Operational Maneuver from the Sea: Can the Landing Force Survive

Abstract

In December 1995, the United States Marine Corps introduced Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS) as its future warfighting concept. The cornerstone of OMFTS is Ship to Objective Maneuver, which maintains that future naval expeditionary forces will project combat power from over the horizon to inland operational objectives without establishing a traditional beachhead to serve as a base of operation. Long lines of operation will pose unique and difficult security problems for the OMFTS force. General Winfield Scott, during his Vera Cruz campaign, operated successfully over long lines of operation. Conversely, Field Marshal Montgomery, during Operation Market Garden, failed to adequately mitigate the risks associated with long lines of operation with disastrous results. The lessons learned from comparing and contrasting these two operations are profound yet critical for those who will both shape and employ the future OMFTS force.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 05, 2001
Accession Number
ADA389564

Entities

People

  • Paul C. Merritt

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Photography
  • Airborne
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Army
  • Center Of Gravity
  • Command And Control
  • Emerging Technology
  • Governments
  • Human Intelligence
  • Landing Forces
  • Maneuvers
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Operations
  • Reconnaissance
  • Security
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.