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In the mid-1930s, a German who fought in World War I as a lieutenant colonel published his book Infantry Attacks. This book recounted his heroic and innovative tactics that earned him battlefield success throughout that war. As World War II loomed, the popularity of this officer and his book compelled Adolf Hitler to appoint him field commander, even though he didn’t come from the prestigious family lines that were typical of other German officers.
This field commander began adapting the tactics he had used with his infantry in WWI to the tanks that were now under his command in WWII. His success was so swift and noteworthy in northern Africa that he quickly earned the nickname “the Desert Fox.” This is Edwin Rommel.
In Infantry Attacks, Rommel describes how his shock troops used speed, deception, and deep penetration into enemy territory to surprise and overwhelm. He used innovative tactics like assigning a small team of men to approach enemy lines from the direction in which his enemy expected the attack, which was really just concealing the bulk of his troops who were sneaking to the flanks and rears of the defenders to take them by surprise. These tactics usually intimidated his enemies into surrendering, which helped him avoid unnecessary risks to his supply lines and soldiers.
But were these tactics truly innovative? If we look back in history we will discover a masterful tactician that used these maneuvers with his troops 3000 years before Rommel did!
Joshua was the renown field commander of the Israelite army as they moved into the Promised Land. See if some of his tactics sound similar to those Rommel employed.
- A fake frontal assault to distract the enemy from the concealed special forces—Joshua 8:1-7, 18-19
- An early-morning surprise attack after an all-night march—10:7-10
- A divide-and-conquer campaign: the southern campaign was a relentless push (10:29-38, 41-42); the northern campaign relied on a surprise attack (11:1-9)
(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)
Joshua knew God’s voice (Exodus 33:11) and we see it in his tactics. Notice how many times we read about Joshua hearing God’s voice (8:1, 18; 10:8, 10, 42; 11:6, 8). In fact, “The Lord said” appears 15 times in the Book of Joshua!
The only time Joshua experienced any casualties at all was when he attacked the little town of Ai after their major victory at Jericho without getting God’s tactics first (7:1-12). In this case, Joshua made his tactics based on what “they said.”
Presumption is so dangerous! We should never think, “This is how God did it last time, so I’ll just copy-and-paste that same prayer and that same tactic in this situation.” After the Israelites repented of their sin, God did give them the precise tactics to defeat Ai, which is what we already saw in Joshua 8.
The next update we read about Joshua’s troops is, “The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah” (Joshua 10:21). That isn’t miraculous, but it is the expected outcome because all of Joshua’s tactics were from God Himself.
The United States had a general who matched wits with Rommel in WWII. General George Patton wrote this in his diary, “In forty hours I shall be in battle, with little information, and on the spur of the moment will have to make the most momentous decisions. But I believe that one’s spirit enlarges with responsibility and that, with God’s help, I shall make them, and make them right.”
General Patton was half-right: God will give directions, but we don’t have to wait until we’re in the heat of the battle; God can give us perfect tactics before the battle begins.
This reminds me of what God said through the prophet—“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). This is foretelling what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do for us (John 14:26, 16:13). God’s Voice must be the one and only Source of guidance in our spiritual warfare.
Remember what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:7-8 that he should read and meditate on God’s word at every moment. The writer of Hebrews addresses the same idea about God’s Voice that is heard through His Word, and how this is to be our weapon and Source of strategy as well (Hebrews 4:1-12).
The perfect tactic for every situation, every conversation, every attack, every opportunity is found in the inspired Word of God. Never presume you know what to do, but let the Holy Spirit illuminate the perfect tactic to you for each unique situation.
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Craig T. Owens 