Doctrine

British Armour – Lessons to be Learned I

AFV British Doctrine 21 Min Read

Following victory in Tunisia there was a pause in British ground operations for two months until the invasion of Sicily on 10 July. This gave the opportunity for re-organization of formations and units, for training and for re-equipment where necessary. It also allowed for rest and recuperation as well as reflection on how the campaign in North Africa had been…

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Doctrine France 9 Min Read

French lessons of the Great War

A group of 13.2 mm-armed AMR 35s, belonging to 4e RDP, 1re DLM; the vehicle in front, N° 87347, is the second produced and shows the large rosettes typical of this unit from 1938. The French believed that they had mastered the lessons of the Great War. They, of course,…

Allied Countermeasures against the snorkel-equipped U-boat I

The Illustrated London News, 23 December 1944. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt jointly announced to the public on 9 December that German U-boats were now equipped with a device that allowed them to remain submerged. Five days later First Lord of the Admiralty A V Alexander…

British Doctrine German Units Warship 31 Min Read

Allied Countermeasures against the snorkel-equipped U-boat II

Allied Surface Operations From the start of the war until mid-1944 BdU did not believe that U-boats could patrol effectively along an enemy’s coast. This self-imposed operational limitation was due to the belief that Allied aircraft combined with the critical limiting factor of a U-boat’s requirement that it had to…

British Doctrine 26 Min Read

COMMANDING THE BATTALION I

The duty of my station when in engagements was to fill up the intervals occasioned by killed and wounded, and to receive and issue orders, etc. The duty of firing is left to the private men. The business of an officer is to see that they do their duty properly,…

British Doctrine 14 Min Read

COMMANDING THE BATTALION II

FRAGMENTATION OF THE LINE DURING THE ADVANCE In conventional linear warfare it was, as Bland had put it in 1727, “a fixed rule for every battalion to act, as near as possible, in concert with the whole, both in advancing, attacking, pursuing, or retiring together.” This was because a battalion…

British Doctrine 27 Min Read

COMMANDING THE BATTALION III

THE COMPANY IN ACTION Unlike conventional European linear warfare, on American battlefields it was common for the companies within the battalion to operate as semiautonomous tactical entities, each one under the direction of its captain or senior subaltern. Indeed, individual companies were not infrequently detached from the battalion during combat…

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Gustavus Adolphus’ Reforms

Swedish Infantry Gustavus Adolphus, a key reformer of armed forces in the 17th century, was…

The Army of Elizabeth I

“The Armada Campaign, 1588: • Petronel, Earl of Essex’s troops • English demilancer • English…

The Dutch Reforms

Prince Maurice at the Battle of Nieuwpoort by Pauwels van Hillegaert. Oil on canvas. The…

Allied Countermeasures against the snorkel-equipped U-boat II

Allied Surface Operations From the start of the war until mid-1944 BdU did not believe…