Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Warfighting: MCDP 1
    Warfighting: MCDP 1
    Warfighting: MCDP 1
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    Warfighting: MCDP 1

    By Department of the Navy

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The manual describes the general strategy for the U.S. Marines but it is beneficial for not only every Marine to read but concepts on leadership can be gathered to lead a business to a family. If you want to see what make Marines so effective this book is a good place to start.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherVigeo Press
    Release dateOct 1, 2018
    ISBN9781948648400
    Warfighting: MCDP 1

    Related to Warfighting

    Related ebooks

    Wars & Military For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Redefining Survival

      Apr 16, 2019

      Redefining Survival
      14 min read

    • Article

      Improve Your Position

      Feb 8, 2019

      Improve Your Position
      15 min read

    • Article

      How To Fight A War q+a With Dr Mike Martin

      Jan 19, 2023

      War is a complicated and destructive force that has consumed and bedevilled humanity for many thousands of years. Many commanders across history have made terrible decisions on how to conduct warfare, leading to innumerable military and civilian deat

      9 min read

    • Article

      The End of the Fighting General

      Sep 10, 2018

      The End of the Fighting General
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Limits Of Firepower

      Aug 22, 2023

      The Limits Of Firepower
      9 min read

    • Article

      Armed Forces Were Abolished?

      Aug 10, 2021

      Change is hard. Even radical activists can struggle to envisage a world without established institutions and practices. Perhaps this is why most anti-war campaigners stop short of calling for the abolition of military forces. There’s a common misconc

      2 min read

    • Article

      Combatives Corollaries

      Mar 16, 2021

      Combatives Corollaries
      4 min read

    • Article

      By The Book

      Oct 20, 2020

      By The Book
      15 min read

    • Article

      David Petraeus

      Aug 31, 2021

      David Petraeus
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of The Arms Race

      Jul 11, 2022

      The Art Of The Arms Race
      11 min read

    • Article

      10 Maxims Ancient For Modern Militaries

      May 16, 2019

      Sun Tzu is the ultimate military guru and The Art Of War is the ultimate military self-help book. It consists of 13 chapters containing a total of 385 maxims. Most are common sense, a few are completely inscrutable, while others remain universal trut

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ancient Special Operations

      Aug 3, 2021

      Ancient Special Operations
      3 min read

    • Article

      Q&A WITH ANDY MCNAB

      Oct 26, 2023

      Q&A WITH ANDY MCNAB
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Faith Of A Warrior | Independence Day Special

      Aug 9, 2019

      One might think that explaining the concept and meaning of patriotism would come easy to a soldier. After all, we are the most visible symbols of a group that displays its commitment towards the country by being forever ready to sacrifice lives for t

      5 min read

    • Article

      Can We Achieve Nuclear Adulthood?

      May 7, 2020

      "I'll never tire of repeating: We need to demilitarize world affairs, international politics and political thinking." What if a world leader -- someone with extraordinary power, even, my God, control over nuclear weapons -- were to talk this way? Wel

      4 min read

    • Article

      Final Analysis

      Dec 14, 2021

      Most of my historical knowledge was garnered studying The Adventures of Asterix as a child, before I graduated to Sven Hassel, Sharpe and Horatio Hornblower in my teenage years. Had I sat an exam on the periods these learned texts covered, I would mo

      3 min read

    • Article

      Changing Faces In The Study Of Medieval Warfare

      Mar 1, 2022

      This framework of understanding, interesting and important in itself, told us very little about the conduct of war. It was massively weighted in favour of the Hundred Years’ War, but even then it focused on specific battles and great events. There wa

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Line Must Hold

      Nov 25, 2019

      The Line Must Hold
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Good Military Leader

      May 19, 2021

      A Good Military Leader
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Warfighting

    5/5

    1 rating1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Everyone interested in having a basic grasp of the science of war should read it.
      Short, concise and no nonsense approach.

    Book preview

    Warfighting - Department of the Navy

    Warfighting-Cover-Ebook-Biggie.jpgAsset 3-100

    WARFIGHTING

    MCDP 1

    U.S. Marine Corps

    Vigeo Press

    Originally published in 1989, updated in 1997.

    Department of the U.S. Navy.

    Public Domain.

    Vigeo Press Reprint, 2018

    ISBN

    Paperback 978-1-948648-39-4

    Epub 978-1-948648-40-0

    Contents

    Foreword

    Preface

    I. The Nature of War

    II. The Theory of War

    III. Preparing for War

    IV. The Conduct of War

    Throughout this publication, masculine nouns and pronouns are used for the sake of simplicity. Except where otherwise noted, these nouns and pronouns apply to either gender.

    Foreword

    Since Fleet Marine Force Manual 1, Warfighting, was first published in 1989, it has had a significant impact both inside and outside the Marine Corps. That manual has changed the way Marines think about warfare. It has caused energetic debate and has been translated into several foreign languages, issued by foreign militaries, and published commercially. It has strongly influenced the development of doctrine by our sister Services. Our current naval doctrine is based on the tenets of maneuver warfare as described in that publication. Current and emerging concepts such as operational maneuver from the sea derive their doctrinal foundation from the philosophy contained in Warfighting. Our philosophy of warfighting, as described in the manual, is in consonance with joint doctrine, contributing to our ability to operate harmoniously with the other Services.

    That said, I believe Warfighting can and should be improved. Military doctrine cannot be allowed to stagnate, especially an adaptive doctrine like maneuver warfare. Doctrine must continue to evolve based on growing experience, advancements in theory, and the changing face of war itself. It is in this spirit that Warfighting has been revised, and this publication, Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1, supersedes Fleet Marine Force Manual 1. I have several goals for this revision. One goal is to enhance the description of the nature of war—for example, to emphasize war’s complexity and unpredictability and to widen the definition of war to account for modern conflict’s expanding forms. Another goal is to clarify the descriptions of styles of warfare. A third goal is to clarify and refine important maneuver warfare concepts such as commander’s intent, main effort, and critical vulnerability. It is my intent to do this while retaining the spirit, style, and essential message of the original.

    Very simply, this publication describes the philosophy which distinguishes the U.S. Marine Corps. The thoughts contained here are not merely guidance for action in combat but a way of thinking. This publication provides the authoritative basis for how we fight and how we prepare to fight. This book contains no specific techniques or procedures for conduct. Rather, it provides broad guidance in the form of concepts and values. It requires judgment in application.

    Warfighting is not meant as a reference manual; it is designed to be read from cover to cover. Its four chapters have a natural progression. Chapter 1 describes our understanding of the characteristics, problems, and demands of war. Chapter 2 derives a theory about war from that understanding. This theory in turn provides the foundation for how we prepare for war and how we wage war, chapters 3 and 4, respectively. Experience has shown that the warfighting philosophy described on these pages applies far beyond the officer corps. I expect all Marines—enlisted and commissioned—to read this book, understand it, and act upon it. As General A. M. Gray stated in his foreword to the original in 1989, this publication describes a philosophy for action that, in war, in crisis, and in peace, dictates our approach to duty.

    C. C. Krulak

    General, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant of the Marine Corps

    Preface

    Eight years ago the Marine Corps published the first edition of Warfighting. Our intent was to describe my philosophy on warfighting, establish it as Marine Corps doctrine, and present it in an easy-to-read format. In the foreword to that manual, I charged every officer to read and reread the text, to understand it, and to take its message to heart. We have succeeded. Warfighting has stimulated discussion and debate from classrooms to wardrooms, training areas to combat zones. The philosophy contained in this publication has influenced our approach to every task we have undertaken.

    Fleet Marine Force Manual 1 stated, War is both timeless and ever changing. While the basic nature of war is constant, the means and methods we use evolve continuously. Like war itself, our approach to warfighting must evolve. If we cease to refine, expand, and improve our profession, we risk becoming outdated, stagnant, and defeated. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 refines and expands our philosophy on warfighting, taking into account new thinking about the nature of war and the understanding gained through participation in extensive operations over the past decade. Read it, study it, take it to heart.

    Semper Fidelis,

    A. M. Gray

    General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps

    I. The Nature of War

    Everything in war is simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war.¹

    —Carl von Clausewitz

    In war the chief incalculable is the human will.²

    —B. H. Liddell Hart

    Positions are seldom lost because they have been destroyed, but almost invariably because the leader has decided in his own mind that the position cannot be held.³

    —A. A. Vandegrift

    To understand the Marine Corps’ philosophy of warfighting, we first need an appreciation for the nature of war itself—its moral, mental, and physical characteristics and demands. A common view of war among Marines is a necessary base for the development of a cohesive doctrine because our approach to the conduct of war derives from our understanding of the nature of war.

    War Defined

    War is a violent clash of interests between or among organized groups characterized by the use of military force. These groups have traditionally been established nation-states, but they may also include any nonstate group—such as an international coalition or a faction within or outside of an existing state—with its own political interests and the ability to generate organized violence on a scale sufficient to have significant political consequences.

    The essence of war is a violent struggle between two hostile, independent, and irreconcilable wills, each trying to impose itself on the other. War is fundamentally an interactive social process. Clausewitz called it a Zweikampf (literally a twostruggle) and suggested the image of a pair of wrestlers locked in a hold, each exerting

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1