said that I hoped to expand MCWAR gaming to include examinations of future war.  After some smaller experiments with portions of the class, this exercise represents my first major effort to involve all of the students in a complex global game.  It came off far better than I expected, but there remains plenty of room for improvement.  The major deficiency is due to it being a stand-alone event.  Next year I hope to enhance student learning by making time for serious strategic discussions of options, as well as for extended planning, and turns dealing with the challenges of bringing Reserves and material across the Atlantic and Pacific in the face of a determined peer threat.

2016年，我寫了一篇關於我使用戰爭遊戲的文章，作為海軍陸戰隊戰爭學院（MCWAR）歷史教學的一部分。在那篇文章中 - 根據我的編輯引起了不小的轟動 - 我說我希望擴展MCWAR遊戲以包括未來戰爭的考試。在對部分課程進行了一些較小的實驗之後，這次練習是我第一次讓所有學生參與複雜的全球遊戲。它的結果遠遠超出我的預期，但仍有很大的改進空間。主要缺陷是由於它是一個獨立的事件。明年，我希望通過抽出時間對選項進行認真的戰略討論以及擴展規劃來提高學生的學習能力，並轉而應對面對嚴峻的同伴威脅而在大西洋和太平洋地區實施儲備和物資的挑戰。

After every wargaming event I am bombarded with requests for a second and third iteration of the game, as students always want to try different approaches and strategies.  Unfortunately, there is never time to do this.  This is tolerable when I am using wargames to teach military history.  But the job of any professional military education institution is to better prepare its students to successfully confront the challenges of a future conflict — make them better warfighters.  As such, I plan on asking the school leadership for more class hours dedicated to student wargaming reps-and-sets to help develop the instant pattern perception that future conflicts will demand of them.  I would argue that mental preparation for future conflicts is best accomplished through repetitive wargaming that allows students to explore operational and strategic options.  This is, in fact, how we won World War II, but since then we have lost our way.  It is well past time to reinvorgate forward-looking wargaming throughout all of professional military education.

在每次戰爭遊戲之後，我都會受到遊戲第二回和第三回的轟炸，因為學生總是想嘗試不同的方法和策略。不幸的是，從來沒有時間這樣做。當我使用戰爭遊戲來教授軍事歷史時，這是可以容忍的。但是，任何專業軍事教育機構的工作都是為了讓學生更好地準備好迎接未來衝突的挑戰 - 讓他們成為更好的戰士。因此，我計劃向學校領導層提出更多課堂時間，專門用於學生戰爭代表和集合，以幫助發展未來衝突將要求他們的即時模式感知。我認為，未來衝突的心理準備最好通過重複的戰爭遊戲來實現，讓學生探索運營和戰略選擇。事實上，這是我們贏得第二次世界大戰的方式，但從那以後我們就迷失了方向。在整個職業軍事教育中，重新審視前瞻性的戰爭遊戲已經過去了。

In the three years since my original wargaming article, I have been asked to talk about employing wargames in the classroom at nearly every professional military education school, with the notable exception of those run by the Air Force.  And, I can now report it has made no difference whatsoever! Oh yes, some schools have added a capstone type event with hundreds of participants.  Unfortunately, such mass-events are useless as learning tools.  Only in a few isolated pockets — Ben Jensen at Quantico, Corbin Williamson at Montgomery, and Nicholas Murray at Newport — are wargames being employed on a regular basis in the classroom.  And, except for these same three professors, I am unaware of anyone who is allowing students to get multiple “reps-and-sets” to explore the challenges of future conflicts.

在我最初的戰爭遊戲文章發布後的三年裡，我被要求談論在幾乎所有職業軍事教育學校的課堂上使用戰爭遊戲，除了空軍的那些。而且，我現在可以報告它沒有任何區別！哦，是的，一些學校已經增加了一個有數百名參與者的頂級活動。不幸的是，這種大規模事件作為學習工具毫無用處。只有少數案例 - 匡蒂科的本傑森，蒙哥馬利的科賓威廉姆森和紐波特的尼古拉斯穆雷 - 都是在課堂上定期使用戰爭遊戲。而且，除了這三位教授之外，我不知道有誰允許學生獲得多個“代表和集合”來探索未來衝突的挑戰。

Interestingly, many of these schools have entire wargaming departments, divisions, or sections established to support classroom wargaming.  Unfortunately, these wargaming groups, despite their strenuous efforts to assist in the classroom, spend most of their time designing games for the Office of the Secretary of Defense or higher senior level staffs.  What they are failing to do is increase the amount of classroom wargaming, or experiential learning in their institutions.  They do have two get-togethers every year (Connections Conferences) where they happily talk about how great wargaming is, and sometimes they even ask why no one else in their respective schools seems to think so.  So for the next Connections get-together, in August at Carlisle, I would like to suggest a panel topic: Why are we failing?

有趣的是，這些學校中的許多都有完整的戰爭部門，部門或部門，以支持課堂戰爭遊戲。不幸的是，儘管他們在課堂上做出了艱苦的努力，但這些戰爭群體花費了大部分時間來為國防部長辦公室或更高級別的員工設計遊戲。他們未能做的是增加課堂戰爭遊戲的數量，或在他們的機構中進行體驗式學習。他們每年都有兩次聚會（Connections Conferences），他們高興地談論戰爭遊戲是多麼偉大，有時他們甚至會問為什麼各自學校的其他人似乎都不這麼認為。因此，對於下一次的聯盟聚會，8月份在卡萊爾，我想提出一個小組主題：我們為什麼失敗？

There is, however, hope on the horizon, as drafts of the Secretary of Defense’s professional military education guidance appear to aim at making wargaming a core component of military education, and integrating war games throughout the curricula.  The Pentagon staff also appears to want a large expansion of all types of experiential learning to better examine historical and contemporary decision-making to gain a better understanding of how strategy and operations have evolved over time.  Presently these directed expansions of experiential learning techniques include increasing not only war gaming, but also the use of the historical case study method, and decision forcing exercise, all of which is aimed at supporting and enhancing critical thinking and operational/strategic analysis.

然而，隨著國防部長職業軍事教育指導的草案似乎旨在使戰爭遊戲成為軍事教育的核心組成部分，並將戰爭遊戲整合到整個課程中。五角大樓的工作人員似乎也希望大範圍擴展所有類型的體驗式學習，以更好地審視歷史和當代決策，以便更好地了解戰略和運營如何隨著時間的推移而演變。目前，這些體驗式學習技術的直接擴展包括不僅增加戰爭遊戲，還增加歷史案例研究方法的使用，以及決定強制鍛煉，所有這些都旨在支持和增強批判性思維和操作/戰略分析。

The chairman’s office appears to be leaning in the same direction.  Current draft guidance calls for professional military education institutions to incorporate more “active and experiential learning methods” to help develop their students’ practical and thinking skills.  Further, schools will be told to establish curricula that leverages wargames and exercises that allow students multiple sets and repetitions on realistic operational and strategic problems.  To make room for these experiential strategy and warfighting programs, the leadership of various school is being encouraged to “ruthlessly reduce coverage of less critical topics.”

主席的辦公室似乎傾向於同一個方向。目前的指導草案要求專業軍事教育機構採用更多「積極和體驗式學習方法」，以幫助培養學生的實踐和思維能力。此外，學校將被告知要建立課程，利用戰爭遊戲和練習，讓學生在現實的操作和戰略問題上多次重複。為了為這些體驗戰略和作戰計劃騰出空間，各個學校的領導層正在鼓勵「無情地減少對不太重要的主題的報導」。

This renewed focus on wargaming goes hand-in-hand with demands to greatly increase the amount of military history taught in professional military education, which is found in both sets of guidance.  Of course, neither will happen unless these directives are relentlessly and ruthlessly enforced by senior leaders.  For example, it has now been nearly eighteen months since the National Defense Strategy stated that professional military education has stagnated, and demanded more history instruction, as well as directed a move to a ‘great powers’ intellectual paradigm.  Since then, virtually no changes have been made to professional military education curriculums to meet this guidance, although the Navy’s Education for Sea Power Initiative might break the logjam.

這種對戰爭遊戲的重新關注與要求大大增加專業軍事教育中教授的軍事歷史的需求密切相關，這在兩套指導中都可以找到。當然，除非這些指令被高級領導人無情地執行，否則都不會發生。例如，自「國防戰略」指出專業軍事教育停滯不前，需要更多的歷史教學，並指示轉向「大國」的知識範式以來，已經有將近18個月了。從那時起，儘管海軍的海上力量教育計劃可能打破僵局，但實際上沒有對專業軍事教育課程進行任何改變以滿足這一指導要求。

To insure change takes place, the Program for Accreditation of Joint Education inspection teams must start every accreditation visit by demanding “proof” that professional military education institutions have expanded their military history offerings and wargaming programs.  If inspection teams do not demand it at every visit, it will not happen.

為了確保變革，聯合教育認證計劃團隊必須通過要求「證明」專業軍事教育機構擴展其軍事歷史產品和戰爭遊戲計劃來開始每次認證訪問。如果檢查小組在每次訪問時都沒有要求，那麼就不會發生。

One would think that professional military education schools would do this on their own, but when it comes to teaching activities that are never forgotten and continuing to influence student-thinking for decades, nothing compares to wargaming and other types of experiential learning (such as staff rides).  Where else do you get the kind of buy-in and prolonged student involvement seen in the pictures inserted throughout this article? Wargaming works.  It is time to force it down the throats of faculties too hidebound to change on their own.

有人會認為專業的軍事教育學校會自己做這件事，但是當談到教學活動時，這些活動永遠不會被遺忘，並且幾十年來一直影響著學生思維，沒有什麼能比得上戰爭遊戲和其他類型的體驗式學習（比如員工）遊樂設施）。在本文中插入的圖片中，您還能從哪裡獲得買入和長時間的學生參與？ Wargaming有效。現在是時候強迫它下來的學院的喉嚨太躲避自己改變。

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article claimed that RAND’s wargaming methodology was decades behind commercially available wargames.  This comment did not cover the entire range of RAND wargaming.  Rather it was aimed at the use of the RFLEX gaming system, which RAND employs primarily in operational level force-on-force  gaming, of the type used at Marine Corps War College.

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Dr.  James Lacey is the Professor of Strategic Studies at the Marine Corps War College.  He is the author of Great Strategic Rivalries and the forthcoming The Washington War.  This article reflects the opinions of the author and in no way reflects the opinions of Marine Corps University, The U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of Defense or any of its related organizations.