How to Go to War

The hidden art of logistics When it comes to fighting a war, plain old nuts-and bolts logistics beats tactical brilliance and battlefield heroics every time. This series reveals how it’s done. Imagine you’re in charge of an army of 150,000 men. Before you can even get near the fighting, you have to work out how to feed them 4,000 calories a day, find them warm clothes and sturdy boots, move them,their ammunition and their supplies over thousands of kilometres, keep them clean and parasite-free, and give them a place to sleep, store their weapons and go to the toilet. It isn’t the glamorous side of the job, and it’s unlikely to win you any medals, but it’s your ability to meet these demands that will really determine whether or not you win the war.