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World War II


Lessons Learned and Unlearned: The Drivers of US Indirect-Fire Innovation

Lessons Learned and Unlearned: The Drivers of US Indirect-Fire Innovation

MAJ Brennan S. Deveraux

Art of War Scholars Series

191 Pages

Published: 2024

Lessons Learned and Unlearned analyzes nearly a century of US artillery innovation and adaptation, focusing on the pressures of incorporating new technology, applying combat experience, and assessing external threats. Indirect fire’s role on the battlefield has been repeatedly reshaped by new technologies on the one hand and organizational and doctrinal changes on the other. This research examines successful and unsuccessful historical indirect-fire adaptations since the birth of indirect fire—identifying innovation themes, insights into future issues, and recommendations for more effective indirect fire.

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Art of War Papers Not Just Lucky

Not Just Lucky

How Patton’s Third Army Adapted to Generate Information Advantage, 1944

Spencer L. French, Major, US Army

Published: 2023

In August 1944, Patton’s Third Army smashed through German defenses in Normandy and broke out in a rapid pursuit across France. Third Army’s success was substantially due to its effectiveness at generating operational level information advantage. Information advantage enabled Third Army to gain and maintain the initiative, anticipate decisions, and extend operational reach. Yet when Third Army activated in England in the Spring of 1944, it possessed neither the information forces nor the staff processes to generate information advantage effectively. This study examines how Patton successfully embedded a unique military culture that encouraged rapid adaptation within Third Army’s information forces. Specifically, it explores how Patton’s visionary leadership created a sense of organizational urgency, reducing change resistance. It also analyzes how Patton’s coalition established robust feedback loops and a culture of self-criticism and experimentation. Finally, it looks at how Patton leveraged diverse expertise to develop devastatingly effective solutions to complex problems. Improvements in Third Army’s ability to generate information advantage resulted not from any technological advance or material factor but from a military culture that encouraged adaptation.

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Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences

Armies in Retreat

Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences

Timothy G. Heck and Walker D. Mills

Published: 2023

In Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences, editors Timothy Heck and Walker Mills have culled together a collection of essays that fills a critical gap in publications and literature covering large-scale combat operations. Every battle has two sides: the victors and the vanquished. This book explores retreating armies—those that maintained cohesion and later succeeded and others that devolved into chaos. Ultimately, this book is about surviving defeat and designed to inform leaders about what to expect when the unexpected happens, to prevent the shock and mitigate some of the terror on every side so they can respond with resilience and cohesion. Retreat, while unpalatable, can ultimately lead to military or national survival, even victory.

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Nisei Spirit: The Cultural Identity of the 442nd RCT

Nisei Spirit: The Cultural Identity of the 442nd RCT

By David F. Bonner

67 Pages

Published: 2022

The majority of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II consisted of second-generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei. An enduring sense of duty instilled by their families and a tight-knit network of Nikkei communities in the United States shaped the combat motivations of the Nisei soldiers. Author David Bonner examines this strong cultural identity, paired with the task cohesion and the primary group cohesion theories, as it forms a framework for achieving a better understanding of small-unit effectiveness. This is a story of unparalleled fortitude in the face of adversity, ranging from prejudice in the rear to seemingly overwhelming odds on the frontlines. 

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A Battle Report: Alam Halfa (CSIRP)

A Battle Report: Alam Halfa (CSIRP)

CPT Hart and Generalleutnant Bayerlein, MG Roberts

46 Pages

Published: 2012

THE BATTLE OF ALAM HALFA IN 1942, fought as August turned into September, was a turning point of the war in the Mediterranean-indeed, more truly a turning point than the more celebrated "Battle of Alamein" that followed, in the fall. For by the time this started, late in October, the British build-up of strength in North Africa so vastly exceeded that of the German and Italian forces under Rommel as to ensure the frustration of his attempt to overrun Egypt-leaving only the question of how long he could cling on to the door, and whether he could escape destruction.

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CSI Report No. 2: A Comparative Look at Air-Ground Support Doctrine and Practice in World War II

A Comparative Look at Air-Ground Support Doctrine and Practice in World War II

CSI Report No. 2

By LTC Kenneth Steadman

42 Pages

Published: 1991

This study summarizes the air-ground support doctrine and systems employed by both the Allies and their adversaries in World War II. 1 It is intended to identify similarities and differences in the doctrinal and procedural systems employed by the combatants; it is in no sense a complete historical study of air-ground operations during the war. The value of the study lies in its narrow focus on a specific application of air power and in its comparative examination of this application.

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Analysis of Deep Attack Operations: Operation Bagration, Belorussia, 22 June - 29 August 1944

Analysis of Deep Attack Operations

Operation Bagration, Belorussia, 22 June - 29 August 1944

By William M. Connor

112 Pages

Published: 1987

Operation BAGRATION took place during what the Soviet analysts consider the third period of the war: that of thD Soviet strategic offensives which marked the ascendancy of the Soviet armed forces over the German Wehrmacht. During this period, the armed forces of the soviet Union held the strategic initiaitve and used it to defeat the Wehrmacht, gain control of Eastern Europe, 'and invade Germany proper, meeting Allied forces on the Elbe River on 25 April 1945.

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 August Storm: Soviet Tactical and Operational Combat in Manchuria, 1945 - Leavenworth Papers No. 8

August Storm: Soviet Tactical and Operational Combat in Manchuria, 1945

Leavenworth Papers No. 8

By LTC David M. Glantz

215 Pages

Published: 1983

In this companion piece to Leavenworth Paper No. 7, "August Storm: The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945," LTC David M. Glantz focuses on the operational and tactical levels of the Manchurian campaign, highlighting the techniques that brought victory to Soviet combined arms during the last days of World War II. In eight case studies, Lieutenant Colonel Glantz examines various kinds of military operations, from tank armies crossing mountains and desert to joint ground and riverine actions conducted over diverse terrain, from heavily wooded mountains to swampy lowlands.

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August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria Leavenworth Papers No. 7:

August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria

Leavenworth Papers No. 7

By LTC David M. Glantz

260 Pages

Published: 1983

Too often soldiers fall victim to their preconceptions about potential adversaries' patterns of behavior. A popular notion among U.S. officers is that military history in the Soviet Union consists of little but propaganda broadsides to justify Soviet actions. On too few occasions do U.S. officers critically analyze the past campaigns of potential adversaries. In particular, the rich vein of military history in Russian language military periodicals and literature has been neglected. The language barrier, time constraints, and changing Army requirements combine to hinder the type of in-depth historical research that affords penetrating insights into Soviet military planning, operations, and tactics.

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Battle of Metz, CSI Battlebook 13-A

Battle of Metz

CSI Battlebook 13-A

By J. McNulty, et al.

84 Pages

Published: 1984

The battle of Metz is but one episode in what is commonly referred to as the Northwest Europe Campaign during the final year of World War II. The campaign really began on 25 July 1944 when the Allied armies broke out from the confines of the Normandy Peninsula and ended in May of the following year when the German Army surrendered unconditionally. To reduce the scale somewhat further, the operations that made up the Battle of Metz and which lasted from September through December 1944, were part of the Lorraine campaign, waged during the same period by the Third U.S. Army.

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Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operation in France, 6 June 1931 – July 1944

Busting the Bocage

American Combined Arms Operation in France, 6 June 1931 – July 1944

By CPT Michael D. Doubler

86 Pages

Published: 1988

Over forty years have passed since Allied armies landed inNormandy with the purpose of liberating western Europe anddestroying Hitler's Third Reich. Despite this passage of timeand extensive writings on the landings in France, officers andhistorians are still intensely interested in D-Day and theNormandy campaign.

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CSI Report No. 5 Conversations with General J. Lawton Collins

Conversations with General J. Lawton Collins

CSI Report No. 5

By MAJ Gary Wade

13 Pages

Published: 1983

Former Army Chief of Staff J. Lawton Collins was inducted into the Fort Leavenworth Memorial Hall of Fame on 17 May 1983. The Hall of Fame was established to honor American soldiers who have contributed significantly to the defense of the United States. General Collins, recognized as the "best" corps commander during World War II, was elected by a panel of distinguished historians.

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Defending the Driniumor: Covering Force Operations in New Guinea, 1944 - Leavenworth Papers No. 9

Defending the Driniumor: Covering Force Operations in New Guinea, 1944

Leavenworth Papers No. 9

By Dr. Edward J. Drea

189 Pages

Published: 1984

The U.S. Army’s extensive amphibious campaigns in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II have been all but forgotten today. The conduct of those far-flung operations, the sustenance of more than twenty-seven U.S. Army infantry divisions, and the imaginative planning required for bold thrusts deep into the enemy’s rear areas offer timeless lessons for commanders. Moreover, a new aspect of the Pacific War has recently surfaced: the ability of the U.S. Army to read the most secret Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) codes-in short, to “see deep” for the purposes of operational planning. This Leavenworth Paper correlates, insofar as possible, the influence of Ultra intelligence on the conduct of General Douglas MacArthur’s Aitape, New Guinea, campaign. The signals intelligence community regarded the U.S. XI Corps’s destruction of the Imperial Japanese 18th Army as one of the singular achievements of the intelligence craft during World War II.

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Desert Warfare: German Experiences in World War II

Desert Warfare

German Experiences in World War II

By MG Alfred Toppe

113 Pages

Published: 1991

Analysts continue to assess the data from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a means of improving the military's to function efficiently in desert terrain. The information gleaned from this effort will enhance the already considerable of knowledge on the subject derived from the historical record. That record, of course, is incomplete, in that much valuable information was never and much that was has been lost or forgotten. When contributions in the latter category are located or rediscovered, they should he given the dissemination they merit.

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Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies - Leavenworth Papers No. 5:

Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies

Leavenworth Papers No. 5

By Dr. Allen F. Chew

56 Pages

Published: 1981

This Leavenworth Paper contains three case studies about winter warfare drawn from twentieth century experience. It provides several valuable perspectives about this well known, but sometimes little understood subject.

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Leavenworth Paper 24: Forging the Ninth Army-XXIX TAC Team The Development, Training, and Application of American Air-Ground Doctrine in World War II

Forging the Ninth Army-XXIX TAC Team

The Development, Training, and Application of American Air-Ground Doctrine in World War II

Leavenworth Paper 24

By Christopher M. Rein, Ph.D.

211 Pages

Published: 2019

Forging the Ninth Army –XXIX Team: The Development, Training, and Application of American Air Ground Doctrine in World War II by Christopher M. Rein, Ph.D. is the latest volume in the Leavenworth Paper series. This study tells the story of how before D-Day, the US Army developed new doctrine and training for its air-ground teams. As Dr. Rein shows, the close air support provided by these teams often proved decisive as the Allies fought their way across the Rhine and defeated Germany.

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From One Leader to Another

From the Roer to the Elbe With the 1st Medical Group

Medical Support of the Deliberate River Crossing

By CPT Donald E. Hall

92 Pages

Published: 1991

The seeds of this paper were first planted in early 1986 by Colonel Henry J. Waters, Medical Service Corps (MSC), and the late Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Block, MSC, then commander and executive officer of the 1st Medical Group, Fort Hood, Texas. Both suggested that I do some work on the group's history; they said that it might be fun. In line with these suggestions, I hope eventually to expand my work to include a complete history of the 1st Medical Regiment-lst Medical Group from 1917 to 1945.

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Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April-June 1945 - Leavenworth Papers No. 18:

Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April-June 1945

Leavenworth Papers No. 18

By Thomas M. Huber

160 Pages

Published: 1990

During the Pacific war, from 1937 to 1945, the Japanese military grew to an end strength of 7 million men. Over the course of the war, this represented some 28 million man-years of uniformed service to the Japanese Empire. Imperial service spanned every conceivable environment, from subarctic in Manchuria to steaming rain forest in New Guinea, and every conceivable adversary, from a Soviet armored corps at Nomonhan in 1939 to isolated nationalist guerrillas in the Philippine archipelago. Moreover, there is an abundant literature in Japanese on these experiences in the form of official histories, unit histories, memoirs, biographies, and studies by scholars and journalists.

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Jedburgh Team Operations in Support of the 12th Army Group, August 1944

Jedburgh Team Operations in Support of the 12th Army Group, August 1944

By Dr. Samuel Lewis

94 Pages

Published: 1991

In the summer of 1944, Allied special operations teams known as Jedburghs parachuted into occupied Europe to cooperate with resistance groups behind German lines and to aid in the advance of Allied ground forces. Each of the ninety-nine Jedburgh teams consisted of three specially trained volunteers. Clandestine operations of the kind that the Jedburghs conducted often have been recounted in memoirs and novels, but only a portion of the actual operational records have been declassified.

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Merrill's Marauders: Combined Operations in Northern Burma in 1944

Merrill's Marauders

Combined Operations in Northern Burma in 1944

By Dr. Gary J. Bjorge

62 Pages

Published: 1996

During World War II, the United States fought as a member of the largest military coalition ever formed. Across the world, millions of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen joined with the fighting forces of other nations to defeat the Axis Powers. As they did so, they wrote many new chapters in the history of coalition warfare and combined operations. Of those chapters, none illustrates the benefits and the difficulties inherent in this type of warfare more vividly than does the story ofwhat happened to “Merrill’s Marauders” in northern Burma.

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Multi-Domain Battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater of World War II

Multi-Domain Battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater of World War II

By Christopher M. Rein

191 Pages

Published: 2018

"Multi-Domain Battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater of World War II" provides a historical account of how US forces used synchronized operations in the air, maritime, information, and land domains to defeat the Japanese Empire. This work offers a historical case that illuminates current thinking about future campaigns in which coordination among all domains will be critical for success.

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Nomonhan: Japanese-Soviet Tactical Combat, 1939 - Leavenworth Papers 2

Nomonhan: Japanese-Soviet Tactical Combat, 1939

Leavenworth Papers 2

By Dr. Edward J. Drea

129 Pages

Published: 1981

Military history is the peacetime laboratory for the professional soldier. As duPicq reminds us, "only study of the past can give us a sense of reality and show us how the soldier will fight in the future." Serious study of our profession helps narrow the gap between training and battle. Publication and dissemination of tactical battle studies is the central focus of the Combat Studies Institute and the Leavenworth Paper series.

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Occasional Paper 11 Mobility, Vigilance, and Justice: The US Army Constabulary in Germany, 1946-1953

Occasional Paper 11 Mobility, Vigilance, and Justice: The US Army Constabulary in Germany, 1946-1953

By Kendall D. Gott

88 Pages

Published: 2005

Mobility, Vigilance, and Justice: The US Army Constabulary in Germany, 1946-1953 is another in a series of military case studies published by the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This work examines the establishment and operations of the US Constabulary in post-World War II Germany. It outlines the planning involved in the early stages and showcases some of the difficulties involved with implementing the command guidance.

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Pastel: Deception in the Invasion of Japan

Pastel

Deception in the Invasion of Japan

By Dr. Thomas M. Huber

64 Pages

Published: 1988

In 1945, to end the Pacific war, American strategic plans foresaw an invasion of Japan's heavily defended home islands. Operations Olympic and Coronet, America's proposed landings on Kyushu and the Tokyo Plain, wern the lai·gest amphibious invasions ever planned. Although precluded by war's end, preparations for both were extensive.

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Principles of War: A Translation from the Japanese

Principles of War

A Translation from the Japanese

By Dr. Joseph West

129 Pages

Published: 1988

Principles of War is a reprinted translation from the Japanese. The idea for the translation came from Colonel Tsutomu Matsumura, Japanese Liaison Officer at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Knowing the nature of the original version and being keenly aware of the role played by historical examples, Colonel Matsumura suggested Principles of War be shared with a larger, English speaking audience.

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Principles of War: A Translation from the Japanese

Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in World War II

Leavenworth Papers No. 11

By Dr. Michael J. King

129 Pages

Published: 1985

Operation Urgent Fury, conducted in October 1983, focused international attention on the U.S. Army Rangers. This tough, highly mobile force performed an airborne-airland assault into Grenada on short notice and quickly seized objectives while sustaining only Eimited casualties. The performance of the Rangers in Grenada is indicative of the role that skilled forces can play in a nation’s military strategy and exempfifies the ideal use of highly trained “elite” forces.

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Seek, Strike, and Destroy - Leavenworth Papers No. 12

Seek, Strike, and Destroy

Leavenworth Papers No. 12

By Dr. Christopher R. Gabel

98 Pages

Published: 1985

On 3 December 1941, the War Department inaugurated a military concept unique to the U.S. Army-the tank destroyer. The term “tank destroyer” (TD) evolved into a broad concept that included personnel, equipment, and units alike. Born of a desperate need to counter the mechanized might of the so-called blitzkrieg, tank destroyer doctrine involved the pooling of antitank weapons into battalion.

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Soldier Extraordinaire: The Life and Career of Brig. Gen. Frank “Pinkie” Dorn (1901–81)

Soldier Extraordinaire

The Life and Career of Brig. Gen. Frank “Pinkie” Dorn (1901–81)

By Alfred Emile Cornebise

266 Pages

Published: 2019

Dr. Alfred Cornebise's biography of BG Frank "Pinkie" Dorn offers a case study of the importance of cultural immersion and foreign language skills in creating flexible and adaptable officers who can successfully work with Allied forces to achieve success in wartime. While serving as an aide to GEN Joseph Stilwell in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of World War II, Dorn commanded "Y Force," comprised of twenty Chinese divisions engaged in liberating northern Burma and southern China from Japanese control. But it was Dorn's years of service as an "Old China Hand," that enabled him to successfully train, equip, advise, and eventually lead Allied forces in large-scale combat operations. Thus, Dorn's life serves as a model for both Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) who immerse themselves in a foreign language and culture in order to facilitate military cooperation in times of crisis, as well as Soldiers of the new Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) tasked with training host-nation forces. BG Dorn was undoubtedly one of the Army’s unsung "Engineers of Victory" in World War II.

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Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943 CSI Report No. 11

Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943

CSI Report No. 11:

By Col. David M. Glantz

72 Pages

Published: 1986

In his classic work, On War, Carl von Clausewitz wrote, "AS we shall show, defense is a stronger farm of fighting than attack."1 A generation of nineteenth century officers, nurtured on the study of the experiences of NapolGon and conditioned by the wars of German unification, had little reason to accept that view. The offensive spirit swept through European armies and manifested itself in the regulations, plans, and mentality of those armies.

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Soviet Night Operations in World War II Leavenworth Papers No. 6:

Soviet Night Operations in World War II

Leavenworth Papers No. 6

By MAJ Claude R. Sasso

66 Pages

Published: 1982

One of the more perplexing problems contemporary military planners face is that of conducting night operations. Psychologically, night has atways been a realm of the unknown and the uncertain, magnified by imaginatron. Whrle dealing with this psychological barrrer to the conduct of battle at nrght, the soldier must also cope with a myrrad of more tangrbfe problems. Coordination of forces in battle at night tests the mettle of the most proficient leader and the most hrghly trained force. Yet, the fact is that those armies that can operate successfully at night have a marked advantage over adversaries who cannot.

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Soviet Operational Deception: The Red Cloak

Soviet Operational Deception

The Red Cloak

By LTC Richard N. Armstrong

65 Pages

Published: 1988

I n order to perform illusions greater than a sleight of hand, the magician often uses a cloak. The creation of illusions is not magical, or mystical, but is a hint of suggestion, an understanding of human nature, relatively simple technical manipulations, and the fulfillment of carefully planted expectations.

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Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941

Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941

A Study of Defending America

By LTC Jeffrey J. Gudmens and the Staff Ride Team Combat Studies Institute

176 Pages

Published: 2005

The Pearl Harbor Staff Ride Handbook is the ninth study in the Combat Studies Institute’s (CSI’s) Staff Ride Handbook series. LTC Jeffrey Gudmens’ handbook on Pearl Harbor allows individuals and organizations to study this battle not only in the context of the Japanese attack but, more importantly, in the context of issues that are relevant to the current global war on terror. In addition to analyzing the actual attack, Gudmens also enables users of this work to examine the problems associated with conducting joint planning and operations between the US Army, the Army Air Forces, and the US Navy.

He also provides insights into the problems of a Homeland Security environment in which intelligence operatives from a foreign nation (and potentially even recent immigrants from that foreign nation who are now US citizens) can operate with little hindrance in a free and open democratic society. Additionally, this study provides an opportunity to look at how military commanders and planners prepared for their wartime mission with inadequate resources and equipment. Each of these issues, and others analyzed herein, is as relevant to us today as it was almost 65 years ago. Modern military professionals for whom this handbook was written will find a great deal to ponder and analyze when studying the events leading up to, and including, the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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Standing Fast: German Defensive Doctrine on the Russian Front During World War II: Prewar to March 1943 CSI Research Survey No. 5:

Standing Fast: German Defensive Doctrine on the Russian Front During World War II: Prewar to March 1943

CSI Research Survey No. 5

By MAJ Timothy A. Wray

230 Pages

Published: 1986

In this Research Survey, Major Timothy A. Wray provides an excellent survey of the intricacies of employing defensive tactics against a powerful opponent. Using after-action reports, unit war diaries, and other primary materials, Major Wray analyzes the doctrine and tactics that the Germans used on the Eastern Front during World War II.

At the end of World War I, the Germans adopted the elastic defense IR depth and continued to use it as therr basic doctrine through the end of World War II. However, because of limitations caused by difficult terrain, severe weather, manpawer and supply shortages, Soviet tactics, and Hitler’s order to stand fast. German commanders were unable to implement the Elastic Defense in its true form. Even so, innovative and resourceful unit commanders were able to adapt to the harsh realities of combat and improvise defensive methods that saved the German armies from complete annihilation.

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The 101st Airborne Division's Defense of Bastogne

The 101st Airborne Division's Defense of Bastogne

By Colonel Ralph M. Mitchell

56 Pages

Published: 1986

By October 1944, the rapid Allied advance into Germany that followed the breakout from the Normandy beaches had slowed to a crawl. Stiffening German resistance and Allied logistical and communications problems exerted a significant influence on the Allied advance. In the American sector, Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley’s 12th Army Group occupied an extended front, with the First and Third Armies along the Siegfried Line and the Ninth Army facing the Roer River.

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The 4th Armored Division in the Encirclement of Nancy

The 4th Armored Division in the Encirclement of Nancy

By Dr. Christopher R. Gabel

34 Pages

Published: 1986

In 1944, the 4th Armored Division played a central role in one of the more remarkable campaigns in American military history-Third Army’s pursuit across France, which was capped off by the encirclement and capture of Nancy. In the course of this campaign, the 4th Armored Division practiced a mode of warfare that has since become known to the Army as AirLand Battle.

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The 9th Australian Division Versus the Africa Corps

The 9th Australian Division Versus the Africa Corps

By Colonel Ward A. Miller

62 Pages

Published: 1986

In April and May 1941, the previously successful blitzkrieg tactics of the German Army met defeat by the outnumbered Australian forces of the 9th Division at Tobruk. The Australian infantry achieved victory through a successful all-around defense against tank attacks in force. By employing all available assets in a combined arms effort, well-supported light infantry forces defeated a heavier armored force.

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CSI Report No. 1: The Evolution of the Tank in the US Army, 1919-1940

The Evolution of the Tank in the US Army, 1919-1940

CSI Report No. 1

By LTC Kenneth Steadman

10 Pages

Published: 1982

This paper summarizes the evolution of the tank in the US Army during the period 1919-1940. It examines the US Army's post World War I concept of future war and explores the evolution of tank design, force organization, and mechanized doctrine through the interwar period. The issues and factors that were crucial to the early evolution of the tank in the US Army were largely responsible for the role the tank played during and after World War II.

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The Lorraine Campaign: An Overview, September-December 1944

The Lorraine Campaign: An Overview, September-December 1944

By Dr. Christopher R. Gabel

45 Pages

Published: 1987

On 6 June 1944, Allied troops landed in Normandy, and the liberation of German-occupied France was underway. Throughout June and July, Allied soldiers expanded their beachhead against stiff resistance while strength for the breakout. building On 25 July, American force: under the command of LTG Omar Bradley, ruptured the German defenses on the western end of the beachhead and broke into the clear. The U.S. Third Army, under the command of LTG George S. Patton, Jr!, became operational on 1 August and poured through the gap.

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The Lorraine Campaign: An Overview, September-December 1944

The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944

Leavenworth Papers No. 17

By MAJ James F. Gebhardt

206 Pages

Published: 1989

Leavenworth Paper No. 17, The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944, represents a seminal contribution to a field of historical research that has not been thoroughly explored by our Army's doctrinal community. This campaign and others, such as the defense of the Murmansk axis in 1941, are virtually unknown in the West in spite of their profound impact on the strategic outcome of the Soviet-German war on the Eastern Front. This oversight is not surprising when one considers that our Army's sole combat experience in arctic-type terrain over the last fifty years was the Aleutian campaign of 1942.

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he Soviet Airborne Experience CSI Research Survey No. 4:

The Soviet Airborne Experience

CSI Research Survey No. 4

By LTC David M. Glantz

232 Pages

Published: 1984

Deep battle, a major element in both U.S. and Soviet doctrine, is a tenet that emphasizes destroying, suppressing, or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact, but throughout the depth of the battlefield. Airborne forces are a primary instrument to accomplish this type of operation. While the exploits of German, British, and American paratroops since 1940 are well known to most professional soldiers, the equivalent experience of the Soviet Union has been largely ignored—except in the Soviet Union. There, the Red ·Army's airborne operations have become the focus of many recent studies by military theorists.

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CSI Report No. 7 World War II Division Commanders

World War II Division Commanders

CSI Report No. 7

By MAJ Gary Wade

30 Pages

Published: 1983

One of the most spectacular feats of the United States Army during World War II was its expansion from a force of 235,000 men in May 1940, to nearly six million men by 1945. No less a personage than Winston Churchill, the great wartime leader of Britain, declared that the magnificent American management of the growth of its war time forces (coupled with its lend-lease supplies to its Allies) had no precedent in history.

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U.S. Army World War II Corps Commanders-A Composite Biography

U.S. Army World War II Corps Commanders-A Composite Biography

By Dr. Robert H. Berlin

25 Pages

Published: 1989

The corps commander was responsible for coordinating and directing the effort of the corps as a combined arms whole. According to 1942 Field Service Regulation for Larger Units, the corps commander left the details of executing his operational plan t;o division commanders. In combat, be influenced the outcome of the battle by maintaining close contact with the leading divisions and coordinating the use of forces.

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Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb

Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb

By Dr. Michael D. Pearlman

41 Pages

Published: 1996

In one way or another, George C. Marshall, the U.S. Army's Chief of Staff, had long been expecting a sharp reduction in military morale. He had witnessed, as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing, America's mood after World War I. Once Germany asked for an armistice (and before it signed a surrender), Congress and the public had demanded a swift demobilization. This indelible memory of November 1918 shaped Marshall's resolve to minimize military responsibilities after the Nazi capitulation.

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