The sixteenth-century antecedents of special operations ‘small war’

The first conceptual, theoretical treatises about small war (la petite guerre) as special operations appeared only from the middle of the seventeenth century. The term is not used in the eighteenth-century sense of ‘special operations’ in older sources. The supposed absence of any treatment of the subject is surprising considering the obsession with the ‘art of war’ in the Renaissance, but other authors attribute it to a supposed antinomy between chivalric ideals and irregular warfare. But the absence of explicit manuals on the subject is not evidence of absence of advanced reflection on this kind of operations in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern times. We should thus look elsewhere, in other genres, for writings that contain and pass on military knowledge. Epics, romances, educational and military treatises, and memoirs in fact contain elements of a theory of special operations, even though these genres differ from our conception of rationality inherited from the Enlightenment.     

Introduction: Exploring the jungle of terminology

When twentieth-century authors wrote about ‘partisan warfare’, they usually meant an insurgency or asymmetric military operations conducted against a superior force by small bands of ideologically driven irregular fighters. By contrast, originally (i.e. before the French Revolution) ‘partisan’ in French, English, and German referred only to the leader of a detachment of special forces (party, partie, Parthey, détachement) which the major European powers used to conduct special operations alongside their regular forces. Such special operations were the classic definition of ‘small war’ (petite guerre) in the late seventeenth and in the eighteenth centuries. The Spanish word ‘la guerrilla’, meaning nothing other than ‘small war’, only acquired an association with rebellion with the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon. Even after this, however, armies throughout the world have continued to employ special forces. In the late nineteenth century, their operations have still been referred to as prosecuting ‘la guerrilla’ or ‘small war’, which existed side by side with, and was often mixed with, ‘people's war’ or popular uprisings against hated regimes.     

基于Bayes理论的装备维修性验证方法

针对装甲装备关键部件维修性验证中出现的小子样问题,提出了基于Bayes理论的小子样维修性验证,重点针对对数正态分布下维修性指标验证的验后似然比验证方法进行了深入研究。通过对装甲装备某关键部件的试验数据的实例分析,验证了该方法在减少样本容量及试验费用方面的有效性和合理性。     

小样本装备软件成本估算相关向量机建模

针对装备软件成本估算时面临的历史数据少的小样本难题,提出把机器学习理论运用到装备软件成本估算研究领域,构建了基于相关向量机的小样本装备软件成本估算模型,采用COCOMO模型数据库中的数据对所构建模型进行训练和验证。为进一步验证所构建模型的合理性,在机器学习领域分别运用支持向量机模型和神经网络模型对相同数据进行估算,实验结果证明了基于相关向量机估算模型在小样本装备软件成本估算时比其他两种模型更精确。     

一种三维小基阵无源声测定向算法

无源声测定向是声学监视技术的重要研究内容。为了实现对低空运动目标的声学监视,提出了一种小基阵定向方法,并用线性回归分析原理导出了定向算法,对定向误差进行了理论分析和数值仿真。不仅适用于随机布阵的三维小基阵情况,也可应用到二维小基阵对声源的定向。理论分析和仿真表明,这种定向算法正确可行,且有较大的实用价值。     

轻武器及其未来发展趋势

全面分析了轻武器在未来战争中的地位和作用 ,总结了轻武器现装备的主要特点 ,归纳了近二十年来在轻武器装备领域的主要技术成果 ,提出了轻武器未来发展趋势。     

小子样方法在电子对抗仿真试验中的应用

小子样问题是武器装备试验必须解决的客观问题,实现小子样试验是武器装备试验追求的最高境界.仿真试验作为武器装备试验的一种手段,以其可重复、大容量等不可比拟的优势,受到有关专家的高度重视.首先从武器装备试验实际需求出发,阐述了小子样问题在仿真试验中的意义及其实现途径,最后给出了正交设计法在某型雷达侦察机仿真试验中的应用实例.通过与常规试验方法相比,其提高试验效率6倍多,试验结果分析也更科学合理,军事经济效益明显.     

小散远部队单位疫情防控工作思考【专题】

重大疫情具有突发性强、危害性大等特点,一旦发生,极易在防疫准备不充足的小散远部队单位造成爆发。加强基层疫情防控基础建设贵在平时,势在必行。本文首先对重大疫情的特点和小散远部队单位防疫工作面临的现实困难进行了分析,并对开展新时代基层单位疫情防控工作进行了思考,最后提出了应在思想政治教育、军地联动、心理辅导和防疫效果评估等方面予以加强的小散远部队单位疫情防控工作系统框架,以期为提高部队基层防疫效率提供参考。     

The ‘first’ surge: the repulse of the Easter Invasion in South Vietnam, 1972 – implications for Iraq and Afghanistan

In a military intervention, do surges work? I compare the failed ‘surge’ in Vietnam, the repulse of the Easter Invasion in 1972, as a means of assessing the more ambiguous surges in Iraq and Afghanistan. I identify four features of a surge for this analysis: the military dimensions and strategy of the surging forces, the military capabilities of the host forces, the political vitality and will of the host country, and the political commitment in the domestic politics of the intervener. I find that the last feature is the most critical; and, in all three surges, the American political commitment was lacking.     

小子样多失效模式系统可靠性竞争模型

为解决小子样多失效模式系统可靠性模型参数的估计问题,首先应用支持向量积建立小子样条件下各故障模式的规律模型,其次利用模型将各故障模式的故障数据由小子样扩充成大样本,再次采用常规的参数估算方法估算各故障模式的分布参数,最后建立多失效模式系统的可靠性竞争模型。利用所提方法,建立了小子样条件下具有两种失效模式的柴油机汽缸套可靠性竞争模型,计算结果与大样本条件下的故障预测数据吻合度较高,说明了方法的有效性。