Principles of warfare are the evolved concepts, laws, rules and methods that guide the conduct of combat related activities during conflicts. Throughout history, soldiers, military theorists, political leaders, philosophers, academic scholars, practitioners of international law and human rights advocacy groups have sought to determine fundamental rules for the conduct of warfare. Principles of warfare impact on the health and security of civilian populations in a zone of conflict, human and natural environment, social networks and groups, rural and urban societies, national and international economic relations, political structures and international diplomacy, and the means and methods by which conflicts are brought to conclusion. These approaches have been both prescriptive, stating what activities are forbidden in warfare by law, ethical considerations, or religious beliefs, and descriptive, analyzing the best practices and means by which armed forces can achieve victory.
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The Book of Deuteronomy prescribes how the Israelite army was to fight, including dealing with plunder, enslavement of the enemy women and children and forbidding the destruction of fruit-bearing trees.
The Hague and Geneva Conventions
See: Hague Conventions, Geneva Conventions
20th century issues
There are several issues where appropriate the laws of land warfare are ambiguous or obsolescent. Among these are the use of private contractors as soldiers or private armies and whether they are mercenaries or not under international conventions.
In addition, several classes of weapons, such as land mines or cluster bombs, have been decried by non-governmental organizations and some governments as inherently inhumane. However, the United States has refused to denounce the use of these weapons. In the case of land mines, the U.S. position is that all U.S.-planted mines are clearly marked and mapped, and that all U.S.-planted mines can be deactivated by remote command. The People's Liberation Army also continues to use land mines.
A third issue is the prisoner status of members of organizations which use methods to terrorise society such as al-Qaeda. The United States interprets the laws of land warfare in such a way as to exclude captives from these organizations from the status of prisoner of war. Other nations and several international organizations believe that the U.S. interpretation is too narrow and can lead to abuse of innocent parties.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War, written approximately in 400 B.C., listed five basic factors for a commander to consider:
However, Sun Tzu implied individual initiative as a principle of warfare, stating "According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans."
Carl von Clausewitz, in his book Vom Kriege (On War) published in 1832, and Antoine Henri Jomini in his book, Precis de l'Art de Guerre, published in 1838, developed theories of warfare based on the concepts and methods used during the Napoleonic Wars. Clausewitz's approach was more theoretical than that of Jomini.
Colonel Ardant du Picq, a French infantry officer who was killed in the Franco-Prussian War, prepared drafts based on his observations of military history which became the book Battle Studies. In it two of Du Picq's observations stand out:
Admiral William S. Sims, who commanded the U.S. Navy's contribution to the British Grand Fleet in World War I, wrote of the U.S. Naval War College:
The college aims to supply principles, not rules, and by training, develop the habit of applying these principles logically, correctly, and rapidly to each situation that may arise. This habit can be acquired only through considerable practice, hence the numerous problems in strategy and tactics.[2]
The British military theorist and historian Major-General J.F.C. Fuller developed a set of eight principles of warfare between 1912 and 1924:
In 1994, the U.S. Army's Field Manual 100-5 listed the following basic principles:
The British military adds to the above list:
The Russian doctrine is similar, but includes the concept of Annihilation as well.
These principles of warfare are very broad, and are tied in to military doctrine of the various military services. Doctrine, in turn, suggests but does not dictate strategy and tactics.