Tactical Success and Operational Failure in the Anti-Access Area-Denial Environment: A Historical Operational Art Analysis of Operation CERBERUS

Abstract

Today, the tactical challenges of operating within an anti-access/area-denial environment form the focus of the United States Navy. While the tactical tasks are daunting, they must no longer remain the Navy's first priority. If naval leadership continues to focus on tactical-level difficulties rather than working towards the proper development of an operational-level goal linked to a desired strategic end-state, the results on the high-seas will be disastrous. This paper uses an operational art analysis of the German Operation CERBERUS during World War II to demonstrate the paramount importance of the operational level over the tactical level in an anti-access/area-denial environment. If the U.S. Navy only solves the tactical challenges, but does not link these solutions to a properly envisioned operational-level objective, it will suffer a similar failure as the Germans did after Operation CERBERUS.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 04, 2012
Accession Number
ADA563890

Entities

People

  • Greg Malandrino

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Area Denial
  • Boats
  • Combat Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Environment
  • Leadership
  • Military Operations
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • Ships
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design