The winter weather lay heavy upon the freezing soldiers on a kind of night even the smallest creature burrowed under, seeking warmth. But for General Washington the driving wind and snow presented a rare strategic opportunity.

Dividing his poorly clad troops into two wings, General Washington planned a pincer attack against German mercenary forces holding the town of Trenton, in New Jersey. This operation, set for Christmas night, 1776, aimed to alarm the British Crown, and to assure Americans that  the war for independence was by no means over. Not only the cold played ally to Washington’s attack, it was also Christmas night, usually a time of respite from hostilities.

As a one-time Colonel in the French and Indian War, Washington had learned a thing or two about guerrilla warfare from Native Americans. The attack on Trenton became the fruit of that learning curve.

While his army floated silently over the Delaware River, boatsmen poled into the freezing water, pushing ice floes left and right to reach the far bank. At dawn, through purple and gray skies his forces approached mercenary-held Trenton, opening musket fire upon dozing sentries, and unprepared Hessian soldiers.

In roughly an hour and a half General Washington and his Continental Army prevailed.

The Battle of Trenton did not defeat the King’s men by any means, no diplomats sat around a table in negotiations. Still Washington and his army proved controlling the place and time of engagement proved the key to defeating their Red-coated oppressors.

Whether he realized it or not, General Washington had effectively made use of what is called a Fabian strategy.

Quintus Fabius Maximus a 3rd Century Roman General lent his name, Fabian, to a military tactic of ceding space for time. Fabius made use of his philosophy to wear down invading Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. Fabius picked away at the enemy through hit and run tactics, avoiding direct battle, opting instead to wear down the invaders. Though not popular among Roman leadership Fabius’ approach proved effective in destroying the Carthaginian army under Hannibal, leader of Carthage.

Another example of a Fabian policy concerns Vietnam.

The French occupied Vietnam around 1858 ostensibly to protect Catholic missionaries in the region. Over time France began solidifying its colonial control laying claim to the land and its resources. Soon the French extended authority over adjacent Laos and Cambodia. The entire area was named French Indochina, where the French government held sway until 1940, when France surrendered and was occupied by the Nazi’s. With approval from the Reichstag Japanese forces invaded Vietnam and remained until 1945 and the end of the war.

After the war France insisted they could take Vietnam back as a colony, and for a number of reasons the western allies agreed.

However, no one consulted the Vietnamese people, and they had other ideas. General Nguyen Giap and his Vietminh, later Vietcong forces stood with revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh. Together they implemented a guerrilla strategy to defeat the returning French. Similar to General Washington’s America, the Vietnamese simply wished to be liberated from foreign occupation. Thus commenced a long, drawn-out resistance, that by 1954 ended in defeat for the French. Near the city of Dien Bien Phu, in the northern part of the country, the exhausted colonial occupiers surrendered. 

(In a side note, General Giap’s forces hauled heavy artillery by hand, up steep embankments without the French military detecting their movements. Giap then summarily blew the French out of the valley).

The United States, now neck-deep in Cold War politics raised the alarm. No longer viewed as  freedom fighters, Giap, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh army became America’s enemy. The US Government was certain Vietnam was controlled by Communist China, and that could not go unchallenged.

In a hastily arranged conference in Geneva Switzerland, Vietnam was formally divided at the 17th parallel. Pro-Western people gained the South, while Pro-nationalists took the North. In reality the boundary meant nothing. Operatives from the North easily infiltrated the South by way of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, while American presidents passed the buck on military action until 1965. It was then that Lyndon Johnson deployed American Marines, and Americanized the conflict in Southeast Asia.

Thousands of America’s sons shipped over to Vietnam but the numbers did not seem to move the needle in terms of surrender. Military leaders and politicians claimed we were changing the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. Then came the Tet Offensive in January, 1968 exposing the Pentagon’s wishful thinking about ending the war. From the DMZ (demilitarized zone) southward to the Mekong Delta, Vietcong (Vietnamese Communists) fighters appeared out of the oppressive mist attacking American installations all at once. Hearts and minds had not been changed, the proof coming to living room televisions via news networks across the United States. 

Americans had been misled and were sacrificing our sons and our money for a lie.

Lyndon Johnson had believed he could ratchet up the pressure on North Vietnam, until finally Ho would acquiesce. That didn’t happen. Even after the death of Ho Chi Minh the North kept pounding away at American personnel especially at night, or in the deep darkness of the elephant grass. Our country has assumed the role of the British in the Revolution; high casualties, extensive supply lines, and millions of dollars.

(In a side note, at peace talks held in Paris, North Vietnamese delegates stalled meaningful  sessions for a year, by arguing about the shape and size of the negotiating table. You see, every day Northern delegates dragged their feet in Paris, the war grew more unpopular stateside. Fabius would have recognized the ploy).

To wrap this object lesson up, Mr Trump is now stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. He can throw around his John Wayne banter, and puff his baggy chest, but the dude has stepped on a giant rake. Like GW Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan, this mess with Iran will not end well for America. Trump is a bumbling aggressor detached from any understanding of military precedence, the country of Iran, nor its government or people.

He has inadvertently bestowed a great gift upon the Iranians. Tehran holds the moral high ground, and a home court advantage, controlling both the time and space. Once again the US has long supply lines expending American blood and treasure. In fact Trump is talking boots on the ground and reactivating the draft.

In his 1989 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, Tom Friedman shares a conversation he had with a Lebanese national. In essence Friedman was told that Americans fight like elephants and that is effective fighting other elephants. But in the Middle East (and every other country touched by colonialism) people fight like mice, much like Quintus Fabius Maximus. 

A cautionary tale to be sure.

Gail Chumbley is the author of the two-part memoir “River of January,” and “River of January: Figure Eight,” co-writer of the screenplay, “Dancing On Air” based on those books. She has penned three stage plays on history topics, “Clay” on the life of Senator Henry Clay, “Wolf By The Ears” examining the beginnings of American slavery, and “Peer Review” where 47 is confronted by specters of four past presidents.