The Principle of Mass Understood: A Qualitative Analysis for the Operational Planner

Abstract

The principle of mass, more so than any other U.S. principle of war, has evolved to accommodate changes in warfare capabilities, doctrine, and strategy. Despite the views of some officers, the principle of mass is not dead; in contrast, the current U.S. joint definition has actually improved on previous definitions with the change from a combat power focus to a focus on effects of combat power. The current definition conveys not only the intent of the theorists, but acknowledges the reality of the way U.S. military operations will be conducted in the 21st century. Far from being irrelevant, the principle of mass should be understood in terms of its components: (1) effects - not forces, (2) place and time, (3) joint integration, and (4) synchronization. (29 refs.)

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 09, 2004
Accession Number
ADA422826

Entities

People

  • John H. Snelling Jr

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Army Operations
  • Combat Areas
  • Command And Control
  • Doctrine
  • Information Operations
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Network Centric Warfare
  • Psychological Operations
  • Schools
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.