This monograph is meant to inspire military professionals to approach Prussian military history as a source of concepts with enduring relevance for modern armed forces. Reference point for the examination is the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) and...
Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, the Chief of the Prussian General Staff during the Franco-Prussian War, defined Auftragstaktik as the actions a subordinate took in the absence of orders that supported the senior commander's intent. The use of mission...
In the aftermath of World War II, many Western armies studied the German Blitzkrieg success. They concluded that the German mission command philosophy was a cornerstone to lead and command troops in fluid and uncertain combat situations. This...
This monograph examines the dynamic relationships between the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Current Army doctrine in FM 100-5, Operations depicts the relationships of the levels with a vertical hierarchy, defining the operational...
The monograph analyzes maneuver and proposes these questions. What is maneuver? What is maneuver, in the Joint Vision (JV) 2010 sense, and what makes it dominant? To answer these questions, the monograph studies three stages in the evolution of...
This is volume 5 of 30 volumes concerning the training and development of German General Staff officers. Contents include the origin, tradition, formative forces, methods and performance, German theory of war, weakness of the general staff, and an...
Throughout the history of warfare, there have been periods when technological developments have dramatically affected the balance between firepower and maneuver on the battlefield. When the new technology enhanced the effectiveness of firepower,...
The campaign conducted by General Helmuth von Moltke into Bohemia against the Austrians was the most brilliant of that era. The Koniggratz campaign is a classic example of the art of war practiced at the operational level. The Chief of the General...
Blitzkrieg has been variously described as strategy, tactics, and even operational art. This ambiguity, coupled with a misinterpretation of this form of offensive combat, can cause false conclusions when studying the history of World War II and...
This thesis is designed to do two things. First, this study examines the evolution of command and control (C2) systems through history. Second, this study examines the Army's current Force XXI digitization initiative. The first part develops the...
This monograph explores the truism that "No plan survives first contact with the enemy". Why do commanders and staff officers continue to plan in great detail when the results of the Combat Training Centers and other events continue to reinforce...
The decentralized command and control system required to execute AirLand Battle Doctrine presents a significant challenge to tactical leaders. Incapable of predicting the critical place on the battlefield or occupying multiple vantage points...
The German General Staff launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 assuming the eastern campaign would last only three months. However, within six months after the initiation of hostilities the Red Army blunted the Wehrmacht’s attack outside the...
This monograph examines risk and tempo as components of warfighting which are inextricably linked and dependent upon a commander who is capable of assessing and accepting risk. The study analyzes three operational maneuvers (Marne, Anzio, Inchon)...
Blumenthal, Leonhard graf von, Addison, Alexander Dupre Gillespie
A review of the journal of Field-Marshall Count Blumenthal 1866 and 1870-71. Daily recorded observations of the Chief of the Staff of the Second Army of Prussia.
This monograph examines the origins of the concept of conveying the intentions of the commander to subordinates from its initial appearance in Army doctrine in 1905 until the present day. While many believe they understand the genesis of this...
This study reviews the problems of the German General Staff during the First World War in an attempt to highlight successes and understand failures. The investigation focuses on the traditional staff functions of intelligence, operations, logistics...
Terms such as "operational art" and "operational level" are prevalent in US military space doctrine. However, no research exists that analyzes the applicability of operational art in the space domain. The use of operational terms in US military...
This study examines why did the German GHQ fail to bring about a quick decision in the beginning of the war, as was intended by the plan of operations. Also includes a translation of pgs 385-406 from Wissen und Wehr, September 1926,""Betrachtungen...