How have the theories of Carl Von Clausewitz and/or Henri Jomini influenced the birth of combined arms warfare? In your conclusion, suggest the significance to today’s military professional.

Documentation Guide

Endnotes and footnotes serve three important purposes: (1) to give credit to those who contributed to the development of the author’s ideas and argument; (2) to enable the reader to locate the source of material they find particularly interesting, insightful, or controversial; and (3) to add credibility to the author’s argument by showing that an assertion of fact or an idea is based on reliable scholarship. All three purposes are important, but giving credit to sources is the most important function of endnotes and footnotes, and the omission or improper use of endnotes and footnotes is the fastest way to undermine scholarly credibility.

When to use footnotes or endnotes:

1. When quoting directly from a book, article, speech, or online source (DMH encourages very limited use of direct quotations in written assignments. Assigned essays are intended to assess the student’s expressive ability, not for copying the prose of some professional author or speaker.)

2. When paraphrasing from another work

Example:

[Original] “Seeckt’s decisions in 1919 and 1920 played an essential role in creating an organization that could innovate within the realistic parameters of technology and tactical doctrine.”

[Bad paraphrase] “Seeckt’s decisions right after World War I played a key role in creating an organization that could innovate within the realistic parameters of technology and tactical doctrine.” [This is too close to the original, copying the basic structure of the original while changing only a handful of words.]

[Good paraphrase]“More than any other figure, Hans von Seeckt created an organizational environment that encouraged realism in the development of new weapons and doctrine.” [This sentence captures the original idea while putting it in original language and sentence structure.]

For more guidance on paraphrasing see: http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/documentation/paraphrase.html (accessed 23 February 2017)

3. When using a fact or idea that is not common knowledge and that has been taken from a book, article, speech, or online source

Example of common knowledge: The capital of the United States is Washington, DC.

Example of an idea that is not common knowledge: Hans von Seeckt established the intellectual climate that made the development of German mechanized doctrine possible during the interwar period. (General von Seeckt is not a figure well known outside scholarly circles and his exact role in the development of the German panzer force is subject to debate. An endnote or footnote is appropriate here.)

A typical CGSOC paper will have three or four footnotes or endnotes per page and, in many cases, will need one or more footnotes per paragraph. As a general rule, a three- to five-page paper that has only one or two footnotes is probably not adequately documented. When in doubt, use a footnote or endnote to indicate the source of a fact or idea that is important to the argument.

For more examples of correct scholarly documentation, check professional periodicals such as Joint Force Quarterly, Parameters (from the US Army War College), or Military Review.

For guidance on appropriate formats for endnotes, footnotes, and bibliographies, see Annex A.