The culminating point in
military strategy is the point at which a
military force
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
is no longer able to perform its
operations.
On the offensive, the culminating point marks the time when the attacking force can no longer continue its advance, because of supply problems, the opposing force, or the need for rest. The task of the attacker is to complete its objectives before the culminating point is reached. The task of the defender on the other hand, is to bring the attacking force to its culminating point before its objectives are completed.
The concept of a culminating point (''Kulminationspunkt'') was formulated by the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n general and military theorist
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...
in his book ''
On War
''Vom Kriege'' () is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830, and published posthumously by his wife Marie von Brühl in 1832. ...
'' published in 1832 (Book 7, Chapter 5).
See also
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Defence in depth
Defence in depth (also known as deep defence or elastic defence) is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space. Rather than defeating ...
*
Loss of Strength Gradient
The Loss of Strength Gradient (LSG) is a military concept devised by Kenneth E. Boulding in his 1962 book ''Conflict and Defense: A General Theory''. He argued that the amount of a nation's military power that could be brought to bear in any par ...
*
Strategic depth
References
External links
The Culminating Point of AttackCulminating Points
Military strategy
Military terminology
Military geography
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