Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, the Chief of the Prussian General Staff during the Franco-Prussian War, defined Auftragstaktik as the actions a subordinate took in the absence of orders that supported the senior commander's intent. The use of mission...
This thesis describes the evolution of United States Indian policy with emphasis on the effects of public opinion during the Grant administration from 1869 to 1876. It begins with a brief description of Indian affairs from 1825 to 1867 followed by...
The War of the Triple Alliance, fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, was a Latin American regional war that spiraled out of control to become one of the bloodiest international...
The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrates that in the twenty-first century the U.S. will become more involved in stability operations as it continues to deny sanctuaries for transnational and non-state threats. The reprioritizing of...
This thesis covers a period of transformation in the Army between the large Civil War Army armed primarily with muzzle-loading percussion arms to an Army numbering in the tens of thousands armed with magazine-fed bolt-action repeating rifles by...
It is a truism that when battle erupts among nations an advantage falls to the side that has best solved the problems of the last war. An increased advantage accrues to the efficient belligerent who can transcend contemporary military precepts...
This monograph is meant to inspire military professionals to approach Prussian military history as a source of concepts with enduring relevance for modern armed forces. Reference point for the examination is the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) and...
Although seemingly as antiquated as the horse cavalry, the lessons from the Apache Wars of 1865 to 1886 are still relevant to the US Army. Indeed, the US Army’s current occupation of Iraq is remarkably similar to the occupation of New Mexico...
Research Problem. The Army does not use leader initiative as a criteria to design units. Yet, Army doctrine requires that leaders display initiative on the decentralized battlefield. The Army may therefore not be able to fight on the decentralized...
A lecture delivered before the class of officers at the U.S. Infantry and Cavalry School, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Dec. 17, 1984. Discusses the history of using railroads to transport troops and supplies, advantages and disadvantages of such...
A reprint of the second edition ( of History of Fort Leavenworth) brought up to date by Walter E. Lorence. The original covered the first 110 years of Fort Leavenworth's history and provided a chronology of events that covered the Westward...
Military history is one of the most effectual means of learning the art of war in time or peace, and the most solid basis of assimilating its great principles. This document regarding the principles of strategy describes to the reader the positive...
This study examines why did the German GHQ fail to bring about a quick decision in the beginning of the war, as was intended by the plan of operations. Also includes a translation of pgs 385-406 from Wissen und Wehr, September 1926,""Betrachtungen...
This study covers three subjects: a comparison of communication systems, the centralization of command by a grouping of armies and the attempted envelopment of the allied left. It also includes a brief of the translation of COL Mantey's...
This study investigates the role of the Army in combating moonshiners in the mountainous South during Reconstruction. The military committed numerous detachments across the South to aid U.S. marshals and revenue agents in eliminating stills. This...
This thesis examines the possibility of Japanese rearmament using a comparative case study approach examining the periods 1870 to 1945 and 1945 to 1976. Major actors in each period are examined in order to understand the role they play and their...
This thesis focuses on the Army's infantry in Kansas during the development of the American frontier during the years from the Civil War until 1880. Infantry companies were the mainstay of the frontier Army during these years of westward expansion...
From its beginning in the American Revolution to its current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States (US) Army has had to deal with tribal societies. In order to succeed in tribal societies it is essential that the US Army understand...
This is volume 5 of 30 volumes concerning the training and development of German General Staff officers. Contents include the origin, tradition, formative forces, methods and performance, German theory of war, weakness of the general staff, and an...