Clausewitz's Principles of War
Listen to "Clausewitz's Principles of War"
Carl Von Clausewitz was a military philosopher during the time of Napoleon. His most famous contribution is the book, On War, which outlines nine principles of war that are used in officer schools for many Western armies including the United States Army. They are:
Armchair General:War College
How to Make War by James Dunnigan
On War
Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine and the International Research and Publishing Corporation
Carl Von Clausewitz was a military philosopher during the time of Napoleon. His most famous contribution is the book, On War, which outlines nine principles of war that are used in officer schools for many Western armies including the United States Army. They are:
- Mass
- "Get there first with the most"
- Example: Mass-based armies of Russia (ex. infantry) and the US (ex. M4 Sherman Tanks) during WWII led to general victory
- Objective
- Choose an objective and stick with it
- Example: Coalition troops maintained the objective in Operation Desert Sabre and didn't try to do too much by entering Iraq, which we now know would have caused major problems.
- Offensive
- Seize the Initiative
- Example: General McClellan's Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War failed to seize the initiative
- Maneuver
- Move to more advantageous positions
- Example: Hannibal's Army at the Battle of Cannae maneuvered around the larger Roman Army and defeated it
- Unity of Command
- Place your entire force under the command of a single entity
- Example: Japanese defenders on Iwo-Jima wasted lots of time and effort by switching commanders halfway through the preparation effort
- Security
- Don't let the enemy rob you of your advantages
- Example: Japanese Navy at Midway lost its element of surprise (because its communications were intercepted) and lost
- Simplicity
- Keep your plans clear and simple
- Example: Guerrilla militiamen (ex. Aidid's militia in the Battle of Mogadishu) have a much simpler plan that the professional armies they have to fight
- Surprise
- Attack when the enemy least suspects it
- Example: Germanic tribes slaughtered 24,000 professional Roman soldiers at the Battle of Teutoberg Forest
- Economy of Force
- Allocate your limited forces wisely
- Example: Germany Army during WWII did not get immediately overrun despite a 13million-56million numerical disadvantage
Armchair General:
How to Make War by James Dunnigan
On War
Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine and the International Research and Publishing Corporation
posted by George Hageman at 10:54 AM
5 Comments:
You are mixing up the US principles of war and Clausewitz's. Clausewitz has 5 principles (Objective, Offensive, Concentration, Economy of Force, and Mobility). Plus 3 elements (Surprise, Morale, and Exploitation). The United States practices 10 (Objective, Offensive, Mass, Economy of Force, Maneuver, Unity of Command, Cooperation, Security, Surprise, and Simplicity).
great show. I just found the podcast and am greatly enjoying the show.
Jomini is the one who published the Principles of War
Jomini wrote 'The Art of War' (one of several books with that title), and his highly prescriptive, technician's approach to war planning and fighting probably had a much greater impact on early US Army doctrine than did Clausewitz's more descriptive, somewhat abstract at times, work.
jdg
I disagree with some of the examples and interpretatios of the 9 Principles of War, as follows:
Mass: The mass principle has little to do with oveall size, and more with concentrating maximum force at the point of decision. A smaller force can defeat a larger force if it can achieve local superiority on critical terrain or objectives.
Economy of Force: EoF is the handmaiden of Mass. By minimizing the deployment of forces in non-critical areas, one enables the concentration necessary to achieve local superiority. This is achieved by recognizing that, as Von Causewitz said "Defense is the stronger from of combat" and emplying forces accordingly.
Manuever: Maneuver sometimes involves presenting the enemy with a dilemma, either by obliging him to act in a way which does not contribute to the achievement of his objective, or by confronting his center of gravity, which is not necessarily his military force.
Unity of Command: The statement of principle is correct, but the example is poor. Switching commanders is not in and of itself divisive, but the way the Japanese split the command of available forces between the IJA and the IJN contributed to lack of coordination and failure to utilize the principles of mass and economy.
Security: Security involves both denying intelligence regarding your caapabilities and intentions, and preventing him from knowing what you know of his C&I
Post a Comment
<< Home