GRAND RECONNAISSANCE

“In every situation the principal strategical requirements must clearly be defined and all other things must be subordinated to these considerations.”—Frederic the Great.

“One should seek to obtain a knowledge of causes, rather than of effects; and should endeavor to reason from the known, to the unknown.”—Euclid.

The province of Grand Reconnaissance is exactly to determine the relative advantages and disadvantages in time, numbers, organization, topography, mobility and position, which appertain to hostile armies contained in the same strategetic plane; and to designate those Corps d’armee by which such advantages are materially expressed.

Those processes which appertain to the making of Grand Reconnaissance, necessarily are argumentative; inasmuch as all the facts never are determinate.

Consequently, talent of the highest order is required for the deducing of conclusions which never can be based upon exact knowledge, and which always must contemplate the presence of numerous unknown quantities.

The responsibilities inherent to Grand Reconnaissance never are to be delegated to, nor thrust upon subordinates. Scouts, spies, and informers of every kind, have their manifold and proper uses, but such uses never rise above furnishing necessary information in regard to topographical, tactical, and logistic details.

The Commander-in-chief alone is presumed to possess knowledge and skill requisite to discern what strategetically is fact and what is not fact; and to ascribe to each fact its proper place and sequence.

Lack of military talent and of Strategetic knowledge, never is more strikingly shown than by negligence or inability in this regard.

Incompetents, ignorant of this truth, and oblivious to its importance, devolve such vital responsibility upon subordinates; and later, these legalized murderers palliate the slaughter of their troops and the national shame by publicly reprimanding men serving at shillings per month, for failing in a service, which were the latter able to perform, would entitle them to the gold epaulets and general’s pay, of which their commander is the unfit recipient.

Knowledge of the number, organization, position and movements of the enemy’s troops is the basic element for correct calculation in campaign and battle.

Such things to be accurately estimated must be closely inspected. All speculation and all conjecture in regard to these matters is but frivolity.

It is by being precipitate and hasty in making such conclusions, that men are deceived, for to judge rightly of things before they become clearly shown is most difficult.

To act on uncertainty is WRONG.

We do not know all the facts and a single iota of light later on may oblige us to condemn that which we previously have approved.

In the making of Grand Reconnaissance, one always must be wary of placing too much confidence in appearances and in first impressions. Especially must care be taken not to magnify the weaknesses of the hostile army, nor the efficacy of the kindred position.

Also, one never should underrate:

It is a first essential, constantly to note the movements of the enemy, in order to detect his plans and the exact location of his corps.

These things are the only reliable guides for determining the true course of procedure. It must be left to the enemy to show by his movements and the posts which he occupies, the measures he projects for the future, and until these are known, it is not proper to ACT. Hence: