Comprendre la guerre, J.F.C. Fuller

Understand the War, J.F.C. Fuller

• Auteur / Autrice : Olivier Entraygues
• Direction : Olivier Forcade, Brian Holden Reid
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Histoire moderne et contemporaine
• Date : Soutenance le 30/03/2012
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 4 en cotutelle avec King's college (Londres)
• Ecole(s) doctorale(s) : École doctorale Histoire moderne et contemporaine (Paris)
• Partenaire(s) de recherche : Laboratoire : Centre Roland Mousnier (Paris)
• Partenaire(s) de recherche : Equipe de recherche : Jeux et enjeux des pouvoirs Ve-XVe siècle (Paris)
• Jury : Président / Présidente : Jean-Charles Jauffret
• Jury : Examinateurs / Examinatrices : Olivier Forcade, Brian Holden Reid, Jean-Louis Georgelin, Hervé Coutau-Bégarie, Philippe Nivet, Frédéric Guelton

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Fuller, John Frederick Charles (1878-1966)

Art et science militaires

Mots clés libres

J-F-C Fuller

Guerre

Histoire militaire

J-F-C Fuller

War

Military History

Résumé

La thèse est une étude analytique de la pensée du Major-general J-F-C Fuller au travers l’ensemble de ses écrits. Elle s’articule en cinq parties principales, chacune d’entre elles étant divisée en 4 chapitres. Pour aborder l’étude Comprendre la guerre, JFC Fuller : une approche évolutionniste, il était fondamental de commencer par présenter l’homme dans toute son épaisseur et sous toutes ses facettes. Cette première partie,biographique, permet de répondre à la question : Qui est le Major-general JFC Fuller ? Elle conduit ainsi à découvrir ce que représente le cadre civilisationnel de l’homme, un citoyen qui évolue dans un jardin anglais,un ilien. Le personnage « Fuller » doit ensuite être compris dans ses trois dimensions c’est-à-dire au travers dela carrière d’un soldat de métier, un officier, puis à l’aide du prisme de ses idées politiques et enfin par les écrits d’un penseur prolixe. La seconde partie se concentre sur la matrice intellectuelle du jeune officier. Il s’agit de rechercher la filiation de la pensée et des premiers évènements qui vont profondément influencer sa vie. Sa participation à la seconde guerre des Boërs puis son affectation dans une garnison des Indesbritanniques sont deux jalons fondateurs de cette matrice. Á partir de 1907, le retour du capitaine Fuller enAngleterre marque le début de son goût pour l’écriture. La troisième partie cherche à montrer quelles sont les véritables caractéristiques d’une pensée novatrice. Confronté à l’impasse tactique des années 1915 et 1916, Fuller pose le problème- comment retrouver la mobilité opérative ?- et découvre le tank. Sa réflexion devient le germe des idées nouvelles qui permettent au chef des opérations du Tank Corps de planifier, de préparer puis de conduire le 20 novembre 1917, la bataille de Cambrai.

Each part equally divided into 4 chapters. To start with this study it was basically relevant to depict the manthroughout his different aspects. Thus the aim of the first part is to answer the question: Who is genuinely Major-generalJFC Fuller. One can discover what the British Empire framework as JFC Fuller matrix is. The man needs also to beunderstood as 3 different ways such as a British officer, his political ideas and as a prolix writer.The second part focuseson Fuller intellectual matrix. Here the goals are to find the filiations of his thoughts and his early events thatbenchmarked his life. His commitment during the Boer War and his 3 years assignment in India are 2 importantmilestones to be studied. From 1907 with his come back in England , Fuller start to write his first military essay. His firstwriting and the article Tactics of Penetration are his main stuff as Staff College Student in Camberley that are deeplyrelevant to be analysed.The third part underlines what the very true characteristics are of a new school of thought. Facingthe tactical deadlock in years 1915 and 1916, Fuller fixed the following issue: How to recover the operational mobilityback? Newly posted in the Heavy Machine Gun his discovered the tanks. His thought gradually became the core of newIdeas that allows to plan and conduct the tank attack at Cambrai on November 20th, 1917. All his studies carried on asGSO 1 of the Tank Corps lead Fuller to write the visionary Plan 1919. This paper will became the leading document forthe interwar strategical thinking for Germans and Soviets senior officers. Then The Journal of the Royal United ServiceInstitution awarded Fuller thought and wrting through The Gold Military Prize Essay for year 1919. The fourth partdepicts the never-ending ambition to implement carefully a scientific method to study War. Within the scope of his firstbook, Training Soldiers for War, one can discover the links with the French school pre-1914. An historical analysisbound to the senior officers behaviour give the floor to understand what is Generalship. An other leading subject lead tofollow Fuller evolution towards his own definition of the principles of war. Then. The Fondations of the Science of Warhis the very books to understand what is Fuller’s scientific method to analyse War.Finally, the fifth part helps to stressthe influence and relevancy of Fuller writings. British Empire crisis at the beginning of the 20’s strengthened the militaryOld school of thought that hampered the evolution pf the Army through mechanisation. Nevertheless in the USA, inFrance but mainly in Germany and in Soviet Union, Fuller name means the reception of a new way of thinking. This newthought is not opposed to Clausewitz’ one because Fuller writings are the very continuation of the former. At last, Fullerrelevancy is this of a brilliant military theorist that each officer must read. In order to summarize Fuller works and toextend his writings the author has underlined what is Military Darwinism.