Commanding military power

When those skilled in the techniques of operations research attempt to predict outcomes on some battlefield, they begin by assessing the combatants using simple quantitative measures. Ceteris paribus, achieving a force-to-force ratio of 1.5:1 or better in an operational theatre or a 3:1 force ratio along the main axis of attack is likely to produce success. Backstopping this assessment are Lanchester firepower models that demonstrate why quantity has a quality of its own, so to speak, equipping the numerically superior side with an attritional advantage that accelerates over time. Unfortunately, in war, things are rarely ceteris paribus; sometimes the numerically inferior side is victorious. To explain these unexpected outcomes, scholars supplement their analysis with explanations based on disparities in force quality or morale, differences in the quality of weapons employed or the ability to undertake combined-arms operations that produce significant effects especially when employed against less sophisticated militaries. Ryan Grauer enters this mix by offering readers a sophisticated assessment of command structures and how they improve combat effectiveness by reducing the fog of war, allowing commanders to respond to emerging problems and to exploit nascent opportunities in ways that can produce victory despite numerical inferiority. In Grauer's view, determining an appropriate command structure is context-specific, but it is based on limiting commanders' span of control to manageable levels and delegating authority at appropriate points in the chain of command. When the right command structure is employed, situational awareness is created at key junctures in a command structure, allowing officers to get inside the decision cycle of an opponent, which can produce not only lopsided victories, but sometimes even a total rout of the opposing force

Battlefield · Ceteris paribus · Command and control · Context (archaeology · Economics · Microeconomics · Operations management · Operations research · Political science · Politics · Quality (philosophy · Telecommunications · Victory · Computer Science · Engineering · History · Law · Military History and Strategy

• Enabling National Security through Space

  Peter L Hays, James J Wirtz•Oxford Handbook of Space Security•2024

  Add to list