U.S. Army Field Manual 100-5, Operations (FM 100-5), the keystone warfighting manual, lists the culminating point as one of the three key concepts of operational design. It also states that the concept is applicable at the strategic, operational...
This monograph searches for an answer to the question: "What is the relationship between strategies and operational culminating points?" It begins by examining the theoretical position of Hans Delbruck and his dual strategies of annihilation and...
The concept of the culminating point has great utility for the tactical commander. It is one of three concepts fundamental to the design and execution of major operations. Our doctrine addresses the culminating point in operational terms but its...
This monograph discusses ways in which airpower can be most effectively applied to hasten or delay the offensive culminating point. Airpower can be used to strengthen friendly combat power, delaying the arrival of the culminating point, or used to...
This study attempts to determine if the Clausewitzian concept of the culminating point is useful in planning offensive operations at the operational level of war. The study postulates that the Army's AirLand battle doctrine includes theoretical...
This study attempts to determine whether the theoretical concept of the culminating point is relevant today to planning and conducting campaigns or major operations. The study begins with an examination of the culminating point during the conduct...
This monograph is a theoretical and historical discussion of the culminating point. Initially, the author discusses the theoretical contributions that Clausewitz, Jomini, and Tukhachevskiy have had on the subject. Departing from this theoretical...
This monograph examines the question can modern metaphors, based on late twentieth century nonlinear scientific thought, better explain concepts described by Clausewitz, using early nineteenth century linear scientific thought. Clausewitz...
This monograph examines the usefulness of defensive culmination to the operational level planner. A working definition of the theoretical concept is advanced and then examined against the backdrops of historical campaigns, current doctrine, and...
This study tests the hypothesis that, at the operational level, there are essential elements of operational transition that the commander may use as a guide to determine the actions that must be taken to pursue the positive aim, the...
The purpose of this monograph is to identify the airborne force role in operational maneuver. Specifically, the monograph attempts to define how airborne forces can contribute to the establishment of a theater of operations or other elements of...
This study analyzes three World War II operational mechanized forces in the offense to determine if there are common recurring characteristics or traits exhibited by those forces that precede and foretell a unit is approaching its culminating...
This is a theoretical paper on campaign planning. The paper examines the processes and principles involved in campaign plan formulation and modification within the context of all three levels of war. A series of theoretical models are used to...
This monograph examines the definition of the term culmination for the tactical defense as defined by the 1993 edition of FM100-5, OPERATIONS. The term entered US Army doctrine in the 1986 edition of FM 100-5 and was defined as a concept for an...
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...
The purpose of this monograph is to recommend the retention, modification, or abandonment of certain concepts of the current elements of operational design based on their continued validity within the contemporary operational environment. Military...
This monograph examines Carl von Clausewitz's theoretical concept of the defensive culminating point and the ability of Army doctrine and its analysis system--Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield--to determine an enemy's courses of action...
This monograph examines the U.S. military operations in Beirut, Lebanon 1982-1983 and Somalia 1993 in the context of Clausewitz's theory of a culminating point of victory. The dynamics of peace operations present a unique challenge to military...
The Army divides war into three levels -- strategy, operational art, and tactics. Each level involves different types of activities, but opinions vary on how to differentiate among them. The debate continues even though seven years have passed...
This monograph addresses the dynamics of the culminating point and its impact on the modern battlefield. It does so by first establishing a theoretical framework for operational culmination and then examining the theory as reflected in recent...