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Lars Falk 15 September 2011
Centers of Gravity and
Clausewitz’s Model of War
Lars Falk
Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)
Stockholm, Sweden
2nd Annual Conference on Terrorism and Global
Security, Washington, 15 September 2011
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831)
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz Revival
1976 “On War”, new translation by Michael
Howard and Peter Paret.
1982 Harry G. Summers suggested that
incorrect CoGs were selected in Vietnam.
1986 CoGs appeared in the AirLand Battle
doctrine.
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Military planning
1. Rational thinking
2. Psychological factors
3. Chance and uncertainty
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz’s Model of War
Mass
Driving force
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz’s Model of War
Opposing forces
Driving force
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz’s Model of War
Friction
Opposing forces
Driving force
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Theatre of War (Kriegstheater)
Friction
Opposing forces
Driving force
Lars Falk 15 September 2011
Concentration of forces
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz’s Model of War
How well did Clausewitz know mechanics?
Better than his translators!
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Friction and Center of Gravity
Contemporary textbook
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755 –1813) „Vater und Freund meines Geistes“
Handbuch der Artillerie.
1-3 (1804, 1806, 1814).
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Astronomers Engineers
Heaven Earth
Eternal motion Friction
Momentum Work
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Energy or
momentum?
42 feet waterwheel
The Old Mill, Berry College,
Rome, Georgia, USA
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Lazare Carnot (1753-1823)
Energy was unknown.
Force, Kraft, Moment
d´activité,…
Essai sur les machines en
général (1786)
Lars Falk 15 September 2011
Maximum results: CoG
CoG
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Maximum effort
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Sweet spot
Lars Falk 15 September 2011
Centre of Gravity
Maximum effort in 1-D problems
T
”Luftstoss”
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Bonaparte: Strategic CoGs
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
1812 CoG: Moscow
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
1813 CoG: Napoleon
Bernadotte
Avoid battles with Napoleon
and use propaganda until
numerical superiority is
achieved.
(Leipzig 1813)
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
1814 CoG: Paris
Pozzo di Borgo
Avoid battles with
Napoleon and go for
Paris.
(Paris 1814)
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Strategic CoGs tend to be symbols
Stalingrad Muammar Gaddafi
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Is Clausewitz’s model significant in
the information age?
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Asymmetric warfare: CoG
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Center of Gravity
Are Centers of Gravity related to strong and weak
points?
Joe Strange developed new concepts:
CG - Center of Gravity
CC - Critical Capabilities
CR - Critical Requirements
CV - Critical Vulnerabilities.
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Organized troops defeat unorganized.
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
CoG is the Commander’s method of
conveying his intention to the organization
Chef
Stab
Trupp
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Clausewitz’s Model of WarMax Weber: Ideal types
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Cohesion
Clausewitz’s Model of War is a highly simplified
model of cohesive structures.
CoGs only work for cohesive structures, but even
guerillas require cohesion.
Don’t use several CoGs.
Look for your own CoG.
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
Conclusion
Clausewitz’s model of war, and in particular
CoGs, are not planning tools, but a method of
communicating the commander’s intention to
the organization.
Lars Falk, 15 September 2011
END
