This monograph examines the role of initiative in AirLand Battle doctrine as contained in the 1986 edition of Field Manual 100-5 Operations. It concludes that although the tenet of initiative is clearly defined as setting the terms of battle by...
This monograph investigates the US Army's preparedness to execute tactical exploitation during conventional symmetrical offensive operations between heavy forces. Exploitation is a critical tactical operation. Successful offensive operations impart...
This study shows that thirteenth century Mongol warfare is an example of emerging operational art. There is significant debate on the origins of operational art. The School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) advances two arguments. Both arguments...
This monograph examines the concept "center of gravity" as applied by coalition forces during Operation Desert Storm. Center of gravity is an integral part of operational art and figures prominently in current U.S. doctrine. It begins by tracing...
Force development trends since the end of the Cold War have dictated a smaller, more lethal force that is capable of rapidly responding to a multitude of contingencies from a CONUS base - force projection. The tremendous growth in information and...
This monograph addresses whether current doctrine adequately prepares armor and mechanized infantry forces to successfully conduct the final assault of a prepared position. Offensive operations culminate with actions on the objective, yet...
This monograph examines the question of what will happen on the Korean peninsula if North Korea collapses without a fight. In 1996 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) appears to be on the verge of disintegration due in large part to...
Clausewitz's model of war postulates that the attack has a positive aim but the defense is the stronger form of war. Armies past and present have generally accepted the superior strength of the defense, but the degree of superiority has varied with...
This monograph examines tactical mobility doctrine for light infantry. Restoring mobility to the battlefield became the foremost theoretical issue in the aftermath of the First World War. Mechanization and the increased lethality of modern...
This monograph focuses on the geographic component of the contemporary intelligence process at the operational level of war. The concept of coup d'oeil, the intellectual capacity of military commanders to evaluate geography and apply that...
This student monograph traces the early writings of B. H. Liddell Hart in order to establish a basis for evaluating his continuing relevance as theorist of war. Particular attention is given to that dimension of war now called the operational...
This monograph answers the question “What must an encircled unit be provided and do in order to successfully hold?” Following the end of the Cold War and the subsequent drawdown, the United States adopted a military strategy of force...
A key theoretical proposition offered by Clausewitz in On War was that the defense was the stronger form of war over the offense. Members of the military, theorists, and historians have intermittently grappled with this proposition and have tended...
This study is an analysis of how to apply the fundamentals of AirLand Battle doctrine to the tactics of company and platoon level maneuver units. The fundamental tenets and imperatives of AirLand Battle doctrine described in FM 100-5, Operations,...
This monograph examines the Iran-Iraq War from an operational perspective. This eight year war represents the Iraqi's only experience with successful operational maneuver. As such, it is likely that lessons learned, particularly in the final...
Research into methods for defeat of an ideology suggest that three areas must be considered when attacking an ideology legitimacy, reeducation, and economy. But the deeper problem of fear must be addressed before they can be addressed. Reduction...
This monograph examines whether the United States' unilateral ban on conventional anti-personnel mines will significantly impair the effectiveness of US Army countermobility operation. Land mines and mine warfare play critical roles in US...
To improve the military knowledge and performance of our Non-Commissioned Officers, NCO’s must have the ability to analytically and methodically analyze history as part of their jobs as leaders. Teaching an NCO to analyze military history is not...
Johnson, Ray B.; Campbell, Scott; Moore, Mark E.; Marrero, Frankie; Parnell-Smith, Sue
Thesis: The Light Infantry Division is a more viable force than the Mechanized Infantry Division on the battlefield due to its deployability, sustainability, firepower, and tactical mobility.