The Development of the American Theory of Limited War, 1945-63

Abstract

This paper challenges the idea that the thinkers who developed the American Theory of Limited War prior to Vietnam were grossly in error. A framework for the elements of the theory is constructed through a discussion of the historical American way of war, the developments during the late 1940s and early 1950s that brought about changes in these traditions, policies and strategies adopted by three administrations, and an examination of the writings of the limited war theorists through the early 1960s. An analysis of the theory is then undertaken using the classical theorists as a basis. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications of the Theory of Limited War for today. Keywords: Theory; Limited wars; Vietnam; Military strategy; (KT)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 21, 1989
Accession Number
ADA215572

Entities

People

  • Michael W. Cannon

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil War
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Political Ideologies
  • Political Systems
  • Recreation
  • Second World War
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Vietnam War
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.