Guibert’s Defense of the System of Modern War / Jonathan Abel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abel, Jonathan, author.

Series:

Early Modern History and Modern History E-Books Online, Collection 2025

History of Warfare ; 153.

History of Warfare ; 153

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Literature and Cultural Studies.

Genre:

Early works to 1800

Early works

Physical Description:

1 online resource (223 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2025.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Guibert was France’s foremost military theorist in the eighteenth century. He wrote two great treatises, but the second is often ignored in favor of the first, the General Essay on Tactics . That second treatise, the Defense of the System of Modern War , is presented here for the first time in English, with extensive annotations by the translator. In it, Guibert explores the beginnings of operational-level warfare, laying the groundwork for Napoleon and his successors.

Contents:

Front Cover

Half Title Page

Series Page

Title Page

Copyrights Informations

Dedication Page

Contents

Acknowledgments

Figures

On the Translation and Sourcing

Introduction

Avant-Propos

Book 1

First Part

1 [The] System of Mesnil-Durand, Originally Drawn

2 [The] System of Mesnil Durand Enunciated

3 [The] System of Mesnil-Durand as It Is in His First Work

4 [The] System of Mesnil-Durand

5 New Variations of the "French Order." [The] Proofs Made at Metz

Preliminary Note

Text

Formation

Observations

[The] Division of the Battalion [and] Position of Its Parts

[The] Division of the Battalion [and] Position of its Parts

Grenadiers and Chasseurs

Places of Officers

Places of the Flags

Assembly of the Companies and of the Battalion

Detail Maneuvers

March in Column: Definitions [and] Distances

Order of the Troops in Columns

Specific Movements of a Battalion

Specific Maneuvers of a Battalion

First Maneuver

Second Maneuver

Third Maneuver

Fourth Maneuver

Fifth Maneuver

Sixth Maneuver

Eighth Maneuver

Ninth Maneuver

Differences in the Formations En Bataille

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Maneuvers

Forming En Bataille on Two Lines

March En Bataille

Observations.

March En Bataille

Forming a Line in Column for the March

Forward March, the Debouche being Before the Right of the Line

Retreat March

Passage of the Defile

Passage of Lines

Changes of Position

Fire

Résumé

Second Part: Examination of the System

1 The System of Mesnil-Durand: Is It Favorable to the Genius and the Character of the Nation?

2 The Deep Order, and Particularly the Species of Deep Order Proposed by Mesnil-Durand

1 First Demonstration

1.1 The Deployed Order Is Analogous to the Arms in Use Today. The Deep Order Is Absolutely Contrary to them

2 Second Demonstration

2.1 The Deployed Order Is That in Which Infantry Is the Most Often in the Case of Ranging Itself

3 Third Demonstration

3.1 The Deployed Order Is the Simplest and the Most Facile Formation. That of Mesnil-Durand Unites All Opposing Inconveniences

4 Fourth Demonstration

4.1 The Deployed Order Must Be the Habitual Order, Because It Is Proper Both to the Attack and to the Defense, and because It Is Principally [Proper] to the Defense, Which Must Be the Primitive State of a Troops, While the State of the Attack May Only be

3 The Column Considered in Two Aspects: One, as Means of March and Maneuver

4 Examination of the System of Mesnil-Durand Relative to Cavalry

5 Examination of the System of Mesnil-Durand Relative to Artillery

Book 2

Examination of the System of Mesnil-Durand Relative to Strategy, or the Tactics of Armies

1 If One Would Adopt the System of Mesnil-Durand, Would It Then Follow That One Would Be Able

2 May Current Castrametation Change.

3 Relationship of Positions to Subsistence. May One

4 Other Great Obstacles to the Re-serrying of Positions and Orders of Battle Drawn from the Nature

5 System of Mesnil-Durand Considered

6 Examination of the System of Mesnil-Durand Relative to Grand Maneuvers and to Army Movements

7 [The] System of Mesnil-Durand Considered in Relation

1 Orders of Battle, According to the System of Mesnil-Durand

1.1 Parallel Order

1.2 Oblique Order

1.3 Perpendicular Order

1.4 Separated Order

2 Orders of Battle According to the Modern System

2.1 Parallel Order

2.2 Oblique Order

Formation of Orders of Battle According to the System of Mesnil-Durand

4 Formation of Orders of Battle Following Modern Tactics

5 Application of Orders of Battle to Terrain and to Circumstances

6 On Combat Action and the Manner of Conducting It

7 Application of Orders of Battle to the Defensive

Fourth Part: Résumé

1 The System of Mesnil-Durand Is Not Admissible in Any Respect. It Is a Matter of Holding

2 [The] Current System of War Examined in Relation to Politics and to the Administration

Appendix A: Diagram V: Vaussieux and Its Environs

Appendix B: The French Army in the Eighteenth Century

Organization1

Infantry

Cavalry

Light Forces

Artillery and the Génie (Engineers)

Unit Organization

Command and Control

Cavalry, Light Forces, Artillery, and the Génie

Operational and Strategic Command and Control

Manning

Soldiers

Officers

Services

Regimental Manpower per Choiseul Reforms of the 1760s

Regimental Manpower per 1776 Ordinance

Regiments of 2 Battalions

Battalions of 4 Fusilier Companies, 1 Chasseur Company, 1 Grenadier Company, 1 Depot Company.

Figure 11 Generalized Diagram of French Strategic Command and Control Adapted from Kennett, The French Army in the Seven Years War.

Figure 10 Prototypical Midcentury French Field Army Organization Adapted from Kennett, The French Army in the Seven Years War.

Appendix C: Glossary of Terms

Bibliography

Archival

Primary

Secondary

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-04-73020-6

OCLC:

1524420598

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004730205 DOI