Tactics

1. Tactics Tactics are the techniques of fighting on a battlefield. Throughout the period 1792-1945, tactics evolved in response to new and improved weapon design.

2. Jomini: Understanding the genius of Napoleon

3. Baron de Jomini • In the Art of War: • Napoleon had concentrated his forces at the decisive point and had sought to destroy his enemies’ army and lines of communication • Planning was essential and needed to be done from accurate maps • The attack was essential for victory, Napoleon had always been on the ‘offensive’ • There are ‘principles’ that can be applied in war; such as planning, concentration, initiative…

4. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the column attack? A loose skirmish line. How did commanders retain control when formations became more dispersed?

5. Planning and alliances

6. From 1792-1918, the Europeans were acute rivals. To improve the chances of success in war, coalitions and alliances were formed. Diplomacy was used to isolate opponents. Revolutionary and Napoleonic France was unable to overcome the combined might of the other Europeans. In the period 1815-1854, the priority was the containment of France to prevent another Bonaparte dominating Europe. However, Napoleon III did try to resurrect his uncle’s legacy and fought Russia, Austria and Germany between 1854 and 1870 What role did alliances play between 1866 and 1905?

7. Europeans developed means for rapid mobilisation to gain for themselves a distinct advantage in any war. They universally hoped for a short, victorious war that would avoid cost and hardship. An increase in tension between the powers, meant that detailed planning and alliances were of critical importance. Mobilisation Timetable Explain the German War Plan, and why it was considered necessary to invade a neutral state like Belgium Paris

8. What tactic from the second World War is being illustrated here and who developed it? How effective was it? What were the main ingredients of its success?

9. Organisation of the state for war The apparatus of the state had always included the production of munitions, the pay, equipment and monopoly of control of armies, but industrialisation meant the greater involvement of civilians and private businesses in a far more sophisticated era of warfare.

10. The organisation of the state meant the raising of armies. How did states balance the need for armies with the costs of maintaining them? What kind of industrial developments meant that civilians would be drawn into the war effort of their country? Use examples from across the period to illustrate.

11. Army Reforms after the Napoleonic Wars • Small professional armies, living away from civilians in barracks, would not be prey to revolutionary sympathies. It also avoided the risk of arming most of the citizenry in mass armies, thus creating a potentially revolutionary force. • In France, legions were created and they served in different provinces from where they were enlisted. This meant they would be more likely to crush insurrection. What further reforms were made during The nineteenth century?

12. The Media and Public Opinion

13. Napoleon had been careful to groom the media. What was the effect of this? William Russell’s Crimean despatches marked a change in the way the public heard about war. What was the impact of this change? How did governments subsequently seek to harness the media in their own propaganda? What other propaganda methods did governments use?

14. What measures were employed to generate support for the war effort in the First and Second World Wars? List examples of success and failure in these measures.