In naval lore, the name Musashi usually recalls Imperial Japan’s behemoth battleship sunk by U.S. aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. But the legendary samurai duelist Miyamoto Musashi ought not be relegated to an icon of a bygone era. On the contrary, his 1645 treatise on sword strategy A Book of Five Rings (hereafter Five Rings) contains insights that are highly relevant to modern littoral warfare.
The U.S. Navy is nearing the twilight of its epoch of unrivaled sea control, and confronts the dilemma of how to operate forward and dispersed, in dangerous littoral gray zones, amidst lethal conventional and irregular adversaries. To meet this challenge, it needs to reacquire a mind-set and skill set that have atrophied over decades of emphasis on beyond visual range, carrier-centric surface operations. It needs to prepare to fight in close quarters, or, in metaphorical terms, at sword range. And perhaps no one in history gained deeper insight into how to prevail in such a contest than Miyamoto Musashi.
So how would Musashi, victor of scores of duels against formidable foes, prepare and fight a warship in the littorals? He observed that the principles of strategy in sword fighting are applicable to all martial endeavors—“if you know the way broadly, you will see it in all things.” Suppose he had command of a small surface combatant tasked to conduct distributed maritime operations in a hostile littoral area, how would he train his crew, posture his weapons, and fight under various conditions? The following essay applies some creative inference to Five Rings to place them in a modern naval context.
Swords, Ships, and “The Way Broadly”
A 350-year-old treatise on sword fighting strategy may not seem a likely source for insight into modern naval combat; however, individual combat can be a useful lens through which to study more complex tactical concepts or even warfare writ large. Clausewitz, for example, compared warfare to a contest between two wrestlers to illustrate his point that, in battle, one does not impose one’s will on an inanimate object, but rather grapples with a dynamic adversary, who responds, adapts, and counterattacks. A more direct application of the pugilist lens to littoral naval warfare can be found in the original concept name chosen for a small, fast surface combatant designed to vie with enemies for control of coasts and littoral waters, the Streetfighter.
Streetfighter reflects the close-quarters purpose of the concept vessel, but is not an altogether accurate metaphor. A street fight implies a slugfest in which ruthlessness and the ability to inflict and absorb a greater volume of punishment than one’s opponent will decide the outcome. Yardarm-to-yardarm salvo exchanges from the age of sail and early 2oth-century battleship duels may merit such a comparison, but not modern naval combat. Ships with aluminum superstructures and quarter-inch steel hulls cannot rely on a strong jaw or counterpunching ability to win. Rather, like an unarmored duel with razor-sharp weapons as was Musashi’s forte, inflicting the first decisive strike is the only strategy that can assure victory. “Swordfighter” would have been a more appropriate name.
Professor Wayne Hughes, expert on naval tactics and one of the original champions of the Streetfighter concept, co-authored a USNI Blog post describing a concept for decision making in littoral warfare. He advocates a graph theory-based methodology for achieving the objective of Attack Effectively First by employing 12 elements of tactical decision making to complete a sense-decide-act sequence faster than the enemy. Professor James Holmes penned a riposte that praised some of the merits of the concept while criticizing its lack of emphasis on the human element in warfare and the all-important “orient” stage in Colonel John Boyd’s OODA loop concept. Musashi certainly would agree with Hughes’ emphasis on scoring the first effective strike, yet like Holmes would disdain any attempt to prescribe a formulaic approach to achieving this end. Musashi advocates cultivating visceral instinct through relentless training and reflection. He also emphasizes the importance of mentally unbalancing an enemy, and would often employ various stratagems to achieve this such as arriving late or using unorthodox attacks. The contrast between Musashi’s approach and Professor Hughes’ resembles the science-versus-intuition comparison explored in Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink, with a martial twist.
Five Rings Through a Maritime Lens
Following are selected passages from Five Rings reinterpreted as guiding principles such as might be spliced into the standing orders or tactical doctrine of a small surface combatant. They are in first person to align with the original work. ___________________________________________________________________
Employ these principles when operating in dangerous areas and prevail against skilled adversaries. Do not merely read them; they must be internalized through practice and reflection.
Shipboard Readiness and Posture
This section describes the qualities required to operate a warship effectively while performing independent operations in hostile littoral areas. These principles are especially applicable to the officer of the deck and tactical action fficer, but pertain to every watch station.
Perception
Develop a keen perception of your surroundings. Perception requires much more than closely monitoring the visual and electronic pictures; you must analyze them, noting any deviations or peculiarities, and use inductive reasoning to discern the overall situation. In shiphandling, we sometimes refer to perception as “seaman’s eye.” One can only develop this intuitive sense with experience and practice. It is without a doubt the most important ability to cultivate as a watch stander entrusted with operating a warship in confined waterways amongst lurking adversaries. Study this deeply.
Awareness
Awareness is a necessary precondition to perception. Achieving awareness requires becoming thoroughly familiar with the operations area. Local knowledge is essential for discerning legitimate from illegitimate or potentially hostile maritime activity. Study the local vessel traffic patterns, fishing practices, and patterns of criminal activity such as smuggling methods and routes. Also study the various cultural nuances within the local population. Above all, know our adversaries, including the configuration, capabilities, methods, and tactics of both regular and irregular forces. Develop the ability to think yourself into the enemy’s position and thereby anticipate his actions.
Disposition
Avoid becoming either overly excited or complacent. Either can result in miscalculation and expose the ship to danger. Instead, cultivate a calm yet taut disposition. At times, adversaries may employ various actions designed to provoke a response that could be manipulated to their advantage. Such situations can require balancing on a sword’s edge between unit self-defense and disciplined restraint. Remain dispassionate, unmoved by taunts or feints, yet fully prepared to use decisive force if the engagement threshold is crossed.
Scrutiny
Never assume any situation you encounter is as it initially appears. A vessel making a distress call may or may not be a ruse. An attack in one place may be a diversion meant to set up another attack elsewhere. Do not allow an enemy to lead us about through deception or manipulation. Rather, constantly seek to maintain the initiative and force the enemy to react to us.
Weapons posture
We are always ready to fight the ship. The main batteries will always be ready for immediate operation when underway. Additionally, every crew-served weapon will remain mounted and ready. Every crew member will be proficient with handling crew-served weapons, and familiar with the various roles required at every battle station.
Training and Readiness
The only way to enhance our prowess in combat is through rigorous training. There are no shortcuts, only the unending process of developing reflexive action through repetition, scenario-based exercises under varied conditions, and continuous assessment of strengths and weaknesses.
Purpose
The purpose of training is to sharpen our skills and forge our spirit. Through our commitment to training, we will come to realize a high level of proficiency. We will fight the ship intuitively, achieving maximum lethality. Approach training with this perspective: today is victory over ourselves of yesterday, tomorrow is victory over a less-prepared adversary.
Realism
We will train under conditions that resemble the chaos of combat. Often there will be a temptation to wait for ideal circumstances to perform a drill or manipulate a scenario to ensure a favorable outcome. To do so sets a path to false confidence and must be avoided. The maxim, “We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training,” is even more true in combat.
Warfare focus
The primary focus of our shipboard training regimen will be surface warfare under all conditions and against various enemies. We will rehearse the fundamentals of long- and short-range engagements relentlessly, including fighting in communications and electronics-denied environments. We also will practice using our unmanned systems as extensions of the ship’s primary weapons systems. Through constant practice, these can be used for various roles including deception, offensive strike, and layered defense. Bear in mind that there is no such thing as an invincible ship, but it is possible for a crew to cultivate an invincible spirit.
Fighting the Ship
Deter Aggression
When operating in contested areas, adversaries may seize upon an opportunity to attack a vessel or boarding team that even momentarily lets its guard down. This has been demonstrated many times in recent years. Thus, one of the most important principles of unit self-defense is to never present an enemy with an opening that can be exploited to gain a temporary advantage. This is especially true during boarding operations.
Strike effectively first
In a modern surface engagement, victory results from scoring the first effective strike. There was once a time when ships could rely on their structural resilience to provide a degree of protection from enemy fire, but we do not have that luxury. Nor can we rely on superior weapons range to gain a tactical advantage when operating in confined areas. As such, the focus in combat must be on rapidly orienting ourselves to a threat, seizing the initiative, and delivering a decisive strike. To achieve this end, we must rely on superior perception, reaction time, and skill relative to our adversary. Whenever possible we will also seek to unbalance our adversaries by using timing and tactics they will not expect. We will never cede the offensive, nor seek refuge in the false sanctuaries of technology or defensive countermeasures.
Forestalling
At times the intention of a potential enemy may be uncertain. This particularly is true when encountering irregular craft that are not readily identifiable as combatants. In an encounter with a vessel of unknown intent, employ methods to forestall any attack and keep it outside the critical engagement zone while simultaneously increasing the ship’s readiness. There are various methods to accomplish this. For small craft approaching at high speed, use of the ship’s wake at high speed can create an effective obstacle to slow the rate of approach. Visual and audible signals using searchlights, flares, radio communications, or acoustic devices can warn a non-hostile vessel to change its course, and in some instances can be used to temporarily blind or overwhelm an adversary and thereby disrupt an attack. Warning shots make an unmistakable signal of our intent and will normally precede use of destructive fire when time allows. The art of forestalling is important both for unit self-defense and in infrastructure or high-value asset protection missions. Rehearse these methods frequently.
Use all resources in combat
In any surface engagement, we will fight this ship to its maximum potential. When operating in proximity to friendly forces, our most effective weapon will oftentimes be our ability to identify and designate hostile targets for others to engage. When closely engaged ourselves, however, we must rely on our own weapons systems. We will use our main batteries and crew served weapons to maintain the ability to strike any foe in range from any angle. When appropriate, such as when fighting a swarming attack, we will use our speed and wake to gain a tactical advantage. Furthermore, we can use embarked aircraft, boats, and unmanned systems in concert with the ship to enhance our attack and defense options.
Prowess in combat is the craft of defeating the enemy in a fight, and nothing other than this. If we attain and adhere to the principles articulated herein, we need never doubt that we will win.
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Add Musashi to the PME Pantheon
Musashi does not get nearly the emphasis in professional military education as other strategists like Sun Tzu, Corbett, and Mahan. Perhaps this is because his focus concerns individual combat more than large-scale campaigning. Yet with the recent surge of interest in distributed operations in littoral arenas, he deserves a more prominent place. At the very least, Five Rings should be high on the reading list for any who intend to sail ships into harm’s way.
