Warfare: An Analysis of Campaigns, Operations and Theories from Antiquity to Present

By Kevin P. Ryan

Protect your flanks, know when to culminate, and never outrun your logistics. Warfare examines these critical aspects of war and much more. Here is an extremely well-researched historical book that explains and analyzes battles, campaigns, operations, and military thought and theories, from the Roman conquests to Napoleonic mastery to "blitzkrieg" modern mechanize maneuvers during World War II to the Citadel in Hue City.

This is a military history adventure where the reader can enjoy any chapter and any battle in any order. Read about Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War or the German paratroopers' fight for Crete. Warfare immerses the reader into the battles on the dusty planes of North Africa, the freezing steppe of Russia, or the destroyed rubble and war of rats in Stalingrad. Warfare is perfect for any reader--the professional historian, the military leader, the student of history, and the enthusiastic military history buff, or the reader who just wants to know a little bit more about Germany's invasion of Russia or the theories of Clausewitz.

Don't miss your chance to impress your friends and guests on military history knowledge. Read Warfare--you won't regret it!

The Prussian attack on Plancenoit, during the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Attack led by General Bulow's Corps was vicious, merciless, bloody and bitterly close. The attack destroyed the French Imperial Young Guard, who fought to their death defending the small village. The French Counter-Attacked with the Old Guard and for a moment recaptured the Village. Prussian reinforcements arrived outnumbering the French 2 to1 and decisively seized the village. This engagement during the Battle of Waterloo proved to be decisive and led to irreversible momentum in favor of the United Kingdom-Prussian-Netherlands Coalition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638812197

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Preface

Chapter 1: Scipio Africanus and Full-Spectrum Warfare

Chapter 2: Napoleon, Master of Modern Warfare

Chapter 3: Operation Mercury: Airborne Assault on Crete

Chapter 4: Operation Typhoon: The Culmination of Barbarossa

Chapter 5: Stalingrad: The Annihilation of an Army

Chapter 6: Kampfgruppe Peiper: Panzer Attack through the Ardennes

Chapter 7: Bloody Hue: Tet 1968

Chapter 8: Into the Heart of Darkness: The Battle of the Black Sea

Chapter 9: The Great Captains and Their Art of War

Chapter 10: An Essay on Joint Warfare

Chapter 11: The Science and the Art: A Fusion of War

Chapter 12: Clausewitzian Concepts and Napoleon's Experiences

Chapter 13: Stonewall Jackson Illuminates the Classical Theorists

Chapter 14: German Blitzkrieg East

Chapter 15: World War II Eastern Front Essays

Chapter 16: Future Warfare: Modern Solutions to Future Problems

Bibliography

About the Author

Endnotes

cover.jpg

Warfare

An Analysis of Campaigns, Operations and Theories from Antiquity to Present

Kevin P. Ryan

Copyright © 2022 Kevin P. Ryan

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-63881-218-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63881-219-7 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To our military leaders of tomorrow:

May they never forget the past and always strive to mentor, lead, and be courageous warriors

No one starts a war…or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so…without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.

—Carl von Clausewitz

Preface

Over four years ago I decided to put into a book the thoughts, ideas and experiences I discovered while researching the Great Military Captains of the past and some of the greatest and most terrific battles. The conduct of warfare is the absolute human endeavor. It can be and most often is the best and worst of times. During war, one experiences all the human emotions of a lifetime in one single and solitude moment,—the fear, the anger, the sadness, the remorse, the regret, the satisfaction and the relief. What you are about to read attempts to share some of those emotions. All of what you are about to read is true. I have personally stepped foot on most of the the terrain and battlefields during my research, embraced the feelings of the that terrain and history, and conducted research on the site. All the places I visited were interesting, and the peoples were helpful, warm, and dedicated to their past. You will experience the dusty plains of North Africa with Scipio Africanus and the rolling hills of Europe as Napoleon marched to victory; you will appreciate the strife the German paratrooper endured on Crete and the bitter coldness of vast mother Russia; you will experience the brutal street fighting in Stalingrad, Hue City and Mogadishu; and you, I hope, will understand some of the theories and maxims of the Great Military thinkers and leaders from antiquity to present. Overall, you will have a greater understanding of warfare and the conduct of campaigns and battles that have been etched into historical eternity.

On a more personal note, some of my most memorable experiences were on Crete visiting the drop zones and Souda Bay; the stifling heat of North Africa while researching Ancient Carthage; Kiev in the midst of a winter storm, a true understanding of the bitter coldness of World War II Eastern Front; walking through Losheim Gap, the Ardennes and in the historical footprints of Kampfgruppe Peiper; Napoleon's conquests in France and Germany; or through many of the Civil War battlefields that Jackson triumphed on. All were full of memories that will not fade, and I am thankful that I had the opportunity and means to travel and experience those cultures and insights firsthand.

Chapter 1

Scipio Africanus and Full-Spectrum Warfare

We make war that we may live in peace.

—Aristotle

Dust and debris picked up off the Spanish battlefield as Scipio led his army in a double envelopment of the Carthaginian enemy. With allies fixing the enemy to his front and his own cavalry flanking the enemy, Scipio triumphed over yet another battle. This will be the norm for the young, charismatic, and decisive leader who will fight his battles and win the war with the sword in one hand and the olive branch in the other. Scipio Africanus had a complete understanding of full-spectrum warfare centuries before the term had ever been developed. Lethal to nonlethal operations or physical terrain to human terrain, he could detect, decide, and deliver time and time again. Scipio was arguably the best military captain throughout historical warfare, and his tactics, techniques, and procedures are seen today on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.

In accordance with Carl von Clausewitz, War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will. Warfare has dominated history since the first records have been accounted for, but it is only recently that warfare has been neatly categorized into three separate levels: tactical, operational, and strategic. Throughout this chapter, we will examine Scipio's warfare with respect to these three levels of warfare. In doing so, we will then be able to compare Scipio's tactics, techniques, and procedures to those of today.¹

First to be analyzed is Scipio's tactical level of war. The tactical level of war is defined as the level of war at which battles and engagements are planned and executed to accomplish military objectives assigned to tactical units or task forces and maneuver of combat elements. Scipio absolutely dominates this level of war at the Battle of Ilipa, where he masterfully defeated his enemy in a classic double envelopment. To do this, though, he fixed his enemy to the front with his Spanish allies, audaciously flanked Hasdrubal's forces with his own Roman legions and cavalry, and tirelessly pursued the Carthaginians. Scipio's calculation had enabled him to fix the enemy's center with a minimum expenditure of force, and thus to effect the maximum concentration for his decisive double envelopment.

Scipio easily destroyed his foe at the Battle of Ilipa due to the fact that he knew his own capabilities, but, more importantly, he understood his enemy's capabilities and tactics. By understanding his enemy, he infiltrated his enemy's decision cycle and forced him to deploy his troops in battle formation several days in a row and then finally attacked while they were tired and hungry. At the tactical level of war, Scipio's victory was complete, but would he succeed at the operational level of war?², ³

The second aspect to be studied is Scipio's operational level of war. This level of war is defined as the level at which campaigns and major operations are planned, conducted, and sustained to accomplish strategic objectives within theaters or operational areas. They ensure the logistic and administrative support of tactical forces and provide the means by which tactical successes are exploited to achieve strategic objectives. This level of war is not as specific as the aforementioned level, so to understand the operational level, it is essential to concentrate on two events: Scipio's Sicily campaign and his post-Utica exploits.⁴

These two operations were selected to depict the absolute need for logistical planning and operational security that is necessary for a successful campaign. First, Scipio chose Sicily as his staging area into Africa: Sicily was to be Scipio's Shorncliffe Camp, the place where he forged the weapon that was to be thrust at the heart of Carthage. Scipio had the operational framework and foresight to visualize where and when he needed to be for victory in the next campaign. In doing so, he appropriately preferred Sicily to stage his army from and, more specifically, the city of Syracuse. Though the securing of such staging areas and bases did take a minor campaign and alliances throughout Sicily to gain the populace and the support for his upcoming campaign, he nevertheless completed the task and prepared for Africa and for Hannibal.⁵

Furthermore, an offensive, whether strategical or tactical, must operate from a secure base—this is one of the cardinal axioms of war. Scipio would again show his operational artwork on the dusty plains of North Africa.

Scipio brilliantly pursued his enemy after the Battle of Utica. More than the pursuit and destruction of the enemy was the security zone and logistical supplies he would gain from this action, clearing it of cattle and supplies, and creating a wide devastated zone as a barrier against attack. Security, both in supply and protection. Scipio gained and maintained the initiative even though on foreign soil. He did this by establishing bases and staging areas which are critical to any campaign, lay the foundations for the offensive which followed by gaining a secure base of operations where they could build up their means to a strength adequate to ensure the attainment of the end. His foresight again set the conditions for the upcoming campaign by disrupting the enemy, securing a safe haven from within enemy territory and gathering resources to sustain his army against the approaching final battle against Hannibal. Scipio had complete command of the first two levels of war, but it is in the strategic level of war where he is a true master of war.⁶, ⁷

The last level to be scrutinized is Scipio's strategic level of war. This level of war is defined as the level at which a nation, often as a member of a group of nations, determines national or multinational strategic security objectives and develops global plans or theater war plans to achieve these objectives. It is his application of this level of war that Scipio truly soars above the rest as a true master of warfare. Scipio's strategic genius will be analyzed from two perspectives—the human terrain; and long-term objective, security, and transition foresight.⁸

The human terrain compares to the physical terrain only in the way one visualizes the battlefield, campaign, and theater of operation. The human terrain is visualized by the battlefield commander to fully understand the disposition of specific personalities and persons who positively or negatively influence the operational environment during certain periods of time or for the duration of the battle, campaign, or war. Understanding the human terrain of the war helped Scipio in retaining Spain, gaining safe havens and bases, and building alliances that would prove to be a lasting enabler for a better peace.

Scipio's human terrain foresight is one of his greatest strategic attributes and proves to be a means to the end: The meeting with Masinissa…for here the seeds of Scipio's generous treatment of Masinissa's nephew years before bore fruit in the exchange of pledges of an alliance, which was to be one of Scipio's master-tools in undermining the Carthaginian power at its base in Africa.⁹ Scipio's human terrain foresight is unmatched. Scipio indeed had human terrain foresight but, more importantly, he had the strategic foresight to look beyond the next battle or campaign and look toward a means to an end and a better peace.

Scipio always had the strategic foresight to look beyond the current campaign and envisage two or three moves across the Hannibalic war chessboard. While still waging war throughout Spain against his Carthaginian foes and limited insurrections, he understood the necessity in the sacking of Carthaginian Africa, [as] he had seen that Cartagena was the key to Spain, that Spain was the key to the situation in Italy, so he saw that Africa was the key to the whole struggle. In doing so, he would bring the fight to the enemy in their homeland, forcing them to make hasty decisions and abandon their attacks on Roman land. Scipio defied the doctrine of the time of attacking a foe's army and instead invaded the Carthaginians' homeland, and in doing so, retained the tactical, operational, and strategic initiative for the remainder of the war.¹⁰

Though the war was over after the battle of Zama and Scipio defeated his archrival, Hannibal, in 202 BC, he again demonstrated great strategic foresight in the peace obligation with Carthage and conditions to ensure those obligations were met and unremitting. The peace agreement obligated Carthage to meet numerous conditions such as payment for Roman soldiers, payment to the Roman state for an indefinite time, and the returning of all prisoners. Though some of the peace obligations were harsh, they did not compare to what they could have been. They were at the mercy of Scipio and it is that mercy that prevailed.

Scipio, again having great foresight, understood what could and could not be done for lasting and better peace, and moreover, his alliance with Masinissa paid huge dividends: Here were sown no seeds of revenge. The necessary guarantees of security were obtained by the surrender of the Carthaginian fleet, by the hostages, and by placing a strong and loyal watchdog in Masinissa next door to Carthage. This is the foresight that this great captain is remembered for. He is a master of war.¹¹

Scipio Africanus had many battles and campaigns. Only a few were examined in this chapter, but all were a victory for Scipio. Some of the battles that will always last the test of time are his spoiling attack against Hannibal at Locri; Laelius's recon and feint into North Africa; or Zama, where Scipio used psychological warfare against Hannibal's elephants, successfully reorganized his infantry in the midst of battle, and closed with and destroyed with his cavalry. There is no question that Scipio was a master of warfare at all levels, but the question still remains if any of his lessons are still viable in today's noncontiguous and asymmetric battlefield.¹²

The lessons learned from Scipio Africanus are seen daily on the battlefields of the twenty-first century. The battlefield commanders from the urban sprawl of Baghdad to the mountains of Afghanistan continually apply Scipio's tactical level of war lessons and, specifically, the economy of force, fixing the enemy, and envelopment. Commanders in this noncontiguous operational environment utilize economy-of-force missions daily from assigning companies and platoons, areas of operations, and continuously operating forward from a combat outpost in the heart of a once-enemy strongpoint. More than that, company commanders and platoon leaders always look to find, fix, and finish the enemy by gaining the high ground, be it a ridgeline or a rooftop, to overwatch and fix the enemy with fire superiority as another element carries out an envelopment of the target building, high-valued individual, or enemy force. Fixing and flanking the enemy is essential at all levels of command from the infantry squad to the army.

Scipio's operational level of war is seen throughout the modern battlefield and will continue to be utilized in any future conflict. As Scipio did use Sicily as a staging area into North Africa, the Allies used England prior to the invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe. A more recent example would be the staging of combat units and logistical support throughout 2003 in Kuwait massing for Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than that, throughout Afghanistan during the US's 20 year long war, there were a series of safe havens and bases from which units operated and resupplied from such as logistical support areas (LSAs), forward operating bases (FOBs) and combat outposts (COPs). These are easily compared to Scipio's safe haven and bases after the battle of Utica. The greatest lesson learned is not from the tactical or operational level but from the strategic level.

It is reasonable to say that the modern US counterinsurgency doctrine was born from Scipio's strategic foresight. The strongest example of this implementation is from General David Petraeus. General Petraeus had that same strategic foresight in implementing the surge and developing the alliances with reconcilable Sunni groups or Sons of Iraq volunteers. It is the latter that proved sustainable and a means to the end. This strategic foresight defeated al-Qaeda in Iraq from within by allowing certain Sunni groups to protect their own neighborhoods and work alongside Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces. This brilliance decreased the insurgency and the violence that came with it and increased support from the local populace through homegrown security and reconstruction projects, thus successfully separating the populace from the insurgent and the populace rejecting the insurgent.

Scipio Africanus is a master of war and an absolute commander of all three levels of war. All the campaigns, battles, and statesmanship that Scipio demonstrated to the BCE world still thrives strong and germane in the CE world. Scipio is arguably one of the best military captain throughout historical warfare, and his tactics, techniques, and procedures are seen today on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.

Chapter 2

Napoleon, Master of Modern Warfare

War is waged only with vigor, decision, and unshaken will. One must neither grope nor hesitate.

—Napoleon Bonaparte

Guidons, flags, and eagles of the Grand Army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte closed the distance to the Austrian defensive position. The massive French columns marched with a deliberate and steadfast intent. Bayonets shone against the early-summer sunrise, and the infantry, artillery, and cavalry were in position for the decisive battle that Napoleon longed for in all his campaigns. This could be an example of anyone of his major battles such as Ulm, Austerlitz, or Waterloo. Over and over again throughout the European continent, Napoleon won victory after victory utilizing and understanding operational and tactical foresight of modern warfare. Napoleon's battlefield brilliance and operational foresight were the catalysts to the modernization of western warfare and the conceptual development of operational art.

According to US Army doctrine found in FM 1-02, operational art is defined as [t]he employment of military forces to attain strategic and/or operational objectives through the design, organization, integration, and conduct of strategies, campaigns, major operations, and battles. ¹³ Throughout this chapter, we will examine and fully understand Napoleon's operation art and his influences on warfare, henceforth known as Napoleonic. Prior to the analysis of Napoleon and his mastery of war, the comprehension of his battlefield brilliance and campaigns is vital to the complete understanding of him and his way of war and must be examined through some examples of influential battles that shaped Bonaparte's maxims, France's Empire, and future war.

Two battles will be summarized and inserted into this chapter for a historical understanding of Napoleonic warfare. The battles of Austerlitz and Bornidino will be subsequently and sequentially précised.

First is the Battle of Austerlitz. The Battle of Austerlitz was during the Campaign of 1805 and fought against the allied armies of Austria and Imperial Russia led by Tsar Alexander. The battle took place between the towns of Brunn and Austerlitz about seventy-five miles north of Vienna. Napoleon masterfully feinted disorder and retreat from the Pratzen Heights on November 30 which lured the allied army