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PREFACE
PREFACE
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS Author of "History of the World War," "'They Shall Not Pass'—Verdun," Etc. In presenting to the American reading public a translation of a volume written by an obscure French colonel, belonging to a defeated army, who fell on the eve of a battle which not alone gave France over to the enemy but disclosed a leadership so inapt as to awaken the suspicion of treason, one is faced by the inevitable interrogation—"Why?" Yet the answer is simple. The value of the book of Ardant du
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
We present to the public the complete works of Colonel Ardant du Picq, arranged according to the plan of the author, enlarged by unpublished fragments and documents. These unpublished documents are partially known by those who have read "Studies on Combat" (Hachette & Dumaine, 1880). A second edition was called for after a considerable time. It has left ineffaceable traces in the minds of thinking men with experience. By its beauty and the vigor of its teachings, it has created in a fait
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BATTLE STUDIES
BATTLE STUDIES
Near Longeville-les-Metz on the morning of August 15, 1870, a stray projectile from a Prussian gun mortally wounded the Colonel of the 10th Regiment of the Line. The obscure gunner never knew that he had done away with one of the most intelligent officers of our army, one of the most forceful writers, one of the most clear-sighted philosophers whom sovereign genius had ever created. Ardant du Picq, according to the Annual Register, commanded but a regiment. He was fitted for the first rank of th
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"C. ARDANT DU PICQ.
"C. ARDANT DU PICQ.
"P. S. As to the question of atavism in which you showed some interest in our first conversation, I may say that our paternal line does not in my knowledge include any military man. The oldest ancestor I know of, according to an album of engravings by Albert Dürer, recovered in a garret, was a gold and silversmith at Limoges towards the end of the sixteenth century. His descendants have always been traders down to my grandfather who, from what I have heard said, did not in the least attend to hi
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"C. A. DU P."
"C. A. DU P."
Ardant du Picq (Charles-Jean-Jacques-Joseph), was born October 19, 1821 at Périgueux (Dordogne). Entered the service as a student of the Special Military School, November 15, 1842. Sub-Lieutenant in the 67th Regiment of the Line, October 1, 1844. Lieutenant, May 15, 1848. Captain, August 15, 1852. Transferred to the 9th Battalion of Foot Chasseurs, December 25, 1853. Major of the 100th Regiment of the Line, February 15, 1856. Transferred to the 16th Battalion of Chasseurs, March 17, 1856. Transf
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CAMPAIGNS AND WOUNDS
CAMPAIGNS AND WOUNDS
Orient, March 29, 1854 to May 27, 1856. Was taken prisoner of war at the storming of the central bastion (Sebastopol) September 8, 1855; returned from enemy's prisons December 13, 1855. Served in the Syrian campaign from August 6, 1860 to June 18, 1861; in Africa from February 24, 1864 to April 14, 1866; in Franco-German war, from July 15, 1870 to August 18, 1870. Wounded—a comminute fracture of the right thigh, a torn gash in the left thigh, contusion of the abdomen—by the bursting of a project
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DECORATIONS
DECORATIONS
Chevalier of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor, Dec. 29, 1860. Officer of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor, September 10, 1868. Received the medal of H. M. the Queen of England. Received the medal for bravery in Sardinia. Authorized to wear the decoration of the fourth class of the Ottoman Medjidie order....
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CAMPAIGN OF 1870
CAMPAIGN OF 1870
On the 22nd of July, the three active battalions of the 10th Regiment of Infantry of the Line left Limoges and Angoulême by rail arriving on the 23rd at the camp at Châlons, where the 6th Corps of the Rhine Army was concentrating and organizing, under the command of Marshal Canrobert. The regiment, within this army corps, belonged to the 1st Brigade (Pechot) of the 1st Division (Tixier). The organization on a war footing of the 10th Regiment of Infantry of the Line, begun at Limoges, was complet
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Battle is the final objective of armies and man is the fundamental instrument in battle. Nothing can wisely be prescribed in an army—its personnel, organization, discipline and tactics, things which are connected like the fingers of a hand—without exact knowledge of the fundamental instrument, man, and his state of mind, his morale, at the instant of combat. It often happens that those who discuss war, taking the weapon for the starting point, assume unhesitatingly that the man called to serve i
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MAN IN PRIMITIVE AND ANCIENT COMBAT
MAN IN PRIMITIVE AND ANCIENT COMBAT
Man does not enter battle to fight, but for victory. He does everything that he can to avoid the first and obtain the second. War between savage tribes, between Arabs, even today, 1 is a war of ambush by small groups of men of which each one, at the moment of surprise, chooses, not his adversary, but his victim, and is an assassin. Because the arms are similar on both sides, the only way of giving the advantage to one side is by surprise. A man surprised, needs an instant to collect his thoughts
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
KNOWLEDGE OF MAN MADE ROMAN TACTICS. THE SUCCESSES OF HANNIBAL, THOSE OF CAESAR Greek tactics developed the phalanx; Roman tactics, the legion; the tactics of the barbarians employed the square phalanx, wedge or lozenge. The mechanism of these various formations is explained in all elementary books. Polybius enters into a mechanical discussion when he contrasts the phalanx and the legion. (Book 18.) The Greeks were, in intellectual civilization, superior to the Romans, consequently their tactics
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ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF CANNAE
ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF CANNAE
Recital of Polybius: "Varro placed the cavalry on the right wing, and rested it on the river; the infantry was deployed near it and on the same line, the maniples drawn close to each other, with smaller intervals than usual, and the maniples presenting more depth than front. "The cavalry of the allies, on the left wing, completed the line, in front of which were posted the light troops. There were in that army, including the allies, eighty thousand foot and a little more than six thousand horse.
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ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF PHARSALUS, AND SOME CHARACTERISTIC EXAMPLES
ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF PHARSALUS, AND SOME CHARACTERISTIC EXAMPLES
Here is Caesar's account of the battle of Pharsalus. "As Caesar approached Pompey's camp, he noted that Pompey's army was placed in the following order: "On the left wing were the 2nd and 3rd Legions which Caesar had sent to Pompey at the commencement of the operation, pursuant to a decree of the Senate, and which Pompey had kept. Scipio occupied the center with the legions from Syria. The legion from Cilicia was placed on the right wing together with the Spanish cohorts of Afranius. Pompey rega
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MORALE IN ANCIENT BATTLE
MORALE IN ANCIENT BATTLE
We now know the morale and mechanism of ancient fighting; the word mêlée employed by the ancients was many times stronger than the idea to be expressed; it meant a crossing of arms, not a confusion of men. The results of battles, such as losses, suffice to demonstrate this, and an instant of reflection makes us see the error of the word mêlée. In pursuit it was possible to plunge into the midst of the fugitives, but in combat every one had too much need for the next man, for his neighbor, who wa
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS REAL COMBATANTS ARE OBTAINED AND HOW THE FIGHTING OF OUR DAYS, IN ORDER TO BE WELL DONE, REQUIRES THEM TO BE MORE DEPENDABLE THAN IN ANCIENT COMBAT Let us repeat now, what we said at the beginning of this study. Man does not enter battle to fight, but for victory. He does everything that he can to avoid the first and obtain the second. The continued improvement of all appliances of war has no other goal than the annihilation of the enemy. Absolute bravery, which does not re
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WHAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO COMPLETE IT Any other deductions on this subject must come from the meditations of the reader. To be of value in actual application such deductions should be based upon study of modern combat, and that study cannot be made from the accounts of historians alone. The latter show the action of troop units only in a general way. Action in detail and the individual action of the soldier remain enveloped in a cloud of dust, in narratives as in reality.
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GENERAL DISCUSSION
GENERAL DISCUSSION
1. Ancient and Modern Battle I have heard philosophers reproached for studying too exclusively man in general and neglecting the race, the country, the era, so that their studies of him offer little of real social or political value. The opposite criticism can be made of military men of all countries. They are always eager to expound traditional tactics and organization suitable to the particular character of their race, always the bravest of all races. They fail to consider as a factor in the p
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INFANTRY
INFANTRY
1. Masses—Deep Columns. Study of the effect of columns brings us to the consideration of mass operations in general. Read this singular argument in favor of attacks by battalions in close columns: "A column cannot stop instantly without a command. Suppose your first rank stops at the instant of shock: the twelve ranks of the battalion, coming up successively, would come in contact with it, pushing it forward.... Experiments made have shown that beyond the sixteenth the impulsion of the ranks in
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CAVALRY
CAVALRY
1. Cavalry and Modern Appliances They say that cavalry is obsolete; that it can be of no use in battles waged with the weapons of today. Is not infantry affected in the same way? Examples drawn from the last two wars are not conclusive. In a siege, in a country which is cut off, one does not dare to commit the cavalry, and therefore takes from it its boldness, which is almost its only weapon. The utility of cavalry has always been doubted. That is because its cost is high. It is little used, jus
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ARTILLERY
ARTILLERY
If artillery did not have a greater range than the rifle, we could not risk separating it far from its support, as it would have to wait until the enemy was but four or five hundred paces away to fire on him. But the more its range is increased, the further away it can be placed from its support. The greater the range of artillery, the greater freedom of action from the different arms, which no longer have to be side by side to give mutual support. The greater the range of artillery, the easier
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COMMAND, GENERAL STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATION
COMMAND, GENERAL STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATION
There are plenty of carefree generals, who are never worried nor harassed. They do not bother about anything. They say, "I advance. Follow me." The result is an incredible disorder in the advance of columns. If ten raiders should fall on the column with a shout, this disorder would become a rout, a disaster. But these gentlemen never bother with such an eventuality. They are the great men of the day, until the moment that some disaster overwhelms them. Cavalry is no more difficult to work with t
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
SOCIAL AND MILITARY INSTITUTIONS. NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. Man's admiration for the great spectacles of nature is the admiration for force. In the mountains it is mass, a force, that impresses him, strikes him, makes him admire. In the calm sea it is the mysterious and terrible force that he divines, that he feels in that enormous liquid mass; in the angry sea, force again. In the wind, in the storm, in the vast depth of the sky, it is still force that he admires. All these things astounded man
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APPENDIX I
APPENDIX I
MEMORANDUM ON INFANTRY FIRE [Written in 1869 (Editor's note)] 1. Introduction It may be said that the history of the development of infantry fire is none too plain, even though fire action to-day, in Europe, is almost the sole means of destruction used by that arm. Napoleon said, "The only method of fire to be used in war is fire at will." Yet after such a plain statement by one who knew, there is a tendency to-day to make fire at command the basis of infantry battle tactics. Is this correct? Ex
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HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
1. Cavalry An Extract from Xenophon. "The unexpectedness of an event accentuates it, be it pleasant or terrible. This is nowhere seen better than in war, where surprise terrorizes even the strongest. "When two armies are in touch or merely separated by the field of battle, there are first, on the part of the cavalry, skirmishes, thrusts, wheels to stop or pursue the enemy, after which usually each goes cautiously and does not put forth its greatest effort until the critical part of the conflict.
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NOTES
NOTES
1 ( return ) [ General Daumas (Manners and Customs of Algeria). Nocturnal Surprise and Extermination of a Camp.] 2 ( return ) [ Among the Romans, mechanics and morale are so admirably united, that the one always comes to the aid of the other and never injures it.] 3 ( return ) [ The Romans did not make light of the influence of a poet like Tyrtaeus. They did not despise any effective means. But they knew the value of each.] 4 ( return ) [ Also their common sense led them to recognize immediately
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