Page 417 - 1992 - XVIII Congresso Internazionale di Storia Militare

HOW THE MIUTARY THINKING AND ORGANlZATION OF THE
U. S. ARMY lNFLUENCED THE GREEK ARMY

ANGELOS l.AZAJUS

le is an inconrroverùble rrutb, l believe, thar the milirary thinking, docrrine
an d organizarion of the army of any country depend oo a numher of facrors wbich
play a decisive role in the moulding of the army of thac country. These fanors are
che following:
che geographic location and geosrracegic importance of thar counrry;
che gcographic condirions and shape of thar country, tbe configurarion of irs
rerrain and irs road nerwork;
che exrernal orientacion, che foreign policy and rhe narional goals which have
been ser;
rhe mission of rh c army forche supporr of foreign policy and national imcresrs;
tbc economy of thar country and ics industriai capabiliries, upon which the avaiJ-
able means, the cquipment and the numcrical sucngth of irs army heavily depend;
rhe popularion of thar country and irs culrural leve!.
The aforememioned facrocs shape che milirary rhinking an d ouclook of a coun-
cry's army, which consisc of che following five fundamenral elemenrs:
rhe docuine;
the methods whereby warfare is conducred:
tbe suucrure of che army (organization and war marerial);
tbe adjusrmenc an d degrec of iocorporarion of the army imo tbe sociery of che
counuy.
Sincc che facrors which were inirially mencioned cannot be idencicaJ in any
rwo councries, ir follows narurally char che fundamenraJ elemenrs of the milirary
structure which are shaped by these factors will also be differenr. This is panicu-
larly rrue of big armies whose differences are derermined by tbe degree of vari ance
of che conditions in which they were developed. In small counuies, bowcvcr, chis
is noc complerely appropriare because rhey must necessarily be subjecr ro che exrer·
nal influence of che greacer powers wbich affero how their milicary chinking and
scrucrurc is shaped far more chan ro interna! facrors. The extenr of external influences
whi.ch a smaJI country is subjcccs co depends on ics economie and indusrrial capa-
bilities, o n the degree co whicb tbis country is associared with o ne of che grear pow-
ers in whose spherc of influence ir lies (alliances, bilateral defence pans, ecc). and