Guibert’s General Essay on Tactics, here translated into English for the first time since the 1780s, laid the foundation for the success of French armies of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, as well as for modern doctrine and operational-level warfare.
“’The God of War’ is near to revealing himself, because we have heard his prophet.” So wrote Jean Colin, naming Napoleon the God of War and Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert, as his prophet. Guibert was the foremost philosopher of the Military Enlightenment, dedicating his career to systematizing warfare in a single document. The result was his magnum opus, the General Essay on Tactics, which helped to lay the foundation for the success of French armies during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It is presented here in English for the first time since the 1780s, with extensive annotation and contextualization.

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Guibert's <i>General Essay on Tactics</i>

Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte de Guibert; Jonathan Abel

Jacques Antoine Hippolyte de Guibert

History of warfare, volume 137, Leiden, 2022

History of warfare, Leiden [etc, 2022

Netherlands, Netherlands

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Contents
Acknowledgments
Diagrams
Tables and Figures
On the Translation and Sourcing
Introduction
Book 1 Elementary Tactics
To My Patrie
Preliminary Discourse
Plan of a Work Entitled “France, Political and Military”
Introduction
Education of Troops
Section I Infantry Tactics
Chapter I Infantry Ordinance, Its Formation; Principles That Must Determine Both
Chapter II School of the Soldier, Manual of Arms, [and] Formations of Ranks and Files
Chapter III On the March
Chapter IV Fire
Chapter V Evolutions
Chapter VI Doubling the Ranks. Ordinance and Means That Must Serve the Infantry to Fight Cavalry
Chapter VII Conversion Movements
Chapter VIII Formations in Column
Chapter IX Formations en bataille
Chapter X Changes of Front
Section II Essay on Cavalry Tactics
Introduction to Essay on Cavalry Tactics
Chapter I Advantages of Cavalry; [the] Inconveniences That Render It Too Numerous in Armies
Chapter II Cavalry Armor and Equipment
Chapter III Speed of Movements, the First and Most Advantageous of the Properties of Cavalry
Chapter IV Cavalry Ordinance
Chapter V School of the Cavalier
Chapter VI Analogy between Cavalry Movements and Those of Infantry
Chapter VII Formations en bataille
Chapter VIII Charge Movements
Conclusion
Section III Light Troops
Chapter I Origin of Light Troops; Their Too-Great Number, [a] Prejudicial Abuse
Chapter II It Is Possible to Create a System of War That Renders Light Troops Little-Necessary
Chapter III Line Troops May Advantageously Undertake the Service, or at Least a Part of the Service, Confined to Light Troops
Chapter IV On the Constitution of Light Troops
Section IV Essay on Artillery Tactics
Chapter I On the Artillery in General, Its Advantages [That Are] Too Elevated by Some and Too Abased by Others, [and] Its Real Utility
Chapter II Modern Constitution of Our Artillery [and] Parallel of the Old System with the New
Chapter III Inconvenience of Too-Numerous Artillery
Chapter IV Artillery Movements
Chapter V Artillery Execution
Book 2 Grand Tactics
Avant-propos
Chapter I Army Marches
Chapter II Opening of Marches
Chapter III On the Disposition of March Orders
Chapter IV Disposition of Troops in March Orders
Chapter V Disposition of the Artillery in March Orders
Chapter VI On the Disposition of Baggage in Marches
Chapter VII On Orders of Battle
Chapter VIII Parallel Order
Chapter IX Oblique Order
Chapter X Formation of Armies; [the] Necessity of Assembling Camps Destined to Be Schools of Grand Tactics in Peacetime
Chapter XI Project of a Camp of Instruction; Composition and Division of the Army That One Proposes to Assemble There
Chapter XII Maneuvers That Must Be Executed in the Camp of Instruction
Chapter XIII Application of the Preceding Maneuvers to Terrain and to Circumstances
Chapter XIV Application of the Tactics Exposed Above to Defensive Orders of Battle. [The] Necessity of Making This Application Known to the Troops and to the General Officers
Chapter XV Continuation of Objectives That Must Be Put into Practice in the Camp of Instruction
Chapter XVI Rapport between the Science of Fortifications and Tactics, and with War in General
Chapter XVII Rapport between Knowledge of Terrain and Tactics
Chapter XVIII Rapport between the Science of Subsistence and War, and Particularly with Campaign War. Examination of the Manner by Which We Make
Our Armies Subsist
Conclusion
Appendix A The French Army in the Eighteenth Century
Appendix B Glossary of Terms
Bibliography
Index

""'The God of War' is near to revealing himself, because we have heard his prophet." So wrote Jean Colin, naming Napoleon the God of War and Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert, as his prophet. Guibert was the foremost philosopher of the Military Enlightenment, dedicating his career to systematizing warfare in a single document. The result was his magnum opus, the General Essay on Tactics, which helped to lay the foundation for the success of French armies during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It is presented here in English for the first time since the 1780s, with extensive annotation and contextualization"-- Provided by publisher

2024-03-03