The purpose of this paper is to employ an historical analysis of a campaign as a case study in order to examine the utility of military theory as a guide to decision making and campaign planning. Specifically, the paper uses the Normandy Campaign...
The full power of America’s combat capability has been restrained in a variety of forms since World War II. Restrictions on the use of military force as a political instrument have characterized each confrontation. The purpose of this paper is to...
This monograph examines operational surprise by answering the question, "What are the essential elements for producing operational surprise?” This issue is important because very little has been written about operational surprise despite the...
The recent interest in the operational level of war in American military circles has awakened a long dormant appreciation of the art of planning and conducting campaigns. Unfortunately, there has not been a thorough study of leadership at this...
This monograph examines and analyzes two encirclement operations from the Russo-German Front of 1944 in order to determine their costs and benefits to the overall campaigns. Military theorists expect successful encirclement operations to produce...
This monograph examines space doctrine and space operations, and how they support operational maneuver. The concept of operational maneuver is developed with a view to enhancement through space support. Potential space support and ground maneuver...
Commonly understood terms are the foundation for a uniform application of any doctrine. FM 100-5 Operations introduces classical military theory into contemporary U.S. Army doctrine. Appendix B, “Key Concepts of Operational Design,” defines the...
This monograph analyzes MacArthur's brilliant landing at Inchon, Korea, on 15 September 1950, in the light of lessons which can be gleaned for students of the operational level of war. CHROMITE had several unique aspects: it was executed against...
This monograph is a campaign study in the practice of operational art, as viewed through the prism of military theory. The following aspects of military theory are among those considered: center of gravity, decisive and objective points, deception,...
This monograph examines the practice of operational art from the perspective of the Kursk Campaign of July-October, 1943. The study begins by presenting the German and Russian campaign plans as examples of two different methods of achieving a...
This study examines the influence of operational sustainment, which includes lines of communication, on the conduct of major operations. After a definition of terms, two historical examples are analyzed, the impact of time and space on the conduct...
This paper challenges the capstone principle of US doctrine for rear battle, economy of force. The paper also seeks to determine if the doctrine accurately reflects the tactics key to successful defense of rear areas in modern war. Case studies...
This monograph examines the Soviet concept for the operational employment of airborne (parachute) forces and the implications of this threat for NATO planners. As background material the study first examines the pre-World War II evolution of Soviet...