![]() ![]() After 4 months, they had settled into trench warfare that bore little resemblance to the war they had prepared for. ![]() They left for what most of them believed would be a short conflict, one decided by the power of the offensive. In summer 1914, young men across Europe marched to war. The result was a race between combatants to adapt faster than their adversaries. After the emergence of trench warfare, both sides quickly began adjusting their technology, tactics, and organizations in an attempt to achieve an operational breakthrough. Williamson Murray’s Military Adaptation in War opens by stating that “adaptation in war represents one of the most persistent, yet rarely examined problems that military institutions confront” and that “one of the foremost attributes of military effectiveness must lie in the ability of armies, navies, or air forces to recognize and adapt to the actual conditions of combat.” 2 A short study of warfare on the Western Front during World War I showcases adaptation’s importance. 1 The growing role software plays in military technology could augment the speed of adaptation, but to capture such advantages, the joint force must invest in its digital workforce and infrastructure. The ability to adapt more quickly than an adversary gives a force a significant advantage. Their organization, tactics, and weapons are not optimally matched to their environment or their enemies. In wars, militaries rarely start out perfectly suited for the challenges they will encounter. ![]()
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