The Art and Science of Tactics
Abstract
Establishing the nature of tactics has been a pastime of professional soldiers for centuries. Analyses of tactics have delved into the question of the exact nature of tactics; they have included examinations of historical experience or events in war; and they have sought to find the best possible tactics for the future battlefield. In recent decades, studies of tactics in the U.S. Army have implicitly begun to assume that tactics is more an exact science than an "art and science." As one recent military writer explained, tactics is nothing more than the "specific plans and actions required to activate a concept." In fact, tactics remains rooted in concepts that demand the scientific approach, but the application of these concepts requires an intuitive art for the successful disposition and concentration of force on the field of battle. Despite the improving capabilities of modern weaponry, the success of a tactician remains dependent upon a variety of factors which cannot be ordered or approached strictly as if war were a technical trade.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA511602
Entities
People
- Robert A. Doughty
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College