Pulling Success from Failure: The Texas War for Independence
Abstract
The Texas Revolution was a war that should not have been won when examined in light of current Marine Corps strategy and operational doctrine. Texas went from having a government hut no policy, to a government with a policy of loyalty to a nonexistent constitution, to no government and no policy. By March 1836, the political leadership had corrected these errors and provided a clear policy goal, independence. However, independence required that Santa Anna be removed from power. In order to do this, the Texans would have to defeat the Mexican army. They did not possess the ability to defeat an army resourced by a large country. They needed to be lucky. Santa Anna provided then that luck. As both head of state and military leader, it was not necessary that he lead an army to fight a hand of settlers turned rebels. However, in search of the glory that had made him a national hero, he personally led the campaign. By leading so far from the front, he became the critical vulnerability of his center of gravity, the army. In so doing, he was captured and the snail Texas force brought Mexico to its knees.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA404935
Entities
People
- Jesse L. Gruter
Organizations
- Marine Corps University