ABSTRACT
The industrial revolutions of England in the eighteenth century and the United States in the late nineteenth century engendered tremendous growth in the application of scientific principles to industrial problems and processes. Military applications of operations management confront what R. Machol described as the Pirandello principle where "numbers which are quite reasonable to obtain in theory, [cannot] be obtained in practice" because it is infeasible. This chapter describes how the industrial revolution brought methods used to build and improve the efficiency and quality of arsenals. It differentiates between the practice of developing and improving arsenals with the application of methods to improve military operations which must necessarily include the application of weapons as well as strategy and tactics development. The chapter addresses past history beginning in the early twentieth century and how operations analysis evolved in support of war. Growing computer power has enhanced the ability to explore ever more complicated problems and variations on friendly and enemy choices.
