Command and control, as the term is generally understood today, is a relatively new concept in warfare. It will not be found, for example, in Napoleon's Principles of War. To control military operations in Napoleon's day, the commander had to be present in the battle area. Napoleon went where his army did, all the way to Moscow in 1812. Battle was essentially a matter of firepower and maneuver. Sometimes the cavalry could discover useful information about the enemy. Sometimes not. Communications were slow, often measured in days if not weeks. Andrew Jackson's famous defeat of the British in the Battle of New Orleans, Jan. 8, 1815, happened more than two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed in Belgium to end the war. By 1850, telegraphy made it possible to send messages over long distances but its reach was limited by the availability of lines and poles. It was not until the 20th century that the combination of electronic technology and airpower provided the means to communicate with the force wherever it was, collect information, interpret it, and use it for command and control at all levels of war.
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