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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
Adapting to change is a perennial challenge for military organizations. One of the ways we can help make ourselves equal to this process is by studying the efforts of other armies as they adapted in the face of political, technical, or other kind...
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...
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 why many commanders continue to have problems writing effective commander's intent statements. Doctrine writers reintroduced "Commander's intent" to United States Army doctrine with the 1982 version of FM 100-5, Operations....
This monograph discusses the usefulness of a theory concerning only a small sector of ground combat. Using obstacles as a point of discussion, it seeks to determine how far down the benefits of theory apply. The paper begins by examining the...
Historically, fog and friction have exacerbated the best laid battle plans of even the most intuitive wartime commanders. To mitigate these ever-present elements, the U.S. Army emphasizes the decentralized execution of AirLand Battle. Paramount to...
This anthology was inspired by its authors and the Soldiers and Marines they lead. Their experiences and reflections appear in this volume, a collection of battle studies that focus on leadership success, and failure, in the great campaigns of the...
This monograph explores the role of sequels in the process of operational design. The complexity and resiliency of today's armies has made the design of campaigns to achieve strategic ends an increasingly difficult undertaking. Campaign planners...
This collection of translations by Harry Bell from the German was undertaken in pursuance of the policy of making available in the English language the materials necessary for the study of the history of modern foreign wars. The focus of this book...
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...