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NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY
NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE
Technology and Friction
in the Schlieffen Plan
Core Course 2 Essay
LTCOL Philip J, Exner, USMC/Class of 1996
Course 2: Foundations of Military Thought and Strategy
Seminar: J
Faculty Seminar Leader: COL Dave Tretler
Faculty Advisor: COL Gary G. Gisolo
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Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
“Evecthmg KI war IS ten sunple, but the simplest thmg 1s &fficult The difficulties accumulate and end bq producing a kmd of fncuon that 1s inconceivable unless one has elpenenced it Countless mmor lncldents - the kmd you can never really foresee - comblne to lower thz general level of performance so that one always falls far short of the intended goal w
Carl von Clausewitz’
INTRODUCTIOS
One of the pnnclpal reasons that Germany lost World War I was the falure of the “Schheffen
Plan of 1905.“2 its strategic scheme to knock France quickly out of the war The plan involved a mlde
counter-clockwise sweep by the German nght (Northern) flank through Belgmm and Luxembourg and
around Pans m order to outflank the French Army which was concentrated m posmons further south
along the German-French border. The Germans then mtended to surround and destroy the French
Army m a “kesselschlacht,” or “deaslve battle of encirclement and anndulatlon It3 Success hmged on
rapid moblhzatlon as well as openhonal speed and concentration to resolve the issue quickly and the
plan was utterly dependent on the rrulroads In August 1914, the plan fell short As a result. Germany
had to fight a two-front war of attnnon which eventually bled her mto submlsslon
The fadure of the Schheffen Plan can be traced to its neglect of many of Clausewltz’s most basic
pnnaples Yet interwoven throughout all of Its shortcommgs IS another fundamental factor that
Clause\Lltz did not discuss m great detail but which contnbuted to each fatlure and carnes enormous
relevmce to modem U S strategic mlhtary thought- excessive rehance on technology ’
B> “technology” I mean both the specific mechamcal devices as well as the systems through
which they are mtegrated mto rnlhtary operations. Thus. “r,ulroads” include not only the trams. tracks
;md other physlcal ObJects associated with transport but &o the moblhzatlon schedules. stagmg plans.
clnd other mtanglble elements which constnuted the control system that enabled It to contnbute to the
niMq effort Understood In this “ay. technology was related to nearly every instance where the
plm neglected key pnnclples of Clausewltz
Schheffen s mordmate dependence on technology bpral, 0 from d rejection c)t Cldusewltr F concept
ot “hcllol~ ” Thus m turn led to an o\erl)-ambmou\. mtlevlble @n .md m ~rnbalan~cd m!htdr)-
E\ner 7
pohucal relationstip’ Thus paper explores those Clausewltzlan weaknesses of Schheffen’s Plan m
hght of technology. pamcularl) the rallroads and will suggest some lessons wluch apply today
BACKGROUND
The ongms of the Schheffen Plan date b;ick almost 50 years before the opening of WWI From
Its earliest days, Germany’s mam fear was a two-front war with France and Russ&. From the time of
-Moltke the Elder. chef of the German General Staff from 1857-1887’. much of Germany’s war
plannmg effort was dn-ected toward prepanng for such an eventuahty The Schheffen Plan of 1905
was actually the sixteenth plan Schheffen had devised agamst France and the mneteenth he had made
for 3 two-front war * Therefore to understand the Schheffen Plan it IS helpful to trace the evolunon of
the war plans from wluch it descended
When Schheffen became chef of the German General Staff m 1891, he mhented plans which had
been lrugely debeloped by Moltke the Elder Those plans for a two-front war were based on an
offenslke-defensive strategy which rehed on a short, quick mlhtary acuon. followed by a speedy
polihcal conclusion on at least one front! Moltke was a self-professed dlsclple of Clausewnz who
behe\ecl his mentor’s admonmon that “of all the possible arns m war, the destruction of the enemy’s
armed forces always appears as the highest “’ ’ Sonetheless. he firmly grasped the potential Impact of
“fnctlon”” and “fog”” and recogmzed the &fficulty of wmnmg a quick victory on either frontI SIX
qears after the France-Prussian wu. Moltke wrote that even after a declslve battle in France early In a
future two-front war “It must be left to diplomacy to see If it can achieve a peace settlement on thus
front “” Moltke thus adopted Clausewltz’s “other way” to vlctory” seizing mlhtafy obJecn\es of
political value Though he opposed pohtlcal mvolvement 111 the acn.A conduct of the war Moltke
reLogmzed the importance of tallonng the m~htary ObJecti~cs to the pol~ucal ones.
SCHLIEFFEN Ah-D “FRICTIO\ ’
In bharp contrast to Moltke the Elder. Schheffen essenudly rejected Clausewltz Y concept ot
“h-Icnon “‘6 He bellebed that thorough pre-plmmg would rcmo\e IIIO\~ of rhc uncert.unty %rom minq
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operation and “compel the opponent to conform substanaally to one s own operational strategy “‘-
To the degree that he recogmzed fncaon at all, It was purely techmcal in nature. Schheffen regarded
fncnon m terms of effklency and orgamzaaon. hence somethmg that could be controlled through
derrtlled pre-planmng and centralized control’* Over time. the pnmary goals of speed and
concentration were overshadowed by subsidiary issues of tlmmg of mobihzatlon orders, ralroad
schedules, equipment mamtenance. swltchmg coo&nation efficient use of the hmlted ra11 lines, and
other secondary planmng factors Because of tis exclusive focus on the internal fncuon of techmcal
efficiency, he discounted other more crmcal forms of fnctlon such as surpnse by the enemy,
mlsunderstandmg. frulure of allies, weather, etc. Thus, Schheffen fouled to grasp Clausewltz’s wider
meanmg of the term, resultmg m far greater fnchon on the battlefield where hs plan could not meet
tis expectations
CREATIOh- OF NEW VITL~JX4BILITIES
Technology seldom simplifies war, and nearly always makes it more comphcated Since war IS a
clash of opposmg, reactmg w~ll$~, reduction of fnchon m one area tends to create it in others where
II hadn’t existed before ” The mtroductlon of new tactics or technology often creates new strategic
vulnerablhtles as the enemy reacts to the mnovanons or unforeseen dependencies emerge For
example, m Schheffen s plan. radroads ahlch were introduced to move the instruments of \%ar became
strategic targets themselves. generatmg a new set of execution problems. targets, and countermeasures
Tlus perverse propensity for increased fnctlon to anse from mnovatlons designed to reduce It IS
funher aggravated by the natural tendency of military planners to exploit any new capablht) to Its
hmlt Development of a system of efficient. high-capacity rdllroads led to plans mvolvmg much luger
forces and greater distances than were previously possible The resulting plans required the higher
volume made possible by railroads for its success
Synergy cuts both ways Technologies or novel tacucs whlcb multiply effectl\eness when they
work can dlvlde It by an eben bigger factor when they kul The expedlenrs tor dealmg with ;L system
Evner 1
P
breakdoan may not have been developed because the users had not toreseen 2x21-y way m which It
can fall or be neutrahzed Older less “efficient” altematlves whxh possibly could have compensated
for a falure of the new system may have been discarded, especmlly d the new technology represents a
slgmficant Improvement and resources are hmlted.” Thrs may create a cntlcal dependency on a angle
technology whose hmltauons and vulnerabdmes may not be fully understood until the war amkees
Thus. railroads which made the Schheffen Plan possible became an enormous hablhty when disrupted
or neutralized. forcing delay and redlrectlon of the strategic effort and mfhchng severe hardships on
the soldiers Centrahzatlon of control, made possible by the telegraph. became delay, paralyas. and
strategic blindness when it was cut, integration of effort was lost, and front line umts waned for
orders. losing valuable opportumty Technology greatly increases the speed and danger of war
CHA_\;GE IX CLLMINATING POINT”
Another result of Schheffen s duregard of the fnctlon caused by enemy reaction was tis fadure to
foresee the change m the culmmatmg pomt of hl.s attack The same quahtles of rrulroads which
i”‘ increased the number of troops and supphes and the speed at wluch they could be moved also
expanded the size and scope of the battlefield propomonately Although the Germans could move
more fdster and further. so could the Allies The French had learned to make use of the rxlways
themselves and capitalized on their mtenor lines to keep pace with the German moves, neutrahzmg
much of the strategic advantage Schheffen had planned to exploit Tlus rendered his ObJectIves too
ambmous. and the German attack expended Itself before actievmg the complete envelopment called
for under the plan As a rule. fnctlon reduces the effecuveness of any operational plan and retards the
culminating point of the proposed effort While this does not mean failure for ebery plan. It does
mean that few achieve LU they intend In the case of the Schhetfen Plan hoxtever. this reduction 111
the culmmatmg point was tantamount to complete trulure \mce the plti was the foundatmn ot ccn
overall Germs ndtlonal strategy which depended on d rapid total victory on the We\tem Front
Evnrr 5
POLITICAL-MILITAIXY RELATIONSHIPS
Clausewnz‘s prmcrple of war as mstrument of ~011~);~ defines war’s role, but does not preclude
mllmuy partrctpanon m polmcal decisions relaang to the mtl~tary24 In fact, Clausewttz urged a role
for the mrhtary cluef m the cabinet to ensure that the mrhtary mstrument is used m a manner I
consistent with its capabilities.25 Moltke the Elder understood tlus balance As dtscussed earlier. he
saw that the nation s strength lay m the coordinated acnvmes of both mrhtary and pohtrcal spheres
Accordmgly, diplomacy was an integral part of hrs war plans and worked to offset some of
Germany’s mthtary resource hmttattons Hrs successors drd not share hrs grasp of that prmctple I 1
Waldersee, Schheffen’s predecessor, was removed after only two years as Chtef of the Generali I
Staff for hrs excessive meddling m pohhcs 1-6 Schheffen displayed the opposrte tendency, focusmg I
more on the techmcal aspects of war plannmg and neglecting lus responstbrlines to fold pohttcal
flexibthty mto hrs war plans.”
Schheffen s plans were developed m such rsolauon from the changmg political landscape of the
late 19th century, that then techmcal punty and abstractton became a habthty They rose like ivory I
towers built on mtl~tary theory alone. unmoved wuh the binder of pohucal reality In Schheffen. :
Clauseutu s proper and respectful detachment lrom political entanglements degenerated into an ,
mdrlference to the polmcal forces dnvmg the nations toward ~var. His strategtes fixated on the mere
/ mechamcs of surroundmg and destroymg the enemy army Freed from cumbersome polrttcal
restnctrons. hrs plans became mcreasmgly complex, ambmous. and ngrd. progressively excludmg ,
allowance for any sort of fnctror? In an effort to achieve the efficiency required to fully evplott the /
ratlroads. Schheffen standardrzed mobrhzatton schedules and orgamzauonal procedures lctimg ,
ulttmately to standardtzatton of war Itself. Polmcal objectives becme secondary to the mrhtary
ObJectIves of the war plans This apathy about the polmcal problems posed by the tangled web of
alliances at the mm of the century ulumately resulted m a mthtary plan so inflexible that it overrode
polmcai con\tderattons and became. Itself. one of the cctuses leading up to the war
Euner 6
The Schheffen Plan’s most serious fault was at the strategic level First, the plan depended on
technologies v,hlch could only be controlled at the expense of pohtlcal and strategic flevlblhty The
cnncalit] of efficiently usmg all rail cars and lines meant that each tram load depended m some
fastion on a previous one. As a result the complexity of mtegratmg moblhzatlon and deployment
timetables made It practically Impossible to partmlly mobilize or to execute only a part of the plan.
The mterdependencles were too great to untangle when time was short m August 1914 So when the
Kaiser approached Moltke the Younger, who replaced Schheffen. to ask about his options for
responding to the developing threat from French and Russmn mobihzatlons, he was given the extreme
opuons of doing nothmg or going to war.29 Once the Schlieffen Plan was set in monon, the
timetables drove the conduct of the war until the fncDon wiuch Schheffen had ignored ground the
offensive m France to a halt
Second once the war began. the Schheffen Plan faded to provide any useful secondary ObJeCUL es
whch could be used to aclueve the national secunty goals through negotiation or other means. should
the mlhtary effort end m a stalemate After the departure of Blsmarck and the abandonment of Moltke
the Elder s offensne-defensive strategy, German mlhtary strategy grew to depend on a rapid victory
against one side m anv two-front war Since German mditary forces were m..uiequate tor a two-front d
mar. degeneration mto a war of attntlon destroyed the basis of German war plans and put German) in
the gravest danger To ensure victory. Schheffen relied on the strategic advantages oftered by the
ralroads and retreated mto the msular world of schedules. telegraph lines. and orgamzanonal
structures. neglecting the possiblhty that. should his plan fa11. he noould have to depend on a
diplomcltic solution ” The only hope tor Schlreffen was the mlhtary one quick destructmn of the
French Army When that faled he had no fall-back position
Clausewltz would have been appalled He had wntten. “The on14 qucsuon. therctore IS uhether.
when war is being planned the political blew should give way to the purely military Subordinating
rhe pohticd point of blew to the mrlam would be absurd for it IS pohcy th;lt htl\ created the i%dr
Exner 7
Pohcy 1s the guiding mtelhgence and war only the mstrument. not vice versa “‘I Schheffen and
c Moltke the Younger are without excuse. They both knew that their responslblhtles extended beyond
presentmg a stenle war plan to the &user. Clausewitz wrote, “Sor indeed 1s It sensible to summon
soldiers and ask them for purely mlhtary advIce.“32 Nonetheless Moltke the Younger presented the
problem to the Kaser as a stnctly operational one, pressing tirn to moblhze and to yield pohtlcal
Judgment and caution to the mflexlble tunetables of the Schheffen Plan
Clausewltz also pointed out that, “The first. the supreme, the most far-reachmg act of Judgment
that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish the kmd of war on wluch they are
embarkmg. neither mlstakmg it for, nor uymg to turn it mto, somethmg that IS alien to its nature “33
Schheffen’s faded to recogmze how his unbndled exploltatlon of technology’s capabihhes and tus
neglect of the pohtlcal nature of war had transformed Its nature Technology greatly expanded its
scope and destrucuveness, while tis fadme to establish secondary objecoves wluch would support a
diplomatic solution placed the fate of Germany at the mercy of hs rrulroad timetables, rrusmg the
f@-- stakes to the pomt where lt became a war of nahonal surv~al
In d-us light. WWI was fundamentally the result of a complete policy frulure The Kaiser
abdicated his responslbdmes as the pohucal leader by not demanding subordmauon of the mlhtary
goals to his political ones He faded at his most fundamental responstbihty when he allowed Moltke
the Younger to use the war plans. developed for no particular pohhc~l ObJectlve to dnve the nation
into war
Finally, Clausewltz wrote, 70 one st;llts a war - or rather no one m hrs senses ought to do so -
without first being clear m his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to
conduct it The former is its political purpose. the latter its operational ObJ2CtiV2.“3’ The Schheffen
Plan had the latter but was developed w&out the former The closest thmg to a strategic purpose was
avoidance of a protracted two-front war But even that negative goA was ,m abstraction H hlch begged
H-Y the que$uon of the underlqmg pohticd purpose for Germmy s entry
F
E\ner Y
Th: monstrous absurdity of WWI from Germany’s perspectne lay m its utter lack of necessity or
compellmg purpose The French, at least had strong reasons revenge and recovery of &ace-
Lorrrtlrfe But Kaser Wilhelm allowed Germany to dnft mto a war with monumental thoughtlessness
about what he hoped to achieve - or what it might cost Mlhons of people pad with their lives
APPLICATION
Railroads and telegraphs were to Schheffen what stealth and mformanon technology on the
battlefield are to some mthtary planners today The spectacular success of some newly employed
technologies dunng Desert Storm has tempted some strategists to announce that technology has
“revolutlomzed” the modem battlefield. It IS the same clam that has been made many ames before
But technology IS no panacea. If cleverly applied, it may bestow a strategic or tactical advantage ‘5
But. advantages denved from technology are temporal, relahve. and dependent on the reactions of our
actual or potential opponents Each mnovanon prompts a countermeasure by a potenaal adbersary3”.
affectmg the dynamic of the battlefield and the nature of the war m which it IS used Sometunes. as m
Desert Storm. the advantage is so great that it can be exploited fully w&m the temporal limit
However. that very success mvanably transforms the next war Defeat 1s a better teacher than victory,
bo \%e must be careful of the lessons we take from our wm
To&q s modem culmm,mng point may not be a geographic posmon on a map. but rather a limit
to the reach of the technologies we use When we rely. not on human blood and effort. but on
computer systems precision weapon systems. or other technololes to defeat an adversary . the
hmltatlons of what they can achieve. where they can reach when they are effective and how many we
cm afford become cntlcal and define the modem technologic;il equivalent to Clausewitz s
“~ulmmaang point “3- Once that potnt IS reached. the attacker can advance no hmher toward his
ObJective md has lost the uuti&ttve In modem warfare with its many forms Jnd its olten-blurred
lines with the political realm the culmm,mng point may not be 50 much a geographic location
determined by hums hmitatlons ah clll mabthty to advance lustier dgaimt certain elements ot enemy
power agamst which our chosen weapons are impotent or of no further value Military planners must
understand that power IS limited as much by how we employ it as by IIS techmcal possibilities
The potential culminating point of our power in any conflict scenario dehmits our capabilities. and
capabilities dnve mtentions Political ambitions are fed by expanding capabilities and the perception
of strerigth, while perceptions of weakness tend to blunt or restnct national goals Hence. the
implicaaons of technology on national capabilities cannot be divorced from political goals. Both the
stren,oths and vulnerabilities of technologies must be considered in assessing the degree of added
capability they give to national power Therefore, a military leader is derelict m his dunes if he does
not carefully evaluate the impact of new technologies or if he oversells them as an elixir for increasmg
national capabilities or reducing the undesirable side-effects of war such as brutality or violence
Unfortunately. after Desert Storm, some leaders exaggerated the capabilities and advantages of some
new technologies in order to get funding, broaden roles and missions. or other political purposes,
without cntically evaluating their limitations
As technological improvements proliferate faster than they can be integrated into warflghting
systems. it is especially cnacal to appreciate that new vulnerabilities come with them Shrinking
budgets. Goldwater-Nichols, the emerging role of the CIYCs, and other developments are dnving DOD
to increased centralizaaon of weapons, (?I’, navigation. supply, and other systems This trend IS
accelerating despite numerous examples of vulnerability to sabotage, espionage, and neutralization
Our increasing reliance on new technologies for warflghang should be a major source of concern for
mihtary leaders We have already developed critical dependencies which could produce catastrophic
results 11 exploited by our potential enemies. many ot whom are Jctively seeking to do Just that
Regardless of the immediate danger. we must not be lulled into complacency by a sense of
technological supenonty Those technologies which reduce the fncaon of war should never be given
VOICZ to deny the relevance of the danger they were designed to alleviate Otherwise, like Germany
we ma) someday he railroded into a tragic wa by an txcessive reliance on technology
1. Carl von Clausewitz. On War. Ed and Trans Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Prmceton Pnnceton CP. 1976‘1 119
2. In 1914 Molrke the Younger. who replaced Schheffen. had made some mmor changes to the plan (e g strengthenmg the southern part of the line) Some have said that. had he executed the plan as concetved by Schheffen. Germany mtght have won. That can never be known and IS mghly problematic Moltke the Younger’s modlficahons to the ongmal plan were not major, and, more Importantly. they did not correct some of the more egregious deficiencies of Schheffen’s plan which are discussed m thrs paper and elsewhere Thus, the German offensive was substanually based on the Schhelfen Plan of 19435. and, though Mohke the Younger executed it. the plan was essentially Schhetien’s Accordmgly, Schheffen should be awarded responslbdlty for its major flaws. Larry H Addmgton. The Patterns of War Since the E1,ohteent.h Centurv (Bloommgton: Indmna UP, 1994) 106-l 10
3 Addmgton 105-106
4. In Schheffen’s case the technologies involved were relahvely simple by today’s standards and centered around transportahon and commumcation Yet, they represent a legmmate basis for comparison with today’s more modem technology “Technology,” as used m thrs paper, comprises the full systems mcludmg both the physlcal ObJects denoted by the term, and the control systems which render it useful m war As systems, railroads and telegraph both were sufficiently complex to JUSh@
comparison with today s systems, and the lessons to be drawn from those older technologies are snll applicable
5. Clausewitz 606-608
(” 6. Gunther E Rothenberg, “_Lioltke, Schheffen. and the Doctrme of Strategic Envelopment” Makers of Modem Strategy from Machlavelh to the yuclear Age Ed Peter Paret. (Pnnceton- Prmceton I-7 1986) 306
-I Schheffen s term ran from 1891- 1906 Rothenberg 297
8 Rothenberg 3 15
0 < . Rothenberg 306-307
l0. Clausewltz 92 (cf. 577. 596 >
11. Lfoltke wrote that. “So plan of operations can look with any certamty beyond the first meeting with the maJor forces of the enemy ” H~JO Holbom “The Prusso-German School- Moltke md the Rare ot the General Staff’ Makers ot Modem Strategy from Machravelli to the Suclear Aee Ed Peter Paret (Princeton Pnnceton UP 1986) 259
:2 After Konmggratz. Moltke spoke of the Idea of moving sepxate ,u-mles so as to ~0x1 at the
declslve moment on the enemy s flank “No foresight can guarantee such a final result of operattons with separate armies Tlus depends, not merely on calculable factors spxe and time but also often on the outcome of pre\ious minor battles. on the weather. on false new5: in brief. on Al that 1s callsd chance ,rnd luck in human life ” Holbom 288
Evner 11
13 _ Shortly after the dramatrc vrctory m the France-Prussmn war. he wrote, “Germany cannot hope to nd I self of one enemy by a quick vrctory m the west m order to turn agamst the other ”
b Rothen erg 306
* 1
-= . Rothenberg 307
15. Clausewnz 92
16. Rothenberg 3 12
17 * Rothenberg 3 14
1%. Rothenberg 3 14
19. Clausewnz 75
20. In any complex plan or system there IS always a “cntrcal path” whrch represents the bottleneck of the process and contams the greatest vulnerabrhhes of any plan Removal of one bottleneck often creates a new cntrcal path, mcreasmg the effiaency of the system, but opemng up a new set of threats If the greatest factor m the speed of an army is the limit on how fast its soldiers can march, mtroducmg trucks may dramatrcally increase the army’s speed. But m the process, you will also have introduced numerous vulnerabrhtres relatmg to mamtenance, logrshcs, linkage to roads and weather, dependence of ttmetables on thmgs whrch didn’t affect schedules before. and a host of other comphcattons. Thrs m no way lmphes that technoiogrcal mnovauons are necessanly bad But the more dramatic the Improvement, the greater the potent& imbalance m the event of farlure, the more dependent on the new technology, the more rmportant It IS to build redundancy; the greater the potentml improvement. the more cauwous should one be
21. These “less effectrve” systems may not produce as rmpressrve results, but they often lack the vulnera
1 thtres of new technologies Even m modem wars, we have had to resort to the most basic of
“techno ogres” when the more modem ones broke down Thus. when satellites. fiber optics. or radios break down. we have had to resort to messengers When radroads. or trucks. or C-17s break down. we will have to resort to walking and manual transport There wtll always be a need for couriers and forced marches and human strength. Thrs tenet does not come from atavistic oppositron to progress, but from the fact that the technologres which are mtroduced to reduce one of Clausewnz’s elements of dtffrcuity become targets themselves.
22. Ciausewnz 566-567
23. “War IS not merely an act of pohcy. but a true polmcal mstrument. a contmuaaon of pohtical intercourse. carned on wuh other means ” Clausewnz 87
24. Clausewrtz 605-608
25. Clausewit 608
26 Rothenberg 3 11
21 Rothenberg 3 11-3 12. 3 19
f- 2 8 Rothenberg 311-312
Evner 12
2 9 . Rothenberg 311-12, 319
3 0 . Rothenberg 305-311
31. Clauseu uz 607
32 Clausewnz 607
33. Clausewttz 88
3L. Clausewnz 579
3.5 Elevahon of any smgle tacnc or mnovaaon to preemmence may occasionally produce a startlmg vxtory but It 1s usually made possrble for one of two reasons Fn-st. the defeated srde lacked the knowledge, technology, or tacncal/strategrc development to employ an effective countermeasure (e g . breech loaders of Brmsh vs Chmese muskets, needle gun vs muskets. satellites/mtegrated comxnumcanon III Desert Storm, etc.> Second, and more often, the defeated side had itself Ignored one or more developments or had farled to properly employ It or assess rts unportance. Thrs usually involves underestimatmg the effechveness of a particular new weapon or tactic which is avarlable to both sides, and for which there is adequate nme to develop and test new tacncs or employment strategies.
Systems may eventually evolve to the pomt where then rehabrhty, slmplicrty, umversahty or redund
T cres render them no longer decrsrve m the scheme of battle. or at least remove them from the
focus o cnhcahty m a general sense. A road system may become sufficrently dense that there are no obvrous choke pomts Radios may prohferate to the point that the farlure of any one wrll not cost the campargn Yet all mstruments of war are subject to the efforts of both chance and the enemy to
/“- neutrahze, drsrupt. slow down. or otherwrse de,orade then effecnveness m the conduct of war Radios may be Jammed Roads can be washed or bombed out an-craft can be grounded by weather, etc
36. Clausewnz 75
37. Clausewnz 566-567