Principles of War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The principles of war are tenets used by military organizations to focus the thinking of leaders toward successful prosecution of battles and wars. They are generally attributed to Carl von Clausewitz and his book, On War.
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[edit] United States principles of war
The United States Armed Forces use the following nine principles of war in training their officers:
- Mass
- Bring decisive force to bear at critical times and places.
- Objective
- Define a decisive and attainable objective for every military operation.
- Offensive
- Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
- Surprise
- Otherwise known as "Audacity"; Strike the enemy at a time and/or place and in a manner for which he is unprepared.
- Economy of Force
- Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
- Maneuver
- Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
- Unity of Command
- For every objective, there must be a unified effort and one person responsible for command decisions.
- Security
- Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage.
- Simplicity
- Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders. The principle recognizes that complex plans and orders are more likely to be misunderstood or to fall-apart as soon as something goes wrong.
(Officers in the U.S. Military sometimes use the acronyms "MOOSE MUSS", "MOUSE MOSS", or "MOM USE SOS" to remember the first letters of these nine principles.)
There is a debate within the American military establishment to adopt flexibility as the tenth principle of war. In The Growing Imperative to Adopt Flexibility as an American Principle of War, Robert S. Frost argues that the concept of flexibility should be integrated with America's warfighting doctrine.
Many, however, hold that the principle of Simplicity implicity includes flexibility. One of the oldest dictums states that the simple plan is the flexible plan.
In 2007, Armed Forces Journal published a proposal by U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr Chris van Avery, mistitled 12 New Principles of War, to completely overhaul and expand the U.S. principles of war from nine to thirteen. The article was subsequently forwarded to the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Air Force Chief of Staff General Moseley and an effort to overhaul current U.S. doctrine was initiated using van Avery's framework.
[edit] British principles of war
The UK uses 10 principles of war, as taught to all officers of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force:
- Selection and Maintenance of the Aim
- Define the end state and ensure that all strategy is directed toward achieving it.
- Concentration of Force
- Make the best use of military power to achieve the commander's aims by overwhelming the enemy's military capacity.
- Economy of Effort
- Make efficient use of forces, conserving energy and materiel to prevent unnecessary depletion.
- Maintenance of Morale
- Prevent one's own forces from losing the will to fight.
- Offensive Action
- Maintain operational tempo by attacking the enemy.
- Flexibility
- Be able to respond to unexpected changes or attacks and be able to modify one's plans accordingly.
- Co-Operation
- Ensure that the maritime, land and air components work in unison to achieve the end state.
- Security
- Prevent the enemy from benefiting from lapses in operational security at all stages of the military process.
- Surprise
- Seize the initiative by attacking the enemy when, where and how he least expects it.
- Sustainability
- Support, fuel and guide forces to maintain operational capability.
These principles of war are commonly used by the armed forces of Commonwealth countries such as Australia.
[edit] Other uses
Principles of War was also a book published in 1969 for the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It outlines the basic military principles and strategies by which the Japanese army was to operate. The book was used for most military exams in Japan. The book backs up all military principles with historical examples.
