In 1993, the Bottom-Up Review (BUR) concluded that the United States could fight and win in two nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts (MRCs). Nearly simultaneous required that the two MRCs be spaced at least 42 days apart to allow adequate...
This monograph explores the origins of the principle of mass and its components: numerical strength, combat power and the decisive point. It concludes that the Napoleonic legacy of the principle of mass has not kept pace with modern battlefield...
The 1993 version of FN4 100-5, Operations, formally added the theoretical term of decisive points to our professional warfighting lexicon without providing a useful methodology for their identification. This monograph undertakes a study of decisive...
This study is a comparative analysis aimed at determining whether or not the U.S. Army's heavy corps and armor/mechanized infantry divisions actually possess the superior agility necessary to transform the doctrinal tenet of AirLand Battle into a...
During the past several decades, numerous authors have written on the subject of an American way of war. These include works by Russell Weigley, Max Boot, and Brian Linn. The apparent differences between these works have stimulated debate among...
This study addresses how operational and strategic commanders best implement strategies to accomplish their specific goals by analyzing the three distinct tasks that strategic commanders must accomplish in order to successfully build the support...
With information technologies increasingly shaping the environment in which U.S. military forces operate, Joint Vision 2020 and other recent DoD literature highlight the fundamental importance of achieving "decision superiority "--essentially, ...
Usually in history it seems that the technologically advanced society has a greater advantage in warfare than more primitive societies. For most battles this seems to hold true; however, there are exceptions to this rule. This document examines...
The current revolution in military affairs includes a confluence of changes that are forcing the US military to reexamine its methods of warfare. Significant advancements in informational technologies and precision weapons are providing an...
This monograph examines the relationship between physical forces prevalent on the modern battlefield and the causes inherent to US armored battalion failure since World War II. Given the complexity of today's battlefield in terms of technology,...
Although the end of World War II enabled devastated countries to rebuild and enjoy a time of peace, another bloody war had just started in Lithuania. Lithuanian Freedom Fighters (LFF) fought for almost a decade (1944-1953) against the Soviets who...
This monograph examines how the U.S. Army can restructure the decision making process to release initiative on the battlefield. Army tactical units execute missions on a chaotic, uncertain, and disorderly battlefield. Leaders' actions are guided by...
This monograph explores the US Army's recently announced goal of quick decisive victory. This concept has emerged in the wake of US victories in Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM and reflects one of the National Military Strategy's principles...
The Army is in the midst of formalizing its operating concept for the land component of AirLand Operations (ALO). This concept stresses the avoidance of attritional, mass on mass, linear warfare. ALO seeks quick and decisive victory with minimal...
This monograph investigates the results of task force level maneuver exercises conducted with equipment projected for Force XXI fielding. Specifically, the monograph seeks to answer the question of whether digital equipment improves the ability of...
The 1986 Joint Staff Officer's Guide, AFCS Pub 1, identifies seven military mission options available to national leaders as possible solutions to deal with international problems. Of these seven options, two specifically involve the use of a naval...
This monograph seeks to determine if Americans have consistently favored one form of operational art over another. If we (the U.S. military) do not recognize that a tendency towards one or the other forms of operational art exists, we may...
This paper examines the concept of interior lines of operations at the operational level of war. Initially, the theoretical concepts are examined from the works of Baron von Jomini, Carl von Clausewitz and Mao Tsetung. From these theorists the...
The last several years have brought stunning changes in the world's economic, political, and social fabric. The demise of the Warsaw Pact, reduced Soviet threat, and easing of Cold War tensions have changed the strategic environment. The post-Cold...