Open to the End

Open to the End is a concept used in the military and political field, indicating how to quickly end a battle or a war by giving the enemy an "escape". That "escape" can be a trap to lead the enemy into a good area to destroy them, or to give in to the enemy out of a war.

Sun Tzu and other Chinese military thinkers argue that an army should not be completely surrounded but should be given some room to escape, or that those "surrounded" soldiers would raise their spirits and fight to the death. Better to give them a way out.[1] When the enemy retreats, they may be pursued and captured or destroyed with less risk to the pursuing force. This is better than fighting against a hostile army that is ready to fight to the death.

Another example of this could be the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, and Falaise in 1944.

This was also one of the favorite tactics of the Mongols in the thirteenth century. If the enemy army is strong and ready to fight to death, Mongolian troops will leave a void in their ranks. In this way, the enemy may think that they have seen an exit, become distracted and begin to run. At the appropriate time, the Mongols would pursue their fleeing enemies one by one.[2]

Another example of the "escape" was the agreement between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States of America in the Paris Agreement of January 27, 1973. With the most important result for the United States, that make them went out the Vietnam War.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Tôn Tử, Binh pháp Tôn Tử, Thiên thứ bảy, dòng 36.
  2. ↑ Sue Bradbury (1993), "CHINGGIS KHAN - The golden History of Mongols" translated by Urgune Onon, part Open-The-End Tactics.
  3. ↑ "THE VIETNAM WAR Episode Nine: A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973) PBS". Retrieved 2018-09-08.
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