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Operation Torch Case Study

1450 Words6 Pages

Hard won victories in North Africa proved the Allies could filed forces capable of defeating their German opponents. Despite the success, the force’s biggest challenge remained Allied leadership’s continuing struggle with embracing a unified command structure that placed ultimate authority in the hands of one leader. The failure of fully grasping senior leadership lessons produce by Operation Torch meant Operation Husky was doomed to face many of the same decisional and planning distractors encountered in North Africa. Allied leadership’s inability to coalesce into a cohesive command and control framework hampered effective integration of allied capabilities and ultimately operational effectiveness. Though the overall operation was a success …show more content…

The processes of gaining understanding and developing intent are continuous, circular activities in which one enables the other. General Eisenhower’s myopic intent did not create shared purpose and understanding, enable focused staff planning, or aid subordinate commanders in achieving objectives. As an example, not articulating a clear plan for dealing with enemy forces delayed General Montgomery from taking action against the German withdrawal while he waited for guidance from General Alexander that never came. General Eisenhower’s incomplete intent did not articulate a vision that led to subordinate understanding of the operational lifecycle or allow for logical reactions to situations not covered by guidance. The incomplete operational picture did not direct responsibility or provide an end-state did nothing to build trust in the plan, thus opening the door for subordinate commanders to shape the operation as they saw …show more content…

The aim of integrating joint functions is creating synergy by arranging forces and their actions to support a unified purpose. Joint functions are reinforcing and complementary and their integration is essential to mission accomplishment. The integration of capabilities during the Sicily Campaign emerged more out of necessity rather than deliberate planning. The Allies failed to integrate their capabilities in a manner that would provide a timely and decisive victory in Sicily. Parochial attitudes enabled by the communal leadership atmosphere and the lack of a single authority capable of forcing cooperation naturally undermined the integration of joint functions in a manner that would quickly overwhelm the enemy. Specifically, the inability to effectively coordinate the functions of movement and maneuver in addition to protection led to a cumbersome and protracted

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On July 30, 2008, a bloody battle involving Coalition forces took place in the mountainous eastern Afghan province of Nuristan. This was the Battle of Wanat and the devastating amount of Coalition casualties began a vigorous investigation by the United States Army. The village of Wanat, defended by Second Platoon, Chosen Company, Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team would fall victim to numerous bad decision made by higher command. Although the men of Chosen Company fought hard, they ended up surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and without any Battalion assets. This paper will argue the reasons for the disastrous outcome of the Battle of Wanat; examining the effective company leadership exploiting effective

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850 Words | 4 Pages

Joint Planning for Operation Anaconda SFC Spurlock, Matthew MLC Class 005-18 Joint Planning for Operation Anaconda Since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism, there have been numerous battles. One of the most important battles that shaped future joint planning of operations was Operation Anaconda. The outcome of this operation was ultimately successful, however, the original intent from the commanders were not met due to errors in the joint planning process. Joint planning during Operation Anaconda proved ineffective because of inaccurate intelligence about the terrain and weather, the exemption of Air Force and Navy during the initial planning phase, and false assumptions about the enemy. Intelligence Intelligence Preparation

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2222 Words | 9 Pages

Leaders at all levels of the Army are faced with difficult decisions every day, decisions that can affect the lives of everyone around them. The thought processes used by individual leaders to make decisions can be as far reaching as their imagination; however, it is every leader’s responsibility to make these decisions using the tenants of mission command. Mission command is not an easy skill to master, however great leaders understand it and the proper use of it when planning a mission. Mission command is broken down into six major principles: Build cohesive teams through trust, create a shared understanding, provide a clear commanders’ intent, exercise-disciplined initiative, use mission orders and accept prudent risk . General Douglas

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1800 Words | 8 Pages

Colonel Freeman developed a clear commander’s intent based on this army doctrine. He utilized a unique balance of interpersonal skills and action. In my opinion, Colonel Freeman made use of the direct leadership skills as outlined in Field Manual (FM) 22-100, but relied heavily on his interpersonal, conceptual, tactical and technical expertise at the Battle of Chipyong-ni.10 His ability to utilize these skills aided in successfully beating the Chinese Communist Federation during the Battle of Chipyong-ni. Colonel Freeman ensured his intent was met by personally delivering a clear and concise message to the Soldiers.11 Although, he primarily addressed the human element of Soldiers in combat.

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

General Petraeus and his Leadership Approach to Mosul A Leaders Restoration of a Nation Following the invasion of Coalition Forces into Iraq in March of 2003 the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, commanded by Major General David Petraeus, found itself in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul (Lundberg, 2008). With the invasion complete and capturing of the capitol city of Baghdad accomplished, Major General Petraeus and staff began confronting the issues and concerns of what lay ahead for the duration of the unit’s deployment (Lundberg, 2008). The development and implementation of Major General David Petraeus’ strategy to bring stability to Mosul, Iraq and surrounding areas following the 2003 invasion provides insight into his leadership approach

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708 Words | 3 Pages

Returning to the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) to assume command as the brigade commander brings me much joy to be reunited with great Non-Commission Officers and Officers that I have previously served with. Unfortunately, this brigade is no longer the brigade I remember when I commanded a battalion within the 4th ABCT not so long ago. In the last 30 days, I have had the opportunity to observe the ABCT and review a multitude of historical documents to assess the state of the brigade. During my observation, I believe the critical leadership problem in the 4th ABCT’s is the lack of vision for the brigade. Therefore, this critical problem has led to other challenging issues within the brigade.

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1978 Words | 8 Pages

Operation Torch was a plan designed to open up another side of Europe and force the Axis to fight on multiple fronts (“Remembering Operation Torch”). Operation Torch consisted of many different Allied forces and required the use of most branches

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

By definition, “mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations,” according to ADRP 5-0. Mission command is about knowing when to change the task to fit the purpose. This paper is intended to analyze the mission command of one side of the battle, focusing on the commander’s role in the operations process. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the most important battle of the American Revolution because of Colonel Prescott’s superior command and control.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

Commanders, staff, and partners need that cohesion in operation environment to resolve challenges. Working with multiple organizations such as foreign forces need coordination and synchronizing for collaboration. U.S. Commanders understands that the Afghan forces was not prepared or did not have the proper training to accomplish the mission, so they adapt to that condition and called in for air support. Commander’s Intent Commander’s intent is a clear message to what he/she wants to accomplish and what the end state would look like that still aligns with the operation’s goal. While developing the Anaconda battle plan, General Frank was briefed on the impending plan, he thought the strategy did not have enough coordination between the joint operation.

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1290 Words | 6 Pages

In the following paper, I will discuss how the 7 principles of mission command helped them to be successful and complete the mission. Competence MG Hagenbeck was the commander of the 10th Mountain Division. He proved his competence in a previous battle in the earlier stages of the war in Afghanistan. He knew that

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1638 Words | 7 Pages

General Patton’s ethical and visionary leadership styles showed when he utilized his open-mindedness and team dynamic role of “creator” to incorporate an aerial assault into his operational strategies and avoided the ethical trap of uncertainty when he combined the two tactics without any pre-established policy. General Patton also displayed visionary leadership by his use of inspirational motivation, constant presence on the battle field,

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1715 Words | 7 Pages

By 1944, Eisenhower was described by senior British military leaders as, “…he has a generous and loveable character,” ”just a coordinator, a good mixer, a champion of inter-allied co-operation,” “…completely sincere, straightforward and very modest,” Eisenhower had learned over time to effectively use persuasion, conflict management, and collaboration within the Allied Forces to manage the cultural differences. Eisenhower risked his prior long term relationships with senior U.S. military leaders in order to build relationships and persuade and build relationships with the British senior military leaders and civilian leadership. Once Eisenhower improved his interpretation and management of the strategic

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1262 Words | 6 Pages

Among these five characteristics; military expertise, honorable service, trust, esprit de corps, and stewardship of the profession, I believe that military expertise and stewardship of the profession are the two characteristics that make a leader excel in the presence of their peers. ADRP 1 defines military expertise as, “Military expertise is the design, generation, support, and ethical application of land power, primarily in unified land operations, and all supporting capabilities essential to accomplish the mission in defense of the American people”. In order to gain trust from your subordinates for them to follow your guidance, a leader must have military expertise. Without being an expert in your field, subordinates will not trust your guidance provided unto them. ADRP 1 defines Stewardship of the Profession as, “Stewardship is the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”.

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979 Words | 4 Pages

To what factors do you attribute Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz ‘We are babies in the hands of a giant’ claimed Russian Tsar after the defeat of Austro-Russian forces against the Grande Armée, in the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 (Fisher, 2001 p. 42). Indeed, the ‘sun of Austerlitz’ illuminated Na-poleon’s one of the most perfectly orchestrated battle and the Grande Armée’s first full appearance (McLynn, 1998 pp. 345-347). Consequently, France and Austria signed the Treaty of Pressburg. The Austrians exited the war and Russians agreed to withdraw home (Rothenberg, 1980 p. 46).

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1800 Words | 8 Pages

General Patton, in the Battle of the Bulge exercised the principles of mission command to the fullest and they yielded significantly great results for the Allied forces. General Patton employed each of the principles in different ways in order to ensure that the German surprise attack did not significantly set back the Allied forces in the war. The exercise of mission command allows a commander to conduct military operations and missions through dispersed execution. According to Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 6-0, Mission Command, the definition of mission command is “the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations”. General Patton exhibited four of the mission command principles extremely well during the Battle of the Bulge.

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