Fueling the Operational Battlefield.
Abstract
This study examines the problems associated with maintaining distilled bulk petroleum fuel stocks in the operational battlefield. With the employment of mechanized ground forces, rotary and fixed wing aircraft, and vehicles that are dependent on petroleum fuel, the operational commander could face serious tactical and strategic problems in his prosecution of a war if his fuel supplies are destroyed. Of particular importance is the jeopardy of fuel supplies, in the operational battlefield and in the theater, when analyzed through a Korean Peninsula war scenario. The significance of fuel shortages has proven to be a critical vulnerability in three historical cases that are cited in this study. A clever and determined enemy can destroy or deny the use of tactical, theater, and strategic fuel supplies with the end result being that an Allied victory in another Korean war may well be jeopardized by lack of fuel availability to the operational commander in the battlefield.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA325142
Entities
People
- Humberto L. Quintanilla Ii
Organizations
- Naval War College