Operational level of war

Through means such as directing troops and allocating (limited) resources (among others), operational art aims to achieve political goals by producing an optimal (or at least near-optimal) generation and application of military power.

[8] The term operational art was not widely used in the United States or Britain before 1980–1981,[9][10][11] when it became much discussed and started to enter military doctrines and officer combat training courses.

[3] The challenge of operational art is to establish a four-element equilibrium that permits the optimal generation and application of military power in achieving the political goal.

Viewing time, space, means and purpose as a whole requires great skill in organizing, weighing and envisioning masses of complex, often contradictory factors.

These factors often exist for extended periods, over great distances and with shifting mixes of players, systems and beliefs, pursuing political goals which may or may not be clear, cogent or settled.

Subordinate processes here include defining objectives and centers of gravity, but excessive dependence on analytical mechanisms can create false security.

Without a strong grounding in the theory and application of operational art, a successful tactician has little hope of making the demanding leap from tactics.

Successful operational art charts a clear, unbroken path from the individual soldier's efforts to the state or coalition's goals.

Peoples and commanders have long pursued political goals through military actions, and one can examine campaigns of any period from the existential perspective of operational art.

While personnel within the German forces knew of operational art, awareness and practice was limited principally to general-staff trained officers.