The Art of War

by baron de Antoine Henri Jomini

Offensive Battles, and Different Orders of Battle.

We understand by offensive battles those which an army fights when assaulting another in position.[^[24]] An army reduced to the strategic defensive often takes the offensive by making an attack, and an army receiving an attack may, during the progress of the battle, take the offensive and obtain the advantages incident to it. History furnishes numerous examples of battles of each of these kinds. As defensive battles have been discussed in the preceding article, and the advantages of the defensive been pointed out, we will now proceed to the consideration of offensive movements.

It must be admitted that the assailant generally has a moral advantage over the assailed, and almost always acts more understandingly than the latter, who must be more or less in a state of uncertainty.

As soon as it is determined to attack the enemy, some order of attack must be adopted; and that is what I have thought ought to be called order of battle.

It happens also quite frequently that a battle must be commenced without a detailed plan, because the position of the enemy is not entirely known. In either case it should be well understood that there is in every battle-field a decisive point, the possession of which, more than of any other, helps to secure the victory, by enabling its holder to make a proper application of the principles of war: arrangements should therefore be made for striking the decisive blow upon this point.

The decisive point of a battle-field is determined, as has been already stated, by the character of the position, the bearing of different localities upon the strategic object in view, and, finally, by the arrangement of the contending forces. For example, suppose an enemy's flank to rest upon high ground from which his whole line might be attained, the occupation of this height seems most important, tactically considered; but it may happen that the height in question is very difficult of access, and situated exactly so as to be of the least importance, strategically considered. At the battle of Bautzen the left of the allies rested upon the steep mountains of Bohemia, which province was at that time rather neutral than hostile: it seemed that, tactically considered, the slope of these mountains was the decisive point to be held, when it was just the reverse, because the allies had but one line of retreat upon Reichenbach and Gorlitz, and the French, by forcing the right, which was in the plain, would occupy this line of retreat and throw the allies into the mountains, where they might have lost all their matériel and a great part of the personnel of their army. This course was also easier for them on account of the difference in the features of the ground, led to more important results, and would have diminished the obstacles in the future.

The following truths may, I think, be deduced from what has been stated: 1. The topographical key of a battle-field is not always the tactical key; 2. The decisive point of a battle-field is certainly that which combines strategic with topographical advantages; 3. When the difficulties of the ground are not too formidable upon the strategic point of the battle-field, this is generally the most important point; 4. It is nevertheless true that the determination of this point depends very much upon the arrangement of the contending forces. Thus, in lines of battle too much extended and divided the center will always be the proper point of attack; in lines well closed and connected the center is the strongest point, since, independently of the reserves posted there, it is easy to support it from the flanks: the decisive point in this case is therefore one of the extremities of the line. When the numerical superiority is considerable, an attack may be made simultaneously upon both extremities, but not when the attacking force is equal or inferior numerically to the enemy's. It appears, therefore, that all the combinations of a battle consist in so employing the force in hand as to obtain the most effective action upon that one of the three points mentioned which offers the greatest number of chances of success,—a point very easily determined by applying the analysis just mentioned.

The object of an offensive battle can only be to dislodge the enemy or to cut his line, unless it is intended by strategic maneuvers to ruin his army completely. An enemy is dislodged either by overthrowing him at some point of his line, or by outflanking him so as to take him in flank and rear, or by using both these methods at once; that is, attacking him in front while at the same time one wing is enveloped and his line turned.

To accomplish these different objects, it becomes necessary to make choice of the most suitable order of battle for the method to be used.

At least twelve orders of battle may be enumerated, viz.: 1. The simple parallel order; 2. The parallel order with a defensive or offensive crotchet; 3. The order reinforced upon one or both wings; 4. The order reinforced in the center; 5. The simple oblique order, or the oblique reinforced on the attacking wing; 6 and 7. The perpendicular order on one or both wings; 8. The concave order; 9. The convex order; 10. The order by echelon on one or both wings; 11. The order by echelon on the center; 12. The order resulting from a strong combined attack upon the center and one extremity simultaneously. (See Figs. 5 to 16.)