Principles of War

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Principles of War
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Overview

• Video
• History
• Principles of War

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Video
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History
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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.
• Strategic/National Level
• Operational Level

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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.
• Disperse forces quickly in
  preparation
  for attack

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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.
• Enemies moral
• Centers of Gravity

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Simplicity

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

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Summary

• Video
• History
• Principles of War

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Homework

• Prepare for Lesson 15
• Nature of War