I looked up and down the defensive line, waiting for the coach to call the next play. “Let’s run it again,” he said, clipboard in hand and that ever present whistle dangling around his neck.
I knew what that meant and it wasn’t good. Clumps of mud and grass hung from the face mask of my helmet as I scanned the running backs behind the opposing line, stuck there from my head hitting the turf the last time we ran this play.
I played football in high school. I only played in my junior and senior years with guys that had been playing since they were like 6 years old. We had a great team. In the two years that I played, our record was 21-1.
In my senior year, I was starting outside linebacker. So there I was at practice one afternoon and the coach was teaching the offense a new play. I think he may have called it the 43 punch or something. All I know is that it meant the tailback got the ball and he followed the right offensive guard and the halfback AND the fullback right through the space that I was defending.
The first time I had no idea what was going to happen. The second time, I thought I was ready. I was wrong. Anticipating the guard coming at me, our pads slammed together and I stopped him cold. Then, the half back and full back piled on and alone, I didn’t stand a chance. I was easily pushed aside and again bowled over.
Whatever happened next, I didn’t see it. Instead, I was seeing animals in the shapes of the clouds passing by over our practice field.
Today we examine the principle of Mass.
What is Mass in relation to military operations?
We’ve defined mass as “Mass: Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time to achieve a breakthrough.”
The key here is “at the decisive place and time.” As military planners we need to recognize that we can’t be strong everywhere all the time, and we don’t have to be.
Earlier we talked about how to define the decisive point as the place, time or event where your purpose is achieved. If you know where and you’ll know how the purpose of the operation is achieved, then you can apply the necessary power (mass) at that specific point to ensure victory.
Examples of failure abound in history. One is the British army at the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 1 July 1916. The strategic plan was to dist ract the German army from their ongoing attack against the French at Verdun, break through the German trench lines and turn the tide of the war.
The problem was, and arguably one of the major planning failures was the British tried to be strong all along the entire front. The attack plan was to draw German forces away from the French and push them back along a wide front. There was no “tip of the spear,” if you will.
The result as a disaster. The British suffered nearly 60,000 casualties on the first day alone!
The battle would rage on until 18 November and in the end, the lines moved a total of 6.2 miles at the cost of over 1 million casualties on both sides.
In contrast, and with the same combatants, look at the German invasion of France twenty-four years later on 10 May, 1940.
In this case, the Germans knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish, identified the weak point in the Allied lines and also identified how to achieve mass against that weak point.
The Germans defined their decisive point as a break through the French and Allied lines allowing the envelopment and encirclement of Allied forces. Their target was the French 9th Army manned with new recruits pitted against the concentration of German panzer divisions under the very capable General Von Rundestedt.
The result was the capture of the French capital Paris on 14 June and the unconditional surrender of France on 25 June, 1940.
As military planners, it should be a methodical process.
- Determine what you are trying to achieve, your Objective.
- How will you know when you’ve achieved your Objective? What is the time, place or conditions where your goals are achieved? Make it quantifiable and observable. This is your Decisive Point.
- Determine the best way to achieve these conditions for victory.
- Apply sufficient resources to ensure success at your Decisive Point, this is Mass.
This doesn’t have to be military operations. What if your mission was something else entirely?
If you were sent to the store with $35 to secure a ham for the family’s Christmas dinner, you could define your Decisive Point as: “The successful purchase of a ham large enough for eight people with leftovers.” That action is certainly quantifiable and observable and you have identified the available the resources ($35).
While on the way to the supermarket, you decide to take a little detour and stop by a clothing store. There, you notice insulated gloves are on sale for only $12. Your hands are cold and you could really use a pair of warm gloves. “I’ll still have plenty of money for the ham,” you think.
Walking to the checkout, you notice warm wool socks are on sale too. They’re a steal at $5 a pair. “These will keep my feet warm.” Now you’ve spent $17 and haven’t even made it to the supermarket.
When you finally do get there, you only have $18 left to buy the ham. The hams that would be big enough for everyone and allow for leftovers (ham sandwiches, soups, casseroles and other ham-centric leftovers are the best part, even better than Christmas dinner itself) are more than your available resources.
You’re standing at your decisive point but no longer have the necessary resources, Mass, to achieve your Objective. You have to settle for a smaller ham and forego leftovers. You’ve also sacrificed hero status when you get home. Bad planning and poor execution.
The principles of war can really be applied to many aspects of everyday situations. These include in the workplace, planning and starting a business, shopping and yes, football.
I got my butt kicked over and over that day at practice because our coach, an officer in the National Guard, understood and employed the principle of Mass. He used three guys to knock one defender, me, out of the way at the decisive point to accomplish his purpose of allowing the ball carrier to gain yardage and score touchdowns. It was a sound plan, just at my expense.
The Principles of War are a tool to ensure planners methodically think through an action and plan for success.
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