Chasing emergence: historical development of planning and intelligence in great power conflict
Abstract
Modern US Army doctrine requires collaborative planning by all War Fighting Functions. The years between WWI and WWII became the planning forge for the American military. Why did the United States develop integrated planning before WWII and how did it affect Army operations? The integration of intelligence, and other functional specialties, into interwar planning established a new planning paradigm in the US Army. Contributions from non-combat functional areas like intelligence, signals, and logistics became a central theme to interwar planning. The United States' unique geographical location in the world made power projection difficult. Difficulties in mobilization, deployment, and execution of the Spanish American War of 1898 and WWI provided the drive for the Army to improve. For the Army, the Army War College, supplied the War Department General Staff with a large organization capable of planning and conducting war games on an annual basis as part of the curriculum. The interwar planning iterations conducted at the AWC laid the foundation for the importance of intelligence, and other non-combat functions, contributions to Army planning. This continuity continued during WWII and likely forms the historical bedrock of modern Army functional support to planning. WWII cemented the importance of Soldier education, collaboration between staff functions, and the repetition of planning to keep pace with a changing environment into Army culture and doctrine.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 23, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1083203
Entities
People
- Jared A. Carter