Principles of War

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PrinciplesofWar
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Principles of War
Doctrine (DOD) Fundamental principles by which
the military forces or elements thereof guide
their actions in support of national objectives.
It is authoritative but requires judgment in
application. See also multinational doctrine
joint doctrine multi-Service doctrine.
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Overview

• History
• Principles of War
• Video

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History

• Sun Tzu
• Napoleon
• JFC Fuller

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Principles of War

• Objective
• Offensive
• Mass
• Economy of force
• Maneuver

• Unity of command
• Security
• Surprise
• Simplicity

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Objective

• Directs military operations toward a defined
  and attainable objective that contributes to
  strategic, operational, or tactical aims.

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Offensive

• Dictates that we act rather than react and
  dictate the time, place, purpose, scope,
  intensity, and pace of operations. The
  initiative must be seized, retained, and fully
  exploited.

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Mass

• Concentrates combat power at the decisive time
  and place.

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Economy of Force

• Creates usable mass by using minimum combat
  power on secondary objectives. Makes fullest use
  of forces available.

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Maneuver

• Places the enemy in a position of disadvantage
  through the flexible application of combat power.

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Unity of Command

• Ensures unity of effort for every objective
  under one responsible commander.

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Security

• Protects friendly forces and their operations
  from enemy actions which could provide the enemy
  with unexpected advantage.

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Surprise

• Strikes the enemy at a time or place or in a
  manner for which he is unprepared.

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Simplicity

• Avoids unnecessary complexity in preparing,
  planning, and conducting military operations.

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• Video

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Summary

• History
• Principles of War
• Video