P.S. Bond, The Clausewitz of Combat Engineering: Does Assured Mobility Follow His Principles

摘要

Doctrine developers in the combat arms often draw upon the wisdom of military theorists like Clausewitz, Jomini, JFC Fuller and B.H. Liddell Hart. While these theorists provide enduring wisdom on operational art, their work lacks detail regarding many of the battlefield operating systems (BOS). As a combat arm, engineers draw upon the same principles of operational art as the maneuver arms. As maneuver support specialists, engineers must also adhere to principles that are branch specific. Unfortunately, most of the available written material on military engineering, other than Army doctrinal manuals, can only be classified as tactics, techniques and procedures. There is very little material available to describe the operational art of military engineering or what its enduring concepts are. Research on this topic revealed one author whose concepts stood out. His work illustrated the elemental principles of military engineering - much as Clausewitz and Jomini described the fundamental principles of war. That author was Colonel Paul Stanley (P.S.) Bond. Bond commanded a US Army engineer regiment in Word War I and wrote about his experiences until the mid 1950s. It is evident in his writings that he had a thorough understanding of military engineering and its application on the battlefield. He also had a keen understanding of general military tactics and operational art and published many works on these subjects as well. As the Army moves towards transformation, the plans being developed currently aim to radically alter engineer organization and employment. The Objective Force will depend heavily upon mobility but will employ the mobility and survivability BOS in a manner that is completely different from current doctrine. When adopting changes in this manner it is both desirable and prudent to draw upon enduring and proven principles. The central argument that Bond makes throught his writings is that capable people are the essential element of any combat formation.7.