Field Marshal William 'Bill' Slim ended World War II in command of Fourteenth Army. His understanding of what motivated men in the most trying of times is well publicized. Indeed, he is most well-known for his thoughts on morale and leadership....
Field Marshall Viscount Slim holds a special place in modern military history. He soundly defeated the Imperial Japanese Army in Burma in 1945, retaking the strategically important Burma Road, and safeguarding the Chinese Theater from sure...
Just as many football players have failed to become great coaches, so too have many governmental leaders, leaders of industry and military officers failed to succeed when placed at higher levels of responsibility. Understanding how to solve...
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)...
This monograph asks the question, "How can the command and control system best support the AirLand Battle commander, i.e., what mix of technology and people is appropriate?" By tracing the historical evidence of liaison and liaison officers, and...
This monograph examines the changes in the US training of the Afghan National Army (ANA) from 2001 to present. It looks at historical examples of Security Force Assistance from the late 1700s through the 1990s to establish four training concepts to...
Since the end of the Cold War there has been an increased willingness for countries to engage in coalition operations for peacekeeping, peace enforcement and resolving regional conflict. Coalition operations have increasingly become the primary...
The fundamental root cause behind the military defeat of Poland in 1939 is not the result of fighting the combined armies of Germany and the Soviet Union. Rather, the failure is attributed to Poland's political hubris of pursuing its strategic...
This monograph analyzes the significance of the concept of operational vision. It uses classical theory and modern concepts to define the characteristics of operational vision and then expresses the significance of this concept in terms of the...
On 15 January 1942 the Japanese invaded Burma. Within months, the Japanese occupied the country and forced the Allied forces to conduct a brutal retreat into neighboring India. During the next three and one half years, both forces continued to...
This monograph examines a portion of how the Army fights with a smaller force and fewer supporting resources at the operational level. A possible way to employ scarce resources comes from centralizing critical resources and connecting them through...
This monograph compares the Polish and Russian actions in the Battles of Warsaw and their subsequent impact on the development of operational thought. Although the Battle of Warsaw was overshadowed by events of the events of the two World Wars, the...
On a theoretical level, defensive campaigns are the stronger form of war. As Clausewitz said, “All things being equal defense is the stronger form.” However on the practical side defensive campaigns can only remain the stronger form of war if...
In both historical and contemporary practice of operational art the concept of balance appears to be of significant consideration. We are instructed in FM 100-5, for instance, to "" ... throw the enemy off balance .... "" (p , 27) The histories of...
This monograph examines the feasibility of cross-attaching heavy and light forces for the conduct of offensive desert operations. Cross-attaching heavy and light forces is not a new concept, but current U.S. Army doctrine in this area is shallow....
This paper determines if operational commanders should retain reserves during offensive operations. It examines what Clausewitz, Jomini, and other theorists wrote on the subject. Then it looks at three historical examples, the British during the...
This study analyzes the impact of risk taking and risk avoidance by the opposing operational commanders in the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. General McClellan’s superior force lost this campaign primarily as a result of his...
On March 20, 2003, a United States led coalition invaded Iraq. The character of this conflict can be defined by the West’s ability to conduct precision strikes, to manoeuvre and to overwhelm the enemy’s command system. Emerging U.K. and U.S....
This monograph addresses the critical window of vulnerability for U.S. forces operating in a MOUT environment of the Third World during 2005-2010. Current MOUT doctrine does not adequately address an opponent using asymmetrical tactics with...
There are a variety of military decision-making frameworks that provide useful sequences to problem-solving. However, planning groups rarely engineer creative answers by simply following the checklist steps of frameworks such as the Army’s...