Since the end of the Cold War the United States Army has found itself conducting more and more operations that fall under the category of "Military Operations Other Than War” (MOOTW). Additionally, our National Security Strategy states that these...
This monograph discusses the planning and execution of the 1944 Ardennes campaign, analyzes the reasons for Allied success and German failure, and based on that analysis examines the validity of certain theoretical concepts relating to the practice...
Using the Joint definition of operational art, and in the context of the historical development of operational art, evaluation criteria are developed to examine an historical naval operation of sufficient extent and scope to have required some...
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 monograph discusses the role of operational art in the Sioux War of 1876, the U.S. Army's largest campaign between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. This campaign, often overlooked in the historical study of operational art,...
This study examines the application of operational art during the conduct of the Spanish-American War. The evolution of the 'American Way of War' appears to follow a direct path from the concluding campaigns of the Civil War, through the two World...
This monograph addresses the contribution made by the campaigns in the Western Desert to the evolution of the operational art by examining theory as reflected in history. It discusses the campaigns in the Western Desert of North Africa from...
This monograph defines blitzkrieg as a way of operational-level systems thinking that evolved over a twenty-year period. In the on-going debate over whether blitzkrieg was operational or tactical in nature, much of the discourse centers either on...
Terrorism is a real threat to the lives of the citizens of the United States and of her allies. Osama bin Laden’s organization sponsored the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole which resulted in seventeen dead U.S. sailors, dozens of injuries,...
The geostrategic and military situation for NATO (and specifically for the FEDERAL REPUBLIC of GERMANY) created in the wake of Germany's reunification and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, has led to revival of the military-strategic principle of...
This monograph is a campaign analysis of the operations on the Italian Front during World War I. The focus of the monograph is to determine if operational art was practiced by the belligerents from the time of Italy's entry into the war in May of...
Historical examples are an expedient way to develop an understanding of operational art theory and concepts. A historical illustration of both operational success and failure is the Korean War. Several aspects of the Korean War remain relevant to...
This monograph is about theory and the use of theory to develop doctrine. In light of the dramatic capabilities envisioned for the “Objective Force,” the organized U.S. military mechanism of physical coercion, and the dynamic operational...
This monograph analyzes the modern doctrinal concept called operational art with regard to its practical utility for operational level commanders and staffs. It uses three campaigns, examined in light of criteria which form the component parts of...
This monograph analyzes the Iran-Iraq War from its inception in September of 1980 through the Iranian Faw Counteroffensive of February 1986. It uses the precepts of operational art to examine the performance of the belligerents in this prolonged...
Future thinking, decisive decision-making, and leadership provide the foundation for the analysis of battle command in theory, doctrine, and history. Classical and modern military theorists make the commander the central point for leadership and...
The purpose of this monograph is to investigate the effects of battle command on a conventional corps fighting in an unconventional environment. Battle command is a new doctrinal term describing how a commander leads his unit into an operation....
Course of action analysis is a critical step in the traditional military decision making process. During this step, planners determine the suitability, feasibility, and acceptability of a possible solution. Common staff procedures for analyzing...
This study examines the concept of the operational center of gravity and whether is has relevance for operations today. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the definition of the operational center of gravity and how this concept can be...
The focus of this monograph is to determine if present joint and service component command and control (C2) doctrine, organization, and support systems ensure adequate interoperability when different services are brought together to fight as part...