Serie: SWEDISH DEFENCE UNIVERSITY THESIS SERIES

In this dissertation I inquire into the conditions that enable cohesive combat performance. I does so by critiquing existing literature on methodological grounds, arguing that the warfighters are studied but unheard, leading to an empirical gap with theoretical implications. To remedy the situation, I employed an ethnographic approach which focalizes warfighters, narratively uncovering the meaning-making of those who fight. I collected empirics in Ukraine, predominantly along the frontlines during the 2023 counter-offensive. The results were then analyzed for patterns of meaning and point towards combat cohesion as an instantiated phenomenon enabled by three conditions. These three conditions are the following. First, motivation to fight stems from the warfighter’s individual sense of Self as a whole and temporally continuously self-narrated person who must act to preserve their sense of Self upon the advent of war. Second, organizational and immediate leaders need to be narrated as worthy enough to follow. Lastly, warfighters need shared fighting skills and a library of narratives that inform the individual warfighter of how to ‘read’ battle as it unfolds and their ability to act in order to affect the outcome. The results hold implications for the study and conduct of military organizations and warfighters.

This thesis investigates effective military tactics in contemporary battle by measuring parameters behind successful and less successful tactical performance. As such, knowledge of tactics gives practitioners, scholars, and scientists in war studies a better understanding of battle results. The purpose of the dissertation is to test existing theories to create a new theory about what influences tactical results in battle and provide an explanation of what leads to tactical victory. Victory can be explained by tactical elements that affect success during battles. Moreover, victorious battles can partly be explained through some of the skills tacticians possess in comparison to those who lose their duels. Furthermore, the dissertation is an approach to critically evaluate tactical competence and identify what is successful tactics and how the theories are consistent with practical experiences. With increased insight into who and how tactics affect the victory or loss of battle, we have the opportunity to improve the development of skills in the field of military and tactics that research, analyse and practice warfare. The dissertation consists of four independent articles. These articles correlate personal capabilities such as level of expertise, attitude, general intelligence, and individual decision-making styles, to levels of victory. Summarizing all four articles leads to three major conclusions: (1) contemporary manoeuvre warfare contains successful measurable elements when similar opponents engage in combat. (2) Tacticians who follow the steps from the ideal model representing “best practices of performing tactics” increase their chances of winning the duel, especially if the opponent does not follow any or fewer steps at the same time. (3) Personal decision-making styles influence tactical results in battle. These conclusions are relevant when drawing up effective tactics as well as tactician profiles in the future.