Caesar’s Military Deception at the Sambre River (57BC)
ABSTRACT
Notable historians believe the Nervii surprised Julius Caesar at the River(57 BC) in Belgica because Caesar had not taken precautionary defensive measures such as guarding the construction with an armed legion. However, an examination of Caesar’s description opens the possibility that he baited the Nervii into attacking before their allies, the Aduatuci, could join them. Further supporting this alternative theory are Caesar’s account of these events which align with the six modern principles of military deception – focus, objective, centralized planning and control, security, timeliness, and integration.
AUTHORS
Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force
Lieutenant Colonel M. Diaz works as an intelligence officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) where he is also pursuing a Masters degree in Strategic Intelligence at the DIA’s National Defense Intelligence College. In 2005, he served in Baghdad as the Director of the DIA’s Joint Document Exploitation Center under the Multi-National Forces, Iraq. Lt Col Diaz received a B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, from the University of California-Davis in 1983 and an M.S., Artificial Intelligence, from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1994. Among his Air Force duties, Lt Col Diaz has served as an acquisition officer, an analyst, and a Missile Combat Crew Commander.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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