Expanding the Lodgment to Extend Operational Reach
Abstract
With a need to project power globally, US Army planners must prepare for expeditionary operations. History shows that such operations often take place in austere environments. Operational planners must therefore ensure that lodgment exists in the theater of operations from which commanders can extend their operational reach as required to accomplish the mission. Austere conditions often require planners to find various means to establish logistics bases because the existing infrastructure either does not support operations or friendly forces do not control that infrastructure. This monograph examined several cases in which logistics bases played a key role in twentieth century American military history. Each case study provides an analysis of several factors affecting a base's usefulness to the commander: operational reach, capability to prevent culmination, and the commanders' arrangement of operations. Case studies of the US Army during World War II focus on the usefulness of three seaports in Western Europe as logistics bases for the Alliesthe port at Cherbourg, the artificial Mulberry harbors, and the port at Antwerp. Each of these ports offered different capabilities and challenges for the Allies as they sought to expand their initial lodgment after the Cross-Channel Attack. The final case examines the usage of airports as logistics bases in Panama during Operation Just Cause. The findings from this analysis illustrate the similarities and differences of these different types of logistics bases, and provide future planning considerations for establishing either a seaport or airport as a logistics base to extend the operational reach in a new theater of operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1001251
Entities
People
- Jefferson D. Burges
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies