Warfare is a term that changes constantly along with the progression of mankind. To be concise, warfare is the
application and combination of the fundamentals of war to achieve an objective. One must first understand these fundamentals
to understand warfare and its rapid revision.
The fundamentals listed below consist of smaller, but more important aspects that all leaders should never overlook
on the battefield:
Elements of Combat Power
Principles of War
Tenets of Army Operations
Operational Framework
Elements of Combat Power
Maneuver- Maneuver places units an advantageous position to execute the most effective use
of firepower to cripple or destroy enemy forces.
Firepower-Firepower complements maneuver, because you need firepower to magnify the effect
of a maneuver and maneuvering creates conditions to apply effective firepower. One without the other can be disasterous.
Leadership- Leadership is one of the most important assets of a military force. This element
of warfare will be described in another portion of this site though.
Protection- The preservation of all units from any type of actions that may elicit damage to
friendly forces.
Information-
Principles of War
Unity of Command- All units must understand the chain of command and follow their commanding
officers to maintain organization and discipline.
Surprise- The employment of any strategy or tactic that the enemy will not expect and create
confusion among enemy units.
Security- Key terrain and resources must be secured from any threat to serve its use on the
battlefield.
Simplicity- Concise orders and a firm understanding of the operation is necessary to assure
a quick and decisive outcome.
Tenets of Army Operations
Initiative- To set or change the way the battle is occuring, so that you may act according
to your rules and not the enemy's.
Agility- All units must be able to react faster than their enemy mentally and physically
to overcome any obstacle during combat.
Depth- Depth is concerned with the time, space, and resources on the battlefield of a force.
A leader must find and exploit a weakness in the enemy force and destroy it in depth. Meaning you must locate a weakness in
the enemy, exploit that weakness, and defeat the enemy as a whole.
Sychronization-The utilization and application of combat to attain success.
Versatility- One must be able to adapt to the changes in tactics, environment, and warfare
overall to seize and maintain control of an enemy. Example being a common front assault of two oppsing forces can suddenly
change into a search and detroy mission for one side, while the other is using concealment and retrograde techniques, or vice
versa.
Operational Framework
The operational framework is a term to describe the employment and coordination of infantry
and resources over the entire theatre of war. The operational framework is a means to allow leaders to visualize the
battlefield and plan operations. In another way of describing an operational framework is that it is a blueprint
of the battelfield.
These fundamentals are to be considered before any
type of engagement to bring an effective victory against your enemy (wish I would remember these when playing JO). There is
another term you should remember, which is just as important for leaders to consider. That term is METT-TC, but this will
be discussed in the leadership section of this site. DO NOT OVERLOOK THAT SECTION LEADERS.
This concludes this section of the site,
hwover, it is possible that there will be more added at another time.
