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...
This monograph investigates that portion of operational art known as "sequencing operations". The purpose of sequencing operations is to determine when, where, how, and for what purpose the available military means will be employed within a theater...
This thesis is a historical examination of the eastern front battles in southern Russia during February-March 1943. Field Marshal von Manstein, Commander of the German Army Group South, defeated a Soviet two Front offensive with an exceptional...
This monograph seeks to determine whether the counterattack demands prioritization in the operational defense. It examines the operational defender's force allocation when he confronts a major enemy offensive thrust. The study includes a review of...
This study investigates the criteria an operational commander must examine to decide if he should conduct a voluntary retrograde operation. The Army's current doctrine addresses how to conduct a retrograde but not why. The aim of this study is to...
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 monograph analyzes the Marine Corps' method for campaign design. It seeks to answer the research question: Is the Marine Corps' campaign design process found in FMFM 1-1 adequate? If not, the campaign design process will produce failure; but,...
This study is an analysis of how best to employ operational reserves to counter an enemy operational offensive and developing penetration. The study addresses the question of whether reserves should be employed as they become available to limit and...
This monograph examines the practice of operational art from the perspective of the Kursk Campaign of July-October, 1943. The study begins by presenting the German and Russian campaign plans as examples of two different methods of achieving a...
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 is a historical analysis of the campaign waged by Field Marshal von Manstein on the Russian southern front during the winter 1942-1943. The study begins just after the 6th Army's encirclement in Stalingrad and describes the four...
This monograph considers the utility of constituting both a striking force and a supplemental tactical reserve when conducting a mobile defense. It considers the conclusions of a 1993 Combined Arms Command (CAC) study of the mobile defense which...
This thesis explores the topic of operational maneuver by addressing the following research question: What are the characteristics of successful operational maneuver? The thesis uses a combination of descriptive research and case studies to answer...
This study examines what the key issues are governing the creation and employment of operational reserves by AFCENT in its defense against a no or short notice Warsaw Pact attack. The theoretical notion of operational reserves as discussed by...
The purpose of this monograph is to determine the conditions necessary for a successful counteroffensive. The study seeks to identify these conditions through historical analyses of four of the greatest counteroffensives of modern military history:...
The purpose of this paper is to determine, at the operational level of war, those factors in the defense which support a successful defensive-offensive and in particular to examine those factors relevant to the NATO Center today. The study...
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 study is an historical analysis of the Soviet operational use of tank and mechanized corps, and tank armies, in the deliberate defense at the Battle of Kursk in 1943. It centers on the question of how effective was the Red Army in employing...
This narrative recounts the operational history of XIXth Panzer Corps' advance from 10 to 15 May 1940. Its primary focus is directed at the breakthrough at Sedan. The political and military situations influencing the decision makers of the German...