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Logistics.
it would be much too long, in a summary like this, to give all the details concerning the different operations of Logistics.
This branch forms one of the special studies of the officers of the
General Staff.
General Jomini, in his treatise on the Art of War, gives, as belonging to Logistics, the following:--
1st.
To prepare beforehand all the necessary
materiel for the opening of the campaign.
Draw up the orders and instructions for the assemblage of the army and its being put in movement.
2d.
To draw up the orders of the
General-in-Chief for the different enterprises, as well as the plans of attack for premeditated fights.
3d.
To concert with the chiefs of Artillery and Engineers the measures to be taken for the safety of the different depots and magazines.
4th.
To command and direct the reconnoitering parties, and to procure by any means information concerning the enemy.
5th.
To take the necessary measures for the combination of the different movements ordered by the
General-in-Chief.
To prepare the march for the different columns, that it may be executed with order and
ensemble. To render the march easy and safe, and to regulate the time for halting.
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6th.
To compose and direct by good instructions the advanced and rear guards, as well as detached corps.
To supply them with every necessary to fulfill their duties.
7th.
To fix the instructions of each commander of an army corps for the arrangement and composition of his columns on arriving near the enemy, as well as their arrangement and distribution in line of battle according to the nature of the ground and the character of the enemy we have to deal with.
8th.
To point out to advanced guards and other detached corps the place for reassembling in case of defeat.
9th.
To order and survey the march of the trains of artillery, ammunition, provision, etc. etc., and to place them near the troops, but in a way that they do not hinder their movements.
To take the necessary measures for order and safety both in marching and resting.
10th.
To arrange the successive arrivals of ammunition and provision as soon as they are required ; to collect all the means of transport in the country, and regulate its employment.
11th.
To adopt the establishment of camps, and regulations for their order, safety, and police.
12th.
To establish and organize the lines of operation and the halting-places of the army, as well as the communication of the detached corps with this line.
To appoint capable officers to organize and command the rear of the army, to watch over the safety of the detachments and convoys, to give them good instructions, and to see that the means of communication between the base of operation and the army are kept up.
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13th.
To organize on this line the depots, magazines, hospitals, and workshops, and to provide for their safety.
14th.
To keep an account of all the detachments formed either on the flanks or rear of the army; to see to their safety, and give them a place for action.
15th.
To unite in companies or battalions all the small troops or isolated men going from the army to the base of operation, or from this to the army.
16th.
In a siege, to order and superintend the service of the troops in the trenches.
17th.
To take, in a retreat, all possible measures for order; to appoint troops to replace those of the rear guard; to provide for the moving of the trains, so that nothing may be lost, and that they can proceed without any impediment and in the greatest safety.
18th.
To assign, in cantonments, positions to the different corps, and indicate to each division a place of assembly in case of alarm; to take all measures for the carrying out of orders, instructions, and regulations.
We must, however, speak of marches as far as their general arrangement is concerned, because from the march we might be obliged to pass to a battle, and then our dispositions should be such that all our troops are able to form speedily in line of battle.
We distinguish four kinds of marches-march in
advance, in
retreat, flank march, and
manoeuvre march.
The two first can be executed in one column marching on one road, or in several columns marching on several roads.
The third requires the formation of at least two parallel colunns; in the fourth, the operations are always executed
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with many columns — if not, it offers nothing different from the three first marches.
The precautions for security which are taken in all these marches emanate from one great rule, which is,
that they should always be, so that the main body has time to form the marching column in line of battle before the enemy can arrive near it.
All columns on a march should therefore be provided with advanced and rear guards, as well as with detachments to cover the flanks.
The distance between these guards and the main body must be regulated by the time this one requires to form in line of battle.
If, for instance, we suppose that our column is one mile in length, the troops in the rear would require about twenty-five minutes to form from the rear of the column in line of battle; the advanced guard should, therefore, be at the distance of about one and a half miles. The advanced guard is generally one-fifth of the main body; it sends out another guard, consisting of about one-sixth of its force, and at a distance permitting the main body of the advanced guard to form in line of battle.
This first corps sends out pickets in advance and on the flanks; these are composed, for the most part, of cavalry, which is better able to survey the country, and make its reports quicker.
In a march for advance, the rear guard is used only to keep order and cover the trains; it is, therefore, less strong than the advanced guard.
In a retreat, it is the rear guard that is made strongest.
Fig. 5, Plate V., shows the disposition of an army corps of five brigades marching in advance.
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|
Dispositions for marching |
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The guard nearest the enemy should be always composed of the three arms.
The artillery belonging to each brigade marches in the center of this brigade; the reserve artillery is generally disposed after the third brigade; then comes the infantry of reserve, then the trains, and, finally, the cavalry, which always marches at the end of the column, it being always able to arrive in time on the battle-field.
In marching, a column of 25,000 to 30,000 men occupies a space of 7000 to 8000 yards, without counting the distance from the advanced guard; it is, therefore, evident that large armies can never act or move on one road only.
The different army corps march on different parallel roads; but here again they must be disposed in such a manner that they can with facility form in line, either separately or with the other corps combined.
Each of these corps must march just as if it alone were advancing against the enemy; but the distance between all these corps should be such that they can all unite in time.
They have a common advanced guard, which marches at a sufficient distance to permit of the other corps joining, and forming in line of battle; and in the same way they have their common rear guard or reserve.
Fig. 1, Plate V., shows this disposition.
Flank Marches.
In these marches we present the enemy our flank, and special dispositions must be taken to cover it. Here the advanced guard becomes flank guard, and the whole army is disposed as shown in Fig. 2, Plate V. The greatest necessity exists that good order should be maintained.
The
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trains and baggage are always the most distant from the enemy; the corps should be near enough to be able to render each other prompt assistance.
The battalions in the marching columns must be at the necessary distance for deployment, or, in general, to form in line of battle without disorder.
If the army is large, so that several corps may be formed, they should be disposed as shown in Figs.
3 or 4, Plate V.
If the enemy attacks the advanced guard, he offers his own flank to the corps already more advanced or still behind.
Davoust, while retreating from
Ratisbon, before the battles of
Abensberg,
Eckmuhl, etc., formed in a similar way; he executed his march between the Austrian force and the
Danube.
The flank march of
General Radetski, in 1848, from
Verona to
Mantua, is also remarkable.
By manoeuvre marches we understand marches executed by large armies, and having more of a strategical object than a tactical one; they are, in fact, strategical flank marches.
I will give the dispositions for marching as used by
Napoleon at
Ulm in 1805, and at
Jena in 1806.
Each of the corps designated in the plan was of three divisions, and in the manoeuvres at
Ulm that of
Ney was of five.
In these marches the force of each army corps, and the distance between them, are such that it can resist the enemy's army long enough, till sustained by the others nearest to it.
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Examples: march and Manoeuvres of Napoleon near Jena, 1806.
the operations near
Jena were the following:--
The Prussian army, numbering 120,000 men, was thus disposed: 20,000 near
Eisenach, 50,000 near Erfurth, and 50,000 men near Blankenhain.
Napoleon's army was near
Bamberg, and amounted to from 170,000 to 180,000 men.
Napoleon determined to cut the Prussians entirely from their base of operation.
For this, he advanced in three columns--one in the direction from
Coburg to Sahlfeld, another at Kronach and Sahlburg, and a third at Hof and Plauen.
The extreme left of the Prussians was at Schleitz.
It was outflanked by the last column, and repulsed by the column in the center.
On the 12th the greater part of the army arrived at
Gera, and on the 13th, in the evening, the different army corps occupied the following positions:--
General Angereau at
Kahla, 10 miles from
Jena, and 7 from
Ney, who was at Rohda, 9 miles from
Jena; Lannes at
Jena; the Guard followed Lannes;
Soult on a parallel road to
Jena, about 10 miles from this place, and 6 to 7 from the Guard;
Davoust,
Bernadotte, and
Murat arrive at
Naumburg, from whence
Bernadotte has to march, on the 14th, to Dornburg, and
Davoust to Apolda.
A part of the cavalry is still at
Auma, and the Bavarian division is left at
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Plauen to cover the
French right flank.
Naumburg is about 18 miles from
Jena.
If we consider this disposition, we shall find that it answers nearly every case.
The Prussian army is entirely separated from its base, and all the corps are so disposed that they can easily assist each other.
Lannes forms the advanced guard of the whole army, and, by his arrival in front of the Prussians, keeps them in their position till
Davoust arrives at
Naumburg.
If the Prussians attack him, their loss only becomes more certain, as the decisive point is
Naumburg.
The result of these marches and manoeuvres was the total loss of the Prussian army.
March and manoeuvre of Napoleon near Ulm, 1805.
The
Austrian general,
Mack, with from 70,000 to 80,000 men, advanced from the Austrian frontier as far as
Ulm.
Napoleon's army, arriving from
Wurzburg, Mayence, Spire, and
Kehl, numbered 180,000 men. This army was not directed against
Ulm, but against the lower towns on the
Danube.
The arrangement of the columns is similar to that on a flank march.
Ney formed the flank guard, and
Soult the advanced guard; the different corps were from 5 to 10 miles distant from each other, and the whole front of operations was from 45 to 50 miles in length.
Wherever
Mack attacks, he finds the corps he attacks always supported, in less than three hours, by two or three
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|
Marches and Manoeuvres of Napoleon at Jena.
13, 14 October, 1806. |
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other corps; and, besides, the direction is always such that, wherever he attacks, he is outflanked.
If he directs his efforts against
Ney, who forms the pivot in the manoeuvre, he is outflanked by
Soult; and if he attacks the latter,
Ney and
Davoust are on his flanks.
The result of this manoeuvre — which was, however, excellently favored by
Mack's own incapacity — was the complete destruction of the Austrian army under his command.
I will say a few words on the repose of troops in time of war.
They bivouac, canton, or camp.
In the bivouac, they pass the night in the open air, round fires, etc.; in camping, they are provided with tents; in cantoning, they are distributed in houses among the inhabitants.
In the wars of
Europe, the latter mode is always adopted for all kinds of marches and manoeuvres.
Troops bivouac only when in expectation of a battle.
In all these cases, however, the arrangements must be so made that, from resting, the troops can quickly join and form in line of battle.
In camping, the tents should be disposed so that each battalion, brigade, division, etc. can form from its camp at once in line or in order for marching; advanced guards, posts, and pickets should be disposed, and the distances from the main body should be calculated the same as for columns in marching — that is, that the army should have time to assemble and form for battle.
The disposition for camps will be found in all army regulations; and this, as well as
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the cantoning of troops, being the special mission of the officers of the
general staff, it would be useless to say more here concerning it.
I trust that this summary will suffice to give the reader a general but a clear idea of the great operations of war. For special study, the works of
General Jomini,
Ternay,
Frederick II.,
Archduke Charles,
Loyd,
Clausewitz, the Memoirs of
Napoleon,
Marshal Marmont, etc. etc.
should be consulted.
