Doctrine

COMMANDING THE BATTALION III

British Doctrine 27 Min Read

THE COMPANY IN ACTION Unlike conventional European linear warfare, on American battlefields it was common for the companies within the battalion to operate as semiautonomous tactical entities, each one under the direction of its captain or senior subaltern. Indeed, individual companies were not infrequently detached from the battalion during combat to perform particular tasks. Although this phenomenon was most marked…

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Ancient Warfare Doctrine 33 Min Read

LEGIONS AND PHALANXES

The battle of Pydna, of course, was not the end of the contest. The Roman legion would go on to fight more variations of the phalanx in the centuries to come, taking on the other armies influenced by the Hellenistic phalanx and employing, to varying degrees, similar methods. There was…

Air Warfare Aircraft Doctrine 18 Min Read

Air Support – Kursk

The campaign against the Soviet Union in 1941 began in the same manner, in what had now become standard Luftwaffe doctrine. The Russian Air Force was attacked with great effect, which resulted in the destruction of over 1200 Soviet aircraft by noon of the first day. Support was then shifted…

Austria Doctrine Prussia Small Arms 17 Min Read

Königgrätz: Battle of Eagles

The Prussian military system had been thoroughly reformed after Napoleon had crushed it at Jena in 1806. The crucial development was the growth of a Great General Staff, embodied in law in 1814. Bright officers were selected to what was effectively a military brotherhood, charged with continuous study of the…

British Doctrine 7 Min Read

Origins of the British Light Infantry

‘Light troops are, as it were, a light or beacon for the general, which should constantly inform him of the situation, the movements and nature of the enemy’s designs; it is upon the exactness and intelligence of what they report that he is enabled to regulate the time and manner…

Armies Doctrine 14 Min Read

Iphicrates’ Reforms

Iphicrates was born towards the end of the fifth century into a poor and rather obscure Athenian family. Despite his lowly background he rose to a position of command in Athens, fighting in a number of campaigns including the Corinthian War and the Social War, he also spent time in…

AFV Doctrine German Units 21 Min Read

Panzer Force 1940: A Major Restructuring

Though there had been no significant tank-versus-tank engagements during the Polish campaign, German planners were aware that against the French and British, they would face superior numbers, better armed and armored vehicles, and not least stronger antitank defenses. As the Wehrmacht began the process of deploying westward, the armored force…

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British Armour – Lessons to be Learned I

Following victory in Tunisia there was a pause in British ground operations for two months…

Gustavus Adolphus’ Reforms

Swedish Infantry Gustavus Adolphus, a key reformer of armed forces in the 17th century, was…

The Army of Elizabeth I

“The Armada Campaign, 1588: • Petronel, Earl of Essex’s troops • English demilancer • English…

The Dutch Reforms

Prince Maurice at the Battle of Nieuwpoort by Pauwels van Hillegaert. Oil on canvas. The…