The strategy of the central position () was a key tactical doctrine followed by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. It involved attacking two cooperating

armies An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

at their hinge, swinging around to fight one until it fled, then turning to face the other. The strategy allowed the use of a smaller force to defeat a larger one. However, these tactics, while successful at the battles of

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commun ...

and

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

, failed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, and Napoleon was defeated because he was not able to prevent the joining of the British and Dutch forces by the Prussian forces. At the battle of Blenheim (1704), the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

and his ally Prince Eugene of Savoy realising the French were weak in the centre initially concentrated their attacks on the wings. When

Marshal Tallard Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard (14 February 1652 – 20 March 1728) was a French noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France. Military career Tallard was granted a commission in the French army at the age of ...

, the French Commander, further weakened his central position to reinforce the fortified villages on the wings of his position, Marlborough launched a battle winning attack through the centre. Central position also describes the overall strategic situation of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

in the Eighteenth Century where, although Prussia was surrounded by enemies, Frederick was able to use his central position to maneuver and attack each enemy separately despite being vastly outnumbered overall. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

maintained a central position on the Mareth Line between allied forces in Tunisia and Libya."Rommel could execute a classic example of the central position. From the Mareth Line, Rommel could strike first at the Americans and British in Tunisia, then turn back on Montgomery coming up from Libya".({{cite book , title=How Wars Are Won: The 13 Rules of War—From Ancient Greece to the War on Terror , last=Bevin , first=Alexander , year=2002 , location=New York , isbn=1-4000-4948-2 , pages=144–43 ) The tactic loses at least some of its advantage when employed against successive wings or flanks of a single force with a unified command structure, as a single defending force's better communication and coordination enable it to better execute a

pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...

against the attacker.

References

Military strategy Napoleonic Wars

See also

References