Land battles, generals, and armies: Individual and situational determinants of victory and casualties.

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Abstract
Military success on the battlefield was hypothesized to be a function of both individual and situational factors. Potential individual determinants included age (linear and curvilinear), experience (battles and years), competence (winning streaks and cumulative victories), and willingness to take the offensive. Possible situational determinants included army size, home defense, divided command, and soldier heterogeneity. Military success was gauged according to either a tactical victory or a battle casualty edge (or superior "kill ratio"). A discriminant analysis of 326 land battles indicated that the victor could be identified 71% of the time, given the predictors of years of experience, winning streaks, willingness to take the offensive, and divided command. A regression analysis of 205 land battles found that 18% of the variance in battle casualty edge could be explained if cumulative victory, army size, divided command, and date were known. Individual determinants were more important for predicting victory, whereas situational determinants were more crucial for predicting an edge in battle casualties. No Individual × Situation interaction effects were found. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

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