Military theory

Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote,

 

'The primary purpose of any theory is to clarify concepts and ideas that have become, as it were, confused and entangled. Not until terms and concepts have been defined can one hope to make any progress in examining the questions clearly and simply and expect the reader to share one's views.'^[7]

Military Theory informs the political, strategic, operational and tactical levels of war.^[8] It does so by contributing to knowledge on the subjects of war and warfare. This aids in understanding why and when force is used and what forms the use of force may take. It also aids in identifying and explaining practical outcomes to help determine how force may be applied.^[9] Military theories, especially since the 19th Century AD, attempt to encapsulate the complex cultural, political and economic relationships between societies and the conflicts they create.

Categories of Military Theory

Military Theories can be divided into several categories.^[10] First, theories may be codified by their relevant level of War:

• Grand Strategic Theory
• Strategic Theory
• Operational Theory
• Tactical Theory^[11][12]

Second, they may be categorised by environment or domain, such as:

• General, National Military Power Theory
• Integrated and or Joint Theory
• Land Power or Continental Theory
• Sea Power or Naval and Maritime Theory
• Air Power or Aeronautical Theory
• Space Power or Astronautical Theory^[13]
• Cyber Power Theory
• Information Power Theory

Third, a theory may be developed for a particular form of warfare, such as:

• Naval Warfare Theory
• Surface Warfare Theory
• Anti-Submarine Warfare Theory
• Land Warfare Theory
• Armoured Warfare Theory
• Airborne Warfare Theory
• Amphibious Warfare Theory
• Air Warfare Theory
• Anti-Aircraft Warfare Theory
• Psychological Warfare Theory
• Cyber Warfare Theory
• Space Warfare Theory
• Nuclear Warfare Theory
• Biological Warfare Theory
• Chemical Warfare Theory
• Regular Warfare Theory
• Irregular Warfare Theory
• Combined Arms Warfare Theory
• Manoeuvre Theory
• Attrition Theory
• Conventional Warfare Theory
• Unconventional Warfare Theory
• Counterinsurgency Theory
• Counterterrorism Theory

Theories and conceptions of warfare have varied throughout human history. There have been many military theorists throughout history, such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Onasander, Frontinus, Aelian, Vegetius, Maurice, Leo VI, Machiavelli, Lloyd, Suvorov, Berenhorst, Bülow, de Saxe, Clausewitz, Jomini, Calwell, Mahan, Corbett, Douhet, Fuller, Liddell-Hart, Wylie, Brodie, Luttwak, Schelling, Howard, Freedman, Boyd, Lind, Creveld, Gat, Hammes, Hoffman, Kilcullen and Gray in Western military circles; each have helped lay the foundations for our contemporary understanding of policy, strategy, operational art, tactics, command and control, intelligence and logistics.

• Military doctrine
• Military science
• List of military writers

Notes

Bibliography

• Angstrom, Jan and Widen, J.J. (2015) Contemporary Military Theory: The Dynamics of War. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-08072-6
• Clausewitz, Carl von (1976). On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Revised 1984 ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05657-9.
• Evans, Michael, (2004), Land Warfare Studies Centre Study Paper No. 305, The Continental School of Strategy: The Past, Present and Future of Land Power, Canberra: Land Warfare Studies Centre. ISBN 0642296014.
• Gray, Colin S. (2010). The Strategy Bridge-Theory for Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957966-2
• Lider, Julian (1980). 'Introduction to Military Theory', Cooperation and Conflict, XV, 151-168.
• Lider, Julian (1983). Military Theory: Concept, Structure and Problems (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-53240-6
• Oliviero, Charles. (2022) Strategia-A Primer on Theory and Strategy for Students of War. Toronto: Double Dagger. ISBN 978-1-990644-24-5
• Sun Tzu (2003). The Art of War. New York City: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-1-59308-016-7.
• Vego, Milan (2011). 'On Military Theory', Joint Force Quarterly, Vol. 3, Issue 62, p 59-67.
• Yarger, Harry R. (2006). Strategic Theory for the 21st Century: The Little Book on Big Strategy. Leavenworth: US Army War College War College Press. ISBN 1-58487-233-0

•   Media related to Military theory at Wikimedia Commons