Silent Killer: Grant’s Logistical Requirements

By Lt-Col Philip M. Mattox

This monograph examines Grant’s campaign of 1864-1865 from a logistics perspective. It answers the following questions: 1. Did logistical systems change for the emerging operational level of war? 2. Did Civil War field logistics form today’s concepts at the operational level? 3. Were logistics planning factors derived from Napoleon? It concludes with a discussion of how Grant’s systems impacted on 1992 logistics systems. The monograph examines the history and formulation of operational requirements for the logistician. Discussed in detail is the necessity for theater base support, visibility and distribution, and the requirement for logistical planning factors. The conclusion is that each of these elements allows the commander to phase his operations, reduce risks and complete a campaign without creating operational pauses or logistical culmination. Finally, the paper compares 1864 principles with principles utilized during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golden Springs Publishing
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782894261

Lt-Col Philip M. Mattox

See Book Description

Book preview

 This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – [e-mail]

Or on Facebook

Text originally published in 1992 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2013, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

The Silent Killer

Grant’s Logistical Requirements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

INTRODUCTION 6

LOGISTICS BACKGROUND 7

GRANT’S FINAL CAMPAIGN 13

IMPACT ON PRESENT AND FUTURE LOGISTICAL OPERATIONS 20

CONCLUSIONS 22

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 23

BIBLIOGRAPHY 24

BOOKS 24

OTHER WORKS 25

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS 25

ABSTRACT

THE SILENT KILLER, GRANT’S LOGISTICAL REQUIREMENTS 1864-1865 by LTC Philip M. Mattox, USA,

This monograph examines Grant’s campaign of 1864-1865 from a logistics perspective. It answers the following questions: 1. Did logistical systems change for the emerging operational level of war? 2. Did Civil War field logistics form today’s concepts at the operational level? 3. Were logistics planning factors derived from Napoleon? It concludes with a discussion of how Grant’s systems impacted on 1992 logistics systems.

The monograph examines the history and formulation of operational requirements for the logistician. Discussed in detail is the necessity for theater base support, visibility and distribution, and the requirement for logistical planning factors. The conclusion is that each of these elements allows the commander to phase his operations, reduce risks and complete a campaign without creating operational pauses or logistical culmination.

Finally, the paper compares 1864 principles with principles utilized during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

INTRODUCTION

"The great logistician is the commander who has the judgments--indeed the genius--to take into account realistically all resources, at home, in the theater, or wherever they are found, and to balance his requirements and his mission so that his objective may be gained