On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines

On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines explores the evolution of military staffs and ideas from the Napoleonic Wars to the present, focusing on Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. It argues that the operational level of war is flawed but operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, which serves as an enabler and supporting organization to tacticians and strategists.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 30 October 2021
Publisher: Naval Institute Press

The evolution of military staffs and operational concepts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day is explored in On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines. The book looks at these developments through the prisms of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman argues that the operational level of war is fundamentally flawed, but operational art is a precise depiction of the actions of military staff, an organization created to provide the intellectual horsepower required to oversee the complexity of modern military operations. The military staff, according to Friedman, serves as an enabler and supporting organization for tacticians and strategists rather than merely as a mediator between levels.

Historical studies of the roles that staffs played in supporting commanders and the disciplines of staff officers themselves lead to conclusions about how best to organize staffs in the future. Friedman illustrates these ideas through case studies of historical campaigns based on the military discipline system developed.

The book also discusses the development of military doctrine, which has evolved from the traditional focus on tactics to a more holistic approach that emphasizes the importance of strategy, logistics, and intelligence. Friedman argues that the development of military doctrine has been driven by technological advances, such as the invention of the tank and the airplane, as well as by changes in the nature of warfare, such as the rise of irregular warfare and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Overall, On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines is a comprehensive and insightful examination of the evolution of military staffs and operational concepts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. The book provides valuable insights into the roles that military staff play in supporting commanders and the challenges that they face in the modern era of warfare.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781682477069