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Charles Jean Jacques Joseph Ardant du Picq was a successful French infantry officer whose writings on the importance of morale in battle on the individual soldier remain a military classic. He served in several campaigns during which he commanded soldiers in combat against other European-style armies, as well as a variety of irregular opponents from tribal armies to guerillas, bandits, and thieves. Using these experiences as a starting point, he undertook a scientific study of combat at the level of the individual soldier to understand how morale influences victory. This understanding, and its focus on the moral effect of the attack, was as relevant to the battlefields of World War I as it is for the battlefields of the twenty-first century. Keywords: nineteenth century; biography; first world war |
