Campaigning

Abstract

Tactical success in combat does not of itself guarantee victory in war. What matters ultimately in war is strategic success: attainment of our political aims and the protection of our national interests. The operational level of war provides the linkage between tactics and strategy. It is the discipline of conceiving, focusing, and exploiting a variety of tactical actions to realize a strategic aim. With that thought as our point of departure, this publication discusses the intermediate, operational level of war and the military campaign which is the vehicle for organizing tactical actions to achieve strategic objectives. The Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) clearly has operational as well as tactical capabilities. Thus it is essential that Marine leaders learn to think operationally. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1-2, Campaigning, provides the doctrinal basis for military campaigning in the Marine Corps, particularly as it pertains to a Marine commander or a MAGTF participating in the campaign. Campaigning applies the warfighting philosophies in MCDP 1, Warfighting, specifically to the operational level of war. It is linked to the other publications of the MCDP series and is fully compatible with joint doctrine.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA573950

Entities

People

  • C. C. Krulak

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Civil War (United States)
  • Combat Operations
  • Command And Control
  • Employment
  • Force Protection
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • Urban Areas
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

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