Logistics – Meaning, Definitions, General Aspects

The word logistics as explained by Baron Antoine Henri Jomini (Jomini, 1838, p. 252) is derived from the title ‘major general’ or merchal des logis, an officer in eighteenth century France whose duty it was to lodge and camp the troops, to give directions to the marches of columns and to locate them on the ground. In an earlier period, logistics was limited only to details of marches and camps.

In the Prussian army, the term Quartermaster was given to the person in charge of encampments and troop quarters (logis). These functionaries became equivalent of chiefs of staff to the commanders of the day (Sarin, 2000, p. 678).

Logistics belongs to an area of non-combatant activity and is the practical art of moving armies. The archaic meaning of logistics is the science of computation. In Greek, logistikos means ‘skilled in calculating’; it is still used in mathematics as ‘logic’ or ‘logarithmic’– but seems unrelated to modern military application except in estimating requirements and planning in advance.

The objective of any and all logistics effort is to create support for combat forces. Functional and technical efficiency should not dominate what are called the ‘command perspectives’, although in the majority of instances, a functionally effective system will help increase combat effectiveness.