An often overlooked aspect of successful military campaigns is logistics. There is an administrative side to warfare that has often proved the Achilles’ heel of many of history’s great battlefield commanders – and the bane of military historians, who often argue with one another about the degree of influence that logistics or lack thereof had on particular battles or campaigns.
While logistics is only one of many critical factors that can influence the outcome of operations, it is an important one – a fighting force must after all be organized and supplied in order to achieve its goals.
During the American Civil War, Colonel John Singleton Mosby, known as “The Gray Ghost,” led irregular operations to disrupt Union supply lines, hobbling his opponents with great success. Lack of attention to logistics, among other things, precipitated Napoleon’s downfall in Russia in 1812. While only one aspect of a military operation or campaign, logistics can prove crucial to success or failure.