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The Principles Of Mission Command In The Battle Of The Bulge

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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. General Patton drove the Allied forces since he had already built the cohesive team through mutual trust. General Patton also created a shared understanding throughout all of his troops of the mission they had to accomplish. General Patton also was highly known throughout the war for always giving a clear commander’s intent and did so again in the Battle of the Bulge. General Patton also used mission orders to ensure that his subordinate units completed the strategic objective of the operation and didn’t worry about micromanaging their Soldiers. General Patton helped put the
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