ABSTRACT
Starting in the late nineteenth century, a fundamental problem arose in the conduct of military operations. While campaigns were becoming larger, bloodier and costlier than ever before, they were also becoming curiously indecisive. Usually blamed on an increase in defensive firepower brought about by the rifle and the machine gun, the breakdown of operations involved far more complex problems of command and control. These included the rise of mass armies, so large they eventually lost the ability to maneuver in any real sense; the absolute dependency of these hordes upon the railroad; and the static nature of the telegraph net, which made it nearly impossible for the commander to conduct a mobile offensive or to control his dispersed masses, especially when they were in contact with the enemy or under fire. 2
