hux and phasma’s fighting styles are so divergent from each other’s and really captures who they are as characters.
they do share similarities in the that both:
believe that those who have fallen or cannot go on are weak and should be left to die on the battlefield as to purge the rot from their ranks
have no qualms sacrificing the lives of their troops if it means victory
however where they differ is the value they put on another’s life.
it’s clear in hux’s character that while he is ruthless and cruel, he wants a build a better future, not just for him but for the galaxy. his over arching goal is to create a utopia that will allow everyone* to reach a state of stability. evidence of this can be seen by how he doesn’t wish to just wipe the galaxy clean and start new but destroy the government causing galactic disorder and bring about a (in his mind) better system that will care for all of those under its rule.
phasma, also characterized as ruthless and cruel, has a different outlook. she has no interest in helping others unless it furthers her own agenda. every piece of media we see her in beats it over our heads that she is resourceful and willing to betray anyone (person or organization) to stay in a position of power and save her own skin.
examples of both their views can be seen in their battle tactics.
hux is reserved about “wasting” his men. in tlj he suggests to ren that they hold off on sending in their fighters until after the resistant’s light fighters are disposed of because it would cut the cost of causalities. he’s also the one to tell ren to comes in closer to the main ship so that they can provide him coverage. he likes to give his troops all the advantages he can while in battle.
phasma doesn’t care about the amount collateral damage she causes as long as she gets her victory. literally look at any of her comics where she sends armies into suicide missions only for some of them to look back as she forges her own path narrow enough for just her. in age of the resistance, phasma sacrifices a whole squad to draw out the enemy when there were better more efficient ways to go about it that would yield less bloodshed for the order.
tl;dr phasma’s novel states that hux and phasma go head to head a lot when it comes to how to train their troopers and the tactics they apply in battle and as the characters become more fleshed out it’s seems that the heart of their disagreement lies in how much value each character assigns to the lives of others.
