Effective in battle: conceptualizing soldiers’ combat effectiveness^*

* The Author would like to thank Margarita Konaev, Jeffrey Meiser, participants in the International Studies Association Annual Conference, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback on this paper. Any remaining faults are the authors’ alone.

Abstract

How do we understand combat effectiveness – soldiers’ performance in battle? Despite the broad consensus that understanding combat effectiveness is important both for scholars and policymakers, there is widespread disagreement about what combat effectiveness is. More specifically, studies of effectiveness tend to focus on either the skill of soldiers in battle, or their will to fight. Yet both skill and will are essential components of an effective fighting force. This article argues that understanding combat effectiveness requires understanding both of these key components of effectiveness. In other words, combat effectiveness requires both the skill and will to engage the enemy in an organized manner. It then demonstrates the usefulness of this conceptualization by applying it to the cases of British, Indian, and Australian forces fighting the Japanese during the Second World War. Only when scholars are talking about the same concept will our understanding of the conditions under which militaries are effective in battle progress. By comparing different units fighting the same opponent under the same material conditions, I demonstrate that units vary both in their combat skill and their will to fight, and that understanding their effectiveness in battle requires analyzing both of these key factors.

Keywords:

• Combat effectiveness
• military power
• international security
• defense analysis
• war
• conflict

Notes

* The Author would like to thank Margarita Konaev, Jeffrey Meiser, participants in the International Studies Association Annual Conference, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback on this paper. Any remaining faults are the authors’ alone.

1. The British Indian Army was the official military of colonial India. It should be distinguished from the Indian National Army (INA), which fought against the British during WWII in pursuit of Indian Independence.

2. Indian Army rank equivalent to sergeant.

3. This document was written by Colone C.H. Kappe and Colone J.H. Thyer, who note these details of its compilation:

During the early weeks of captivity, with the knowledge that a complete and authoritative report on the operations of the Division would be desired, unit commanders were instructed to re-write their war diaries. In many cases these had been destroyed; but where this was the case a very accurate diary was possible for the following reasons: The campaign was short and events fresh in the minds of the writers. Many documents such as messages were still available. All the principal officers of all units etc. were at hand to verify and correct where necessary.

TNA CAB 106/162.