Reader's Guide — 11th Edition

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Chapter XXIXFor Army Officers

A New Departure

Contents

  1. Army
  2. Theory and Practice
  3. Arms of Service
  4. Strategy and Tactics
  5. Military History and Criticism
  6. A Military Encyclopaedia

It is often said of an article in the Britannica that it is “the last word on the subject,” so thoroughly has the authority of the book been recognized. This is quite as true of military articles as of those in any other field; but of the military articles it may also be said that they are the first word. Of course, there have been, in previous editions of the Britannica and, to a less degree in minor works of general reference, articles on military history and biography. But in the new Britannica, for the first time, all branches of military knowledge are included, and the spirit of the entire treatment is comparative and critical. The military student will find a discussion not merely of Napoleon’s influence on army organization or Frederick’s influence on cavalry (in the articles on these two leaders), but also of the influence of army organization on Napoleon (in the articles on the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Campaigns), and of cavalry drill on the peculiar generalship of Frederick (in such articles as Seven Years’ War, on Hohenfriedberg, and on Rossbach). Put more concretely, the novelty consists in the inclusion of articles on wars, campaigns and battles, chosen because of their importance in military as well as in political history, and treated from the point of view of the military critic and with particular attention to the lessons they contain for the modern army officer. The care with which the battles and campaigns of the American Civil War are analyzed and criticized will be of singularly great interest to the American soldier, who will immediately notice among the contributors to the military department of the Britannica such names as those of Capt. C. F. Atkinson, author of The Wilderness and Cold Harbour, Major G. W. Redway, author of Fredericksburg: A Study in War, Col. G. F. R. Henderson, author of Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, and Col. F. N. Maude, lecturer in military history, University of Manchester.

ArmyThe best starting point for a study of military affairs in the Britannica is the article Army (Vol. 2, p. 592; equivalent to more than 100 pages of this Guide). This “key” article may be outlined as follows:

General History

Early Armies—Egypt (chariots, infantry, archers). Babylon and Assyria (horsemen, charioteers, etc.). Persian, largely cavalry; the first “organized” army. Greece,—compulsory service; citizen militia; heavy infantry the strong arm; phalanx, the Greek formation. Sparta,—a nation in arms. Greek mercenaries. Epaminondas and Thebes—new phalanx tactics, “oblique order”; development of cavalry. Alexander and Macedon—a modified Theban system. Carthage—mercenary troops led by great generals, with modification of phalanx for greater elasticity. Rome—army under the Republic; its characteristics; under the Empire; see also separate article Roman Army (Vol. 23, p. 471), by Professor F. J. Haverfield of Oxford. The Dark Ages, the Byzantines, and the development of Feudalism. Medieval Mercenaries. Infantry in Feudal Times. The Crusades. The Period of Transition (1290–1490), development of English archers and of professional soldiery,—condottieri, Swiss, Landsknechts. The Spanish army: “at the disposal of its sovereign, trained to the due professional standard and organized in the best way found by experience.” The Sixteenth Century—rise of the heavy cavalry armed with pistols, and fall of the pikemen. Dutch System—attention to minute detail; William the Silent and Maurice of Nassau. Thirty Years’ War—the Werbe-system, small standing army to be increased by levy at time of need. The Swedish Army—conscription and feudal indelta; Gustavus. The English Civil War—real national armies; Cromwell and the “New Model” only an incident without influence on army organization. Standing Armies. French pre-eminence after Rocroi. Small field armies, well-fed and sheltered for economy’s sake. 18th Century organization: “linear” formation and its negative results. Frederick the Great: the art of war a formal science. The French Revolution: a “nation in arms,” a war-machine more powerful than Frederick’s. The conscription in France. Napoleon—his attempt to make a dynastic army out of the “nation in arms.” The Grande Armée of 1805–1806; development of artillery; the army corps. The Wars of Liberation: new Prussian army; excellent Austrian organization. Armies of 1815–1870. American Civil War,—its slow decision. Contrast between French and Prussian staff systems in 1870. Modern Developments: German model followed slavishly except in Great Britain and the United States.

Present Day Armies: The general accounts of existing armies, and of the past organizations of each country, are supplemented by detailed information in the articles on different countries. Especial attention should be given to the military information in the article on Japan. Army Systems: Compulsory Service; Conscription; Voluntary Service; Militia.

Army Organization

The three chief arms—their relative importance: proportion on peace footing—5 or 6 guns per 1000 men, 16 cavalry soldiers to 1000 men of other arms; proportion in war—Russian (1905) 3½ guns per 1000 men of other arms, 60 cavalry to 1000 infantry; Japanese (1905), 2½ field guns per 1000 men, 37 cavalry to 1000 infantry. Command: Brigade; Division; Army Corps, its constitution; Army; Chief Command of group of armies; chief of general staff and his relations to commander-in-chief—for example, von Moltke and King William. Branches of Administration—war office and general staff.

Table: Comparative strength of Various Armies.

  • British Army, Indian Army, Canadian Forces.
  • Austrian Army.
  • French Army.
  • German Army.
  • Italian Army.
  • Russian Army.
  • Spanish Army.
  • Turkish Army.
  • United States Army.
  • Armies of minor countries.

Bibliography (2000 words)

Theory and PracticeNext in order the student should turn to the article War (Vol. 28, p. 305; equivalent to 40 pages of this Guide), by Col. G. F. R. Henderson, well known for his books on the American Civil War (Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson, etc.), with a section on Laws of War, by Sir Thomas Barclay. Col. Henderson’s article lays down important general principles. An analysis of modern conditions shows that improved methods of communication have made war a much speedier process, in which the victorious general cannot make mistakes at the outset. That intellect and education count for more than stamina and courage was the lesson of the Franco-Prussian War—a lesson learned by the Prussians before that war. Modern war is a science and the amateur has little chance; in this respect things have changed. “It is impossible to doubt that had the Boers of 1899 possessed a staff of trained strategists, they would have shaken the British Empire to its foundations.” There must be a concert between diplomacy and strategy. Civilian war ministers cannot solve strategic problems. The greater deadliness of modern warfare, and the greater moral effect of being under fire call for better foresight, strategy and morale. The relation of army and navy is discussed and the new doctrine of “sea-power” explained. (See the chapter For Naval Officers in this Guide). The remaining topics in the article are: weakness of allied armies; railways and sea as lines of operation; amphibious power; value of unprofessional troops and the need of professional leaders.

Arms of ServiceIn the articles Infantry (Vol. 14, p. 517; 2 plates; equivalent to 35 pages of this Guide) and Artillery (Vol. 2, p. 685; 2 plates; equivalent to 30 pages of this Guide), both by Capt. Atkinson, and in the article Cavalry (Vol. 5, p. 563; illustrated with 2 plates and 1 cut; in length equivalent to 30 pages of this Guide), by Col. F. N. Maude, the student will find an elaborate treatment of the history, organization and tactics (especially since 1870) of each of these arms. For details of their organization and equipment he should read the articles Engineers, Staff, Mounted Infantry, Supply and Transport (Military), Officers, Ambulance, Fortification, Machine Guns, Coast Defence, Ordnance, Ballistics, Sights, Rifle, Gun, Pistol, Explosive, Gunpowder, Guncotton, Cordite and Nitro-glycerine. In many geographical articles there are descriptions of the world’s great fortifications, e. g., Paris, Antwerp, and Verdun. Other topics of a more miscellaneous character are covered by the articles Army Signalling, Pigeon Post, Signals, War Game, Manoeuvres, Kite, etc.

The military use of aeroplanes and balloons is very fully shown in the articles Flight and Aeronautics.

Strategy and TacticsBefore taking up a systematic course in military history, there are two general articles that the military student should read: Tactics (Vol. 26, p. 347; equivalent in length to 20 pages of this Guide), by Maj. Neill Malcolm, editor of the Science of War; and Strategy (Vol. 25, p. 986; equivalent to 35 pages of this Guide), by Col. F. N. Maude. The former article should be compared with the sections on tactics in the articles Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. Major Malcolm makes much of the continuity of military history, comparing Metaurus and Ramillies with the fighting in Manchuria, and Wellington at Maya with Oyama in his contest with Kuropatkin. The mistakes that have been made once should not be made again; at least the careful student of tactical history may see to it that if they are repeated, it is done by his opponent and not by himself. Modern tactics are different from ancient because of greater fire-power and improved methods of transportation. Cavalry tactics are in an uncertain condition; there is no recent practice to serve as a guide, since neither in South Africa in the Boer war nor in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese conflict was cavalry much used. Infantry must co-operate to make artillery bombardment effective. An interesting discussion of offensive and defensive fighting is summed up in the words “To the true general the purely defensive battle is unknown” and as evidence are adduced Wellington at Salamanca and Oyama at Sha-ho. Oyama’s victory in the latter battle, it is pointed out, shows the increased ease of the process of envelopment, which has resulted in discarding corps artillery in favour of divisional artillery. The importance—and the possibility—of the counter stroke; the danger of using for the relief of one’s own troops forces which might better be launched at the enemy’s weakest spot; and the similar unwisdom of any negative tactics, adopted to avoid loss, as in “holding attacks”—are the other principal points made in the article.

The article Strategy should be read in conjunction with the articles Army and War. It is impossible to summarize or outline it here, but it is worth noting that the article closes with a definition and discussion of the following terms: Base; Line of Communication; Line of Operations; Exterior Lines; Obstacles.

Military History and CriticismFor a reasoned history of warfare in more detail than has been given in the general articles already alluded to, the reader will find some outline like the following valuable, the arrangement being roughly chronological and all words in Italics being titles of articles in the Britannica.

Marathon; Darius; Miltiades; Herodotus.

Thermopylae; Leonidas; Salamis.

Peloponnesian War; Pericles; Cleon; Pylos; Brasidas; Alcibiades; Critias; Thucydides; Xenophon.

Epaminondas; Mantineia.

Philip II of Macedon; Olynthus; Chaeroneia; Alexander the Great; Arrian.

Pyrrhus.

Roman Army; Caudine Forks; Punic Wars; Carthage; Hanno; Hannibal; Hasdrubal; Mago; Trasimene; Fabius (Cunctator); Cannae; Scipio Africanus; Scipio Aemilianus; Aemilius Paulus; Perseus; Marius; Jugurtha; Sulla; Sertorius; Pompey; Caesar; Antonius (Mark Antony).

Charles Martel.

Charlemagne.

William I (of England); Hastings; Standard, Battle of.

Crusades (equivalent to 90 pages of this Guide); Godfrey of Bouillon; Raymund of Toulouse; Richard I (of England); Philip II (of France); Saladin; Henry VI (Roman Emperor); Baldwin I; Frederick II; Louis IX (of France).

Bouvines.

Bannockburn; Robert Bruce.

Hundred Years’ War; Philip VI; Edward III; Crécy; John of Bohemia; Edward (the Black Prince); Calais; Poitiers; John II (of France); Lancaster, House of (for John of Gaunt); Bertrand Du Guesclin; Henry V (of England); Agincourt; Joan of Arc; 1st Duke of Bedford (John Plantagenet); Count of Dunois.

Wars of the Roses; St. Albans; Towton; Earl of Warwick (Richard Neville); Edward IV.

Ravenna, battle of; Bayard (the chevalier); Gaston de Foix; Pescara; Navarro; Marignan; Francis I (of France).

Flodden; James IV (of Scotland); Norfolk, 3rd Duke.

St. Quentin (1557); Coligny; Montmorency (constable); Emmanuel Philibert.

Alva; William the Silent (Vol. 28, p. 672); Maurice of Nassau; Farnese (duke of Parma).

Thirty Years’ War; Maximilian I (of Bavaria); Frederick V (elector palatinate; Vol. 11, p. 59); Mansfeld; Tilly; Wallenstein; Gustavus Adolphus; Breitenfeld; Lützen; Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar; duc de Rohan; Frederick Henry; Gallas; Banér; Piccolomini; Turenne; Torstensson; Condé; Freiburg; Mercy; Nördlingen; Wrangel (1613–1676); Fronde.

Great Rebellion (English Civil Wars of 1642–52); Charles I (of England); Prince Rupert; Essex (2nd Earl, Vol. 9, p. 782); Edgehill; John Hotham; Baron Hopton; Sir William Waller; Duke of Newcastle (1592–1676); Fairfax of Cameron (2nd and 3rd Barons); Sir Bevil Grenville; Oliver Cromwell; Manchester, 2nd Earl of (Vol. 17, p. 543); Marston Moor; Leven; Skippon; Argyll, 8th Earl; Montrose; Lord Newark; Goring; Naseby; John Lambert; Charles Fleetwood; Dunbar; Thomas Harrison.

Dutch Wars; Louis XIV; Condé; Frederick William of Brandenburg; Turenne; Montecucculi; William III (of England); Duke of Luxembourg; Charles of Lorraine (Vol. 17, p. 11).

Vauban.

Grand Alliance, War of; Catinat; Luxembourg; Vauban; Fleurus; Louvois; Duc de Boufflers; Coehoorn; William III of England; Steenkirk; Neerwinden; Villeroi.

Spanish Succession; Marlborough; Eugene of Savoy; Villars; Peterborough; Ruvigny; Catinat; Vendôme; Blenheim; Ramillies; Oudenarde; Malplaquet; Berwick.

Polish Succession War.

Austrian Succession; Frederick the Great; Count von Schwerin; L. A. Khevenhüller; Duc de Broglie; Traun; Charles (of Lorraine; Vol. 5, p. 936); Seckendorf; George II (of England); Noailles; Conti (Vol. 7, p. 28); Hohenfriedberg; Fontenoy; comte de Saxe (marshal); Duke of Cumberland; Ligonier; Belle-Isle.

Seven Years’ War (with 5 diagrams): Frederick the Great; Clive; Amherst; Wolfe; comte de Lally; Montcalm; Count von Browne; Ferdinand (of Brunswick); Daun; Zieten; F. E. J. Keith; Seydlitz; Rossbach; Soubise (1715–1787); Leuthen; Loudon; Kunersdorf; Finck; Minden; Sackville, 1st Viscount; Granby.

American War of Independence; Lexington; Concord; Bunker Hill; Joseph Warren; Israel Putnam; Thomas Gage; William Howe; Ethan Allen; Ticonderoga; George Washington; Benedict Arnold; Richard Montgomery; Long Island; Rufus Putnam; William Alexander; Trenton and Princeton; Henry Knox; Brandywine; Germantown; Burgoyne; Bennington; John Stark; Saratoga; George Rogers Clark; Sir Henry Clinton; Monmouth; John Sullivan; Anthony Wayne; William Moultrie; Charleston (S. C.); Francis Marion; Thomas Sumter; Andrew Pickens; Horatio Gates; Nathanael Greene; Cornwallis; Kalb; Camden; King’s Mountain; Daniel Morgan; Henry Lee; Tarleton; Eutawville; Lafayette; Yorktown.

French Revolutionary Wars (with 6 diagrams); Dumouriez; Kellerman (1735–1820); Custine; Jemappes; Gribeauval; Neerwinden (1793); Clerfayt; Vendée; L. N. M. Carnot; Jourdan; Wattignies; Joubert; Frederick Augustus, Duke of York; Souham; Moreau; Kray von Krajova; Vandamme; Pichegru; Marceau; Charles, archduke of Austria (Vol. 5, p. 935); Masséna; Napoleon; Augereau; Serurier; Joubert; Sir W. Sidney Smith; Kléber; Alexandria; Oudinot; Suvarov; Borodino; Macdonald; Marengo; Murat; Lannes; Berthier; Bautzen.

Napoleonic Campaigns (9 diagrams; and see, on p. 233 of Vol. 19, “The Military Character of Napoleon”); Napoleon; Wrede; Murat; Charles XIV (Bernadotte); Marmont; Davout; Ney; Lannes; Soult; Berthier; Angereau; Dupont de l’Etang; Austerlitz; Kutusov; Hohenlohe (Vol. 13, p. 572); Blücher; Lasalle; Massenbach; Kalckreuth; Scharnhorst; Lefebvre-Desnoëttes; Count von Bennigsen; Eylau; Friedland; Grouchy; Mortier; Senarmont; Oudinot; Massena; Aspern-Essling; Charles, archduke of Austria; Bellegarde; Wagram; Beauharnais; Macdonald; Jerome Bonaparte (Vol. 4, p. 195); Barclay de Tolly; Bagration; Victor-Perrin; Yorck von Wartenburg; Lauriston; Wittgenstein; Bautzen; Schwarzenberg; Gouvion St. Cyr; Dresden (battle).

Peninsular War; Junot; Murat; Dupont de l’Etang; Moncey; Palafox y Melzi; Wellington; Sir John Moore; Sir David Baird; Talavera; Suchet; Sebastiani; Foy; Lord Hill; Lord Lynedoch; W. C. Beresford; Salamanca; Clausel; O’Donnell; Vitoria; Sir William Napier.

American War of 1812; Isaac Brock; Dearborn; Baltimore; Washington; New Orleans; Andrew Jackson; Jacob Brown; James Wilkinson; and for sea-fighting the titles in the chapter of this Guide: For Naval Officers.

Waterloo Campaign (with 3 maps); Napoleon; Murat; Schwarzenberg; Barclay de Tolly; Wellington; Blücher; Lord Hill; Anglesey; D’Erlon; Gneisenau; Gérard; Grouchy; Vandamme; Thielmann; Bülow (1755–1816); Ney; Exelmans; Pajol; Picton.

Greek Independence; Ypsilanti; Mavrocordato; Coraës; Dundonald; Sir Richard Church.

Russo-Turkish Wars (1828–29); Paskevich; Diebitsch (1877–78); Osman; Skobelev; Plevna (with diagram); Todleben; Shipka Pass.

Crimean War (with 2 diagrams): Gorchakov; Hess; Raglan; Saint Arnaud; Canrobert; Pelissier; Menshikov (1787–1869); Bosquet; Todleben; Alma; Balaklava; Scarlett; Cardigan; Inkerman; Sir George Brown; Sir George Cathcart; Kinglake.

Italian Wars (1848–1870); Radetzky; Charles Albert of Sardinia (Vol. 5, p. 938); Durando; Pepe; Victor Emmanuel; Pelissier; Canrobert; La Marmora; Napoleon III; Forey; MacMahon; Bazaine; Wimpffen; Benedek; Niel; Custozza; Cialdini.

American Civil War; Bull Run; McDowell; Beauregard; J. E. Johnston; R. E. Lee; Rosecrans; Lexington, Mo.; Fremont; Nathaniel Lyon; F. P. Blair, Jr.; Pope; Burnside; B. F. Butler; McClellan; A. S. Johnston; G. H. Thomas; U. S. Grant; C. F. Smith; Lew Wallace; McClernand; Halleck; O. M. Mitchel; Shiloh; N. P. Banks; T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson; Shenandoah; Fair Oaks; Seven Days; A. P. Hill; D. H. Hill; J. E. B. Stuart; Braxton Bragg; Longstreet; Bull Run (second battle); Ewell; Sigel; Hooker; Kearny; Fitz-John Porter; Antietam; E. V. Sumner; Hood; Burnside; Van Dorn; Fredericksburg; W. B. Franklin; John F. Reynolds; D. N. Couch; Stone River; Hardee; A. McD. McCook; T. L. Crittenden; G. H. Thomas; J. C. Breckinridge; McPherson; Chancellorsville; T. F. Meagher; Meade; Gettysburg; O. O. Howard; Doubleday; Early; Hancock; Sickles; Vicksburg; J. H. Morgan; Chickamauga; N. B. Forrest; Chattanooga; Sheridan; Wilderness (4 diagrams); Fitz-Hugh Lee; J. H. Wilson; G. K. Warren; John Sedgwick; Merritt; R. H. Anderson; Spottsylvania; Cold Harbor; Petersburg; Shenandoah Valley; Cedar Creek; W. T. Sherman; Marietta; Atlanta; Slocum; Schofield; Joseph Wheeler; J. A. Logan; Nashville; Richmond; Appomatox Court-House; Durham, N. C.

Seven Weeks’ War (with 2 diagrams): William I (of Germany); Moltke; Benedek; Frederick III (of Germany); Frederick Charles (of Prussia; Vol. 11, p. 61); Steinmetz; Blumenthal; Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (Vol. 13, p. 573b); Goeben; and see Italian Wars above.

Franco-German War; Napoleon III; Niel; Moltke; William I (of Germany); Steinmetz; Frossard; MacMahon; Wörth (with plan); Bazaine; Metz (2 plans); Alvensleben; Canrobert; Bourbaki; Leboeuf; Manteuffel; Caprivi; Prince Frederick Charles; Sedan (with plan); Vinoy; Wimpffen; Gallifet; Werder; Gambetta; Freycinet; Aurelle de Paladines; Orleans; Bourbaki; Le Mans; Chanzy; Faidherbe; Belfort; Clinchant; Paris.

Servo-Bulgarian War; Alexander of Bulgaria (Vol. 1, p. 544); Milan of Servia.

Greco-Turkish War; Edhem Pasha.

Spanish-American War; Joseph Wheeler; F. V. Greene; Roosevelt; Miles.

Transvaal (Vol. 27, pp. 203 sqq. for Boer War of 1899–1902); Kruger; Cronje; P. J. Joubert; Sir George White; Buller; Lord Roberts; Lord Kitchener; J. H. De la Rey; Christian DeWet; Louis Botha.

Russo-Japanese War (with 4 diagrams); Kuroki; Kuropatkin; Inouye; Oku; Nozu; Oyama.

A Military EncyclopaediaThe military student will see from what has already been said that the Britannica is not merely a general work of reference but a valuable aid in the study of military history, biography, theory, practice and phraseology. The following alphabetical list names only the chief of the articles in the Britannica which make it a military cyclopaedia. As has been noticed above, many articles are special treatises in themselves dealing with many related topics, and—for instance—articles on wars or campaigns contain elaborate descriptions of separate battles. Many topics are treated in the Britannica, even if they are not in the following list, and their whereabouts may be readily learned by turning to the Index volume.