Strategy
THE ROYAL NAVY -21st CENTURY I
This article considers how the Royal Navy (RN) of the United Kingdom (UK) has evolved since the Cold War ended, and how it is likely to change in the future. In 1991, the RN was the world’s third most powerful navy, after the US Navy and the newly-formed Russian Navy. The service was also still benefiting from the prestige of…
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THE FALAISE POCKET AND THE DEEP ENCIRCLEMENT IV
The long envelopment had not been invalidated by the short alternative, however. Had Bradley been single-mindedly focused on the primary aim of destroying the German forces, he could have proposed a thrust up both sides of the Seine to Rouen or beyond (as Patton wanted), possibly augmented by an airborne…
Phung Hoang: The Phoenix Program
Original unissued patch Except for the significance of Tet ’68, the Phung Hoang (Phoenix Program) was the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misreported event or program of the Vietnam War. Though the surprise Viet Cong offensive at Tet ’68 was a psychological victory for the Communist forces, it was a devastating…
Germany under Pressure 1943 Part I
The repulse in December of Hoth’s attempt to break through to Stalingrad enabled the Soviet command to reactivate one of the original elements of ‘Saturn’, the attempt to cut off the retreat of Army Group A from the Caucasus. The General Staff recommended that the Southern (formerly Stalingrad) Front, while…
Germany under Pressure 1943 Part III
Battle of Kursk – Aviation Art by Nicolas Trudgian. All the members of the ‘Red Orchestra’ networks of Soviet agents in Germany and occupied Europe had been executed, imprisoned or ‘turned’ to work for the Abwehr between August 1942 and January 1943, so none of them could have provided any…
The Philippines 1944: Japanese Preparations and Plans I
Preparations for the defense of the Philippines did not start in earnest until March 1944, when the IGHQ issued “Battle Preparations No. 11,” aimed to bolster the strength of the Fourteenth Army. The enemy landing at Hollandia in April 1944 finally convinced the IGHQ that no time must be lost…
Army of the US
The US Army Strategy, published in late 2018, continued the army’s shift from a focus on counterinsurgency to high-intensity conflict `involving large-scale combat with Division and Corps-level maneuvers against near-peer competitors’. The strategy has four lines of effort: building readiness; modernisation; reform; and strengthening alliances and partnerships. Building readiness for…