Loss of Strength Gradient

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The loss-of-strength gradient (LSG) is a military concept devised by

loss of strength gradient demonstrated graphically that, the farther away the target of aggression, the less strength could be made available. It also showed how this loss of strength could be ameliorated by forward positions.^[1]

Decreasing relevance

Boulding also argued that the loss-of-strength gradient was becoming less relevant in modern warfare due to easier transportation and the rise of strategic

military revolution" allowed for a "substantial diminution in the cost of transportation of organized violence of all kinds, especially of organized armed forces", as well as "an enormous increase in the range of the deadly projectile."^[2]

On the other hand, another scholar contended that the loss-of-strength gradient continues to be relevant, and if there has been a reduction in the concept's significance, it was only temporary, as transportation is not becoming permanently easy, and air power is not permanently replacing the need for forward deployed ground forces.[3]

References

^ Kenneth E. Boulding (1962). Conflict and Defense: A General Theory. New York: Harper. p. 262.
^ Kenneth E. Boulding (1964). The Meaning of the Twentieth Century: The Great Transition. London: George Allen & Unwin. p. 87.
S2CID 153451707
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Decreasing relevance

See also

References