General Military Strategic,
Doctrinal, Operational, and
Leadership Concepts
Agenda
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Key Theorists
Principles of War
Facets of the Operational Art
Forms of Maneuver
METT-TC
Strategy
Strategic Leadership
Key Theorists
Clausewitz
Jomini
Clausewitz
• Carl von Clausewitz
– Prussian officer born in 1780
– Resigned his commission in
1812 and joined the Russian
Army to fight Napoleon
– Ideas on war were heavily
influenced by the mass popular
warfare of the French
Revolutionary period and
Napoleon’s Prussian adversary
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
– Died in 1831 and his wife
published his On War in 1832
Clausewitz
• War is neither an art nor a science
– It is a continuation of “policy” (or “politics”) by
other means.
– A form of social intercourse
• War is like a wrestling match
– It is “an act of force to compel our enemy to
do our will.”
– But it is not unilateral. It is a contest between
two independent wills.
Clausewitz
• Used a trinitarian analysis consisting of (1) primordial
violence, hatred, and enmity; (2) the play of chance and
probability; and (3) war’s element of subordination to
rational policy
– Often loosely expressed as “the people, the military, and the
government”
• Analyzed “absolute war” or “war in theory,” but then
noted that factors such as poor intelligence, chance,
friction, etc make war in practice different than war in the
abstract
• Argued one should focus his military efforts against the
enemy’s “center of gravity” (“Schwerpunkt”)
– Very important concept in American military doctrine
Jomini
• Antoine-Henri Jomini (1779-1869) was
a Swiss military theorist who sought to
interpret Napoleon
• Published the Summary of the Art of
War in 1838
– Became the premier military-educational
text of the mid-nineteenth century and
greatly influenced Civil War generals.
– “Many a Civil War general went into battle
with a sword in one hand and Jomini’s
Summary of the Art of War in the other”
(General J. D. Hittle)
• Product of the Enlightenment
• Very geometrical and scientific
approach to war
– Stressed interior lines
Interior Lines
Exterior
Lines
Interior
Lines
Principles of War
Principles of War
• British military officer J. F. C. Fuller developed a list
of principles based on the works of Clausewitz and
Jomini for use by the British Army in World War I
• The US Army modified them and published its first
list in 1921
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Objective
Offensive
Mass
Economy of force
Maneuver
Unity of command
Security
Surprise
Simplicity
Objective
• When undertaking any mission, commanders should
have a clear understanding of the expected outcome
and its impact. Commanders need to appreciate political
ends and understand how the military conditions they
achieve contribute to them.
– Ensure that all actions contribute to the goals of the
higher headquarters.
– Example: Pemberton is going to have difficulty
determining if his objective is to defend Vicksburg or
defeat Grant’s army
Offensive
• Offensive operations are essential to maintain the
freedom of action necessary for success, exploit
vulnerabilities, and react to rapidly changing situations
and unexpected developments.
– Offensive actions are those taken to dictate the
nature, scope, and tempo of an operation.
– Offensive action is key to achieving decisive results; it
is the essence of successful operations.
– Example: Both Pemberton and Johnston are
defensively minded generals. Grant is exactly the
opposite.
Mass
• Commanders mass the effects of combat power in time
and space to overwhelm enemies or gain control of the
situation.
– Time: applies the elements of combat power against
multiple targets simultaneously
– Space : concentrates the effects of different elements
of combat power against a single target
– Example: McPherson will fail to mass his forces at
Raymond, instead piecemealing them into the battle
as they arrive.
Economy of Force
• Commanders never leave any element without a
purpose. When the time comes to execute, all
elements should have tasks to perform.
– Economy of force requires accepting prudent risk in
selected areas to achieve superiority in the decisive
operation.
– Economy of force involves the discriminating
employment and distribution of forces.
– Example: Pemberton will leave two divisions
guarding Vicksburg that could have been of better
use to him at Champion’s Hill.
Maneuver
• As both an element of combat power and a principle
of war, maneuver concentrates and disperses combat
power to place and keep the enemy at a
disadvantage. It includes the dynamic, flexible
application of leadership, firepower, information, and
protection as well.
– Achieves results that would otherwise be more costly
– Keeps enemies off balance by making them confront new
problems and new dangers faster than they can deal with
them.
– Example: One of the main themes of this course is that the
brilliance of Grant’s generalship is not the siege of Vicksburg
itself, but the maneuver that makes it possible.
Unity of Command
• Unity of command means that a single commander
directs and coordinates the actions of all forces toward a
common objective.
– Develops the full combat power of a force
– Usually requires giving a single commander authority
– Example: The Confederate departmental system will
hinder unity of command (and effort) at Vicksburg.
On the other hand, Grant and Porter will achieve
great unity of effort in a joint operation.
Security
• Calculated risk is inherent in conflict. Security protects
and preserves combat power.
– Does not involve excessive caution
– Measures taken by a command to protect itself from
surprise, interference, sabotage, annoyance, and
threat
– Example: Threats to the Federal lines of
communication from Van Dorn and Forrest will
markedly influence Grant’s conduct of the campaign.
Surprise
• Surprise results from taking actions for which an enemy
or adversary is unprepared.
– It is only necessary that the enemy become aware too
late to react effectively.
– Contributions to surprise include speed, information
superiority, and asymmetry.
– Example: Grant’s preliminary efforts to take
Vicksburg between Dec 1862 and Apr 1863 are all
failures, but they do serve to keep Pemberton
guessing as to the ultimate Federal intent.
Simplicity
• Plans and orders should be simple and direct. Simple
plans executed on time are better than detailed plans
executed late.
– Clear and concise plans cut down on
misunderstandings
– Example: The frontal assault is the simplest, but
often the most costly, form of maneuver. Lawler
successfully used the frontal attack at Big Black River.
Facets of the Operational Art
Facets of Operational Art
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Synergy
Simultaneity and depth
Anticipation
Balance
Leverage
Timing and tempo
Operational reach and approach
Facets of Operational Art (cont)
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Forces and functions
Arranging operations
Centers of gravity
Direct versus indirect
Decisive points
Culmination
Termination
Facets of Operational Art
• Synergy
– Seek combinations of forces and actions to achieve
concentrations in various dimensions, all culminating in attaining
the assigned objective(s) in the shortest time possible and with
minimum casualties
– Example: Grant’s efforts will combine pressure on Vicksburg
from both land and naval forces.
• Simultaneity and depth
– Place more demands on adversary forces than can be handled
both in terms of time and space
– Example: Grierson’s raid against the Southern Railroad east of
Jackson will cause Pemberton to almost completely ignore
Grant’s move down the west side of the Mississippi River.
Facets of Operational Art
• Anticipation
– Remain alert for the unexpected and opportunities to exploit the
situation
– Example: Pemberton completely misjudges Grant’s intentions
and fails to anticipate Grant’s crossing at Bruinsburg.
• Balance
– Maintain the force, its capabilities, and its operations in such a
manner as to contribute to freedom of action and responsiveness
– Example: Pemberton completely fails to achieve balance by
being constantly distracted by Grant’s diversions.
Facets of Operational Art
• Leverage
– Gain, maintain, and exploit advantages in combat
power across all dimensions
– Example: Grant’s siege of Vicksburg caused
Pemberton to have to deal with not just military, but
civilian considerations as well.
• Timing and tempo
– Conduct operations at a tempo and point in time that
best exploits friendly capabilities and inhibits the
adversary
– Example: Once Grant crosses the Mississippi he
moves with such speed that Pemberton is left
paralyzed.
Facets of Operational Art
• Operational reach and approach
– The distance over which military power can mass
effects and be employed decisively
– Example: Grant’s decision to cut loose from his base
of supplies allows him to fight a war of maneuver.
• Forces and functions
– Focus on defeating either adversary forces or
functions, or a combination of both
– Example: Grant’s victory at Jackson isolates
Pemberton from any potential support from Johnston.
Grant effects both Confederate forces
(reinforcements) and functions (logistics).
Facets of Operational Art
• Arranging operations
– Achieve dimensional superiority by a combination of
simultaneous and sequential operations
– Phases: Deter/engage, Seize initiative, Decisive operations,
Transition
– Example: Grant’s preliminary attempts, his maneuver, his
assaults on Vicksburg, and ultimately the siege combine to
produce a logical line of operation.
• Centers of gravity
– Those characteristics, capabilities, or sources of power from
which a military force derives its freedom of action, physical
strength, or will to fight
– Destroying or neutralizing adversary centers of gravity is the
most direct path to victory
– Example: Grant cuts Pemberton’s lines of communication to
supplies and reinforcements.
Facets of Operational Art
• Direct versus indirect
– To the extent possible, attack centers of gravity directly, but
where direct attack means attacking into an opponent’s strength
seek an indirect approach
– Example: Grant’s preliminary attempts such as the Yazoo Pass
are all indirect approaches that try to avoid directly confronting
Vicksburg’s strong river defenses.
• Decisive points
– Usually geographic in nature, but can sometimes be key events
or systems
– Give a marked advantage to whoever controls them
– Keys to attacking protected centers of gravity
– Example: Victory at Champion Hill guarantees Grant’s success
in the campaign by forcing Pemberton to withdraw to Vicksburg.
Facets of Operational Art
• Culmination
– Point in time and space at which an attacker’s combat power no
longer exceeds that of the defender or the defender no longer
can preserve his force
– Example: Grant starves Pemberton into submission through his
siege.
• Termination
– Military operations typically conclude with attainment of the
strategic ends for which the military force was committed, which
then allows transition to other instruments of national power and
agencies as the means to achieve broader goals
– Example: The surrender of Vicksburg gives the North control of
the Mississippi River. Grant agrees to parole the 30,000
Confederates so as not to encumber his lines of communication
with prisoners and to conclude the siege before Johnston might
arrive to support Pemberton.
Forms of Maneuver
Forms of Maneuver
• The five forms of maneuver are the
– envelopment,
– turning movement,
– infiltration,
– penetration, and
– frontal attack.
Envelopment
Envelopment
• The envelopment is a form of maneuver in which an
attacking force seeks to avoid the principal enemy
defenses by seizing objectives to the enemy rear to
destroy the enemy in his current positions.
• Envelopments avoid the enemy front, where he is
protected and can easily concentrate fires.
• Single envelopments maneuver against one enemy
flank; double envelopments maneuver against both.
Either variant can develop into an encirclement.
• Example: Gregg attempts an envelopment at Raymond
but is confused and overwhelmed by McPherson’s larger
force
Turning Movement
Turning Movement
• A turning movement is a form of maneuver in which
the attacking force seeks to avoid the enemy's
principal defensive positions by seizing objectives to
the enemy rear and causing the enemy to move out
of his current positions or divert major forces to
meet the threat.
• A major threat to his rear forces the enemy to attack or
withdraw rearward, thus "turning" him out of his
defensive positions.
• Turning movements typically require greater depth than
other forms of maneuver.
• Example: Grant turns Grand Gulf by crossing at
Bruinsburg and seizing Port Gibson
Infiltration
Infiltration
• An infiltration is a form of maneuver in which an
attacking force conducts undetected movement
through or into an area occupied by enemy forces
to occupy a position of advantage in the enemy
rear while exposing only small elements to enemy
defensive fires
– Typically, forces infiltrate in small groups and reassemble to
continue their mission.
– Infiltration rarely defeats a defense by itself. Commanders
direct infiltrations to attack lightly defended positions or
stronger positions from the flank and rear, to secure key
terrain to support the decisive operation, or to disrupt enemy
sustaining operations.
– Example: Running the gauntlet (?) (Probably better
described as a penetration)
Penetration
Penetration
• A penetration is a form of maneuver in which an
attacking force seeks to rupture enemy defenses
on a narrow front to disrupt the defensive system.
– Commanders direct penetrations when enemy flanks are not
assailable or time does not permit another form of maneuver.
Successful penetrations create assailable flanks and provide
access to enemy rear areas.
– Because penetrations frequently are directed into the front of
the enemy defense, they risk significantly more friendly
casualties than envelopments, turning movements, and
infiltrations.
– Example: Porter successfully runs the gauntlet of the
Vicksburg batteries and takes a position south of the city to
support Grant’s operation.
Frontal Attack
Frontal attack
• The frontal attack is frequently the most costly form of
maneuver, since it exposes the majority of the attackers to
the concentrated fires of the defenders.
– As the most direct form of maneuver, however, the frontal attack is
useful for overwhelming light defenses, covering forces, or
disorganized enemy resistance.
– It is often the best form of maneuver for hasty attacks and meeting
engagements, where speed and simplicity are essential to
maintain tempo and the initiative.
– Commanders may direct a frontal attack as a shaping operation
and another form of maneuver as the decisive operation.
– Example: Grant will make two failed frontal assaults on Vicksburg
before resorting to a siege.
Maneuver and Tempo of
Operations
1862
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
First Offensives
Feb
Mar
Bayou Expeditions
Apr
March
Down
River
1 May
12 May
14 May
16 May
Port
Gibson
Raymond
Jackson
Champion
Hill
May
Campaign
End
TN/KY
Campaign
1863
Jun
Siege
17 May
Big
Black
River
Snyder’s (Haynes’)
Bluff
Milliken’s
Bend
N
Chickasaw Bayou
Young’s
Point
Vicksburg
Edwards
Champion Hill
Jackson
Raymond
Vicksburg
Campaign Overview
Grand Gulf
Willow Springs
Port Gibson
Bruinsburg
Rodney
0 Scale 10
(miles)
Route of
Grant’s Army
XXX
McP
XX
Lor
XXXX
Grant
Milliken’s
Bend
XX
For
SPT
XXX
Sher
Young’s
Point
SPT
XXX
XX
McC
Stv
New Carthage
XX
XXXX
Smi
Pemb
Por
XX
Bow
March To Bruinsburg I
31 March-18 April
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
XX
Milliken’s
Bend
XXX
SPT
Young’s
Point
For
Sher
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi
Pemb
XX
Stv
XX
Lor
Por
XXX
XX
McP
Bow
Bruinsburg
XXX
McC
Rodney
March To Bruinsburg II
19-30 April
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
XXX
Sher
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi
XX
Pemb
SPT
XXStv
XX
For
Jackson
Lor
XX
Bow
XXX
Port Gibson
Campaign of Maneuver
1 May
McC
XXX
McP
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
XXX
Sher
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi
XX
Pemb
SPT
XXStv
XX
Lor
Jackson
For
XX
Bow
Willow Springs
XXX
XXX
McC
McP
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
2 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXX
Sher
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi
Pemb
XX
For
Jackson
XX
Stv
XX
BowXX
Lor XXX
McP
XXX
SPT
McC
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
3 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi XX
Pemb
XX
Bow
For
SPT
Jackson
XX
XXX
Stv
Sher
XX
Lor
XXX
McP
XXX
SPT
McC
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
4 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi XX
Pemb
XX
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Jackson
XXX
Sher
XXX
McP
XXX
SPT
McC
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
5 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi
Pemb
XX
XX
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Jackson
XXX
McP
XXX
Sher
XXX
SPT
McC
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
6 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi
Pemb
XX
XX
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Jackson
XXX
McC
XXX
XXX
SPT
Sher
McP
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
7 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi
Pemb
XX
SPT
XX
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Jackson
XXX
SPT
McC
XXX
XXX
Sher
McP
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
8 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
Smi
Pemb
XX
SPT
XX
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Jackson
XXX
XXX
SPT
Sher
McC
XXX
McP
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
9 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi
Pemb
XX
Edwards
XX
X
Bow
For
XX
XX
Stv
Lor
Gr Jackson
Raymond
XXX
McC
XXX
XXX
Sher
McP
SPT
Big Bayou Pierre
Campaign of Maneuver
10 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XX
XXXX
SPT
Smi
Pemb
XX
Edwards
XX
X
Bow
For
X
Wa
Gr
XX
XX
XXX
Stv
Lor
McC
Raymond
XXX
XXX
Sher
McP
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
11 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
Pemb
XX
Smi
SPT
XX Bovina
XX
Bow
Lor
XX
XX
For
Stv
X
Edwards
Wa
X
XXX
XXX
McC
Sher
Jackson
Gr
XXX
McP
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
12 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
XX
Smi
SPT
Pemb
Bovina
XX
XXXX
Stv
XX
Lor Bow
XX
For
John
XX
XXX
XXX
McP
McC
X
Jackson
Gr
XXX
Sher
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
13 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
Pemb
XX
SPT
Smi
Bovina
XX
XX
For
XXXX
John
XX
Stv
XX
Lor Bow
Champion
Hill
XXX
McC
XXX
X
McP
Gr
XXX
Sher
Raymond
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
14 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
SPT
John
XX
XX
Smi
Bovina
XX
For
Stv
XX
Bow
XX
Lor
XXX
McP
XXX
Sher
XXX
McC
Raymond
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
15 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
SPT
John
XX
XX
Smi
Bovina
XX
Stv
XX
Bow
XX
Lor
XXX
McP
XXX
XXX
McC
Sher
Jackson
For
Raymond
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
16 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
XXXX
SPT
John
XXX
Sher
XXX
XX
SPT
Smi
XX
XX
McP
Stv Bow
XXX
XX
McC
Jackson
For
Raymond
XX
Lor
SPT
Campaign of Maneuver
17 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
SPT
XXXX
SPT
John
XXX
SPT
XXXX
Sher
XXX
Pemb
McP
XXX
McC
Jackson
SPT
Raymond
XX
Lor
Campaign of Maneuver
18 May
N
0 Scale 10
(miles)
Siege of Vicksburg
XXX
Sher
Fort Hill
XX
Stockade Redan
3d Louisiana Redan
Smi
0 Miles 1
XX
XXX
Bow
McP
XX
XX
Stv
For
Railroad Redoubt
XXX
McC
N
METT-TC
METT-TC
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Mission
Enemy
Terrain and Weather
Troops and Equipment
Time
Civilians
Mission
• Seize Vicksburg in order to control the
Mississippi River and separate the
Confederacy in two
Enemy
• Pemberton
– Five divisions totaling 43,000 effectives
• Pemberton fell under Johnston’s
Department of the West
– Represents some potential for a relief force
• No ironclads and only a few wooden
gunboats
Terrain
• Vicksburg located astride the
railroad that linked Shreveport,
LA (and thus the three states
west of the river) to the eastern
transportation network
• Line of bluffs that dominated
the river favored defense
• Northeast and west of
Vicksburg was wetland that
would inhibit offensive
movement
Troops
• Army
– Grant has a maneuver
force of ten divisions
(44,000 effectives)
• Navy
– Porter’s Mississippi
River Squadron has
about 60 combat
vessels of which 20 to
25 would support the
Vicksburg operation at
any one time
Time
• Pemberton has ample time to prepare his
defense
• Grant needs to attack before his supplies
run out and before Johnston can reinforce
• Once the siege begins, time benefits the
offense
Civilians
• About 5,000 live in
Vicksburg
• Pemberton is
responsible for their
well-being
• Other civilians along
the Mississippi River
pose a guerrilla threat
to the Federal Navy
• Potential source of
intelligence
Strategy
Strategy
• Strategy is the pursuit, protection, or
advancement of national interests through
the application of the instruments of power
• Instruments of power (DIME)
– Diplomatic
– Informational
– Military
– Economic
Strategy
• Strategy is about how (way or
concept) leadership will use
the power (means or
resources) available to the
state to exercise control over
sets of circumstances and
geographic locations to
achieve objectives (ends) that
support state interests
• Strategy = Ends (objectives)
+ Ways (course of action) +
Means (instruments)
– Ways to employ means to
achieve ends
Strategy
• End
– Deny Federal use of the Mississippi River
• Way
– Interdict river traffic at Vicksburg
• Mean
– Pemberton’s force at Vicksburg
Traditional Military Strategies
• Attrition
– The reduction of the effectiveness of a
force caused by loss of personnel and
materiel
• Exhaustion
– The gradual erosion of a nation’s will or
means to resist
• Annihilation
– Seeks the immediate destruction of the
combat power of the enemy’s armed forces
Strategic Leadership
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
– Communicating
– Using Dialogue
– Negotiating
– Achieving Consensus
– Building Staffs
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Conceptual Skills
– Envisioning
– Developing Frames of Reference
– Dealing with Uncertainty and Ambiguity
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Technical Skills
– Strategic Art
– Leveraging Technology
– Translating Political Goals into Military
Objectives
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
– Communicating
• “When you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I never had
any faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I,
that the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the like, could succeed.
When you got below, and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and
vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join
General Banks; and when you turned northward east of the
Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now which to make the
personal acknowledgement that you were right and I was
wrong.”
– Lincoln to Grant
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
– Using Dialogue
• Pemberton prefers to command behind the scenes and has little
direct communication with his soldiers or subordinate commanders
– Negotiating
• Grant and Porter are able to achieve Army-Navy cooperation in the
absence of a hierarchical command relationship
– Achieving Consensus
• Pemberton’s superiors, Davis and Johnston, do not achieve
consensus on the proper strategy and give Pemberton conflicting
guidance
– Building Staffs
• Grant will draw great benefit from his logistical staff that will keep
him resupplied after he “cuts loose” from his base
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Conceptual Skills
– Envisioning
• Success at Raymond convinces Grant to shift his decisive
point from the Confederate railroads to Jackson, which will
allow him to isolate Vicksburg from reinforcements.
– Developing Frames of Reference
• Pemberton brings from Charleston a dictum that he must not
do anything to leave Vicksburg vulnerable.
– Dealing with Uncertainty and Ambiguity
• This is Pemberton’s chief failure. He is continually left
guessing by Grant’s diversions and maneuver and is always
a couple steps behind.
Strategic Leadership Skills
• Technical Skills
– Strategic Art
• Control of the Mississippi would separate the Confederacy
into two halves and controlling Vicksburg would give the
North control of the Mississippi
– Leveraging Technology
• At the time of the Vicksburg Campaign, the Confederacy has
no ironclads. The Federal Mississippi River Squadron
included thirteen ironclads.
– Translating Political Goals into Military Objectives
• The Anaconda Plan was rejected as a military strategy
because it failed to meet the political objective for a quick,
offensive war.
Impact of Mexican War
•
•
•
•
Limited War
Turning Movement
Technology
Junior Officers
Limited War: Winfield Scott
• Epitomized the
professional officer
– Served in War of 1812,
brevetted to major
general
– Studied European
tactics
– Became general-inchief in 1841
• Selected by President
Polk to lead a second
major campaign in
Mexico (Zachary
Taylor’s was the first)
Limited War: Objective
• Objective as a principal of war
– When undertaking any
mission, commanders
should have a clear
understanding of the
expected outcome and its
impact
– Commanders need to
appreciate political ends and
understand how the military
conditions they achieve
contribute to them.
• Winfield Scott saw Mexico as a
war of limited objectives, to be
waged by limited means
Limited War: Objective
• Based on this belief, Scott developed a
largely political strategy
• Believed that Mexican political life centered
around Mexico City so completely that
capturing the capital would paralyze the
country and oblige the Mexican government
to sue for peace in order to remain a
government at all
• Therefore his objective was to capture
Mexico City, not to destroy the Mexican army
Limited War: Treatment of Civilians
• Scott conducted his campaign with strict regard
for the rights of the Mexican citizens, making
every effort to confine bloodshed and suffering
to the Mexican army rather than the civilian
population.
• He scrupulously regulated his soldiers’ conduct
and interaction with Mexican civilians, reducing
contact to the minimum necessary for the
sustenance of his army and the morale of his
troops.
Limited War: Treatment of Civilians
• “But, my dear Sir, our militia & volunteers, if a tenth of
what is said to be true, have committed atrocities—
horrors—in Mexico, sufficient to make Heaven weep, &
every American, of Christian morals, blush for his
country. Murder, robbery & rape of mothers &
daughters, in the presence of the tied up males of their
families, have been common all along the Rio Grande….
Truly it would seem unchristian & cruel to let loose upon
any people—even savages—such unbridled persons—
freebooters, &c., &c….”
– Scott writing the Secretary of War after visiting Taylor’s army
(Weigley, “History,” 187-188).
Limited War
• Scott will carry his ideas about limited war into
the Civil War with his Anaconda Plan
• Many Federals, such as George McClellan, will
advocate a strategy of conciliation toward the
Confederacy
• Such an approach will be rejected and the Civil
War will become increasingly total
–
–
–
–
–
Pope’s General Orders
Emancipation Proclamation
Conscription
Suspension of some civil liberties
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Limited War: Changing Times
• “… while Scott was the preeminent military strategist of
the first half of the nineteenth century, he occupied a
lonely plateau in more senses than one: that at the
zenith of his powers he was already a museum piece, a
soldier of an age gone by whose perceptions of war and
strategy had little influence on most of the very West
Point graduates whose service in Mexico he so
fulsomely praised, because the young graduates
inhabited a new world of very different values from
Scott’s, the military world of Napoleon” (Russell Weigley,
American Way of War, 76).
Turning Movement
• Scott conducts
amphibious
landing at Vera
Cruz and must
then move by land
to Mexico City
along a
predictable, welldefended avenue
of approach
• Wants to avoid
frontal assaults by
maneuver
Turning Movement
• Maneuver
– As both an element of combat power and a principle
of war, maneuver concentrates and disperses combat
power to place and keep the enemy at a
disadvantage
– Achieves results that would otherwise be more costly
– Keeps enemies off balance by making them confront
new problems and new dangers faster than they can
deal with them
• The form of maneuver that Scott is going to rely
on in Mexico is the turning movement
Turning Movement
• In a turning movement the
attacking force seeks to
avoid the enemy's principal
defensive positions by
seizing objectives to the
enemy rear and causing the
enemy to move out of his
current positions or divert
major forces to meet the
threat.
• A major threat to his rear
forces the enemy to attack
or withdraw rearward, thus
"turning" him out of his
defensive positions.
Turning Movement: Cerro Gordo
• Scott wants to avoid
a costly frontal
assault so he has
Robert E. Lee and
other engineers recon
a possible route
around Santa Anna’s
flank
• Lee finds a way to
outflank the
defenders, and Scott
executes the first of
several flanking
movements in his
march to Mexico City.
Turning Movements and the Civil
War
• “The Mexican War created an informal,
unwritten tactical doctrine—to turn the
enemy.” (Archer Jones)
– Civil War battles and campaigns that involved
turning movements include the Peninsula
Campaign, Second Manassas, and Vicksburg
• Nonetheless the Civil War will also include
many costly frontal attacks such as
Fredericksburg and Pickett’s Charge
Technology: Rifles
• Two things that make
these frontal attacks
so costly are the rifled
musket and the Minie
Ball
– A few volunteer units
like the Mississippi
Rifles had rifles in
Mexico, but the
Regular Army
stubbornly held to
smoothbore muskets
At Buena Vista, Jefferson
Davis commanded the
Mississippi Rifles to “Stand
Fast, Mississippians!”
Technology: Changing Times
• By the time of the Civil War,
the rifled musket and the
Minie ball will cause a change
in military tactics
– The defense will gain strength
relative to the offense
– Artillery will loose its ability to
safely advance close to the
enemy and breach holes in
defenses
– Close-order formations will
become dangerously vulnerable
Technology: Other Examples
• Steam-powered
ships
• Ironclads
• Telegraph
• Railroads
• Balloons
Junior Officers: Rehearsal for the
Civil War
• Approximately 194 Federal
generals and 142
Confederate generals
previously served in Mexico
• Lee, Jackson, Hill, Pickett,
Longstreet, Beauregard,
Bragg, etc
• Meade, Grant, Kearney,
McClellan, Hooker, Pope,
McDowell, etc
Junior Officers: Impact of West
Pointers
• In 1817, Sylvanus Thayer replaced
Captain Alden Partridge as
superintendent of West Point and
began reversing the damage
Partridge had done.
• Thayer broadened and
standardized the curriculum,
established a system to measure
class standing, organized classes
around small sections, improved
cadet discipline, created the office
of commandant of cadets, and
improved military training.
“The Father of the
Military Academy”
Junior Officers: Impact of West
Pointers
• By the time of the Mexican
War, Thayer’s reforms had
produced a generation of men
who would fill the junior
officers’ ranks in Mexico.
• These lieutenants and
captains stood in sharp
contrast to the older officers
who had not benefited from a
systematic military education
and training.
• The impact of Thayer and
West Point was readily
apparent in Mexico.
West Point was founded in
1802 and was instrumental in
training engineers in the 19th
Century
Junior Officers: Impact of West
Pointers
• Winfield Scott called his West Pointers his “little
cabinet”
• Scott was unwavering in his acknowledgement
of West Pointers declaring,
– “I give it as my fixed opinion that but for our graduated
cadets the war between the United States and Mexico
might, and probably would, have lasted some four or
five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than
victories falling to our share, whereas in two
campaigns we conquered a great country and a
peace without the loss of a single battle or skirmish.”
West Pointers in the Civil War
• West Pointers will play a key role in the
Civil War
– 151 Confederate and 294 Federal generals
were West Point graduates
– Of the Civil War’s 60 major battles, West
Pointers commanded both sides in 55
– A West Pointer commanded on one side in
the other five
Grant and Pemberton
•
“A more conscientious, honorable man never lived. I
remember when a general order was issued that none of
the junior officers should be allowed horses during
marches. Mexico is not an easy country to march in.
Young officers not accustomed to it soon got foot-sore.
This was quickly discovered, and they were found
lagging behind. But the order was not revoked, yet a
verbal permit was accepted, and nearly all of them
remounted. Pemberton alone said, No, he would walk,
as the order was still extant not to ride, and he did walk,
though suffering intensely the while.”
– Grant’s recollection of Pemberton in Mexico
Grant and Pemberton
• Grant claimed that his
recollection of this
incident would convince
him at Vicksburg that
Pemberton would not
easily yield.
– “This I thought of all the
time [Pemberton] was in
Vicksburg and I outside of
it; and I knew he would
hold on to the last.”
Grant as a lieutenant in Mexico
Next
• Federal Forces
• Confederates Forces
Illinois State Memorial
Mississippi State Memorial