Theoretical principles of military engineering

Military Thought, April-June, 2005 by V.V. Ivashkov

The main motive for my contribution was the virtual absence of the formal status and general theory (principles) of military engineering.

The main and obvious proof of this is that the latest military encyclopedias do not have such fundamental notions as military engineering, science and art; they describe them in vague and contradictory terms for which reason the essential meaning of engineering support and its organization in some guideline documents is less than perfect.

For the sake of comparative analysis of existing and suggested notions this paper cites definitions found in open encyclopedic and other publications.

Military affairs [voennoye delo], or the military is generally described as a historically established, multiaspect and broadly functional organized system of training for and implementing the state's armed activities.

The latest, 1994, edition of the Military Encyclopedia defines it briefly as follows: "Military affairs is a theory and practice of force organization and activities of the state's military organization, armed forces in peacetime and wartime, as well as preparing the population in the event of war."

Military engineering is an auxiliary, supporting constituent part (branch) of military affairs. Its latest definition appears in the 1976 Soviet Military Encyclopedia: "Military engineering (obsolete) is a branch of military affairs comprising theory and practice of military-engineering preparation of the state and its Armed Forces for war, including engineering preparation of theaters of military operations, equipping and employing the engineering troops, as well as questions of engineering support of combat action of troops. The term used today is 'military-engineering art ...'" (1)

"Military-engineering art is a branch of military art embracing theory and practice of military-engineering preparation of the state's territory for war, organizational development and armament of the engineering troops and their employment in combat and operations, engineering support of combat action. Military-engineering art includes a number of branches relating to fortification, obstacles, demolitions ..." (2)

A simple analysis of the latter definition reveals that it is groundless and unsound to replace the fundamental notion "military engineering" with a partial manifestation of its essential properties--"military-engineering art," to identify as branches of military-engineering art which represent a body of military-engineering knowledge, not to mention some other less important methodological drawbacks.

For the sake of analysis of the sphere of military engineering, we can single out three main interconnected and organized areas comprising this sphere: the science-oriented area, the organization-training area, and the combat application area. The first and second areas function in peacetime, all three function in wartime (Fig. 1).

The science-oriented functional area is the source of a great variety of specialized military-engineering, scientific and practical knowledge and particular theories that form military-engineering science as the theoretical basis of military engineering.

The organization-training functional area is represented by scientific-practical processes of the organizational-structural forming and equipping the engineering troops, military-engineering training of the Armed Forces, special-purpose participation in the development and production of engineering equipment and fitting out the Armed Forces with it, the building and expanding the state's engineering infrastructure.

The combat application functional area is a direct and practical process of profession-specific "engineering" support of preparation for and conduct of military operations by the state's Armed Forces, the efficiency of which is predetermined by the overall efficiency of all research and organizational-training components of military engineering.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The functional status of military engineering and the competence of engineering support are established by the higher administration bodies of the state.

The occupational specifics of military engineering are substantiated and determined by military-engineering science.

Based on our analysis and a rough description of military engineering we can briefly define its essence as follows.

Military engineering is a historically established composite part (branch) of military affairs with a certain functional status and occupational specifics that embrace indissolubly related to military-engineering science and scientific practice of organizational development of the branch and engineering activities of the state's military organization in peacetime and wartime.

Really functioning at the present time, military-engineering science has not been formally defined or confirmed as existing in a document.

Analyzing the meaning of military-engineering science and various approaches to interpreting and defining its essence it is possible to find that the main specific feature of the subject we are trying to define is its close methodological link to military science and its being firmly rooted in natural and technical sciences transformed and singled out as basic military-engineering knowledge.