Dividing the Operational Art Pie: What are the Slices

Abstract

This monograph discusses the fundamental functions of operational art and assesses how well they are addressed by current doctrine. Its focus is upon operational art as it applies to conventional warfare, that zone where the theater of operations commander views his theater and is concerned about the design and conduct of campaigns. The monograph first examines the definitions of activity, function, and operational art. Next, the writings of several noted theorists are analyzed to determined theoretical functions of operational art. Those theoretical functions were then applied to our current definition of operational art and tested against historical analysis of the following campaigns or major operations: American Civil War Vicksburg Campaign, the World War I St. Mihiel offensive, and World War II Operation Jael and Rhone Valley Campaign.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 25, 1990
Accession Number
ADA234394

Entities

People

  • Glenn Davis

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Civil War
  • Civil War (United States)
  • Combat Forces
  • Combat Operations
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Conventional Warfare
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Logistics
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Second World War
  • Security
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Computer Engineering
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies