Basic Strategic Principles

Welcome Officers, to the first section of the Command Primer.  This section will be devoted to material the Command Staff will all need to become familiar with and put into practice.  We will draw on a lot of different material from across the span of military history to present this to you, from ancient texts, historical examples and (of course) modern 'mech specific documents.  By familiarizing ourselves with actual military principles, we will draw closer to a full mil-sim unit - a professional Davion kill-squad.

Terminology

Military doctrine is the official set of concepts that delineate the ways and means to achieve military objectives.  Capellan doctrine differs largely from Fed-Com doctrine in that Capellans always consider the political interests as an integral component of war.  Officers should be familiar with the entire system of thought and routinely express themselves in these terms.  This allows quick thinking and decision making using these concepts.

Military science is the study and analysis of the diverse psychological and material phenomena relevant to armed combat for developing practical recommendations for the achievement of victory in war.  Unlike doctrine, science is characterized by controversy and debate.  In military science, there may be several points of view, diverse "scientific concepts", and original hypotheses that are not selected as doctrine and therefore are not accepted as official state views on military issues.

Military art is the primary field within military science and is the basis for all strategy and tactics.  It is the theory and practice of conducting armed conflict.  The principles of military art are the basic ideas and the most important recommendations for the organization and conduct of battles.

Ancient Principles of Military Art

Gatekeepers military theorists consider the following points to be the general principles of military art.  These concepts apply to all three levels of military art:  strategy, operations and tactics.  Each level has it's own specifics, but here we will regard tactics as the primary level of art.

• Be prepared to accomplish the mission regardless of the conditions under which the battle begins or must be conducted.
• Chief objective - the enemy's army.
• Achieve surprise whenever possible.
• Operations must be characterized by decisiveness and aggressiveness.
• Design actions to preempt the opponent and keep him reacting to situations you control.
• Strive to continuously seize and hold the initiative and achieve dominance over the enemy's will.
• Make use of all assets and capabilities to achieve victory.
• Concentrate strength where the enemy is weak.
• Maintain continuous and reliable command and control.
• Ensure that major formations effect thorough and continuous coordination to maintain unity and simultaneity of action.
• Detailed, exacting preparation must precede an attack.
• Select principle objectives and the best routes for attack.
• One should not be diverted by geographical objectives, but should concentrate on the destruction of the enemy's military forces.
• Make a decisive concentration of combat power at the correct time, with emphasis on extreme exertion of force at the very beginning of an engagement.
• Be determined and decisive in achieving the assigned mission.
• Reconstitute reserves and restore combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.

Modern Tactical Principles

A melding of contemporary writings and those of the recent past, along with the influence of classical principles, results in the following specific Capellan principles of art and tactics.

• Units must be mobile and capable of rapid movement.
• The planning and conduction of an operation must involve the full coordination and cooperation of all Command Staff involved.
• There must be a unity of command, a single commander for any operation.
• Deceive the enemy.  Attack from an unexpected direction at an unexpected time.  Use terrain and weather to your advantage.
• Strike early and with great force.  Constantly strive to pre-empt and dominate the enemy.
• Attack the enemy violently and simultaneously throughout his depth.  Carry the battle to the enemy rear with swift penetrations by maneuver units, artillery, aviation and unconventional means.
• Be bold and decisive.  Seize the initiative.
• Prosecute an operation relentlessly, without pause, under all conditions of visibility.
• Keep the enemy under constant pressure and off balance.  Do not allow him to react effectively.
• Maneuver first with firepower.  Firepower is maneuver.
• Maneuver forces should attack the weakest points in enemy defensive.  Bypass enemy strongpoints to strike deeply into his rear.
• Avoid frontal attacks.  Whenever possible, strike the enemy in the flanks or rear.
• Maintain security of your own flanks and rear.
• Maintain sufficient follow-on force to assure achievement of the mission and to deal with contingencies.
• Maintain effective, continuous command, control and communications.  Loss of communications leads to loss of control and defeat.  Maintain redundant communications at higher levels.  Rely on audio and visual signals and well-rehearsed battle drills at lower levels.
• Command Staff must have the equipment and skills necessary to collect and analyze information quickly and to develop and disseminate orders rapidly based on the commander's decision.
• Employ radioelectronic combat to deprive the enemy of effective command and control of his combat forces.
• Adhere to the spirit and letter of a plan.  If the plan fails, use initiative to accomplish the mission.
• Be prepared to react quickly to a rapidly changing battlefield.  Develop procedures to deal with numerous contingencies.  Think quickly and be decisive and resourceful in accomplishing the mission.

It should be noted that these principles are idealistic.  They are what we strive to achieve.  They show what we would like to do, but not, in all cases, what we may be capable of doing.  However, any examination of operations and tactics must start with the principles as a basis.

Much of this information and text comes from the U.S. Department of the Army Field Manual - The Soviet Army: Operations and Tactics; Headquarters, Washington D.C., 16 July 1984.  This material is unclassified.