Future war concepts envisage dispersed formations roaming deep into enemy territory to achieve a disproportionate effect on their enemy. The effect they seek to achieve is not simply attritional, but the shattering of an enemy's cohesion. Many of...
This monograph determines the utility of the “reconnaissance-pull” concept for division commanders. Although the term, “recon-pull” is becoming widely used by many Army leaders, analysis proves that the concept is rarely applied in...
The potential for urban combat grows more plausible and probable as the world’s population migrates toward cities and adversaries attempt to minimize the technological advantage of the U.S. military. Both emerging doctrine and the development of...
Many Americans associate the fall of Rome with Alaric and the Visigoths and other warrior peoples from the north, but serious students understand that Rome’s decline was slow and from within. Ralph Peters writes, “In its confident years, the...
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,...
External borders of countries and their internal boundaries regulate how people are governed and taxed, their rights and legal authority, and the freedoms they share within their daily lives. People often form relationships based on where they live...
After the Bulgarian Army had successfully defended the Macedonian Front for three years, in September 1918 the Allies achieved a decisive breakthrough of that front at Dobro Pole. The next phase in the plan of the Entente Salonika Army Commander,...
The purpose of this monograph is to justify the change in staff structure for Army brigades in order to mitigate the complexity of the Peace Operations environment. With peace operations increasing in frequency, Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) will...
Throughout history, the process of targeting the enemy and its elements of power has been an essential component of achieving victory in warfare. The process of identifying, prioritizing and affecting targets in accordance with national goals and...
Soviet use of partisans has demonstrated an attitude on irregular warfare quite different than the typical western perspective. Soviet irregular warfare in the Russian Civil War and World War II was an integral part of the totality of armed...
This monograph examines the core principle of US doctrine for rear operations, economy of force. The impetus of the doctrine is the belief that the outcome of war hinges on close operations. This has two implications for rear defense. First, given...
The United States Army is currently at a major crossroads with respect to training. Experiences from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the introduction of Army Field Manual 3-0, Operations, and its equal importance placed on offensive...
In the last ten years, the United States military has dealt with emerging counterinsurgencies in multiple operational theaters. To deal with the complex nature of counterinsurgency, organizational planning and operational processes increasingly...
This paper analyzes the U.S. Army process for recruiting and training soldiers to determine if Army Transformation is properly geared toward manning the Objective Force. The study begins by analyzing the nature of the battlefield of 2020 in order...
The end of the Cold War shifted the United States’ strategic focus from a clearly identified, monolithic national security threat to a less well-defined focus on international engagement. The resultant strategy was an attempt to maintain security...
This monograph analyzes the common cause of the three incidents, Balangiga, No Gun Ri, and My Lai and discusses implications for the U.S. Army to prevent such incidents from recurring. The Balangiga incident took place in the last quarter of 1901,...
One week after the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain hit 85 percent of their targets during the four days of Operation Desert Fox in December 1998, Iraq again challenged the United States by firing surface to air missiles at...
This study examines factors influencing the development of theory and doctrine based on emerging and future technology. It uses the air power theory of Giulio Douhet and the unescorted daylight strategic bombing doctrine of the US Army Air Force to...
By 1 July 1943, the beginning of the period covered by this report, the German and Japanese plans of aggression had been shattered. Our plan of action had been resolved into two great efforts--one in Europe against Germany, the other in the...