As the U.S. Army embraces AirLand Battle doctrine, the tactical counterattack becomes increasingly significant as a key component of a defensive-offensive. This study examines the theoretical relevance of the counterattack by Carl von Clausewitz,...
Air/Land Battle doctrine stresses the need for Army units to fight successfully out-numbered. This dictum implies the conduct of defensive operations at the beginning of a war. The shift to offensive operations, the counterattack, can be the key to...
This monograph seeks to determine whether the counterattack demands prioritization in the operational defense. It examines the operational defender's force allocation when he confronts a major enemy offensive thrust. The study includes a review of...
One of German General Carl Von Clausewitz's key concepts is culmination. His primary work On War describes culmination for the attacker as the point beyond which he can no longer continue his attack and risks destruction from a counterattack. For...
This monograph examines the role of initiative in AirLand Battle doctrine as contained in the 1986 edition of Field Manual 100-5 Operations. It concludes that although the tenet of initiative is clearly defined as setting the terms of battle by...
The purpose of this paper is to determine, at the operational level of war, those factors in the defense which support a successful defensive-offensive and in particular to examine those factors relevant to the NATO Center today. The study...
On a theoretical level, defensive campaigns are the stronger form of war. As Clausewitz said, “All things being equal defense is the stronger form.” However on the practical side defensive campaigns can only remain the stronger form of war if...
This monograph investigates that portion of operational art known as "sequencing operations". The purpose of sequencing operations is to determine when, where, how, and for what purpose the available military means will be employed within a theater...
When the North Korean 4th Division breached the Pusan Perimeter in the sector of the U.S. 24th Infantry Division on 6 August, it triggered an extensive series of counterattacks that lasted for the next two weeks. Those counterattacks and the...
This study examines current river crossing doctrine to determine its compatibility with current force structure and the AirLand Battle concept of the modern battlefield. Using the historical example of the 80th Infantry Division's assault crossing...
Recent historical events such as the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and Operation Desert Storm indicate that we are entering a new era of geo-political struggle. The world is no longer dominated by a bipolar struggle between the United States and the...
This paper is a case study in the wartime evolution of tactical doctrine. Besides providing a summary of German Infantry tactics of the First World War, this study offers insight into the crucial role of leadership in facilitating doctrinal change...
This monograph examines the mobile defense, past and present, in order to clearly define its concept. Over the years doctrine has traditionally defined the range of possible defenses as existing on a continuum of defensive operations. This...
This monograph examines the definition of the term culmination for the tactical defense as defined by the 1993 edition of FM100-5, OPERATIONS. The term entered US Army doctrine in the 1986 edition of FM 100-5 and was defined as a concept for an...
This study concentrates on the infantry tactical operations of the German Army opposed to the 1st Infantry Division, as depicted in war diaries, combat reports, messages, and other records kept on the battlefield.
The defense of Aachen and the Stolberg Corridor, the LXXXI Corps (situation in mid-September 1944), their counterattack and stalemate, and the defense of the Lammersdorf Corridor and the West Wall are detailed.
From 1 April 1945 to 21 June 1945, the United States Tenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Jr., executed Operation Iceberg--the seizure of Okinawa for use as a staging base for the expected invasion of Japan. The Tenth Army,...
Operations manual covering organization, arms and services, the exercise of command, combat intelligence, reconnaissance and counterintelligence, security, troop movements special operations, airborne operations and lessons of the Pearl Harbor...