62 JFQ / issue 66, 3
rd
quarter 2012 ndupress.ndu.edu
COMMENTARY
|
Science vs. the Art of War
P
eople generally do not feel comfortable with uncer-
tainty. Hence, there is a constant search in life—includ-
ing in the military—for deriving various principles
or rule sets and making things more controllable and
predictable. Since ancient times, militaries have been engaged in an
endless quest for certainty in the command in war.
1
They have striven
to precisely know all the key elements of the situation including the
enemy force and its intentions and reactions to their own actions.
Warfare as a Science
The idea that the conduct of war is a science is almost as old as
warfare itself. In ancient times, military theorists started to search
for certain principles and rules guiding the conduct of war. During
the Renaissance, art, music, philosophy, government, science, and
warfare underwent a gradual but profound transformation.
2
In that
era, Europeans rediscovered the military treatises written by ancient
military theorists, specifically Xenophon (430–354 BCE), Julius
Caesar (100–44 BCE), and Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus (4
th
century CE). The classical legacy formed the intellectual background
science
vs.
the Art
of War
By milan Vego
Dr. Milan Vego is Professor of Operations in the Joint Military Operations
Department at the Naval War College.
War is an art and as such is not
susceptible of explanation by
xed formula.
—GeneRAL GeORGe S. PATTOn
Germans confront Serbs in World War I (drawing by Richard Caton Woodville)
ShinyCapstar.com
