 In sum, Ardant du Picq was a talented analyst and, had he lived, would have gained a fine reputation as a military historian.His analyses stressed the vital importance, especially in contemporary warfare, of discipline and unit cohesion.Along with Carl von Clausewitz, he was a major influence in France after the defeat of the French army in the Franco-Prussian War, and their attention to psychological and behavioral factors in combat was judged to be supremely important.