Carrying the War to the Enemy: American Operational Art to 1945

355 Pages·2012·2.165 MB·English

by  Michael R. Matheny

Carrying the War
to the Enemy
CAMPAIGNS AND COMMANDERS
General Editor
Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Advisory Board
Lawrence E. Babits, East Carolina University, Greenville
James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University, College Station
Robert M. Epstein, U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
David M. Glantz, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Jerome A. Greene, Denver, Colorado
Victor Davis Hanson, California State University, Fresno
Herman Hattaway, University of Missouri, Kansas City
J. A. Houlding, Rückersdorf, Germany
Eugenia C. Kiesling, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York
Timothy K. Nenninger, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington
Carrying the War
to the Enemy
American Operational Art
to 1945
Michael R. Matheny
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Matheny, Michael R., 1950–
Carrying the war to the enemy : American operational art to 1945 /
Michael R. Matheny.
p. cm. — Campaigns and Commanders ; v. 28)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8061-4156-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Military planning—United States—History. 2. Operational art
(Military science) 3. United States—History, Military. 4. Military
art and science—United States—History. 5. Tactics—History.
6. Strategy—History. 7. Unified operations (Military science)—
History. 8. Military education—United States—History. I. Title.
U153.M38 2011 355%.033573—dc22 2010030708
Carrying the War to the Enemy: American Operational Art to 1945
is Volume 28 in the Campaigns and Commanders series.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. $
Copyright ∫ 2011 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United
States Copyright Act—without the prior written permission of the
University of Oklahoma Press.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
For Wendy
Jenny
Kevin
Megan
Michael

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1. The Roots of Operational Art 3
2. Operational Art in the American Army before 1919 17
3. Landpower 45
4. Airpower 92
5. Seapower 121
6. The European Theater of War 160
7. The Pacific Theater of War 202
8. Lessons and Legacy 253
Notes 271
Selected Bibliography 309
Index 319
vii

Illustrations
Photographs
Army War College 56
Army War College historical staff ride of the Civil War
battlefield at Fredericksburg 56
Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, Alabama 106
Classroom at the Air Corps Tactical School, 1930s 106
Classroom at the Air Corps Tactical School 107
Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold confers with key air staff in 1941 107
Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island 138
War-gaming at the Naval War College 138
General Eisenhower with Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley, Lt. Gen.
George Patton, and Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges 182
Omaha Beach shortly after the invasion of France in June 1944 182
B-17s en route over the Mediterranean to bomb southern France 183
Air and ground commanders meet in Nancy, France, prior to
the advance into Germany, 1944 183
U.S. Army Air Force B-25 Mitchell bombers over the Pacific 224
U.S. carrier aircraft ‘‘carry the war to the enemy’’ in the Pacific 224
Adm. Chester Nimitz, Adm. Ernest King, and Adm. Raymond
Spruance 225
ix