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Victory disease is a psychological phenomenon noted in various episodes of military history in which, because of complacency brought on by a victory or series of victories, an engagement ends disastrously for a commander and his forces.[1]
Most instances of "victory disease" display several tell-tale signs, including complacency and arrogance on the part of the afflicted. Not uncommonly, a commander who mistakenly believes he has an invincible hand leads his troops to their own massacre. The commander may also view the enemy with disdain arising from his own feeling of invincibility. Often that commander employs strategies which, though effective in earlier combats or manoeuvers, prove ineffective against a new or experienced enemy; the commander afflicted by "victory disease" may also fail to anticipate that the new enemy may use tactics different from those used by his previous enemy. The overconfident commander may also fail to respect military intelligence which, if properly appreciated, would enable the commander to realize that new tactics are needed.
Though "victory disease" does not inevitably foretell defeat, it often precedes it. The term is also frequently applied outside the military world (see references).
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Origin
The origin of the term ((戦勝病 senshoubyou) in Japanese,[1]) is associated with the Japanese advance in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where, after attacking Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japan won a series of nearly uninterrupted victories against the Allies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific [2], [3].
Although the Japanese had planned to establish a perimeter and go on the defensive, victories encouraged them to continue expanding to where it strained logistics and the navy. This led to the Battle of Midway in 1942, a catastrophic defeat of the Japanese navy: all four Japanese aircraft carriers involved were sunk, and the hitherto unstoppable Japanese advance was blunted. The decision of Japan to start a war against the United States is viewed as victory disease, although it most be noted that the American military was quite small at the start of the war.[citation needed]
Examples
- The Battle of Salamis in 480 BC in the Greco-Persian Wars, in which the hubris of Xerxes I led to the defeat of the Persian Empire by the Greeks.
- Spanish naval assault on England in 1588 suffered the defeat of the "unsinkable" Spanish Armada
- The decision of Napoleon to invade Russia in 1812. A force of about 500,000 French soldiers invaded, and about 20,000 returned.
- United States victories in the Mexican–American War and the Indian Wars made Union forces over-confident going into the American Civil War, losing their first battle — they expected a quick victory. The Confederates similarly stereotyped the Union, at times leading to military disaster.
- Confederate decisions made at and before their loss at the Battle of Gettysburg, after their outnumbered-five-to-two victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War.
- The 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, in which the Sioux nearly annihilated the entire 7th Cavalry of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. Expecting a repeat of the Battle of Washita River, Custer ignored contrary intelligence or did not seek it out.
- The 1879 Battle of Isandlwana in which Zulu warriors equipped mainly with spears and shields annihilated a mixed British and native force armed with modern firearms and artillery.
- The catastrophic decision of Hitler to invade the Soviet Union in 1941, underestimating Soviet military resilience, counting on success of old tactics.
- Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This followed wins in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War.
See also
References
External links
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