FIGHTING BY MINUTES: Time And The Art Of War

by Robert R. Leonhard

“The history of failure in war can…be summed up in two too late.” --General Douglas MacArthur In this book, veteran author Colonel Robert Leonhard argues that time is the primary dimension in war and that to win, the warrior must fight by minutes. From his experience as an infantry officer and war planner, Leonhard lays out the important time dimensions of duration, frequency, sequence, and opportunity. He shows how the great captains of history turned the enemy’s time flanks, preempted defenses, or manipulated the frequency of operations to their advantage. Leonhard likewise dissects the phenomenon of surprise in war, explaining how combat forces delay detection and hasten contact to overturn the enemy’s perception of the fight. He shows how nations and armed forces can create revolutionary new ways to fight by altering the time factors that bound the violence of war. Called “brilliant!” “intriguing!” and “THE premier theoretical work of the last 40 years” by reviewers, this 2nd edition features a new introduction from Colonel Leonhard, as well as revised and updated text and figures.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, War

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 1994

Reviews

[Blue Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best military theory books I’ve ever read that I will be keeping on my shelf wherever I go. Leonhard is easy to read while grounding all of his arguments in history, theory, and doctrine while making the complex even simpler through his use of visualization.

While his overarching premise is the centrality of “time” in both the past and future of operations (“There is no understanding of warfare apart from time”), he tackles other fascinating topics ranging from maneuver theory, phasing, frequency, sequencing, and even the shortfalls in the army’s illustrious “mission command” philosophy.

This is certainly one that I will recommend others to read and now I want to go pick up everything else Leonhard has published.

[Jens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real good example of how some theoretical approach can be worth your time (pun not intended)! The notions of the like-system protective fight and the "dirty" dislocating fight with subjective and objective warfare were really interesting! Where fequency becomes imperceptible or how sequence determines the real value of any action were nice metaphors. A solid and quick read.

[Sean Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most descriptive books I have read about the art of the profession of arms. Colonel Leonhard writes masterfully about time as THE critical dimension in war and introduces thought provoking concepts that challenge the way we think about ourselves and our opponents as leaders.

[Vorkosigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting by minutes is the kind of book that can change the way you think. When I first read it, it was a hammer between the eyes. I saw stars after reading it and spent a huge amount of time studying the implications.
The book's premise is simple. Warfare is all about time.This isn't a new premise, but Leonhard ties it closely to basic physics and expands on previous efforts to devise a basic calculus of warfare. Where Leonhard's previous book urged a move away from attrition oriented warfare and began to explore the basic ideas that are expanded on in this book, Fighting by Minutes perfects the ideas and makes it very clear how warfare should be prosecuted. The ideas of sequencing, fighting for additional time, trading space for time, and others have all been raised by other writers, but I find few places where they have been so eloquently brought together into a single book.
This work is much more dense than The Art of Maneuver and takes more work. However, the coherent analysis of warfare as being fundamentally time-focused is worth the extra effort. I spent months after reading this book trying to build a wargame that would accurately reflect Leonhard's ideas. I don't think anyone has ever come close to it (I failed too), but I'm sure that modern simulations don't ever quite do it.
The other issue with this work (it's incredible scarcity on bookshelves) has been solved by the digital age. Anyone with an e-reader can know acquire it.

[Frank A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite military reads.

Greatest quote is his description of why the US Army is not a fan of detailed control:

"I think that our cultural biases bear on the problem. Our Declaration of Independence is simply a statement of mission tactics as applied to political science. We are democratic and pluralistic. In other words, we hate authority. Being told what to do is bothersome to an American. Being told when to do it is insulting, and being told how to do it is outrageous. The inherent politeness of directive control is much more to our liking. Baseball, Apple pie, motherhood, and mission tactics. That is the "American Way." Classic

[Ryan E Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an underrated military theory classic. Time, and everything associated with it (e.g., tempo, sequence, duration, etc.), are an undervalued aspect of warfare and even in the daily operations of any organizational endeavor.

Robert Leonhard makes explicit the centrality of time to any competition. This is a must read.

[Brian Thorson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The number of theories introduced in this book is impressive. More importantly, these theories are practical frameworks through which to view war and organize planning and execution efforts.

The serious military practitioner will read this book, and then read it again.