Military theory
Use of Military Theory: Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote,  'The primary purpose of any theory is to clarify concepts and ideas that have become, as it were, confused and entangled. Not until terms and concepts have been defined can one hope to make any progress in examining the questions clearly and simply and expect the reader to share one's views.'   Military Theory informs the political, strategic, operational and tactical levels of war. It does so by contributing to knowledge on the subjects of war and warfare.  This aids in understanding why and when force is used and what forms the use of force may take. It also aids in identifying and explaining practical outcomes to help determine how force may be applied. Military theories, especially since the 19th Century AD, attempt to encapsulate the complex cultural, political and economic relationships between societies and the conflicts they create.
Categories of Military Theory
Military Theories can be divided into several categories. First, theories may be codified by their relevant level of War:

Grand Strategic Theory
Strategic Theory
Operational Theory
Tactical Theory
Second, they may be categorised by environment or domain, such as:

General, National Military Power Theory
Integrated and or Joint Theory
Land Power or Continental Theory
Sea Power or Naval and Maritime Theory
Air Power or Aeronautical Theory
Space Power or Astronautical Theory
Cyber Power Theory
Information Power Theory
Third, a theory may be developed for a particular form of warfare, such as:

Naval Warfare Theory
Surface Warfare Theory
Anti-Submarine Warfare Theory
Land Warfare Theory
Armoured Warfare Theory
Airborne Warfare Theory
Amphibious Warfare Theory
Air Warfare Theory
Anti-Aircraft Warfare Theory
Psychological Warfare Theory
Cyber Warfare Theory
Space Warfare Theory
Nuclear Warfare Theory
Biological Warfare Theory
Chemical Warfare Theory
Regular Warfare Theory
Irregular Warfare Theory
Combined Arms Warfare Theory
Manoeuvre Theory
Attrition Theory
Conventional Warfare Theory
Unconventional Warfare Theory
Counterinsurgency Theory
Counterterrorism Theory

Military Theorists: Theories and conceptions of warfare have varied throughout human history.  There have been many military theorists throughout history, such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Onasander, Frontinus, Aelian, Vegetius, Maurice, Leo VI, Machiavelli, Lloyd, Suvorov, Berenhorst, Bülow, de Saxe, Clausewitz, Jomini, Calwell, Mahan, Corbett, Douhet, Fuller, Liddell-Hart, Wylie, Brodie, Luttwak, Schelling, Howard, Freedman, Boyd, Lind, Creveld, Gat, Hammes, Hoffman, Kilcullen and Gray in Western military circles; each have helped lay the foundations for our contemporary understanding of policy, strategy, operational art, tactics, command and control, intelligence and logistics.

See also: Military doctrine
Military science
List of military writers

References: Notes

Bibliography

Angstrom, Jan and Widen, J.J. (2015) Contemporary Military Theory: The Dynamics of War. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-08072-6
Clausewitz, Carl von (1976). On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Revised 1984 ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05657-9.
Evans, Michael, (2004), Land Warfare Studies Centre Study Paper No. 305, The Continental School of Strategy: The Past, Present and Future of Land Power, Canberra: Land Warfare Studies Centre. ISBN 0642296014.
Gray, Colin S. (2010). The Strategy Bridge-Theory for Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957966-2
Lider, Julian (1980). 'Introduction to Military Theory', Cooperation and Conflict, XV, 151-168.
Lider, Julian (1983). Military Theory: Concept, Structure and Problems (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-53240-6
Oliviero, Charles. (2022) Strategia-A Primer on Theory and Strategy for Students of War. Toronto: Double Dagger. ISBN 978-1-990644-24-5
Sun Tzu (2003). The Art of War. New York City: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-1-59308-016-7.
Vego, Milan (2011). 'On Military Theory', Joint Force Quarterly, Vol. 3, Issue 62, p 59-67.
Yarger, Harry R. (2006). Strategic Theory for the 21st Century: The Little Book on Big Strategy. Leavenworth: US Army War College War College Press. ISBN 1-58487-233-0

External links:  Media related to Military theory at Wikimedia Commons