3rd PLT, A o 3-11 5-2 Study Guide
I. The terms you see below for each lesson will appear in that lesson and also form the
list from which the test questions are drawn. The assigned readings contain the info for
these terms. DO NOT use outside sources like Wikipedia, and AVOID candidatebuilt gouge sheets from previous classes, on-line sources, hearsay, HHC rumors,
etc.
Lesson 1
Art of War (war definitions, 'friction,' Clusewitz’s Trinity, center-of-gravity, combined
arms)
War
● A conflict between organized groups with unknown resolve, each seeking to
impose its will on the other.
Friction
● Intangible force that makes apparently easy task difficult
Trinity per Von Clausewitz
● Rational aims, policy vs. emotions, hatreds vs. chance, combat
Center of Gravity (CG)
● Hub of all power and movement, on which everything depends. The one thing
that will solve all of your problems or will ruin your chances of success.
Combined Arms
● Synchronized, simultaneous application of the elements of combat power to
achieve an effect greater than if each element of combat power was used
independently.
Italicized Terms on Pp. 7-13 of AMH Vol. I (Levels of War, Principles of War,
Maneuvers, LOCs)
Levels of War
● Strategic
○ All efforts to meet war aim
● Operational
○ In-theater forces (the campaign)
● Tactical
○ Field units (the battle)
Principles of War
● Mass
● Objective
● Surprise
● Simplicity
● Maneuver
● Security
● Unity of command
● Offensive
● Economy of force
● Restraint
● Perseverance
● Legitimacy
Maneuvers
● Penetration
○ Pierce directly through enemy lines
● Envelopment
○ Leave a small force for direct attack and use main force to flank enemy
● Turning movement
○ Use whole force to flank enemy
Line of communication (LOC)
● The supply line for transit, supplies, reinforcements, and communication
Linear Tactics (METT-TC/OAKOC)
● Smoothbore, flintlock muskets
● Close range, 2~3 ranks, tight, regimental formations on open terrain
Battle of Bunker Hill (METT-TC & Principles)
Patriots
● Rock wall → cover & concealment
● Open slope → observation & field of fire
British
● Frontal assault → no maneuver
● Maintained offensive
1776 New York City Campaign (CG, Levels of War)
Center of Gravity
● For Washington, his CG was saving his Continental Army
Levels of War
● Tactical loss for Washington
1776 Trenton / 1777 Princeton (Levels of War, leadership)
'Interior/Exterior Lines'
Levels of War
● Strategic victories in both battles for Washington
Leadership
● Washington rallies his troops and sustains the attack while undergoing combat
crisis
● This showcases his short-term leadership
1777 Saratoga Campaign (lines, command & control)
Lines
● Failed exterior lines operation
○ Exterior lines involve:
■ Converging on enemy from outside bases
■ Creating a multi-axis threat
■ Heavy coordination required
■ Long lines between friendly forces so harder to shift them
Command & Control
● Unity of command is not present
● Poor control
● Operation was too complex to execute properly
1777 Philadelphia Campaign (Brandywine / Germantown)
Brandywine
● Howe flanks Washington’s army and overwhelms them7u
● Washington decides to save his army and retreats
● Howe takes and holds Philly as a result
Germantown
● Failure because bad execution and fratricide
● Overambitious multi-axis envelopment
● Washington’s army lacked training and the weather caused bad visibility
1777-1778 Valley Forge (training) / 1778 Battle of Monmouth (leadership, training)
Valley Forge Training
● Von Steuben supervises and operated training for Washington’s regulars
● Teaches Americanized version of European drill/linear tactics and use of
bayonets
● Teaches NCOs and junior Officers about leadership and management of
personnel
Monmouth Leadership and Training
● Washington’s short term leadership and Von Steuben’s training pay off for a
conventional warfare victory
Waxhaws (Restraint & Legitimacy)
Restraint
● Not practiced by the British. Tarleton lost control over his troops, who ended up
killing surrendering Patriot soldiers
Legitimacy
● Not present for the British because the perception was that they killed nonresisting soldiers in cold blood.
● This gave a reason for people to desert the British for the Patriots.
1780 Battle of Camden (US problems, impact)
US Problems
● Misplaced militia
○ Out of state militia placed in center and left of attack
○ Not trained in conventional warfare and prone to running away
● Reckless advance
● Troops haven’t eaten beforehand
Result and Impact
● Militia are easily overrun by British attack
● Patriot morale is not good in the South
Arnold’s Actions in 1780
Arnold’s Actions
● The fine American general betrays the Patriots and tries to give up West Point to
the British
● He does so because he feels slighted and unrewarded by Congress regarding
his crucial role in winning the Saratoga Campaign
● His treason and movement to the British side is a gut punch to US morale
Insurgency / COIN / Guerilla Warfare / ’Hybrid’ War
- Insurgency – organized use of subversion and violence to challenge political
control of a region.
- Guerilla Warfare – Irregular warfare – military or paramilitary unconventional
combat operations conducted against an enemy.
- Hybrid war – is the mix of conventional and unconventional warfare styles.
- Counter Insurgency (COIN) – comprehensive civil and military efforts against
insurgency
Lesson 2
British Southern COIN (problems) /Southern Guerilla War (Marion, Sumter)
British Southern COIN (problems)
- Southern Campaign: The British expected strong loyalist support (Tories) and
hoped to win the local populace’s support
- The battle of Waxhaws: Despite the tactical win of the British, General Tarleton
did not practice restraint and violated legitimacy by sponsoring tyrant actions
against the population.
Souther Guerrilla War (Marion, Sumter)
- Marion & Sumter: influential guerilla leaders with extensive support from the
populace. The populace was providing resources and intel to these Guerrilla
leaders against the British.
Battle of Kings Mountain (OAKOC, lines)
The Patriots' use of external lines, combined with observation, fields of fire, cover and
concealment; provided a victory over the British and Tories forces, which failed to use
internal lines effectively.
1781 Battle of Cowpens (Principles, METT-TC & OAKOC)
General Morgan (Patriot) understood the Tarleton and employed the terrain to conceal
most of his force behind a hill. The observable force deceived the British and motivated
an advance to the desired Patriots position to execute a double envelopment.
Battle of Guilford Courthouse (Principles, METT-TC & OAKOC)
General Grenne wrote the terms of the battle by delaying the confrontation causing
British General Cornwallis to exhaust the force and critical supplies. General Grenne’s
misuse of the principles of maneuver and offensive provided the British with a tactical
win; however, he managed to break down linear adversary tactics through the
appropriate use of obstacles causing significant casualties to British forces.
1781 Yorktown Campaign (joint ops)
Gen. Washington moved his army to block the British by land as the French Navy
stopped the resupply and evacuation of the British forces in Yorktown.
Newburgh Affair (leadership, precedent)
Gen. Washington’s short term leadership ensured the control of the United States
affairs to civilians and the military subordinate to Congress.
US Constitution and the Military
- The simple majority develops the enactment of laws (both houses).
- The President can not declare war; however, he can commit forces to combat
without congressional approval.
- The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the regular Army and Militias under
federal orders.
- Congress controls by legislation forts, magazines, arsenal, dock-yards.
- Congress has the power to raise and support armies by appropriations no
greater than 2 years.
- Congress makes rules for government and regulations of land and naval forces.
- Congress is responsible for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia and
governing employment and training.
- States have the power to appoint Officers.
1813 Detroit Front: Battle of Lake Erie / Battle of the Thames
- Battle of lake Erie: The win against the British caused retrogression of forces and
removed a critical LOC from Canada to the US. The US Army was able to push
to invade Canada.
- Battle of the Thames: Battle fought in Canada by Gen. Harrison surprised (was a
mounted attack) and sustained the offense against British forces.
Jackson's Creek War Campaign (Offensive & issues, HSB)
- Gen. Jackson had issues with troops relations and outran his logistics.
- The Horseshoe Bend Battle: The red sticks did not used their internal lines well
during the battle, resulting in Jackson’s victory and position in the South
1814 Niagara Front (training, troops, overall results)
The US attempted to invade Canada again through Niagara.
- Gen Jackson trained his Regular troops well in linear tactics.
Battle of Lake Champlain (the naval battle; LOCs)
-
The navy acquired a decisive victory removing the only line of communication to
the US, cutting any advance of British forces.
1815 Battle of New Orleans (OAKOC)
- Gen. Jackson correctly used obstacles ( Rodriguez canal, Mississippi river, and
swamp) to funnel the British forces.
Second Seminole War Challenges (Lake Okeechobee) / Solutions
- The U.S. aimed to relocate the Indians to Oklahoma. The terrain, techniques,
poor maps, operational pauses during summer, logistics, and duration of the
conflict represented significant challenges.
- The Battle of Lake Okeechobee: The United States won tactically but did not
remove the will to fight from the Seminole tribe. Because of the result, the U.S.
started to remove sources of food and crops to generate the necessity of
movement by starvation.
Lesson 3
California Theater (Civ Affairs-COIN)
- The failure of the US Civil Affairs engagements indirectly promoted rebellion.
- Initial actions of Taylor's forces caused discontent among locals, causing
significant challenges to creating and sustaining secured LOCs. Taylor
implemented changes in regulations to impose discipline among his ranks.
Taylor: Monterrey (OAKOC, result) / Buena Vista (OAKOC, result) / COIN
Gen. Taylor initially overlooked the importance of preparation, planning, logistics, and
battle supplies. Nevertheless, his exceptional use of avenues of approach and
maneuver forced the Mexican army to surrender.
Mexico City Campaign (Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Chapultepec; principles;
COIN) Scott & Taylor Comparison
- The principles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Chapultepec were
maneuver, offensive, and surprise.
- General Scot COIN: implemented the principles of restraint and legitimacy
contributed to the security of American forces and the Mexican populace.
- Taylor started bad with the Mexican populace while Scott made it part of his plan
to treat the Mexican populace well.
Hardee’s Tactics
-
-
Were an adjustment from the traditional linear tactics. Commanders did not
abandon linear tactics because of the requirements to maintain command and
control (communication) with the elements despite high lethality and life loss.
Implemented smaller troops, tighter formations, and an increase in speed.
Civil War Commo (tech, Security)
- Telegraph expedited the speed of communications; however, it required trained
personnel and extensive infrastructure that limited the applicability to all levels of
war.
- Flags continued to be part of communications on the battlefield (exposed to
enemy forces).
‘Anaconda Plan’
- The long-term Union strategy was to blockade the South by sea and the
Mississippi River.
‘Offensive-Defensive’
- Strong offensive characterizes military action in the presence of opportunity; “the
best defensive is a great offensive”.
Civil War Combined-Arms Challenges
- Poor leadership: Gen. McClellan was a hesitant and timid commander
- No communication
- Organization, placement of troops
- Techniques
- Terrain
Forts Henry and Donelson (impact-levels of war)
Represented a significant military success to Gen. Grant in the effort to establish an
effective LOC on the Tennessee River.
1862 Battle of Shiloh (factors)
General Bragg (South) moves to Shiloh to stop Grant’s advances. The initial attack
surprised the Union commander and exposed failures in security. Nevertheless,
the South’s inability to command and control their combined arms failed to
coordinate artillery and infantry rebel advances.
Bragg’s 1862 Kentucky Campaign (Offensive-Defensive, Perryville, Bragg)
General Bragg obtained a tactical victory for the South, but his extended lines of
communication were challenging to maintain and secure. Thus, General Bragg returned
to the South. The Union army was superior in numbers but did not react accordingly
because of the Acoustic Shadow (sound waves fail to propagate due to topographical
obstructions or disruption of the waves).
1862-1863 Battle of Stones River (Rosecrans, Bragg)
General Bragg achieved surprise but stalled initiative by attacking the same objective,
causing frustration and retreating.
Bragg’s Command Climate
Subordinates characterized General Bragg as toxic leadership.
Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign (lines)
The Union operation faced a lack of “unity of command” in the effort to disrupt General
Jackson in the Shenandoah valley. General Jackson exercised excellent mobility during
this campaign by using internal lines, timing, and control.
Seven Days Battles (Offensive, Malvern Hill)
- General McClellan’s indecisive leadership offered General Lee an opportunity to
attack the Union.
- The Battle of Malvern Hill: General Lee failed to execute a penetration attack and
inflicted significant casualties on his army.
Antietam Campaign & Battle (aims, conduct, result / impact: African-American Soldiers)
- Gen. Lee wants to invade Maryland so they join the South
- CG: Morale
- McClellan uses Mass poorly.
- Lee uses interior lines well and counterattacks every time.
- Result: bloody battle
- Union obtained a strategic victory
- POLITICS and WAR: The emancipation proclamation allowed african-american
soldiers
- Union African-American Soldiers Served solely in segregated units Disproved the
notion that they are unable to fight
Lesson 4
Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)
1863 Vicksburg Campaign (Joint Ops-MDO, Principles)
- The Battle of Vicksburg: key terrain in the Mississippi River.
- Considered a Multi Domain Operation (MDO), General Grant integrated the U.S.
Navy, U.S. Army engineers, cavalry, and infantry to achieve victory.
1863 Chancellorsville Campaign and Battle (Principles, lines, fratricide)
- General Lee’s employment of interior lines presented a superior use of the
principles of maneuver, offensive, surprise, mass, and economy of force,
providing decisive victory over General Hooker’s army (Union). General Jackson
was injured by friendly fire (fratricide).
1863 Gettysburg Campaign & Battle (aims, Principles, lines, flag commo)
- This was General Lee’s raid on Pennsylvania. The Union army properly utilized
their interior lines to support fields of fire and communication, sending
reinforcement to attacked positions forcing General Lee to misuse his exterior
lines, violating the principle of mass and surprise.
Chickamauga (Principles, command and control, Bragg)
- Mass: confederates concentrate mass on attack to the north, causing the Union
to reinforce, stretching out their other lines.
- Surprise: Longstreet attack to the South exploits a break in the Union line while
Union is occupied in the North part of the line.
- Simplicity: confederates attack sequentially along the whole front
- Offensive: confederates control the offensive action
- Perseverance: Bragg violates perseverance, choosing to regroup rather than
exploit Union retreat
- Command and control: poor on both sides. Confederates use a runner to
distribute orders; one commander never receives order and delays attack. Union
also uses runners and miscommunication leads to a gap in the Union line.
- Bragg: treats subordinates roughly. One subordinate says he is not a man for not
pursuing the union.
1864 Overland Campaign (+LOCs, Wilderness, Offensive)
- Gen. Grant is defeated by Gen Lee but Gen. Grant does not retreat back to DC.
Gen. Grant continued his offensive by moving southwest back to a river as well as
the railroads leading there as an attempt to maintain pressure on Lee. The soldiers
were happy.
- “Lee’s army will be your objective point” - Abraham Lincoln or Einstein. One of
those
Petersburg-Crater (combined arms, command)
- Known as the Battle of the Crater
-
Union commanders changed the unit of action because of political pressure
resulting in poor command and control. The operation achieved surprise but
delayed follow-on attack allowed the South to reorganize their troops.
1864 Shenandoah Campaigns: Early (O-D) / Sheridan (aims, CG, comb. arms)
- Attack the South’s morale by destroying sources of food and rations. A direct
attack on the Confederacy morale (Center of Gravity).
1864 Atlanta Campaign (Maneuver, Hood, impact)
- General Sheman’s utilization of the principles of offensive and maneuver (turning
movement attacks) against General Johnson provided a strategic victory as the
Union took possession of Atlanta. This event influenced the reelection of
Abraham Lincon.
Sherman’s ‘March to the Sea’ (aim, CG)
- The aim of the union was to prove the Confederate army could not stop them
from marching to the sea.
- Lower the morale of the confederate populace in the South
- General Sherman’s mission: take control and destroy everything that the South
army could use to continue the fight.
Civil War Guerilla War (effectiveness issues & factors)
- Rebel guerillas were not very effective and did not decisively cut Union LOCs.
One of the main reasons were that they did not possesed much support local
from Union sympathizers
Civil War Medicine (organizations, hygiene)
- Infections and fevers were a great contributor to casualties because of hygiene
measurements and organization. Intents to solve the challenges were present
but not sufficient.
Reconstruction (Klan & other resistance)
- The KKK was threatening security and U.S. law. It is not a large-scale organized
effort that constantly violates the principle of legitimacy.
Posse Comitatus Act / 1894 RR Strike
- Determine that the Federal Army is not allowed to enforce local law except for
insurrection or rebellion (example, the 1894 Railroad strike of Chicago).
Sioux War (Little Big Horn [LBH], post-LBH ops) / Wounded Knee
Modoc War / Ute War
- The Battle of Little Bighorn.
- All U.S. soldiers who followed Custer into the battle were killed; Custer
also died. Poor analysis of enemy and terrain.
- Federal forces attacked during winter, destroying food storage and
affecting the Indian will to fight.
- Wounded Knee: The U.S. Army demonstrated a lack of restraint as troops fired
on unarmed Indians.
- Modoc War: Poor analysis and execution of civil affairs caused Modocs to
reoccupy California territories. The American public support shifted away from
Indians after the killing of the Federal negotiator. The conflict was short and
lasted for a few months.
- Ute War: Despite the initial failure of civil affairs by enforcing change on the
traditional Indian way of life. This short-term conflict ended thanks to skillful
negotiations and adjustments in civil engagements.
South Cuba Theater Challenges (combined arms & joint ops / diseases)
- The army’s pressure on Santiago contributed to the decisive naval victory.
Nevertheless, there was a poor execution of combined arms, tactics, new
technology (balloons), and delivery of logistical support (Horses).
- Diseases during the war were present in the U.S training camps. Cholera and
yellow fever are known as camp fevers.
Lesson 5
Philippine War (COIN-Civ Affairs-Terms / 1900 Election-Surge / Balangiga /
Smith and Bell)
● COIN – this was a Guerilla style war. The US ends up winning. Good civil affairs,
US builds roads and helps populace
● 1900 Election – McKinley sends 70k troops to Philippines to show progress and
gets re elected
● Balangiga – C Co. undertakes a surprise attack by the locals and get decimated.
Poor civil affairs on US is contributes to this battle’s loss
● Smith was post Balangiga, he wanted to punish the Balangiga rebels but took it
too far (Killed males 10 years and up). His actions ultimately resulted in a court
martial and force retirement.
● Bell – South Luzon Commander, was harsh but fair with the friendly filipinos. He
separated the insurgents from the friendlies and killed any filipinos in the kill
zone. Was awarded a medal for his actions.
○ McKinley sends 70k troops to the philipines to end op quickly/show
progress to get re elected
○ What the US offered filipinos: Rebels muster for amnesty, Aggressive
patrolling, enlisting filipino scouts
○ Combined COIN and conventional. Extra soldiers did not help solve COIN
issues.
‘Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies’ (problems with that claim)
● Matching the shells with the mission, and solving the indirect fire problem.
○ Armies did not stock enough shells for a long war/shortages
○ Allies initially had mostly direct fire cannons and not enough IDF
Howitzers (inexperience with howitzers)
○ Lack of radios at lower commands affected communication/coordination.
Artillery shelling normally meant that an infantry advancer would follow.
Thus loss of surprise and enemy had time to prepare.
WW1 Infantry Tactical Evolution (Hutier Tactics)
● Still linear but not shoulder to shoulder. Loose lines, one line provides fire
support for the other.
● Modern weapons demanded that infantry units be smaller and more agile.
Command decisions must be delegated further down the chain.
○ Trench raids
○ Light MG
○ Mortars
○ Flamethrowers
Mission Command
● Requires cohesion and training to support initiative and trust
● Competence, mutual trust, shared understanding, commander’s intent, mission
orders, disciplined initiative, and risk acceptance
Early-1900s Defense Acts What are some of the reforms specifically for the NG?
● For the militia
○ Greater federal control/increased and enforced standard
○ Longer service/overseas service
○ Militia Bureau in the War Department
○ More and better training
○ Confirms militia status as the nations primary reserve force (at the
president’s call)
○ Medical reserve Corps, ROTC system for colleges
Cuban Civil Ops (Tropical Disease Issues)
● Mostly peaceful (MOOTW) military ops other than war
● Medical Corps Contribution
Pershing's Command Style (+Amalgamation / Meuse-Argonne command)
● Pershing was considerate of Civil affairs
● Amalgamation: US soldiers going to fight as augmentation to British and French
units
○ French and British amalgamation pressure led to assertions that Pershing
was unfit
○ Pershing resisted Amalgamtion. He had a dynamic but firm leadership
○ Pershings actions often aim to show US commanders can exercise battle
command without Allied help
● Meuse-Argonne command
○ Pershing was flexible. Open to sensible suggestions. Restructured his
army in the middle of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He controlled the
strategic/operational aspect while letting capable subordinates lead armies
in battle. Fired himself at one point and let Hunter-Liggett run meuseargonne ops.
○ More offense initiative for momentum
Army Training and Tactics in WW1 (+OTS)
●
●
●
●
Army training for officers (3 months)
Lack of experience by cadre
Focus on drill and civil war linear tactics
Disconnect between CONUS and theater training
Meuse-Argonne (training-combined arms/disease)
● Bad training and tactics:
○ Commanders failed to work with neighboring units and exploit
opportunities
○ Combined arms – artillery was not coordinated with infantry and often
failed
○ Disease:
■ Pandemic 1 (camp fever)
■ Army used systematic ways (team and programs) for better
hygiene discipline to reduce deaths
■ However, the Pandemic 2 (Spanish Flu) then came and killed an
estimated 20 million world wide
Blitzkrieg Concept
● Germany’s combined arms, maneuver doctrine for short offensive campaigns
against neighboring countries. (Lightning war).
● Refined their combined-arms, maneuver doctrine and operational art, and
displayed excellent tactical leadership
○ Kesselschlacht: breakthrough/exploitation. Slice through the weak points
like Hutier tactics.
○ Auftragstaktik: use initiative and aggressive leadership at all levels
○ Combine arms: Storm troop concept but on a larger scale, operational
combined arms with airplanes and tanks.
● If one addresses the connections between the Germans’ WW1 Hutier Tactics
and WW2 Blitzkrieg, or Cambrai and Blitzkrieg, one must note that leadership,
maneuver, and tempo factors are more important. Their combined-arms
situations are actually somewhat different.
Bonus March / Japanese Internment (rumor, command)
● Bonus March – large number of unemployed WW1 vets marched on Washington
DC. (1932). In the late 1920’s Congress had voted to for a bonus to be paid to
WW1 vets in 1945. However, the vets wanted their bonus sooner. The vets
nicknamed themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF). After the senate
rejected the bill to pay them sooner, the situation worsen, President Hoover order
the local police to evict the BEF. The situation got violent/police lacked the
strength to remove the BEF. Therefore, Hoover orders the US Army to assist the
police. The Army chief of staff MacArthur believed that the BEF was ripe for a
communist led uprising and used tear gas and tanks to remove the BEF. His
methods contradicted his orders. Furthermore, this occurred during an election
year and had negative publicity helping Roosevelt become elected the new
president.
● Japanese American Internment – rumors of how Japanese Americans were
involved in the pearl harbor attack led to internal subversion allegations. West
coast Americans/organizations began calling for a removal of Japanese
Americans from the West coast and the supreme court ruled to move them into
inland internment camps. However, this ruling did not apply to Japanese
Americans living in Hawaii, which had a larger population. Although this angered
many Japanese Americans they still played a huge role in WW2, while in Italy in
France, becoming one of the most decorated combat units in US army history.
Triangle Division (purpose, capabilities)
● Three regiments instead of four, no more square divisions. Needs to be relatively
light and quite flexible.
○ Lower logistical footprint for better deployability
○ Fewer regiments and lower numbers for more flexible command and
control in maneuver warfare.
○ Half the size of the square formation, approximately 14k soldiers, and
twice the artillery, approximately 128 guns. Each Infantry company had a
mortar platoon.
○ Portable radios boosted artillery coordination (increase fire support
capabilities).
○ Infantry divisions could have tanks assigned to them (not organic to the IN
DIVs)
Buna / Bismarck Sea / Lae
● Buna – Air supply to remote strips on Papua’s north slope helps MacArthur trap
the Japanese against the coast at Buna. The Japanese cannot get sea or air
resupply, so MacArthur figures the task of crushing the Japanese will be easy.
○ Flat, swampy, hot, disease ridden, and thick jungle
○ Bunker-to-bunker small unit infantry fighting
○ Lacked logistical support
○ MacArthur takes Buna, US army learns better jungle fighting tactics and
logistics throughout battle
○ Battle of Bismarck Sea, March 1943 - Land-based Allied bombers
decimate a Japanese troop-ship convoy enroute to reinforce Lae (13 of 16
ships sunk)
■ Great interdiction
■ No Japanese Army reinforcements for Lae
■ Eases MacArthur’s turning movement to Lae
■ Lae - MacArthur’s team uses airborne & amphib forces to hop to a
less defended spot that has an airfield.
Island Hopping
● US commanders decided to bypass the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. Originally,
Rabaul was the objective for both MacArthur’s New Guinea forces and Nimitz’s
Solomon Islands forces. The commanders skipped by the place and isolated it
as they accelerated their advance across the Pacific.
○ US had specific CG they wanted to target at certain times
Solomon Islands (+Guadalcanal; MDO: land, sea, air & technology roles)
● Guadalcanal – True joint service, multi-domain, combine arms affair in which all
arms had to achieve success to defeat the Japanese.
○ CG – Henderson field, which was an airfield used to assist Japanese
attempt to interdict the oceanic connection between the US and Australia.
Who ever had it had an unsinkable aircraft carrier thus an air-superiority
bubble to assist with sea control, close air support, interdiction, and
logistical support.
○ Technology roles – radio cryptographers intercepted Japanese
communication. Radar allowed US Navy warships to hold the sea,
interdict Japanese naval resupply, and protect US troops.
○ Land, sea, and air – Japanese fighting included air attacks, night naval
attacks, and tenacious ground fighting.
○ Neither the New Guinea nor the Guadalcanal/Solomon Islands combat
environment allowed the Blitzkrieg-style armor ops seen in Europe.
○ The ground fighting favored a small-unit infantry approach with US
Marines and Army Soldiers rooting out the Japanese bunker by bunker.
Tanks provided some direct fire support, terrain permitting, but they were
not prevalent
Lesson 6
Battle of the Atlantic (U-Boats, anti-sub, MDO)
- U-boats: German submarines with long range projectiles that were disrupting US
boats crossing the atlantic.
- MDO: Research organizations came together with the military to develop
technology (special radars) and place them in boats and planes to counter the
german U-boats.
Ninety-Division Gamble / WW2 Army Medicine
- 90Division Gamble: Marshall decided he needed 90 divisions to cover the load. It
balances mission and civil considerations.
- WW2 Army Medicine: combat medics, plasma, DDT insecticide, and penicillin
were introduced to the military. Soldiers were able to receive first aid at the
moment and stabilize them until they reached the medical stations. WW2 was the
first time that disease related deaths were not the #1 reason for casualties.
Battle of Kasserine Pass (combined arms & METT-TC)
- Gen. Fredendall was not very experienced and had bad leadership.
-
-
Combined Arms: airforce and army were not coordinated. There was a misuse of
terrain and troops. Air Force was divided into sections and did not share with
each other. Combined arms hurt these operations.
Results: METT-TC: Gen. Fredendall did not set the terrain with mines or other
obstacles and the Germans were able to maneuver easier.
El Guettar (comb. Arms & METT-TC)
- Terrain and troops were used well. The US fixed the mistakes from Kasserine.
Sicily (fratricide / Patton’s actions, controversy)
- Fratricide: Paratroopers were called in at night and received fire from our own
people. Failure in coordination between ground troops and the paratroopers.
- Patton’s actions: took the initiative to take the main objective city in Sicily. He
wasn't ordered to do so, but he wasn't ordered not to do so.
- Controversy: two soldiers fell ill during combat and Gen. Patton called them
cowards and slapped them.
Cassino (+Rapido River; monastery bombing) / Anzio (aim, result)
- Cassino: Allies tried to attack the hill top because it was key terrain for
observation. The attack did not go well because the terrain and river were
favoring the Italian/German defenses. Germans at Cassino had great fields of fire
and observation.
- Monastery bombing: Soldiers forced their commander to bomb a monastery
because they believed the germans were using it to observe the. The Germans
weren’t until after the allies bombed it.
- Anzio: It was a turning movement that did not meet the Objective. The allies
eventually took Anzio but it took too long. Objective not achieved because he
was too passive.
Omaha Beach (successful actions) / Hedgerows /
French Port Issue / Patton in France / Red Ball Express /
Aachen / Broad Front / Operation Market-Garden /
Battle of the Bulge (German problems, Bastogne)
- D-day. Why land in Omaha Beach: it was the connecting force. We didn't want to
land too far or too close to our other allies.
- Omaha Beach: use of offensive. It was a great coordination between The navy
and the Onshore leadership at the lowest level. Unity of effort. The American
landed and got off the beach.
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Hedgerows: The teams consisted of tanks, mortars, and self proportion weapons.
Great coordination between armor, artillery, and infantry. It was a success
because of the great coordination between fires.
French port issue: the Germans were putting up a fight for the ports. Germans
were able to hold some of these ports until the end of the war. We were only able
to obtain two initially and this made resupply harder.
Patton in France: He was ordered to take the offensive. Used turning movement
to circle the Germans. His turning movement achieved its objective of taking the
Germans out of France.
Red Ball Express: This was an attempt to fix the logistical woes due to the few
available forts. They redirected African-American support troops into a one way
road to deliver supplies, and a second 1-way road to return to the ports. The
small amount of ports available did not help the truck's RedBall Express supply
moving efforts.
Aachen: terrain was complex (streets and towns). They had to create combined
arms teams between armor and infantry. They performed well with their fires and
maneuver and swept the town from the outside in. Great use of External lines.
Broad Front: the terrain made it hard for Americans troops to advance from
France into Germany. Also, the Americans were running low on infantrymen. The
Germans could take advantage of American Units moving by themselves into
Germany. The best COA was to move as a broad front into germany.
Operation Market Garden: There were more Germans Enemies than what the
Americans estimated, but the radios didn’t work so the Americans could not call
in reinforcements. The Americans were not able to win this operation. This plan
violated SIMPLICITY. Example of technology failing. Example of not knowing the
Enemy.
Battle of the Bulge: This battle went wrong for Germany because they based
their surprise on the weather and the weather cleared. Also, the terrain did not
favor a fast advance. The Germans were also running low on fuel and other
supplies.
Bastone: Key terrain city with multiple road intersections. It is an OBSTACLE for
the Germans. Americans took it and fortified their defenses in this location. This
hurt the German LOCs drastically.
Saipan
- The Japanese tried to defend the landing initially. The Japanese failed at
stopping the landing so they retreated into the jungles of the island. The terrain in
the island was bad for maneuver techniques.
- Mad Smith was known for crude handling of subordinate shortcomings. He was
relieved from command.
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The Japanese concluded that winning this war against the Americans was not
attainable to them. They decided to make the Americans bleed for every piece of
land they take. It became a bloody fight.
Philippines: Leyte Island / Luzon (+Corregidor)
- Leyte Island: Americans were slow to take the Island due to the Kamikaze
fighters, the weather, and the terrain. These fighters were keeping the US Navy
occupied. Also Japanese Surface ships were able to resupply the Japanese in
the island. Americans were slowly able to establish airfields and air superiority
and the navy eventually was able to defeat the Japanese surface ships.
- Luzon: To take Luzon, we first had to take Corregidor. Corregidor was heavily
armed with Japanese troops. The Americans were still able to take the Japanese
by surprise with airborne and amphibious troops. The Japanese expected
amphibious troops but did not expect airborne landing because the possible
landing locations were small and super windy. We took the island
- Luzo: the big island: The Japanese did not oppose the landings. They
went into the jungle and fought until death. The island is good for
maneuver techniques.
Okinawa
- It is a small island with little space for maneuver. Mostly direct fighting. The
terrain is mostly hills. The japanese did not try to stop the entry at the beaches.
They concentrated their power at specific parts of the island. Fight lasted 80
days. It is an example of PERSEVERANCE.
Executive Order 9981 of 1948
- It desegregated the armed forces. It integrated the military racially.
Run to the South (TF Smith / Pusan Perimeter)
- There is a piecemeal commitment of available ground forces to buy time
- Task Force Smith: it slowed the Koreans down but did not stop the koreans. A
task force vs a division with tanks. The task force was extremely outmanned,
outgunned, and out trained. It is a tactical success for the koreans. Operational &
strategic success to the Americans because it allows the set up for the Pusan
Perimeter.
- Pusan Perimeter: Good use of interior lines. Americans had a secure sea port
and short LOCs. Americans were able to destroy the Korean long LOCs.
Inchon / Run to the North (LOCs)
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Inchon: The Americans attempted to cut the North Korean LOCs with amphibious
operations and hitting key terrain with excellent use of timing. Timing had to be
right to hit and get out. Strategic impact was big for the americans. Inchon was a
center of gravity and forced the North away from the south.
Run to the North: Gen. Mcarthur (the Americans) was being reckless and
complacent and attempted to take the North of Korea. China entered the war and
helped North Korea push the Americans Back to the South. A line in the middle.
Ridgway’s Korea Command and Run Back to the North
- His army had a low morale and he decided to raise the morale. His plan
consisted of ground troops in the hill supported by ample indirect Artillery fire.
The plan worked and the Chinese were pushed back out of Korea.
MacArthur's Korea conduct and fate
- Mcarthur is told to stop his advancements. He does not agree and goes public
about his disagreement. He gets fired because of a violation of an order. It was a
public challenge of civilian authority and it failed.
Lesson 7
Korean War Stalemate Issues: POWs & Koji-do / air interdiction
- POWs: US POWs are treated poorly. Placed in camps and forced to work and
torture. Comunist are forcing/torturing the POWs to give statements against the
US and supporting communism.
- Koji-do: Comunist POWs do not want to go back to their communist countries.
Comunist korea infiltrates this POW camp and start a riot situation. The prisoners
end up catching the camp leader and holding him hostage. Then they
force/torture the leader to give out statements supporting the communist. Bad
propaganda for the US.
- Air interdiction: the US hit communist LOCs behind the lines in North Korea. The
problem is that there were too many communist LOCs coming in from China. We
were ineffective because we did not want to start WW3 and didn’t attract the
main source of supply in China (focused attacks on Korea).
Code of Conduct
- The President issued Executive order 10631 in 1965 after the Korean War. This
code provided very strict guidelines when it comes to interrogation.
Divisions: Pentomic / ROAD / Airmobile
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Pentomic Division: its aim was to support conventional and nuclear battles. It was
designed to fight the russians in easter europe. It was a relatively small division.
The combat power could not match the Rusians fire power at the time.
- They had one armor Battalion
- They had 5 really small battle groups
ROAD Division: it was designed to ensure flexibility and balance. This division
had an ample amount of specially dedicated Guns. It was built to fight the
Russians/Soviets.
Airmobile Division: its role was to fight the Soviets in Europe. They integrated
helicopter technology onto ground troops. It was effective in moving casualties
and troops around the battlefield. The air force critizided stating that the
helicopters were weak and would get shut down by the enemy.
Army & 1950s-1960s Unrest (L. Rock, Ole Miss & Abrams in Alabama / Detroit riots /
spying)
- Little rock: The US government was activated to enforce the law and help little
kids go to school (racially integrated). This demonstrates US government
legitimacy
- Ole miss: the locals are resisting and the President sends in the military to
enforce the law. Reinforces legitimacy of the US Government
- Abrams in Alabama: there is a lot of unrest in the population. Uses the military to
enforce the law but enforces restraint. Reinforces legitimacy of the US
Government
- Detroit Riots: The Federal Army is sent to Detroit to help with a riot from civilians.
The governor of Michigan asks for the Federal army to enter because the guard
was not able to handle the situation. The federal army showed restraint.
Reinforces legitimacy of the US Government.
- Spying: COINTELPRO; was an op by the US army in the 60s. They oversaw and
spied on any domestic groups (Left or Right) in support of FBI operations. Once
this became public, the army quickly shut it down.
Vietnam COIN, 1961-1968 (problems: strategic hamlets, Ap Bac)
- Vietnam had a hybrid force Conventional and guerilla. The aim of South Vietnam
was to have a free, democratic, and stable South Vietnam.
- Problems: terrain was a problem because of the jungles. Also, there was a trail
that the enemy could use to infiltrate from the north to the south. We could attack
the train because it was located in a neutral country.
- Strategic hamlets: was a secure place to move peasants to separate them from
the insurgents. Like a fortified village. They were not vetting the villagers well and
they actually let Vietcons into the village and they caused problems.
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The initial focus of the US military was conventional and tactical. Not COIN.
The Battle of AP Bac:conventional fight style fight. Guerrilla Vietcons destroy the
conventional American Army.
Westmoreland in Vietnam (dilemma; Unity of Cmd)
- Dilema: he was fighting two different enemies. Tactical and conventional. He did
not have enough troops to fight both styles. He had to pick conventional
operations.
- Another dilemma was the unity of command. He only commanded the US army,
and part of the US air force, and the marines. He does not control the Navy or
the airforce of other allies.
II Corps Ops: Ia Drang LZs X-RAY & ALBANY / Binh Dinh Province / Dak To-Hill 875
- La Drang LZ X-Ray & Albany: they were desperate fights. In X-ray the US Army
wants to help protect a perimeter he established when he landed. The Americans
win this fight. Artillery and close air support from the air force helps win this fight.
In Albany, American troops are stuck behind enemy lines without artillery support
and surrounded by the enemy. The battalion survives a worst-case situation
when they finally receive artillery support but receive high casualties.
- Binh Dinh Province: the enemy is Vietcons, guerilla style fighting. The US wins
this battle but we go away from the area. The local vietnam government forces
are tasked with security of the area but they do a bad job at it. Eventually the
Vietcons reclaim the area. Not good strategy.
- Dak to - hill 875: It was a conventional style fight. The US army wins the battle
but we abandon the area and the enemy reclaims the area. Not good strategy
‘Dust Off’
- Implemented in Vietnam; the helicopters used were able to carry more injured
soldiers off the battlefield. Was a great improvement to Medical Evacs and
decreased combat casualties.
III Corps Operations: Cedar Falls
- We didn't assess the enemy well. The enemy was able to get out before the US
arrived. It was a poor use of timing. The conventional operations fight destroyed
the village and hurt civil affairs efforts. Once the US left the area, the Vietcons
returned to the area and had support from the locals.
Tet Offensive (impact, levels of war)
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Mayor offensive in vietnam south. The US army beat the Vietcong in battle, but
back in the US, elections were happening along with anywar feelings. New
president promises to get the US out of the war.
Vietnam POWs (+Code of Conduct issues for Vietnam and later)
- US POWs are being tortured. Some break under torture and make statements
against the US breaking the code of conduct. This developed a change in the
code of conduct making it less strict.
Creighton Abrams' Vietnam COIN
- Vietnamization. Trying to turn the back over to the South Vietnamese because
our forces are starting to return back to the US. He is under political pressure to
get out of vietnam. He switches to COIN operations to help the turn over and
take advantage of a small quantity of US soldiers. He starts to have COIN
success. Abram did so well he beat the insurgents by 1970.
Kent State
- Kent state university shooting: were protesting the cambodian invasion. The Ohio
NG was sent to control the situation. The protestors started throwing rocks to the
national guard. The guard ends up opening fire. The guard was not equipped
with crowd control so they shot deadly rounds. There’s massive backlash,
considering them as butchers. Hurt US Government Legitimacy.
My Lai Incident
- Americans shoot about 500 men, women and children in My Lai. This is a
leadership failure at all levels. Platton, Company, and Battalion. The platoon
leader (Bill Caley) not only let it happen, he also participated in the shooting. It
was a deliberate shooting, which went on for hours. Hurt the US Army
Legitimacy.
Mayaguez Incident
- May 1975. A US Cargo ship gets held hostage at sea near Cambodia. The
PResident tried to use Advanced Telecoms to communicate and lead the
operations all the way from the US to the Pacific. He has the technology to
communicate but it is delayed. The president has to wait for the communication
to get back to him. So the Como works, but it has delays and clarity issues.
NTC / Big 5 Weapons (Bradley) / AirLand Battle
- NTC: An ongoing simulated battle design to practice battle drills and situations.
Military training.
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Big 5: weapons introduced to the Army: Abrahams, BRADLEYs, Patriots,
Apaches, Blackhawk. These were designed to fight the Soviets in Europe.
AirLand Battle: Gen. Starry. Designed to fight the Russians in Europe. It
emphasized offensive and maneuver warfare with a lot of support from the big 5.
Divided into close battles (tactical), deep battle (behind enemy lines), rear battle
(your area). This requires synchronized operations because it is intended to have
close, deep, and rear battles simultaneously. Mission command and similar to
blitzkrieg.
Women’s Roles / Total Force
- Revolutionary changes. Women's roles expand. They integrate West Point,
ROTC, and other combat support tasks. All positions are still not open but it is a
dramatic expansion. The code of conduct became gender neutral in the 1980s.
- Total Force: It eliminated redundancy between the reserves, guard, and regulars.
Made it so that the guard and reserves have to go with the regulars to war. It was
an expansion for the National Guard roles.
Grenada (commo)
- Problems in preparation. We did not have plans or maps of the island yet
because we only had 5 days to prepare for the Grenada invasion.
- Requesting fire support from the navy was difficult because the soldiers did not
have radios.
- This resulted in the Goldwater nichols act. This provided unity of command in
theaters
Vincennes Incident ( & fratricide)
- Did the technology work? Yes
- Did human control prevent a mishap? No
- Why/why not? Didn’t take the time to verify the target
- Results? Iranian airline flight got shot down. Fratricide
*might see on multiple choice question
Lesson 8
Desert Shield & Desert Storm:
(MDO-op scheme-Principles / ‘cyber’ / Scud Hunt / 1st ID / training-performance)
MOOTW / Somalia Intervention (aims, conditions, results; Mogadishu Firefight)
Panama Operation Safe Haven Vignette
Bosnia IFOR/SFOR (aims, conditions, results)
Cyber War (Op Allied Force + WW2 ’Code Talkers’) / BCTs / Stryker
Kosovo (Klokot) Vignette
Hurricane Katrina Relief
OIF Invasion (LOCs & pipeline ops / lines / Baghdad Thunder Runs)
OIF COIN Challenges (Abu Ghraib / 2004 & city fights / Golden Hour / Casey’s
Dilemma)
OIF Surge (Patraeus’ approach, Sons of Iraq, impact)
OEF COIN (2003-04 ‘Mountain’ Ops / RC South 2006-2008 / Wanat)
OEF Surge (command differences / Moshtarak-Marjah / Kamdesh)
Inherent Resolve (tech &/or fire support)
Russian Aggression, 2000s-2010s / Regionally Aligned Forces (Culture)
Recent US Army Organization (Guard and BCTs) & Social Issues
II. The test contains a mix of multiple-choice (M-C), Identification (ID), and truefalse/essay questions. The 10 M-C questions are 6 points apiece. The 6 ID
questions are 2 points apiece. The 7 true-false-essay questions are 4 points
apiece.
A. The first 5 multiple-choice questions on the test are as follows.
1. Which is correct regarding the art of war, war and politics, and/or the levels of war?
Dunlap
a. Art of war: Violent conflict between organized groups with unknown resolve,
each seeking to impose its will on the other.
b.
War and politics: War is a continuation of politics by other means.
c.
Levels of war:
i. Strategic Level – All of a nation’s armed forces efforts within
campaigns (the war) to meet a particular war aim.
ii. Operational Level (Mind-set approach) – In-theater forces; large
tactical units (divisions and up) operations that can have strategic results as a
different level of war.
iii. Tactical Level: Field units (division and below) – aka the battle on the
ground
2. Which is correct regarding Combined Arms, Tactics, Tech, Organization, and/or Joint
Ops?
Dunlap
a. Combined arms is the art of using all the different weapons systems with
each other in an effective and devastating way. This requires coordination
between different branches of the armed forces to create an overwhelming
tactical advantage or mass of fires.
b. Tactics is the science and art of disposing and maneuvering forces in
combat. Tactics change throughout military history with the advent of new
technology. For instance, linear tactics was based around the slow firing
muskets. This will fail later with the use of modern machine guns.
c. Military technology is the application of technology for use in warfare. For
example the telegraph and musket variations.
d. Organization is the structuring of the armed forces of a state to offer such
military capability as a national defense policy may require. This can either
promote or hinder coordination. This includes the triable divisions of WWI
(Square) and WWII (Triangle).
e. Joint operations describes military actions conducted by joint forces to
follow out a common goal or battle/war aim.
3. Which is correct regarding insurgency, COIN, Indian wars; and/or ‘stability
operations’?
Dunlap
Insurgency: violence and subversion. Seize and challenge political control of a region.
COIN: coordinated civilian and military actions to defeat and contain insurgency.
California Theater COIN
·
Civil-Affairs Policy/Restraint abuses? Impact?
o Rules that stated that the US civilians in Cali could do whatever they
wanted but the Mexicans that stayed behind were not given the same
privileges. This started a rebellion against the US forces and they were
afraid of losing California.
o Combat and Terms? – Overall the US army wins.
King’s Mountain (OCT 1780)
·
Angry Patriot militia (exterior) v. British-led Tories (interior)
·
Patriots made use of cover and concealment, while the British were out in the open.
·
Patriots also had better observation/fields of fire.
·
British legitimacy was not helped by Tarleton post-King’s Mountain COIN.
Indian Wars:
·
Insurrection led by Osceola, Coacoochee and Billy Bowlegs in Florida.
o The US aim was Indian Removal to the West but the Seminoles (tied to
the land = vulnerability) didn’t want to leave.
§ Linear style tactics did not work in the terrains of Florida and they
had no maps. Seminoles were using Guerilla style warfare.
Operational perseverance helped the Seminoles take breaks and
recover during the summer. QM did not provide the proper
transportation needs while moving in Florida. The militia support
was on and off due to only having 3 months to serve out of the
year.
·
Battle of Lake Okeechobee
o Tactically the US army won but strategically no. The Indian’s will did not
get crushed at Lake Okeechobee.
·
Seminole War Solutions
o Scorched earth – forced the Seminoles to move west because they
have nothing to live off of. The US used violence and negotiations
(bribery) which convinced some to move to Oklahoma.
4. Which of the following is correct regarding OAKOC?
Observation
Avenue of Approach
Key terrain
Obstacle and Movement
Cover and Concealment
Which of the following is correct regarding collateral damage and/or friendly-fire events?
Friendly Fire: fratricide occured in Philadelphia Campaign with Washington
leading due to poor training. Fratricide also occurred in Sicily, while paratroopers
jumped friendly jittery ground troops shot at them.
Also in the Chancellorsville Campaign, Stonewall Jackson was killed in action by
his troops. This was due to lack of communication, as well as lack of battlefield
medicine. Stonewall Jackson was returning to post after a night recon. His troops
thought he was the enemy, and fired upon their commander.
Which of the following is correct regarding military medical developments?
Medical Developments were low during the civil war. Oftentimes troops would die
from "Camp fever". Which was basically a lack of knowledge on how to treat the
wound so they would heat cat, from not being able to reduce the body
temperature occurring during shock etc.
During the civil war the Ambulance Corp (combat medics), and Sanitation Corp
were put into place to help clean the F.O.B of dead bodies to prevent further
disease from unsanitary conditions.
Smith, T
The Medical Reserve Corps was established during the early 1900s Defense acts.
During Meuse-Argone, the Army used systemic ways(teams and programs) for
better hygiene discipline to reduce deaths
WW2 Army Medicine: in WW2 the service created dedicated combat medics who
could provide immediate care on the battlefield itself.
o
Increased hygiene
o
Penicillin
o
Blood plasma
o
First major war where disease did not account for most Soldier
deaths.
o
Death due to combat wounds was cut in half from WW1
(Hernandez)
5. Which of the following is correct regarding wartime command and/or ethics?
● Washington was a natural born leader who had his troops follow him
willingly. He led from the front, knew that it was important to keep his Army
fighting in the long run and was very resilient.
● Grant was loved by subordinates and raised morale; he also made them
want vengeance and persevere.
● Tarleton (BRITISH): had low ethics of killing people who are trying to
surrender and was undiscriminate on his destruction.
● Bragg (REBEL): was not liked by his subordinates and was cruel to his
team members.
Smith, T
Notes re the first five multiple-choice questions: With the obvious exception of
Question 4, these questions are the same regardless of test version (there are three
test versions). However, their choices will be different and address different items that
are still related to the question. The lesson terms are the source of the selection topics,
and the selection variety makes these questions quite comprehensive.
The second five multiple-choice questions on the test are given below and examine
specific topics that fall within the general topics addressed by the first five M-C
questions. These are likewise based upon this study guide’s terms. Note that the four
questions for each question category apply to the four test versions, though the order
within each category will be scrambled. The questions' wording is not precisely the
same as seen below, but one still gets the drift of the question.
6. The Art of War, Interaction of War and Politics, Tactics, Operations and/or
Strategy
--For the following pairs, select the correct comparison statement about addressing
centers of gravity: (a) Battle of Lake Okeechobee and the US Army’s post-Little
Bighorn operations Phillips; The Center of gravity was the intent to eliminate the food
source for the native americans to move them to new locations. Lake Okeechobee was
a failure as the natives moved south, however post Little Bighorn operations was a
success.
(b) Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign and Sherman’s March to the Sea Smith,
A;
-The center of gravity for Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign was to reduce
morale and destroy all food supply to prevent Lee from feeding his army.
-Sherman’s March to the Sea was to sap all morale from the rebel force as they took
South Georgia (Savannah) as a supply point.
(c) Korean War stalemate air campaign and Desert Storm’s Scud Hunt Smith, A;
-The Korean War stalemate air campaign was designed to achieve a negotiation
settlement.
-The Desert storm’s Scud denied leaders the ability to observe, orient, decide, and act
in concerted fashion.
(d) Operation Cedar Falls and OEF’s 2003-2004 ‘Mountain’ operations Upshaw. Cedar
Falls- the CG is to search and destroy Viet Cong Guerilla insurgents. US gives civilians
the opportunity to leave the bomb area and sweep through with conventional forces
after the U.S. forces leave many of the Viet Cong return when the civilians were
warned. No CG.
OEF Mountain Ops- all involvement included both US and UN Afghan Army working
together, going against the Taliban but they retreated to Pakistan. US does not fully
achieve legitimacy because they are still a threat once they recover. US alliances
informed the taliban of the bombing, taliban left, sanctuary was the CG.
--Select the correct comparison about these Rebel ‘Offensive-Defensive’ actions: Lee
in Maryland and Pennsylvania; Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign; Early’s Shenandoah
ops; and/or Hood at Atlanta. He
Rebel Offensive-Defensive operation: conducting offensive operations against Union
forces to disrupt Union’s advance and therefore achieving the defensive objectives for
the South.
Lee
- Maryland (Antietam Campaign)
Invasion, seeking:
- opportunity & relief
- European recognition
- To turn Maryland, a slave state in the Union, into a Confederate
state
Result
- Failed to flip Maryland
- No European recognition for the Confederate
Pennsylvania, a raid into an Union state
- To gather supply
- To take battle to north
- To relieve pressure around Richmond
- To achieve a major Confederate victory for morale boost
Raid was a failure after Gettysburg, but Lee still had an Army capable of conducting
offensive-defensive operations.
Bragg in Kentucky, a Union slave state
An invasion to turn Kentucky into a Confederate state due to perceived Kentuckians’
support for the South and the opportunity created by Grant’s stalemate around the
western theater.
Many tactical victory for Bragg (Stone’s River, Perryville), but long LOC resulted into
eventual retreat
Not able to turn Kentucky into a Confederate state
Bragg’s harsh, toxic command climate did not help, either.
Early in Shenandoah Valley
Early brought the fight out of Shenandoah Valley by taking the initiative when
opportunity was present.
Fighting around DC and Pennsylvania.
Hood around Atlanta
Hood attempted offensive operations against Sherman in order to defend Atlanta.
Hood failed as SHerman kept pressure on the Atlanta front and denied Hood’s offensive
initiatives.
--Compare these US military escalations: the Philippine War’s 1900 ‘surge’; the US
in Vietnam, 1965-1967; the OIF Surge; and/or the OEF Surge. Parker
Philippine War’s 1900 ‘surge- Began after the US assumed sovereignty of the
Philippines following the defeat of the Spanish in the Spanish-American war. McKinley
gets elected and reelected. The Philippine rebels declared independence and opposed
the American involvement. The American government declared war against the
Philippian people. 70,000 troops, aggressive patrolling, troops stay in Philippines to
show American Legitimacy. Provided
OIF Surge- OIF started when Iraq breached the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441
which “Prohibits stockpiling and importing weapons of mass destruction. Its aim was to
remove Saddam Hussien’s regime and destroying its ability to use weapons of mass
destruction or to make them available to terrorists, the focus of OIF did change to more
of helping the Government of Iraq improve security, and to establish a system of
government and foster economic development.
OEF Surge- Aim was to overthrow the Taliban government by using US airpower and
special forces in Afghanistan OEF started when the terrorists low up the twins towers,
the US government conducted airstrikes on Saddam Hussien’s Presidential Palace and
military targets followed by 67,000 soldiers and 15,000 navy personnel on ships.
7. Combined Arms, Tactics, Organization, Special Ops, Cyber War, and/or Joint
Ops
--Compare how the following units/tactics were created and/or functioned: Linear
Tactics; Hardee’s Tactics; Airmobile Division; and/or 2010s brigade combat teams
(BCT). Ommodt
● Linear Tactics- developed due to the nature of soldiers, their weapons, and
terrain (usually open and flat terrain). Formations were shoulder to shoulder,
columns of 3 with smoothbore muskets, reloading occurred while the next 2
lines fired. Tight formation allowed easier control for the commander in the rear.
● Hardee’s Tactics- developed with change from smoothbore to rifled barrel.
Ranks more spaced out due to higher accuracy of enemy rifled barreling
however they took longer to reload compared to smoothbore.
● Airmobile Div- created after Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD), air
combat and transport was deemed cost effective. 11th Air Assault Div
underwent 2 yrs of testing, became 1st Cav Div, conducted combat ops in
Vietnam. Artillery/aerial rocket artillery battalion moved via chopper rather than
truck/armored vehicle. Weight was around 10,000 tons in total which was less
than a third of a normal infantry div deployed. Airmobile assets offered
observation, recon, medevac, and command/control missions.
● 2010s BCTs- 1999 Task Force Hawk deployment of ~24 apaches to Kosovo
resulted in numerous problems arising. This included deploying large support
units to serve/protect the apaches. Seeing this caused the Army (GEN Eric
Shinseki) to initiate transition to deploying smaller Brigade Combat Teams
(BCT) rather than Cold War style divisions. BCTs come in infantry, armor, and
Stryker (recalled triangular division’s effort to combine in order to increase
combat power).
--Compare the following items regarding cyber war-related issues: Civil War signals;
WW2 ‘Code-Talkers’; Desert Storm; Operation Allied Force; and/or 2000-2010s
Russian Aggression. Rod likes to party
Civil War signals;
Flags were low visibility, needed to be in high ground to be seen, therefore the
enemy could spot flags. Telegraph problems = Maintenance, signal, COMSEC,
cumbersome and finicky, some fields lacked power to transmit messages.
Telegraph usage = changed high-level command-and-control in the conduct of
war. Critical for movement coordination.
WW2 ‘Code-Talkers’;
1.
The Army would later turn to several tribes of American Indians in World
War II (Comanche And Sioux among others) to use their native tongues in that
conflict. (Encrypted) Pp. 48 Vol 2
2.
This tactic applied to runners and field phones, but Indians were used
even more in WW2 for wireless talking radios (one security-related glitch involved
uninformed US signalmen who jammed Indian ‘code-talker’ transmissions
because they thought it was enemy code.)
Desert Storm;
The F-117 stealth jet is a weapon of choice for targets whose C3
(Commo/Control/Command) criticality required its services. This Desert Storm
star conducted a kinetic form of cyber-war as it played a major role in denying the
Iraqi leadership the ability to observe, orient, decide and act in concerted fashion.
Operation Allied Force;
Operation Allied Force, as a Pentagon unit called J-39 hacked Serbian command
and air-defense nets (note that the USAF also did classic kinetic cyber war via
airstrikes on telecommunications and command posts).
--For the following pairs, compare challenges, successes, and/or METT-TC issues in
combined-arms ops: (a) Rebels at Shiloh and US Army at Kasserine Pass: Voight
Rebels at Shiloh: Poor security, negligence and complacency led to Grant’s
forces being surprised by the rebels and Grant had to launch a counterattack on the 2nd
day to regain land but he wasn’t ab;e to continue on his offense. It was a tactical victory
for Grant but not strategic. The combined-arms of Grant’s troops hurt the rebels. The
rebels use artillery at Shiloh, Americans use everything they had at the Kasserine Pass.
Both of them had problems with organization, experience and communication. At the
pass, the Germans had superior interior lines, given that they knew the terrain, which
handicapped the Americans: rain, mud which led to poor supply. For commo, the rebels
had no radio, terrain was wide, and it took a while to send a runner. For the Kasserine
Pass, they have radios but the orders given on the radio were poorly given.
(Rebels at shiloh: were disorganized, in-experienced, slower combined-arms
coordination, did not exploit surprise well.
US Army at Kasserine Pass: no unity of command, poor command & control, poor
commo. In-experienced troops)
(b) Rebels at Malvern Hill (Seven Days’ Battles) and Union Army at the Crater:
For the rebels at Malvern Hill, Lee used a penetration attack to confront McClellan.
Rebels used Offensive-Defensive because they saw an opportunity to attack the union’s
army. Lee used the principles of offensive, security, economy of force, mass &
maneuver to concentrate his forces for an attack. Poor usage of combined-arms for Lee
was used. The union army at the crater: became trapped in their own tactic. They
lacked direction, leadership, training and equipment.
(Seven days battle: Lee’s penetration attack was good. Artillery coordination was good.
Unsuccessfully win for Lee: strategically, operationalls. Lee used Offensive-defensive.
Union Army at the crater: McClellan wins tactically, black unit was used and trained,
later on white unit was in trouble. The US lost terribly. Poor command & control.)
; (c) US forces in South Cuba, and US forces and drones in the 2000s Bierman;
South Cuba: challenges: lack of combined arms attack (US Army and US Navy),
diseases that killed more soldiers than combat, and logistics failures (killing the
horses!!!) Successes: army strategy to outmaneuver Cuban forces and attack at that
location utilizing surprise and maneuver
Drones in the 2000's: challenges: quickly expended drone batteries and software
issues. Successes: scouting and attacking of enemies without risk of friendly casualties.
Terrain and civil considerations were biggest issues. Firing on wrong target!
(d) Operation Market-Garden and Mayaguez rescue Bierman.
Operation Market-Garden: challenges: lack of timing (didn't make it to critical bridge in
time) and joint ops (only air, little group support). Successes: gave US a foothold into
Nazi occupied Europe to start land invasions. No good principles of war, Allies got
messed up!
Mayaguez rescue: challenges: enemy hit US with surprise. Poor tracking of friendly
vehicles. Successes: great land and sea attack. Reclaimed SS Mayaguez and all crew.
Used maneuver and mass!
8. Insurgency, COIN, Indian Wars; Civil Affairs, and/or Social/Force Issues
--Compare Indian Wars and/or COIN ops for the following: Second Seminole War,
Sioux War, II Corps ops in Vietnam, and/or OEF Afghanistan. Jeffries
--Compare the role of civil affairs in the following: Mexican War’s California Theater;
CPT Connell at Balangiga; Bonus March; and/or Kent State. Phillips
The poor policies between the government led to civil rebellions in all above. The
Mexican war created rules for which natural Americans did not have to follow but
Californians had to. The CPt was sent to calm civil distress but using harsh
military force led to rebellion. The bonus march and Kent state both displayed a
strong military force of national guard harming civilians only creating poor
strategic advances for the government. The use of poor tactics and encouraging
force lead to rebellion .
--Describe US Army social and/or force-structure developments in the following:
African-Americans in the Army; women in the Army; National Guard; cultural
awareness. Engel
9. VARIOUS: Commo, LOCs/Logistics, MDO
--Describe these MDO-related situations: Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign; Grant had to
employ diverse forces in an entire region to secure the dominant combat situation
outside Vicksburg. Grant worked well with the Navy which played a big role in. This
river oriented campaign. Union forces had to do an amphibious operation to seize a
Rebel fort on the Arkansas River near where it met the Mississippi River north of
Vicksburg. Grant embarked upon a series of ambitious bayou engineering bit of cyberwar when the Union navy was used a dummy gunboat to make a night attack which
force panicky Rebel to scuttle on their own. Also cavalry ops distracted Rebel.
at Guadalcanal; combined arms warfare: land, sea and air. A true joint service, multi
domain, combined arms Affair in which all arms had to achieve success in order to
defeat the Japanese. Navy operated at night due to radar and Airforce operated at day
we broke their code and was able to ambush and establish a joint successful domain
domination.
US/UN in Desert Storm; Bush and his secretary of state James baker orchestrated
assembly of a large UN coalition. 39 countries supply forces. US/UN also isolated Iraq
diplomatically and physically (Iraq lost diplomatic ties with most of the world). The UN
slapped a blockade on Iraq to force Saddam to relinquish Kuwait. It assembled a large
force 500,000 US and 200,000 Allied troops to take Kuwait by force if necessary.
Russian Aggression, 2000s-2010s. Padua
--Compare the following communications situations: Rosecrans at Chickamauga;
'Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies'; US command in the Mayaguez Incident;
and/or US forces in the Grenada Invasion. Phillips
Rosecrans- failed to communicate with the forces and received a late attack from
bragg but due to poor communication with the lower forces his messed up
simultaneous maneuver and Artillery Conquers dealt with new technology of
wireless radios the communication of idf was complicated as the higher
commands could not rely to lower formations. The communication issue stop the
simultaneous attack effort of the infantry and artillery. US Command rushed the
special forces and movements with communication delays lead to failed
coordination with joint forces and the Us Forces in Grenda Invasion could not
communicate and use simultaneous efforts as the sf command had to use
landlines to coordinate the fire support. Poor communication led to fail missions.
The acts lead to Goldwaters Act making for one Commander for all military
branches.
--For the following pairs, select the correct statement about LOCs and/or interdiction
efforts: (a) Lake Champlain and Civil War Rebel guerilla ops; (b) Grant in the
Overland Campaign and US in the OIF invasion; (c) French Port access and the Red
Ball Express; (d) Pusan and Inchon. Rod
(a) Lake Champlain (LC) and Civil War Rebel guerilla ops (CWRG);
CWRG - They could disrupt Union LOCs and units, but not decisively; and their actions
lacked full popular support and often created more trouble than success. They were not
successful in severing the LOCs of the Union.
LC – Americans now in control of the lake, Prevost has no ‘lake LOC’ to support further
advance, and is also flanked by MacDonough’s ships. Impact: Prevost retreats.
(b) Grant in the Overland Campaign (OC) and US in the OIF invasion;
OC - Grant’s raids against Lee’s Railroad LOCs were successful because Grant was
able to keep Lee fixed in Petersburg.
OIF - LOCs during this invasion were interdicted due to the US relying heavily on GPS.
The 507th followed the wrong route and ended up getting stuck, thirty-odd soldiers were
either killed or captured. *****
(c) French Port (FP) access and the Red Ball Express (RBE);
FP - Hitler ordered German Army commanders to hold these ports at all costs in order
to deny their logistical use to the Allies. (Cut the LOCs)
RBE – The armies were going so fast and so fast that the supply services (LOCs) were
not able to keep the pace. The Red ball express slowly became the LOC to transport
supplies to allied armies beyond the Seine in August 1944. ****
(d) Pusan and Inchon.
Pusan - The communists’ LOCs are too extended for a conventional, mechanized army
that requires fuel, food and ammo. Worse, they cannot get it because UN tacair
hammers North Korean LOCs via interdiction air strikes.
Inchon – The main mission of this operation (CG) was to cut N. Korea’s main LOC.
MacArthur that if successful, this op cuts the commies’ key LOC to Pusan. The op met
its Objective of cutting North Korean LOCs and reversing the war’s momentum.
10. Leadership
--Compare leadership failures and/or reliefs of command in each of the following
pairings:
(a) British command in the Saratoga Campaign and Union command at the Crater;
British Command-Revolutionary War - 1777- British General Burgoyne attempted
to launch a complex multi-avenue attack on patriot forces led by General Gates.
British poor unity of command and lack of coordination led to him attempting to
take Saratoga by himself - Fought an exterior line campaign against the
American's interior lines
Burgoyne's forces are defeated and surrender to a mixed force of militia and
regulars.
Burnside doesn't choose his most qualified men to blow the hole or run through
it, he has them draw straws. So because he allows unqualified soldiers to blow
the crater, the execution fails.
Leadership here is horrible. They evacuate the plan before they even start it.
There was no joint operation training, so there is a plethora of
miscommunications. It's a catastrophe. This is also a misuse of special
operations.
(b) Grant just before Shiloh and Connell at Balangiga;
(1863): Union, over confident, violated principle of security; noisy and confused
Confederate soldiers surprised Union soldiers at Shiloh Church; strong perimeter
and reinforcements allowed Grant to repel confederate attacks; Union won battle
but political backlash ensued due to high casualty losses; leadership and
collected presence enable Grant to win; Grant recovers well and receives a
reinforced Army and wins the battle - --Implications: Grant may have won at
Shiloh, but there was a public and political backlash in the North over news of his
being surprised and suffering such high casualties. Many wanted him fired. He
wasn't sent home, but his boss GEN Halleck came down to direct operations.
CPT Connell goes to Balangiga with a small company of 70 soldiers, does not use
guards or set a perimeter which showed poor SECURITY
Forced locals to do work parties which upset locals
Connell disrespected Filipino culture, Locals assisted rebels. Rebels overrun
Connell and killed 53 of 74 men.
(c) Bragg in Kentucky/Tennessee and Holland Smith at Saipan; Civil War General
Bragg, confederate commander, used principle of economy of force in
Mississippi massed forces for offensive-defensive action in Kentucky. wanted to
liberate Kentucky since most confederate leaders believed it was a Rebel state,
not as many confederate sympathizers as first believed, battle with Buell's Union
forces lost
- Bragg believed his Lines of Communication, LOC, were to weak, retreated back
to Tennessee
(d) Calley at My Lai and BGEN Karpinski at Abu Ghraib.
Vietnam-My Lai: (War Crimes) Operating under extremely dangerous conditions
day after day induced a climate of fear and hatred among the Americans towards
the Viet Cong. Already thin line between civilian and combatant was easily
blurred and violated. In the hamlet of My Lai, elements of the American Division
killed about 200 civilians in March 1968. Although only one member of the
division was tried and found guilty of war crimes, the atrocity reverberated
throughout the Army.
Abu Ghraib 2004, it was made public that there were abuses in Abu Ghraib Prison
just outside of Baghdad, Iraq. The charges brought forward were of physical,
psychological, sexual abuse, sodomy, rape, torture and homicide. Soldiers
involved were the Military Police Reservists running the detention facility. Would
abuse the prisoners while taking photographs and video. They said they were
told that such tactics were gathering information useful to saving soldiers' lives.
Made some of the soldiers uneasy and others to go overboard. Was a black eye
that almost forced then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign
UPSHAW
--In each of the following pairs, compare US Army leaders’ handling of civil/group
tensions:
(a) Ute War and Wounded Knee; (b) Koji-do and Operation Safe Haven; (c) 1960s
civil unrest in Alabama and Detroit; (d) Kent State and Klokot. Dunlap
(a) Ute War: Handling of civil/group tensions is well. Negotiation tactics were
used but there was lack of restraint from some of the troops.
Wounded Knee: 7th Cavalry tried to disband the Ghost Dance ritual and shots
were fired from an unknown source. Most of the SIoux band was either killed or
detained.
(b) Koji-do: The US Army ran Koji-do poorly. There were too many POWs who ran their
own compounds. The more sophisticated communist POWS seized the commandant
and US Officers dealt with raids.
Operation Safe Haven: created camps established in Panama to temporarily house the
refugees fleeing from Cuba and Haiti in 1994-1995. Relations between troops and civil
groups were perfect.
C 1960s civil unrest in Alabama: The Natural Guard in this area treated the
civilians with respect and had lots of restraint by leaders. There was no use of
force shown during civil unrest.
Detroit: The handling of civilians by the federal troops was good but on the
National Guard side the civilians were handled very poorly.
(d) Kent State: Ohio NG was not trained very well and the riots led to the troops
shooting several civilians and killing four. These types of actions lead to several
other riots.
Klokot
--Compare performances in wartime command in each of the following pairings Teed:
(a) Andrew Jackson and John Lucas
- Jackson: Aggressive commander (caused him to outrun supply chain during Creek
War Campaign), exploits intel and terrain to his advantage
-Lucas: Hesitant, Did not maintain initiative at Anzio, lacked charisma
(b) Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott;
-Taylor: Cool Under Pressure, Strong battlefield commander (poor at sustainment)
-Scott: Strong battlefield commander, effectively uses maneuver, offensive, and
surprise
(c) John Pershing and Creighton Abrams
-Pershing: cool headed, placed emphasis on the offensive, headstrong but willing to
take advice
-Abrams: “careful planning and violent execution”, strong on offensive
(d) Lloyd Fredendall and George Patton.
-Patton: extremely aggressive, daring on the offensive, maximized principle of surprise,
offensive,and maneuver
-Fredendall:poor battlefield leadership, stayed far behind lines in a bunker at Kasserine
Pass, jumped chain of command when giving orders, undisciplined
B. The test’s Identification section will ask you to place items in chronological
order, or to select items that support some concept, tactic, etc. These items are
usually lesson terms. For those questions that ask you to select items, there may
be more than one selection. A sample question might ask the following:
"Place the following in correct chronological sequence: Gettysburg;
Ia Drang; Saratoga."
Meuse-Argonne;
“Which is/are an example(s) of a strategic-bombing campaign: air support for Patton in
France; B-29 raids on Japan; Operation Rolling Thunder; air support at Ia Drang.”
The ID questions vary by test version, and most will not be reviewed specifically.
However, your ID questions will examine familiarity with the following:
--Overall Timelines: all three versions
--US Constitutional guidelines re the US military: all three versions
The remaining items each appear in one of the three versions
--Assessment of Centers of Gravity
--Principles of War: Offensive, Perseverance, Legitimacy, Unity of Command
--Internal Lines and External Lines
--OAKOC: Observation/Fields of Fire, Cover/Concealment, Obstacles
--METT-TC: Timing
--Maneuvers: Turning Movement Objective
The answers must be completely correct--no omissions, incorrect selections,
incorrect order, etc.—in order to get the two points for an ID question. Otherwise,
no credit is assigned. There is no partial credit for an ID question.
C. The test’s third section has seven questions at four points apiece. They are
based upon the short-essay questions in this study guide (see next page). Each
test version will have one question drawn at random from each of the seven
short-essay question groups shown on the next page.
In the test, these questions will appear as short, four-sentence essays. Each
sentence will be a true/false statement at one point apiece. You make a true/false
selection for each sentence for a total of four points for that essay (unlike the ID
questions, there is partial credit for the entire essay question—but not for each
sentence).
For further discussion of this part of the test, see the Edited Lesson 1 slides. The
questions are on the next page.
Questions for the True-False-Essay Reading Section: Note that the questions
incorporate the terms and provide some context for those terms.
Group 1
--Compare rumors’ effect in the Bonus March, Japanese-American Internment, and
Katrina relief. (Hernandez)
·
Bonus March: large number of unemployed WW1 vets marched on Washington DC.
(1932). In the late 1920’s Congress had voted to for a bonus to be paid to WW1 vets in
1945. However, the vets wanted their bonus sooner. The vets nicknamed themselves the
Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF). After the senate rejected the bill to pay them sooner,
the situation worsen, President Hoover order the local police to evict the BEF. The
situation got violent/police lacked the strength to remove the BEF. Therefore, Hoover
orders the US Army to assist the police. The Army chief of staff MacArthur believed that
the BEF was ripe for a communist led uprising and used tear gas and tanks to remove the
BEF. His methods contradicted his orders. Furthermore, this occurred during an election
year and had negative publicity helping Roosevelt become elected the new president.
·
Japanese American Interment: rumors of how Japanese Americans were involved
in the pearl harbor attack led to internal subversion allegations. West coast
Americans/organizations began calling for a removal of Japanese Americans from the
West coast and the supreme court ruled to move them into inland internment camps.
However, this ruling did not apply to Japanese Americans living in Hawaii, which had a
larger population. Although this angered many Japanese Americans they still played a
huge role in WW2, while in Italy in France, becoming one of the most decorated combat
units in US army history.
·
Katrina Relief: Disunity of Command yielded air and rescue efforts that featured:
miraculous avoidance of midair collisions; Guard units arriving unannounced with
confusing orders; confused and inadequate resupply arrangements; and cases where
Guard units refused to work with active units because of command disputes. However,
unity of effort ultimately prevailed. Individual Guard units found ways to coordinate with
civilian authorities, relief agencies, other Guard units, and Federal forces. Top
commanders conducted joint meetings or conferred indirectly to facilitate supply and
relief. Like other government agencies, the Army took criticism for a lack of prep for
disasters of Katrina’s size, but nearly all involved were grateful for the Army’s presence
and help, regardless of its units’ affiliation.
--Compare leadership in crisis situations at Monmouth, Shiloh, Stones River, and
Klokot.
·
Monmouth: The battle was a draw but Washington displayed great tactical
leadership (helped the strategic goal)
·
Shiloh: Poor security, negligence, and complacency led to Grant’s forces
being surprised by the Rebels. Poor leadership
·
Stones River: Rosecrans (ext) vs. Bragg (int). Tactical draw. However, the
union saw this as a victory for Rosecrans since Bragg withdrew a short distance
afterwards.
·
Klokot
--In what three ways were the Modoc War and Fallujah similar?
Group 2 - Goff/Elliott
--Describe the Posse Comitatus Act’s link with the 1894 RR strike and 1960s domestic
unrest.
RR Strike- military was called upon through a federal injunction to assist in a federal
issue, the Military did not use the ACT to get involved they were told to.
1960s- Per the ACT the National Guard was more involved with unrest in states but the
Active duty troops were called upon by the president when the National Guard was
overwhelmed.
--Compare US training and combat performance at Monmouth, TF Smith, and Desert
Storm.
--Compare the use of Principles and METT-TC at Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse.
Both battles the Patriot commanders knew that the British commanders were
aggressive so they used that to their advantage. They used terrain (hills) to conceal
pieces of their army’s from the advancing British army.
Principles - Maneuver and Offensive.
Cowpens used a double envelopement.
Group 3 - Hernandez
--Explain how Dak To and Operation Cedar Falls illustrate the challenges of hybrid war.
Dak To:
Operation Cedar Falls:
--Compare Lee’s performance at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Chancellorsville: uses maneuver, offensive, surprise and mass; later uses
economy of force (splits his forces for the secondary effort). Lee had the interior lines
during this battle. Lee won the battle but lost just as many men.
Gettysburg: Lee had exterior lines; poor timing, but utilized surprise and maneuver.
Lee goes offensive early and often. Lee conducts an envelopment from the left but fails. 3
day battle.
--Describe three reasons for reduced military disease and war-wound deaths in the
1900s.
-
Medical Reserve Corps is established in 1908
-
Army beggins to use systematic ways (team and programs) for better hygiene
discipline to reduce deaths
-
In WW2 the service created dedicated combat medics who could provide
immediate care on the battlefield itself.
-
Penicillin and blood plasma around WW2
Group 4 - Ommodt
--Describe the Code of Conduct’s creation and evolution.
Before and during the Korean War, there were no rules governing the behavior of
US POWs. Due to controversies that arose about POW conduct, an Executive Order in
1955 created the Code of Conduct which established standards of behavior for POWs.
As a POW, a service member could only inform captor of name, rank, service number,
and date of birth. The Code was first applied in Vietnam however brutal extortion
techniques often led to US POWs violating the Code. This resulted in staged
propaganda photos, war crime “confessions”, and condemnations of US policy. POWs
realized the Code’s rules were often fatal. The Code evolved in 1977 to ease the
standard of the Code. Now, POWs are “required” to give name, rank, service number,
and date of birth while maintaining their ethical bearings as well as faith in their fellow
prisoners, their god, and the USA. The Code was made gender-neutral in 1988.
--Compare Enemy, Terrain and Maneuver at Saipan, Luzon and Okinawa.
● Saipan
○ E: Japanese exposed themselves on the beaches which allowed the US to pick
them off which in turn eased the taking of the island. This DID NOT end the
Japanese ground resistance on the island. Enemy refused to surrender due to
pride and not wanting US occupation and thus remained in well-placed positions
and suicidal defenses (Kamikazes) aimed to increase US losses.
○ T: rugged jungle terrain made it difficult for US to fight Japanese
○ M: The US attacked the island via air, sea, and land in order to fight inland
positions
● Luzon
○ E: Japanese do not resist the entrance into the island at the beaches. Their style
was fighting a bloody lengthy battle to the death.
○ T: This was the big Island. US was able to perform movement and maneuver
○ M: The US first takes the small nearby island of Corregidor with airborne and
amphibious attacks. Then they went to the big island of Luzon.
● Okinawa
E: US wants unconditional Japanese surrender, but Japan demands negotiations
to maintain sovereignty - their culture puts a heavy emphasis on honor. Japan
has a reputation for excessive violence and brutality towards POWs.
T: The island is incredibly small. US needs to take the whole island, but because
it is so small, they can’t get a foothold on the land, so much firepower is required
to clear the island for an invasion.
M: Japan makes frequent use of Kamikaze attacks, attacking from air and sea.
Defense against an attack in which the attacker is already planning to die is
incredibly difficult. Japanese defense on land also incorporates suicidal
maneuvers.
--Compare US Army training and combined arms for Meuse-Argonne and 1st ID in
Desert Storm.
● - US army training and combined arms for Meuse-Argonne had many issues.
The ground troops were fairly new and untrained. The muddy terrain made it
difficult for the artillery to advance behind the infantry, so the infantry sustained
heavy attacks against untouched machine guns and German forces. The tanks
were also having trouble moving in the muddy terrain. They were not getting
artillery or infantry support and were frequently sustaining losses to anti-tank
German weapons. The air support was also faulty because it was new and the
ground units did not have radios to comunícate with airplanes or know how to
signal for air support. Also, the air commander had different priorities and didn’t
provide much air support.
- This was the complete opposite to Desert Storm. Desert storm and desert shield are
considered perfect examples of the use of combined arms and multi-domain ops
(perfect use of jets, helicopters, artillery, GPS, misiles and ally forces synchronization).
The troops in desert storm describe the battles in war as easier than the ones during
training at Army NTC or Air Force red flag training rotations.
Group 5 - Thorne
--Use Principles of War to analyze Scott’s Mexico City Campaign.
Scott used a textbook implementation of all principles of war on this campaign. It was
considered a masterpiece. He kept LOCs secure; he utilized a clear objective: seize
Mexico City; clear unity of command; he outmaneuvered Santa Ana at every interaction;
he kept his operations simple even when it was potentially costly(see Chapultepec); and
he utilized surprise wherever possible.
--Why did the side that achieved Surprise at Shiloh and the Battle of the Bulge not win?
The south had their units attacking in a column. Grant persevered after a well executed
bound back then pressed his advantage. The 101st was perseverent and outlasted an
exhausted German side. Both cases involve perseverance and savvy defense.
--Compare the Triangle Division, Pentomic Division, and the Brigade Combat Team. I’ll
finish this one tomorrow
Group 6 - Parker
a)-Re MDO, compare the Battle of the Atlantic with Leyte Island fighting.
b)-How were Hutier Tactics and the Blitzkrieg Concept related?
c)-Compare Britain at Bunker Hill and the US at Corregidor via Principles of War and
METT-TC.
a) Battle of the Atlantic, Contest in World War II between Britain (and later the
U.S.) and Germany for the control of Atlantic sea routes. Initially the AngloFrench coalition drove German merchant shipping from the Atlantic, but with the
fall of France in 1940, Britain was deprived of French naval support. The U.S.
then assisted Britain with the lend-lease program. Early in 1942, the Axis began
a large-scale submarine offensive against coastal shipping in U.S. waters, and
German U-boats also operated in force along the South Atlantic ship lanes to
India and the Middle East. Allied shipping losses were severe, but the Allies
succeeded in tightening their blockade of Axis Europe and combating the Axis
war on shipping. By mid-1943 the Allies had recovered control of the sea routes.
Battle of Leyte Gulf, (Oct. 23–26, 1944) Decisive air and sea battle of World
War II that gave the Allies control of the Pacific. After the U.S. amphibious
landing on the Philippine island of Leyte (Oct. 20), the Japanese reacted with a
plan to decoy the U.S. fleet north while moving three attack forces into Leyte
Gulf. The U.S. discovery of one of the forces as it moved into position set off
three days of continuous surface and air clashes. In the largest naval battle of the
war, U.S. forces crippled the Japanese fleet and forced it to withdraw, allowing
the U.S. to complete its invasion of the Philippines.
b)
Group 7 - James
--Compare Blitzkrieg and AirLand Battle.
● Blitzkrieg - meaning “lightning war,” blitzkrieg was the practice of executing short,
offensive, combined-arms campaigns against neighboring countries. By applying
existing doctrine to new weapons and on a larger scale, long wars could be
avoided - in theory. Emphasize use of leadership, maneuver, and tempo in
combined-arms situations.
● Airland Battle - practice of coordinating air and land operations to address the
increased complexity of late-20th century warfare. Simultaneous close, deep,
and rear battles require tight coordination. Emphasis on leadership and
maneuver.
--Compare Grant at the Wilderness with Ridgway in Korea and Petraeus in the OIF
Surge.
● Grant in Wilderness, part of the Overland Campaign, in an effort to break the will
of the South by extending the difficult war, pushes his troops into an offensive
maneuver IOT slow down - if not defeat - Lee’s force.
● Ridgway in Korea turns his army from a defensive to offensive strategy to push
the communists back into North Korea.
● Petraeus is brought into the OIF Surge in order to implement an offensive tactic
to push out rebels and secure key areas in Iraq.
--Compare how civil affairs played a role in the Modoc and Ute Wars.
● Modoc War - US tries to force Modoc people onto a reservation with the
Klamaths, an old rival tribe. Many Modocs refuse to cooperate, and due to
inconsistent Indian Representation and widespread American support for the
Modoc cause, containment is hindered and eventually the US resorts to use of
force.
● Ute War - the Utes were assigned to land in western Colorado, where the tribe
could continue their hunting and horsemanship, but following mineral strikes,
statehood, and an influx of citizens into Colorado, the Americans wanted to
overtake the Ute lands - against their treaty. Poor Indian agency led to the Army
being called in to settle tensions, which in turned raised tensions causing an
eventual fire fight to break out.