Yamashita's Gambit: A Historical Wargame on Audacious Decision-Making, 2023 June 9
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Date
2023 June 9
Summary
In his chapter on boldness, Clausewitz asserts that audacity is one of the most essential qualities of military genius. Yet, it is a rare trait amongst senior military leaders since militaries often reward and select for intellect over temperament. Furthermore, the greater the complexity and uncertainty of the environment, the more crucial audacity becomes for commanders to avoid indecisiveness and timidity. Despite the emergence of the space and cyber domains, recent events in Ukraine have shown that information availability has not diminished the complexity of warfare. Therefore, training military professionals to make sound decisions in the face of complexity is essential to winning the next war. YAMASHITA'S GAMBIT is a historical wargame that addresses this concern by modeling one of the most intriguing case studies on audacity in maneuver warfare: The Battle of Singapore in 1942. The wargame replicates the complex dilemmas and dynamics of the historical battle and can help military professionals at the field grade and above level develop audacious decision-making skills. This thesis explains the research methodology and design process for YAMASHITA'S GAMBIT.
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Yamashita's Gambit: A Historical Wargame on Audacious Decision-Making