@wolfwood:
They really havent changed their objective, they've just added kill Luffy to that list.
They always intended to kill all the Whitebeard pirates. This was what they knew would happen when they stepped on the battlfield, it wasnt let's kill Whitebeard and then have some ice tea.
The original objective was just to make sure Ace's execution went through. Killing WB was a bonus but was obviously essential since he would have destroyed their Island with Ace gone. Luffy is com
They've cut of the head, but most of the enemies commanders and the bulk of their army still remains but they are disoriented, the commanders are weakend and the men have lost the will to fight back and could very well be beaten if you strike before they reorganize themselves. It's perfectly sound to try it, if they're beaten back then they should and probably would've left it alone but not even trying capitalizing on such an opportunity would just cost them more in the long run.
Thats bullshit. Its been said multiple times pirates don't actively attack the WG. Without the Head(WB) all these pirates just go back to being regular strong pirates partying in the new world. When you remember these guys don't even pirate in WG controlled areas it makes their continued existence an even lesser deal in the long run. If there wasn't a madman trying to sink their Island it would be a perfectly sound idea to finish them all of but splitting their forces and leaving soldiers to die is putting too much on their plate.
Especialy if your reason for not doing so is "because people are dying in this war". I mean what does he think war is, there are stories during the napoleonic wars about soldiers sitting among their dying comrades and eating their rations before the next charge. War is fucking hell, people will die, even if they pull out all troops and take those troops to the doctor the odds are that their 18th century medical science isnt going to be able to save a third of them.
That only happens in situations where one side is cut off from relief and still be pestered by the enemy. If the option to regroup, resupply, and help your soldiers exists then any reasonble commander would take it. No competant commander would ever drag out a battle they've already won. Especially when another battle with a less than clear outcome is being fought on another front.
Baseless assumption in a world with cyborgs, magical fruits, and superhumans who survive gunshots, stabwounds, and explosions all the time.
All Coby is spouting is naive idealism with absolutly no anchoring in military strategy.
I'd like to know what books on military strategy you're reading. Never in the history of man would an army pursue a defeated enemy when they are being threatened elsewhere and allow casualties to rise. Mimising casualties is one of the biggest priorities in any army. Honestly you're hating on Coby when its Oda's words that are perfectly grounded in reality.
Like i said earlier, in a field battle up to a third of their fighting force can be sacrificed to ensure that their objective is fullfilled. All these men are career soldiers and should know this by heart. Except Coby who just joined.
Where did you get a third is alright? Sacrifices are worth it when the opposing outcome is much worse. U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid invading Japan and prolonging the war because the invasion would have resulted in far more casualties. Here pursuing can only lead to more casualties and its purely because of a potential threat. Coby opinion is the option
They along with Tsuru are both the most experienced marines around, and if they think they can handle two fronts then i'm gonna take their word for it over a private who's never even set foot on a battle field in his life.
Despite this being a shounen where the theme is always elders having their ways corrected by the younger generation? Despite the fact that we know its not going to go their way because its all based on the assumption that Teach is someone they can handle without much issue?
Honestly why cant he leave the command decisions to those who have actualy been in battle before.
Oda is highlighting people with the experience don't alway smake the right decisions. And there decision is nothing but reckless and them acting on a battlehigh. Oda even highlights this with Tashigi thoughts and even cutting
Dude that's all there is to it, he's not making any stragetic suggestions or saying lets focus on Teach he's the real threat.
He's just screaming stop the war people are getting hurt and mucking up the mission.
Stop the war doesn't mean drop weapons and turn around, it means stop dragging it out and not only allowing but perpetutating an ecalation in the fighting. How much symbolism does Oda need to show. He even has Akainu and Teach on the same page to show how their acting exactly alike in their hunger to destroy the enemy. The marines are running of a battlehigh.