Principles of war are rules and guidelines that represent truths in the practice of war and military operations. The earliest known principles of war were documented by Sun Tzu, c. 500 BCE, as well as Chanakya in his Arthashastra c. 350 BCE. Machiavelli published his "General Rules" in 1521 which were themselves modeled on Vegetius' Regulae bellorum generales (Epit. 3.26.1–33). Henri, Duke of Rohan established his "Guides" for war in 1644. Marquis de Silva presented his "Principles" for war in 1778. Henry Lloyd proffered his version of "Rules" for war in 1781 as well as his "Axioms" for war in 1781. Then in 1805, Antoine-Henri Jomini published his "Maxims" for war version 1, "Didactic Resume" and "Maxims" for war version 2. Carl von Clausewitz wrote his version in 1812 building on the work of earlier writers. There are no universally agreed-upon principles of war. The principles of warfare are tied into military doctrine of the various military services. Doctrine, in turn, suggests but does not dictate strategy and tactics.
Historical principles
Arthashastra Arthaśāstra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft and military strategy among other things.
Biblical 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.
Sun Tzu Sun Tzu's The Art of War, written c. 400 BCE, listed five basic factors for a commander to consider:
The Moral Law, or discipline and unity of command Heaven, or weather factors Earth, or the terrain The Commander Method and discipline, which included logistics and supply However, Sun Tzu implied individual initiative as a principle of warfare, stating "According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans."
Napoleon Bonaparte Since the first appearance in English of the military maxims of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1831, all English translations have relied upon the extremely incomplete French edition of General Burnod published in 1827. This has contributed to the erroneous belief that Napoléon Bonaparte had pioneered the "Principles of War". Napoléon was a keen follower of famous military generals of the past, who influenced his thoughts greatly. Albeit, "The armies of today are based on the organization created by Napoleon [sic] for his Grand Army and it has been used ever since." (Weider, par. 12). Since the mid-19th century, due to the influence of the Prussian army, the maxims have become a guide for many military organizations to focus the thinking of military commanders and political leaders toward concepts and methods of successful prosecution of wars and smaller military operations. Although originally concerned with strategy, grand strategy and tactics, due to the changing nature of warfare and military technology, since the interwar period, the principles are largely applied to the strategic decision-making, and in some cases, to operational mobility of forces.
Carl von Clausewitz The principles of war identified by Carl von Clausewitz in his essay Principles of War (1812), and later enlarged in his book, On War, have been influential in military thinking in the North Atlantic region. The initial essay dealt with the tactics of combat, and suggested the following general principles:
discover how we may gain a preponderance of physical forces and material advantages at the decisive point to calculate moral factors make the best use of the few means at our disposal never lack calmness and firmness; without this firm resolution, no great results can be achieved in the most successful war always have the choice between the most audacious and the most careful solution; no military leader has ever become great without audacity Based on the above, Clausewitz went on to suggest principles for tactics, the scale of combat that dominated European warfare at the time:
The defence The offense The use of troops The use of terrain Forces are more effective in a concentric rather than in a parallel attack; attack concentrically without having decisive superiority in an engagement Always seek to envelop that part of the enemy against which we direct our main attack Cut off the enemy from his line of retreat Clausewitz also included in the essay general principles of strategy by saying that warfare has three main objects:
Jomini Antoine Henri Jomini in his book, Precis de l'Art de Guerre, published in 1838, also developed theories of warfare based on the concepts and methods used during the Napoleonic Wars.
Ardant du Picq 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:
Combat is the object, the cause of being, and the supreme manifestation of an army and must be the focus of training, even in peacetime. The human element is more important than theories. War is still more of an art than a science.
20th century theory Applied to specific forms of warfare, such as naval warfare, Julian Corbett argued that maritime strategy should play a significant role in the principles of war. 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.
National principles of war Variations exist and differences are minor and semantic or reflect a cultural persuasion for a particular approach. A closer examination of the values and culture of origin reveals its war priorities.
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