Although not known and recognized during his lifetime, this book has earned Ardant du Picq a place in the ranks of great military theorists. Du Picq's work attempts to deal with the principles of warfare as an empirical study, based on case studies of battles, most influential ancient battles and modern warfare. Battle Studies became a key textbook in the French Army's École de Guerre
His analyses stressed the vital importance, especially in contemporary warfare, of discipline and unit cohesion. The theme of the book is that "moral force" is the most powerful element in the strength of armies and the preponderating influence in the outcome of battles. In general form, he states:
The goal of the army
Combat is the object, the cause of being, and the supreme manifestation of an army. Every measure that does not keep combat as the object of the army is fatal. All the resources accumulated in time of peace, all the training, and all the strategic calculations must have the goal of combat.
Man in combat
The human element is more important than theories. War is still more of an art than a science. One popular quote demonstrating this conclusion drawn from numerous battle studies states, "Nothing can wisely be prescribed in any army... without exact knowledge of the fundamental instrument, man, and his state of mind, his morale, at the instant of combat."
Great strategists and leaders of men are marked by inspiration. "Generals of genius draw from the human heart ability to execute a surprising variety of movements which vary the routine; the mediocre ones, who have no eyes to read readily, are doomed to the worst errors."
