Outline of Modern Combat Command - Ernst Jünger
Military Weekly Bulletin, 13 November 1920
War is the hardest of all professions; the price of apprenticeship is the commitment of life and limb. Nowhere does the apprentice learn faster; a thoroughly bloody adversity immediately forces sharp and purely utilitarian action. But the experience of war tends to fade as soon as the inexorable impact of live ammunition ceases to hold the troops in its grip.
Although we are still in the shadow of the greatest war of all, a return to the excesses of formal pre-war combat training can already be seen on the training fields, partly because many leaders lack front-line experience, partly because the experience gained has not yet been sufficiently shaped and crystallised. This is particularly evident in the infantry warfare exercises. Attributes of the ancient tradition have also survived the world war and are spreading again. Below is an attempt to sketch a diagram of modern combat.
Modern warfare no longer knows pure shooting. Even in the tiniest of settings, an arsenal of manifold auxiliary weapons is emerging, affecting the image of combat with powerful moral and real-world effects. Machine and material became crucial and gave the battle an increasingly formidable character. Thousands of inseparable impressions would pour in and intensify until the climax of the storm, until the final march with the bare pistol and the hand grenade. In the end, the final decision rests with the living force; in this whirlwind of explosives and iron, it is always the "man", his qualities, his efficiency, his spirit, his training and his way of fighting that ultimately counts.
More than ever, the armed forces must be a model of the most capable youth in the country. Today the battlefield requires men who combine the attacking spirit of Frederick, the old Prussian spirit, independent and athletic mastery of the terrain, and scientific training in the use of technical means. A new era of the soldier has begun, in which the hero is an intelligent, strictly disciplined, combat and sports-trained, ruthless stormtrooper. He fights as part of his shock squad, an elite unit eager to take on the enemy, a master of explosives, a ruthless daredevil, an unwavering defender of achievement, a comrade in life and death. When leading a company of such groups, a leader can go into battle with confidence. Even if the squad is small, the spirit works wonders.
The march to the nerve-centre of the lethal action already has a grim character. Increasingly it is done under the cover of night. Endless grey columns on broken roads; a ground filled with the rumble of guns, wagons, and engines; shouts of commands and curses, interrupted by the monotonous "Lights out!" No joyous marching song, no dawn brightening the happy days of the riders. Grey morning swallows up the ghosts of night. Planes circle over the destroyed landscape. In the villages and forests, masses and vehicles hide beneath exquisite camouflage.
Long before the enemy, the armed forces have achieved the effect of leaving the roads and disintegrating formations. Deployment into company columns and the development of firing lines had become impractical. It is far better to adapt to the terrain in small, scattered groups which, as a homogeneous unit, creep in line or in clumps towards the point of arrival. The gentle, Indian style avoids visible lanes, artillery fields, and landmarks. People cut themselves with sticks and smoke. (Recently, during a drill, I heard, "Put your rifles on, we're marchng into battle.")
At the centre of the deeply echeloned company marches the commander, the youthful embodiment of the highest soldierly energy. His headquarters is the equivalent of the old brigade headquarters. The artillerymen, miners, machine gunners, intelligence officers, liaison officers, battalion sergeants, and reporters accompany him to weave their various threads into a single fighting fabric at the start of the battle. There is also his personal guard, a strike force made up of the best elements of his company, who step in at crucial moments under his personal command. Far behind was the fourth platoon, carrying ammunition, equipment and supplies during the days-long night fighting.
Ahead of them came the sound of rifle fire. A Machine Gun engaged, rattling. Two or three small groups disappeared, they were drawn in, engulfed by the terrain and caught fire. Others, more distant, step aside and quietly continue their march. These seemingly simple movements conceal subtlety and art; they are the result of careful training, a trained sense of the terrain and knowledge of the operation of weapons. Soon the enemy scout, who had been threatened from the flank, withdrew, leaving behind a series of empty holes. The development continued. Often the leader would rush forward, watching and pointing out new directions.
Suddenly, isolated fire, skirmishes, then sharp fire again across a broad front. Somewhere multi-coloured flares rise. The wounded limp backwards. The groups push the sensitive effects to the limit. Work begins on the molehill. In the most inconspicuous and secluded places, crescent-shaped nests are formed in holes in the ground. The front that forms is disjointed, confused, not linear at all, but deeply skewed. The deep and uneven deployment of forces makes it difficult for the enemy to regroup. Here and there the group rushes forward in search of a better position, but the swiftness of the battle is soon lost. Spy eyes search the seemingly dead ground for dirt and thin columns of hot machine gun smoke; sketches are drawn, runners rush towards the company commander in short zigzag leaps.
It is in full activity. The enemy's area, links are identified, communications with the battalion, auxiliary weapons are established, surveillance is set up, and accompanying weapons are summoned and installed. The noise of battle grows.
It is advisable to attack as quickly as possible to avoid a complete stalemate. The leader knows the effect of modern weapons, he knows that the frontal attack has survived since before Ypres. His aim is to concentrate the impact on a key point in the enemy's position, to carry out a rapid penetration of the strike troops into the demoralised space, to assess the frontal attack. The clock is synchronised, communicators, special weapons officers rush in and out. The fire swells, thickens into a cloud at the point of attack, then abruptly retreats to the side and into the interior. It is at this point, still under cover of the last shells, that the strike troops begin. Their attack is a concentration of force, the use of extreme energy, the ideal of warfare. In an instant they have crossed the marked surface and crushed the last resistance with grenades and melee weapons. Silhouettes disappear into holes in the ground and short sections of trenches and reappear a few seconds later, arcs of hand grenades and clouds of explosives, the crackle of small arms mounted nearby – all part of the story. Machine gun fire stops their crushing effect. The enemy becomes unsteady, his army weakens. Multicoloured lights go up - the company is about to take advantage of the chosen squad's success. The target is reached by sudden leaps or runs; if necessary, the area is cleared. Holding the position as short as possible, officers urge the squad to use the momentum, enthusiasm, and confusion of the enemy to continue the attack. In some places the enemy calls out for peace. New positions are fought for and conquered, often providing valuable clues to further operations. Artillery and associated weapons always have a say.
Then comes the big field operation, a small fortress on the field, built in a few hours, with cables, rifles and machine guns. – The message on the back. The order to attack. "An attack without the best preparations, without hope." That was enough. We had to get used to seeing with the eyes of the front, to consider the views of the fighting troops.
It was time to use modern war elephants. The two armoured personnel carriers are closing in hard. The whole environment has no effect on them. One collapses in the middle of the track; a direct hit shatters it like a child's toy, while the other, shrieking from the impact, reaches its target, snips the wire and rolls down the track, spraying fire. The shock troops that follow finish the job, a multi-voiced cheer rises over the churning ground.
Twilight falls. The fire erupts with renewed vigour and then slowly dies down. The first orbs of light rise with a silvery sound. From time to time excited shouts and confused clanking can be heard from the poles. The situation improves, equipment and supplies arrive. In the pit tent, the company commander writes and draws by candlelight. The day ahead brings new and challenging tasks.