How did Henry E. Eccles describe the relationship between logistics and a nation’s economy?

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logistics Orange and Alexandria Railroad wrecked by retreating Confederates, Manassas, Virginia, photograph by George N. Barnard, March 1862.

In his 1959 work Logistics in the National Defense, Rear Admiral Henry E. Eccles described logistics as a vital, continuous bridge that connects military operations to the national economy. He conceptualized logistics as both the military element within a nation’s economy and the economic element within its military operations, serving as a chain of interdependent activities that link combat forces to their roots in the civilian economy.1

Eccles further expanded the traditional military trinity of strategy, tactics, and logistics to include intelligence and communications. A key aspect of his theory was the observation of the logistic "snowball," which refers to the tendency for logistic costs to rise as operations become more complex.1