Dogmatic commanders tended to be replaced by those able to adapt to field conditions during the latter years of the war. These mistakes were paid for by their soldiers. The lessons of Monroe s Crossroads, relative to the principles of war, require a careful assessment of the movements of the commands, deployment of troops, offensive action, defensive action, unit cohesion, and unit disintegration. Whenever Army forces are called to fight, they fight to win. Army forces in combat seek to impose their will on the enemy.
Victory is the objective, no matter what the mission.
Nothing short of victory is acceptable. The fundamental tenets of Army operations doctrine describe the characteristics of successful operations. In and of themselves they do not guarantee victory, but their absence makes winning difficult and costly to achieve. In the attack, initiative implies never allowing the enemy to recover from the initial shock of the attack. In the defense, initiative implies quickly turning the tables on the attacker.