Key Terms Flashcards
Key Terms and definitions covered in the course study guide
Definition of War
A conflict between organized groups with unknown resolve, each seeking to impose its will on the other
Friction
Intangible forces that make the apparently easy task difficult
“Clausewitz Trinity”
A trinity of interactive factors in wartime endeavors: Rational aims/policy, emotions & hatreds, chance & combat
Center of Gravity
The dominant characteristics of both belligerents in mind. The hub of all power and movement on which everything depends.
Combined Arms
Synchronized and simultaneous application of the elements of combat power to achieve an effect greater than if each element of combat power was used separately or sequentially. Not simply the weapon itself, but how you orchestrate it.
Examples: Shiloh, Kasserine Pass, South Cuba, El Guettar, Aachen, Market-Garden
Levels of War
Strategic: all of a nation’s armed/other forces’ efforts in all campaigns (‘the war’) to meet war aim
Operational: in-theater forces ; large tactical units (armies & above) ops that can have strategic results (‘the campaign’)
Tactical: field units; armies and below (‘the battle’)
Principles of War (relevant items only)
UNITY OF COMMAND: ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander
SIMPLICITY: prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding and minimize confusion
OFFENSIVE: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative (I control the fight)
PERSEVERANCE: maintain commitment to achieve tactical, operational, and strategic end states
LEGITIMACY: maintain legality, morality and authority in ones’ ops
Types of Maneuvers
relevant items only
Penetration
Envelopment
Turning Movement
Linear Tactics
Designed in response to the development of the smoothbore flintlock muskets (new weapon technology). Volley fire increased firepower mass which enhanced the musket’s strengthens and minimized its weaknesses. Cumbersome, rigid, and not agile.
METT-TC
Mission Enemy Terrain & Weather Troops Timing Civil Considerations
OAKOC
Obstacles Avenues of Approach Key Terrain Observation & Fields of Fire Cover & Concealment
Examples: Battle of Charleston, King’s Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse Campaign, Jackson’s Defense @ New Orleans, Modoc War, Buena Vista, Perryville, Battle of Gettysburg
Interior Lines
Diverging lines from a central base; “retain or move out”
Requires coordination and features shorter LOCs between friendly forces, thus easier to shift forces and supply
Exterior Lines
Converge upon the enemy from outside bases; “move in”
Requires more coordination and longer LOCs between friendly forces, thus harder to shift forces
Insurgency
Organized subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political …
COIN (Counterinsurgency)
Comprehensive civilian and military efforts designed to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes. Coordinated between military and civilian efforts.
Examples: California Theater, Taylor, Scott, Wounded Knee, Modoc, Philippine war
Guerilla Warfare
Military or paramilitary unconventional combat operations; conducted by indigenous irregulars or special forces; usually because conventional means are unavailable or out of reach.
Declaration of Independence
“The United States’ revolutionary war aim; INDEPENDENCE, not accommodation.”
Two basic powers of CONGRESS
- Power to set the budget and collect taxes
2. Power to make laws
Presidential war-making powers
The President cannot formally declare war, but he can commit military forces to combat without congressional approval
Congressional vs State Responsibilities Over the Militia
CONGRESS is responsible to ORGANIZE, ARM, DISCIPLINE, & SET STANDARDS FOR TRAINING the militia (and dictates how training will be conducted)
STATES are responsible to APPOINT OFFICERS & TRAIN the militia
Civil War Commo (Tech & Security)
The telegraph impacted the strategic and operational levels of war, but not the tactical level
Civil War Combined-Arms Challenges
COMMUNICATIONS: improper/limited - flags, bugles, and runners
COMMAND, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE: affected combined arms
WEAPONS AND/OR TACTICS: cavalry against rifled muskets (cavalry don’t engage infantry).
ORGANIZATION: Disorganized - artillery was dispersed/spread out; not under the command of a single commander. When there was need for concentrated firepower, it was not easy nor quick to consolidate artillery firepower.
TERRAIN
Bragg’s Command Climate
Toxic Command / Leadership Climate
Posse Comitatus Act
Law that forbids using the Regular Army (federal Army; not NG/the Militia) for domestic law enforcement. (Unless inter-state issues and instances where it is “wanted by the people”)
Problems with the claim: “Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies”
Artillery was not able to support offensive operations due to lack of communication technology. It is difficult to communicate shift fires without coms, so it has to be scripted/timed to work which is often unfeasible on the battlefield.
WW1 Infantry Tactical Evolution (Hutier Tactics)
Combined arms at the small unit level.
Tactical warfighting designed for operating in the complex terrain of the trenches.
No tanks; no radios. Mutual trust across echelons is required.
Early-1900s Defense Acts
Advocates of the militia (national guard) wanted reform. Affected the role of the National Guard in terms of restrictions, standards, training, presidential powers thereunto, and status in the war dept.
Establishment of the Reserve Corps.
Cuban Civil Ops (tropical disease Issues)
Yellow Fever: modern pesticides did not exist
Pershing’s Command Style (Amalgamation / Meuse-Argonne command)
Pershing’s command style was aggressive and ruthless.
Pershing heeded political demands.
Pershing fires himself.
Meuse-Argonne: slow & disease issues (Spanish Flu; medicine ineffective)
Blitzkrieg Concept
Same concepts as mission command; new army doctrine but mission command concepts still apply.
Combined Arms; offensive maneuver doctrine for short offensive campaigns against neighboring countries.
Relied on shared trust and subordinate leader initiative.
Boosted by concepts that stress initiative, tempo, & exploitation.
Aim: quick operational warfare.
Bonus March
A bonus was promised to veterans from WW1 to be paid in 1945, but they wanted it sooner.
Poor Civil Affairs: MacArthur handled the march aggressively and overreacted indicating a lack of restraint. The public did not get a good impression on how army veterans were treated.
Impacted President Hoover’s political legitimacy; Teddy Roosevelt won the election.
WW2 Army Medicine (milestones)
Combat more lethal than disease: WW2 was the first war in history where bullets kill more soldiers than disease.
Discovery of Penicillin in the midst of WW2 can be used to treat infections from battle wounds.
DDT.
Dedicated Combat Medics.
Greater emphasis on hygiene (“a clean army is a healthy army”)
Tactics
How someone goes about fighting.
Examples: Linear, Hardees, Hutier, Blitzkrieg
Technology
Advances in tools.
Examples: smoothbore flintlock musket, rifle musket, telegraph, radar
Joint Ops
Different forces working together whether it be countries or components such as sea, air, & land.
Examples: Yorktown, Henry & Donelson Campaign, Shiloh, Solomon Islands
Special Ops
Unique fighting forces.
Example: Guerilla Warfare, Green Berets
Fratricide
Killing or harming of friendly troops.
Examples: Germantown, Guilford Courthouse Campaign (british), Battle of Chancellorsville, Sicily,
