War, Principles of

Development of the Principles of War

One of the earliest military thinkers who attempted to identify and define common characteristics of warfare was Sun Tzu. While Sun Tzu’s The Art of War does not proffer specific elements that should be part of military operations, it does provide an intellectual framework for general concepts of common operations. Ancient Greek writers also sought to capture principles of warfare in their works by identifying common characteristics of successful battles. Two of the most popular military thinkers of the 19th century, Carl von Clausewitz and Baron Antoine de Jomini, built on those earlier examples to explain the success of Napoleon Bonaparte in his continental campaigns.

In the 20th century, the French marshal Ferdinand Foch was the first military thinker to produce principles of war recognizable in U.S. military doctrine today. He based his concepts on study of the successful Prussian campaigns of the late 19th century, and Foch’s work became the basis for training French officers up to World War I. British General J. F. C. Fuller developed the original principles of war borrowed by the United States after reflecting on the experience of World War I.

U.S. military doctrine formally defined the principles of war after its experience in World War I as movement, economy of force, surprise, objective, mass, offensive operations, cooperation, security, and simplicity. During the interwar years, military officials questioned the use of these principles because of the introduction of armor and aircraft technologies. World War II, however, proved that the adaptation of tactics to utilize these new technologies did not invalidate the principles. In doctrinal updates following the war, cooperation changed to unity of command and movement to maneuver. The counterinsurgency experience of the Vietnam War seemed to invalidate the principles of war, but Cold War doctrinal updates reaffirmed the use [Page 1586]of the principles of war in the 1980s. Today, all branches of the U.S. armed forces incorporate the nine principles of war into their respective operational doctrine manuals.

The Principles of War Defined

A military objective is the end goal of a warring party and must be clearly defined, attainable, and produce decisive results. The objective is the focal point that all subsequent planning is based on. Commanders must understand the implications of achieving, or failing to achieve, the military objective. Political implications must be considered at the strategic level of war since military means achieve political ends. While always important, this aspect has greater meaning in stability and support operations because of the proliferation of communication capabilities around the world and closer interaction of military forces and civilians. The ability to broadcast an event around the world nearly instantaneously has greatly expanded the power to shape perceptions of that event. Commanders, therefore, must clearly understand and communicate objectives to subordinates to maintain positive relationships with host nation civilians and facilitate political relationships.

...