Throughout history, soldiers and scholars have sought to determine fundamental rules for the conduct of warfare. These approaches have been both prescriptive, stating what actions are allowed and forbidden in warfare, by law, ethics, or religion, and descriptive, analyzing the best practices and means by which a commander and his army or fleet can win a battle or a war. For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... Aphorism Critical legal studies Jurisprudence Law (principle) Legal research Letter versus Spirit List of legal abbreviations Legal code Natural justice Natural law Philosophy of law Religious law External links Find more information on Law by searching one of Wikipedias sibling projects: Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School... Ethics is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ...

Prescriptive principles of warfare

Ancient principles

The Book of Deuteronomy prescribes how the Israelite army was to fight, including dealing with plunder, enslavement of the enemy women and children and forbidding the destruction of fruit bearing trees. Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

Modern principles

The Hague and Geneva Conventions

See: Hague Conventions, Geneva Conventions The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of international law. ... Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949 The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ...

21st Century issues

There are several issues where appropriate the laws of land warfare are ambiguous or obsolescent. Among these are:

• The use of private contractors as soldiers or private armies and whether they are mercenaries or not under international conventions

In addition, several classes of weapons, such as land mines or cluster bombs, have been decried by non-governmental organizations and some governments as inherently inhumane. However, the United States has refused to denounce the use of these weapons. In the case of land mines, the U.S. position is that all U.S.-planted mines are clearly marked and mapped, and that all U.S.-planted mines can be deactivated by remote command. The People's Liberation Army also continues to use land mines. Mercenary (disambiguation). ... A landmine is a type of mine which is placed onto or into the ground and explodes when triggered by a vehicle or person. ... Cluster bomb exploding A cluster bomb is an air-dropped bomb that ejects multiple small submunitions (bomblets). ... A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization which is not a part of a government. ... The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (Simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军; Traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍; pinyin: ), which includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Descriptive principles of warfare

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu's The Art of War, written approximately in 400 B.C., listed five basic factors for a commander to consider: Sun Tzu (孫子 also commonly written in pinyin: Sūn Zǐ) was the author of The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy (for the most part not dealing directly with tactics). ... The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: ; literally Sun Tzus Military Strategy) is a Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. ...

• The Moral Law, or discipline and unity of command
• Heaven, or weather factors
• Earth, or the terrain
• The Commander;
• Method and discipline, which included logistics and supply

However, Sun Tzu implied individual initiative as a principle of warfare, stating "According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans."

Early Western theoreticians

Antoine Henri Jomini, in his book, Precis de l'Art de Guerre, in 1838, and Carl von Clausewitz, in his book Vom Kriege (On War) developed theories of warfare based on the experiences of the Napoleonic Wars. Jomini's approach was more theoretical than von Clausewitz'. Antoine-Henri, baron Jomini (March 6, 1779 _ March 24, 1869), general in the French and afterwards in the Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers on the art of war, was born at Payerne in the canton of Switzerland, where his father was syndic. ... A young Clausewitz Carl Phillip Gottlieb von Clausewitz (June 1, 1780 - November 16, 1831) was a Prussian general and influential military thinker. ... On War (Ger. ... The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ...

Modern NATO principles of warfare

The British historian J.F.C. Fuller developed a set of eight principles of warfare between 1912 and 1924: J.F.C. Fuller (September 1, 1878 – February 10, 1966), full name John Frederick Charles Fuller, was a British Major General, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare. ... 1912 was a leap year starting on Monday. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

• Objective
• Offensive Action
• Surprise
• Concentration
• Economy of Force
• Security
• Mobility and Cooperation

In 1994, the U.S. Army's Field Manual 100-5 listed the following basic principles:

• Objective: Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective. "The ultimate military purpose of war is the destruction of the enemy's armed forces and will to fight."
• Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
• Mass: Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at the decisive place and time.
• Economy of Force: Employ all combat power available in the most effective way possible; allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
• Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
• Unity of Command: For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort.
• Security: Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage.
• Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
• Simplicity: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.

The British military adds to the above list:

• Maintenance of Morale
• Administration.

The Russian doctrine is similar, but includes the concept of Annihilation as well.