[4][5] In his youth, Jomini "was fascinated by soldiers and the art of war," and hoped to join the military, but his parents pushed him towards a career in business.

[6] In 1798, at time of the establishment of the Helvetic Republic, Jomini was an eager revolutionary and an associate of Frédéric-César de La Harpe.

Jomini fought with Ney at the Battle of Ulm and in December of that year, he was offered a commission as a colonel in the French Army.

Berthier, however, not only erased Jomini's name from the list but also put him under arrest and censured him in army orders for failing to supply certain staff reports that had been called for.

This was despite Jomini's holding for years a dormant commission in the Russian army, and that he had declined to take part in the invasion of Russia in 1812.

On joining the allies, he received the rank of lieutenant-general and the appointment of aide-de-camp from the tsar and rendered important assistance during the German campaign: an accusation that he had betrayed the numbers, positions and intentions of the French to the enemy was later acknowledged by Napoleon to be without foundation.

As a Swiss patriot and as a French officer, he declined to take part in the passage of the Rhine at Basel and the subsequent invasion of France.

[9] After several years of retirement and literary work, Jomini resumed his post in the Russian army, and in about 1823, he was made a full general.

In 1853, after trying without success to bring about a political understanding between France and Russia, Jomini was called to St Petersburg to act as a military adviser to the Tsar during the Crimean War.

He was busily employed up to the end of his life in writing treatises, pamphlets and open letters on subjects of military art and history.

[9][10] Jomini's military writings are frequently analyzed: he took a didactic, prescriptive approach, reflected in a detailed vocabulary of geometric terms such as bases, strategic lines, and key points.

His intelligence, facile pen, and actual experience of war made his writings a great deal more credible and useful than so brief a description can imply.

Elements of his discussion (his remarks on Great Britain and seapower, for instance, and his sycophantic treatment of Austria's Archduke Charles) are clearly aimed at protecting his political position or expanding his readership.

[11]Jomini took the view that the amount of force deployed should be kept to the minimum in order to lower casualties and that war was not an exact science.

[12]While in Russian service, Jomini tried hard to promote a more scientific approach at the general staff academy he helped to found.

His ideas, as taught by Professor Dennis Hart Mahan permeated the Academy and shaped the basic military thinking of its graduates.