Marshal Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied armies in 1918, is remembered as the undisputed winner of the Great War, a title that appears to be the consecration of the brilliant military thought of the author of the "Principles of War".

In fact, the 1918 victory was the result of the judicious application of the principles attributed to Foch and retained by the Army: a well-conducted economy of forces, which provided the freedom of action necessary for an efficient concentration of efforts, with a constantly varying point of application, thus depriving the enemy of his freedom of action while increasing that of the Allies, and thus forcing him into the armistice. On the other hand, it was for failing to respect these principles that the French armies failed at the frontiers, then became bogged down in such futile attacks and costand disjointed until the choice was made, shortly after mid-May 1917, to abandon the decisive offensive as long as the necessary means were lacking. General Foch had just been promoted to Chief of General Staff3 and General Pétain to^{Commander-in-Chief}.

Writing in his war memoirs - "In economics, no more than in politics or strategy, there is, in my opinion, no absolute truth" - General de Gaulle emphasized the extreme complexity inherent in certain disciplines of study. Strategy, a major art of thought, is no exception to this reality and few people have managed to pose as enlightened popularisers. General André Beaufre was one of them, and has handed down to posterity a formula that is all too little known, which nevertheless, like Einstein's E=mc2, opens the doors of understanding to as many people as possible.

Les Entreprises de Servithese de Security and Defence (ESSD): What is it?

There is no internationally established legal definition of ESSDs. The only one currently recognized is the one mentioned in the "Montreux Document". 1which became the International Code of Conduct Association (ICOCA) and which has a normative scope taken up by the American ANSI/ASIS and ISO 18788 regulations.

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1 "Private commercial entities that provide military and/or security services, regardless of how they describe themselves. Military and security services include, in particular: Armed guarding and protection of persons and objects, such as convoys, buildings and other places; Maintenance and servicing of weapons systems; Prison detention; And advice and training to local forces and security personnel".

Combat refers to the action of small units (1), and joint action refers to the combination in the same action and on the same terrain of means from different weapons (2) with complementary capabilities but often opposing needs. Joint combat is conducted by the leaders of small infantry or cavalry units, sometimes TLA (3), reinforced with elements of various weapons.

The contributions of what is wrongly called new technologies are visible in our daily lives. The SCORPION programme for the French case but many other projects within foreign armies show that the ground has become favourable for the reception of these technologies within armies, bringing new capability perspectives. Through new contributions to be integrated into every stage of military life, from training to combat and intelligence, technologies increase the scope of possibilities. While some require more maturity, investment, research and development or interest, others are mature and are only waiting to be exploited for the greatest benefit of mankind. How can we take advantage of them? This is the subject of the proposals and reflections made in this article.

Napoleon is one of the timeless masters in the art of war. Beyond this formal parallel, can officers draw inspiration from the Emperor's aphorism by comparing it with other views on reminiscence? Squadron Leader Christophe Maurin proposes to sketch out a few steps along this path, considering perspectives offered by psychology, philosophy and literature.

"Inspiration is, more often than not, only reminiscence."

Napoleon

After reading this dossier, the reader may be tempted to answer the question: "Are the military taking its rightful place in society? »

The reality of the relationship between the military and civil society in the United States is perhaps less idyllic and much more complex than the perception of it in Europe. However, it can be described as generally good, if not very good.

The place of the military in German society is singular. Originally tolerated by a society marked by the ruins of war and the defeat of 1945, the German armed forces were gradually adopted. But a certain mistrust of the military remains in an environment more concerned with economic prosperity and comfort than with political and military action.

The place of the German soldier in society is marked by the reduction, as far as possible, of any "military" singularity, the adoption of a smooth profile, and a certain permeability to external influences, which in turn allows for unborn participation in the military.The military elites are gloriously involved in defence policy orientations and decisions, while a range of influential associations represent the concerns and interests of the military and the defence community in society.

To echo the question of the integration of the French army into our society, let us ask ourselves about the case of British soldiers within their own nation.