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Contributing Scholar: Victor Davis Hanson

Tactical Victories. Strategic Success

Tactical victories on the battlefield, while often decisive in the moment, do not by themselves produce strategic success. History shows that enduring victory depends not on restraint or half-measures, but on clearly defined objectives, overwhelming force, and the resolve to impose lasting terms of peace.

Tactical Victories. Strategic Success

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Tactical Victories. Strategic Success

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Published December 16, 2025

Tactical victories on the battlefield may signal progress, but history shows they rarely deliver lasting strategic success on their own. Even with unmatched military power, the United States has struggled to convert battlefield dominance into durable outcomes when wars are pursued with limited aims, unclear objectives, or excessive restraint.

Experience from World War II through Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan demonstrates that decisive victory requires clearly defined objectives, overwhelming force, and the resolve to impose enforceable terms of peace. When those elements are absent, conflicts persist, adversaries adapt, and the human, financial, and strategic costs continue to mount.

Learn more from Victor Davis Hanson:

Read "What We Have Forgotten About War" by Victor Davis Hanson here.
Watch Three Historians Debate the Era of Trump on Uncommon Knowledge with Victor Davis Hanson here.
Read Strategika, an online journal, here.

Visit Victor Davis Hanson's profile here.

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The opinions expressed in this video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.