On 5 May 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died in a surprisingly small bed surrounded by his French coterie in exile in a damp and reportedly rat-infested house on the British island of Saint Helena
This paper examines India’s ‘two-front’ dilemma in view of its conflicts with China and Pakistan, and the possibility that these two adversaries could join forces. The author studies historical events that could help outline the strategies that have been undertaken by certain countries to combat the combined power of multiple adversaries, usually exceeding their own. These include the Napoleonic strategy and the Israeli experience. In analysing these case studies, the paper focuses on the key questions that the strategists raised while dealing with the two-front issue.
Attribution: Ashish Singh, “Strategies for a Two-Front Dilemma: Lessons from History,”
ORF Occasional Paper No. 302, February 2021, Observer Research Foundation.