Tactics, Volume 1 (of 2). Introduction and Formal Tactics of Infantry

by William Balck

The translation of this book was undertaken at the instance of Major John F. Morrison, General Staff, who desired to make use of it in the course in tactics in the Army Service Schools.It is an epitome of the interpretation and application of tactical principles in the various armies, discussed in the light of the tactical views and methods prevailing in Germany, and amplified by numerous examples from military history.The professional value of this book to all officers of our Regular Army and Militia who are endeavoring to gain a working knowledge of tactics, is so obvious that any comment would be superfluous.Army Service Schools,Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas,December, 1910.The first volume of “Tactics,” which appeared in its first edition in 1896, and for which the preparatory work reached back more than a decade, now appears in its fourth edition in a completely changed form. The lessons gained in war and improvements in weapons have corrected many earlier views. While the Boer war confused the views on infantry combat and brought forth more lessons in a negative than in a positive form, the Russo-Japanese war has had a great educating influence, in that it corroborated the soundness of the lessons gained in the Franco-German war, but also in that it amplified those lessons commensurate with the improvements in weapons. The fundamental principles upon which success depends have remained the same.

589 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2021

About the author

Generalleutnant Konrad Friedrich August Henry William Balck was an officer of the General Staff of the Imperial German Army, holder of the order 'Pour le Mérite', and a well-known author of books on military subjects during the early twentieth century. His most famous work is the six volume study 'Taktik', the last volume of which was published in 1903. His son, General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck was a prominent Wehrmacht commander during the Second World War.