ed to assist the military profession in reaching sound
decisions as to (1) the selection of its correct objectives, the ends
toward which its action is to be directed under varying circumstances;
(2) planning the detailed operations required; (3) transmitting the
intent so clearly as to ensure inauguration of well-coordinated
action; and (4) the effective supervision of such action.

The student of war will find in these pages a fundamental military
philosophy whose roots go down to very ancient times. In the technique
described for the solution of military problems, experienced officers
will recognize a system with which they are already familiar. This
system, constantly under study to improve its details, has been in use
in our military Services for many years.

The foundation of this philosophy and of the system for its practical
utilization rests on the concept of relative or proportional values.
In the military environment, change, rather than stability, is
especially to be expected, and the relationships existing among the
essential elements of a military situation are, in fact, the
significant values. Such values, themselves, vary with the viewpoint
of the person concerned. Accordingly, because of the difference in
objectives (defined above), what is strategy as viewed by a commander
on a higher echelon may have more of a tactical aspect to those on a
lower (page 10). Immediate objectives and ultimate objectives (page
54) can scarcely be understood in their true proportions unless the
point of reference is clear. The point of view of the commander, as
established by the position he occupies in the chain of command, is,
therefore, to be taken into consideration in every phase of the
solution of a problem,--in the determination of the appropriate effect
desired (page 43), of relative fighting strength (page 35), and of
courses of action and the detailed operations pertaining thereto (page
88).

On the basis of these facts, instantaneous and easy understanding of
all the elements involved is not to be expected. Were such
understanding possible, the expert conduct of war would be one of the
easiest, instead of one of the most difficult, of human activities. It
is only through a gradual assimilation of its fundamentals that the
profession of arms is to be mastered. A process of true education is
involved,--that of enlarging the viewpoint and broadening the basis of
professional judgment (see page i),--and its essen