| Author | Antoine-Henri Jomini |
|---|---|
| Original title | Précis de l’Art de la Guerre: Des Principales Cominaisons de la Stratégie, de la Grande Tactique et de la Politique |
| Subject | War |
Publication date | 1830 |
| Part of a series on the |
| Summary of the Art of War |
|---|
Summary of the Art of War: the Principal Combinations of Strategy, Grand Tactics, and Military Politics (French: Précis de l’Art de la Guerre: Des Principales Cominaisons de la Stratégie, de la Grande Tactique et de la Politique) is a military treatise by Antoine-Henri Jomini, originally published as a complete work in 1838.[1] The work, which lays out Jomini's theory of war, includes a series of maxims that were extensively taught and discussed at the United States Military Academy.
Content
Summary of the Art of War focuses on war policy and "the problems of adapting military means to political objectives".[2] Jomini implied both the diplomatic and military importance of territory (for example as necessary to raising manpower as well as resources needed for maintenance of an army).[3] However, he did not make territory the target of military operations, seeing the defeat of the enemy army as the "only effective means of accomplishing a war of invasion".[2] The work is perhaps known for its maxims that explained a principle he believed underlies all war:
- "To throw by strategic movements the mass of an army, successively, upon the decisive points of a theater of war, and also upon the communications of the enemy as much as possible without compromising one's own."[4]
- "To maneuver to engage fractions of the hostile army with the bulk of one's forces."[4]
- "On the battlefield, to throw the mass of the forces upon the decisive point, or upon the portion of the hostile line which it is of the first importance to overthrow."[4]
- "To so arrange that these masses shall not only be thrown upon the decisive point but that they shall engage at the proper times and with energy."[4]
Legacy
It is considered Jominis' greatest work; the historian Mark T. Calhoun has called it Jomini's "capstone", and Robert B. Marks of Legacy Books Press has referred to it as the author's "magnum opus".[5][6] Used extensively at West Point, it gave birth to the saying "that many a Civil War general went into battle with a sword in one hand and Jomini's Summary of the Art of War in the other".[7]
Table of contents
DEFINITIONS OF THE BRANCHES OF THE ART OF WAR.
CHAPTER I. THE RELATION OF DIPLOMACY TO WAR.
ART. I.—Offensive Wars to Recover Rights.
ART. II.—Wars which are Politically Defensive, and Offensive in a Military View.
ART. IV.—Wars with or without Allies.
ART. VI.—Wars of Invasion, through a Desire of Conquest or for other Causes.
ART. IX.—Civil and Religious Wars.
ART. X.—Double Wars, and the Danger of Undertaking Two at the Same Time.
CHAPTER II. MILITARY POLICY.
ART. XI.—Military Statistics and Geography.
ART. XII.—Different Causes which have an Influence over the Success of a War.
ART. XIII.—The Military Institutions of States.
ART. XIV.—The Command of Armies and the Supreme Control of Operations.
ART. XV.—The Military Spirit of Nations and the Morale of Armies.
CHAPTER III.—STRATEGY.
Definition of Strategy and the Fundamental Principle of War.
ART. XVI.—The System of Offensive or Defensive Operations.
ART. XVII.—The Theater of Operations.
ART. XVIII.—Bases of Operations.
ART. XX.—Fronts of Operations, Strategic Fronts, Lines of Defense, and Strategic Positions.
ART. XXI.—Zones and Lines of Operations.
ART. XXII.—Strategic Lines of Maneuver.
ART. XXIII.—Means of Protecting Lines of Operations by Temporary Bases or Strategic Reserves.
ART. XXIV.—The Old and New Systems of War.
ART. XXV.—Depots of Supply, and their Relations to Operations.
ART. XXVI.—Frontiers, and their Defense by Forts and Intrenched Lines.—Wars of Sieges.
ART. XXVII.—Intrenched Camps and Têtes de Ponts in their Relation to Strategy.
ART. XXVIII.—Strategic Operations in Mountainous Countries.
ART. XXIX.—Grand Invasions and Distant Expeditions.
ART. XXIX.—Grand Invasions and Distant Expeditions.
Epitome of Strategy
CHAPTER IV. GRAND TACTICS AND BATTLES.
ART. XXX.—Positions and Defensive Battles.
ART. XXXI.—Offensive Battles and Orders of Battle.
ART. XXXII.—Turning Maneuvers, and Too Extended Movements in Battle.
ART. XXXIII.—Unexpected Meeting of Two Armies on the March.
ART. XXXIV.—Surprises of Armies.
ART. XXXV.—Attack of Cities, Intrenched Camps or Lines, and Coups de Main generally.
CHAPTER V. SEVERAL OPERATIONS OF A MIXED CHARACTER, WHICH ARE PARTLY IN THE DOMAIN OF STRATEGY AND PARTLY OF TACTICS.
ART. XXXVI.—Diversions and Great Detachments.
ART. XXXVII.—Passage of Rivers and other Streams.
ART. XXXVIII.—Retreats and Pursuits.
ART. XXXIX.—Cantonments and Winter Quarters.
ART. XL.—Descents, or Maritime Expeditions.
CHAPTER VI. LOGISTICS, OR THE PRACTICAL ART OF MOVING ARMIES.
ART. XLI.—A few Remarks on Logistics in general.
CHAPTER VII. FORMATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF TROOPS FOR BATTLE.
ART. XLIII—Posting Troops in Line of Battle.
ART. XLIV.—Formation and Employment of Infantry.
ART. XLV.—Formation and Employment of Cavalry.
ART. XLVI.—Formation and Employment of Artillery.
ART. XLVII.—Employment of the Three Arms together.
CONCLUSION.
SUPPLEMENT.
APPENDIX.
SECOND APPENDIX.
SKETCH OF THE PRINCIPAL MARITIME EXPEDITIONS.
INDEX
Bibliography
- Alger, John I. (1975). Antoine-Henri Jomini: A Bibliographical Survey (PDF). United States Military Academy Library Occasional Papers. West Point, New York: United States Military Academy. Retrieved February 22, 2023
- Calhoun, Mark T. (2011). "Clausewitz and Jomini: Contrasting Intellectual Frameworks in Military Theory". Army History. U.S. Army Center of Military History (80): 27–28. ISSN 1546-5330. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Jomini, Antoine-Henri (2008). The Art of War a.k.a The Summary of the Art of War. Ontario, Canada: Legacy Books Press. ISBN 9780978465247
- Jones, Archer (1970). "Jomini and the Strategy of the American Civil War, A Reinterpretation". Military Affairs. 34 (4): 127–131. doi:10.2307/1986781. ISSN 0026-3931
- Harsh, Joseph L. (1974). "Battlesword and Rapier: Clausewitz, Jomini, and the American Civil War". Military Affairs. 38 (4): 133–138. doi:10.2307/1986536. ISSN 0026-3931