Military Doctrine Defines Logistics As The Science Of...

Military doctrine defines logistics as ‘the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces’.1 Logistics is the applied art of moving armies and providing for the provision of support to keep that army moving or in location. It is a continuous and never ending operation. For the purposes of this paper it may be taken that a focus on the art of sustainment — that is, the actual process of maintaining an army during operations, with a smaller focus on the administrative side. Some parts of the administration side will not be looked at in this paper, these include record keeping, discipline and medical provision. In this paper, however, I shall be concentrating on what the major logistical issues confronting†¦show more content†¦What was the available transport by land, river or sea? What was the length, security and nature of communication lines? However, this biggest questions were concerned with the welfare of the soldier, what were they going to eat? What weapons were available? How were they going to be cared for? These were the questions that if not dealt with appropriately would rapidly decrease the effectiveness of the army.1 First of all, the most important part of logistics, the sustenance and hydration of the soldiers needs to be considered. In short what were they going to eat and drink throughout the campaign? The methods changed quite notably throughout the time period, this having some relationship to the size of armies, although this will be covered at a later time. The first method of both feeding the army and drawing the enemy from their fortifications was the chevauchee, essentially an armed raid, typified by pillage, burning, rape and murder, essentially destroying everything in its path. An example of this would be Edward III, who ravaged France, both surviving in enemy territory and also compelling Phillip to fight in open combat. The chevauchee can be seen as an effective form of feeding small armies, however any great army would have trouble acquiring the sheer amount necessary for its survival. Following the decline of the chevauchee and an increase in army