The end of the Cold War brought significant repercussions to the U.S. military. Budget decreases, force structure reductions, and the change in national security strategy from containment to engagement all led to a significant increase in USAF...
Following the Cold War, the United States reduced the size of its military. Much of the remaining force became home-based in the United States. The downsized Air Force had remained continually engaged in combat operations since 1991. In an effort...
The United States entered "the war to end all wars" seventy years ago, but much may still be learned from a study of that vast military and diplomatic experience. Accordingly, the Center of Military History is now bringing back into print a series...
This paper examines the development of the American Army corps structure during World War I. The corps formation developed in World War I by General John J. Pershing was the culmination of 56 years of lessons learned from the Civil War through the...
The analysis of the impact of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in the Great War has fallen into two competing camps. The first believes that the AEF was the war winning factor in coalition warfare. The opposite view holds that the AEF itself...
When the United States declared war on Kaiser Wilhelm's government on April 6, 1917, the U.S. Army underwent a profound growth and transformation to conduct combat operations against the German Imperial Army. Since the U.S. Army grew from 125,000...
The stalemate in World War I created the need for a solution to escape this resource intense form of warfare. Following five unsuccessful German offenses in early 1918, the Germans found themselves in a solely defensive scenario conducting...
This study examines how the American army trained and developed its company-level leaders during the First World War. It highlights the prewar army’s concepts of leadership and explains the limitations of the army’s system for selecting and...
Recent historiography has almost universally denounced the tactical prowess of the American Expeditionary Force. However, a detailed analysis of the performance of the 42nd Division’s 165th Infantry Regiment tells a surprisingly different story....
If history has shown anything, it has underlined both the importance and difficulty of preparing for the unexpected. A trained and ready Army must possess a sound doctrine, competent leaders, and effective, rugged equipment. Just as important to...
This thesis examines a possible leadership tool the U.S. Air Force could create to develop junior noncommissioned officers (NCOs) into more effective supervisors. The end-state of this analysis is to identify the reasons there is a demand for this...
Military operations are complex and chaotic phenomena. Current theoretical models inadequately deal with the increasing complexity and inherent uncertainty of modern warfare. Relying on mechanistic paradigms and reductionist methods of analysis,...
On the opening day of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, the newly-created United States 79th Division was templated to advance nine kilometers through German-controlled terrain. However, the advance through the first four kilometers,...
The entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917 found the U.S. Army and Signal Corps totally unprepared for operations on the Western Front. This research effort proves conclusively that the U.S. Army Signal Corps overcame this...
As war veterans retire from the military, the U.S. Army transitions to a generation of soldiers with no combat experience. This monograph examines this phenomenon of combat inexperience and assesses the tactical implications for the Army. To...
Sellards, Chris A.
Hughes, Forrest K.
Laury, Robert A.
Lee, Gregory S.
Thesis:
The Battle of Meuse-Argonne, Sept. -Nov. 1918, introduced the United States Army to modern combined arms operations.
Discussion:
The Battle of Meuse-Argonne was the only significant campaign the United States Army fought in World War I...
This is a companion piece to the work titled "Boots on the ground: troop density in contingency operations" by the author. The focus of this volume is on the number of troops engaged in combat duties versus the number functioning in noncombat...
This study is a historical comparison and analysis of individual infantry training program development of the United States Army during World War I and World War II. Each period is examined using available historical records and by focusing on...