This study determines whether or not unconditional surrender leads to a more lasting peace. The answer is paradoxical-yes, unconditional surrender can achieve the desired effects; however, it is no longer a suitable policy in the twenty-first...
After toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein in a few weeks, the decisive operational maneuver victory was not enough to defeat the enemy’s will to fight. Instead of challenging US forces in a conventional military battle, the enemy has now sought...
Sun Tzu asserts that success is not winning every battle fought, but subduing the enemy's will without fighting. Nevertheless, modern military thought fails to distinguish an enemy's will-to-fight from their means to do so, limiting the ways...
There is not a clearly defined framework within the national security dialogue of the United States, which sufficiently details compelling another government to capitulate as an end-state to the use of military force. When deciding to use military...
Office, U.S. Secretary, Office of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
The minutes of the Combined Chiefs' meeting at the major conferences touch on virtually every policy and strategy issue of World War II, from initial troop deployments to counter Axis aggression, through the debates about the location and timing of...
Thesis: President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was correct politically and wrong tactically. Abstract: This paper will determine that President Truman’s decision to drop the bomb was correct politically and incorrect...
Since the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States has faced increasing pressure from other countries to take the lead in resolving regional conflicts. As a result, much debate has occurred on determining when to enter a conflict and not much...
Office, U.S. Secretary of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
The minutes of the Combined Chiefs' meeting at the major conferences touch on virtually every policy and strategy issue of World War II, from initial troop deployments to counter Axis aggression, through the debates about the location and timing of...
The transition is one of the most important, but most overlooked, parts of any campaign. The United States concluded Operation New Dawn in December 2011. The U.S. is also converging towards Operation Enduring Freedom's conclusion in 2014. In both...
Material in this Military Government Special Text is part of the Occupation Forces in Europe Series, compiled by the Historical Division, European Command. It furnishes a factual and complete account of leading military government problems faced...
The author defines and analyzes the war aims of the United States in World Wars I and II. Each major aim is examined separately, an attempt is made to show why it was or was not a desirable aim, and then arrive at conclusions regarding the...
The following monograph is a circumscribed look at the effects of air power on achieving political objectives. It is no way intended to be a commentary on the relative bravery of airmen compared to soldiers and sailors or an attempt to justify...
The 1991 Coalition victory in Desert Storm exemplified the awesome capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces weapons and doctrine. The Army's Air Land Battle doctrine was finally used in combat and proven effective. The short campaign ended with the...
At the operational and strategic levels, military planners use the concepts of centers of gravity and decisive points to assist them in determining the best ways for accomplishing assigned tasks. By identifying the enemy's center of gravity, the...
Office, U.S. Secretary of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
The minutes of the Combined Chiefs' meeting at the major conferences touch on virtually every policy and strategy issue of World War II, from initial troop deployments to counter Axis aggression, through the debates about the location and timing of...
War is the outward expression of competition between complex adaptive political and military systems. In war, competing systems introduce new technological means to gain comparative advantage over other systems and the environment. Greater...
In the old days, heroes received titles like "Count", "Earl" or "Baron" or they got property as an appreciation for their action in combat. However, it was also appropriate to honor them with promotions to a higher rank or with medals. Honoring...
This monograph uses the perspective provided by OPERATION ECLIPSE, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) plan for the occupation of Germany, to examine current doctrine on war termination and post-conflict operations. It...
This monograph examines the use of Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Unconventional Warfare (UW) as the primary means of preventing global insurgency. The paper is broken into four sections. The History section gives a basic background of Special...
This monograph analyzes the interrelationship between new way the US forces will fight their wars in future 13 effects based operations (EBO) with network centered forces (NCO) 13 and the challenges after the major combat operations (MCO) ended,...