Peter J. Schifferle's Books

America's School for War

Fort Leavenworth, Officer Education, and Victory in World War II

By: Peter J. Schifferle

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America's School for War

Fort Leavenworth, Officer Education, and Victory in World War II

By: Peter J. Schifferle

When the United States entered World War II, it took more than industrial might to transform its tiny army—smaller than even Portugal's—into an overseas fighting force of more than eight and a half million. Peter Schifferle contends that the determination of American army officers to be prepared for the next big war was an essential component in America's ultimate triumph over its adversaries. Crucial to that preparation were the army schools at Fort Leavenworth. Interwar Army officers, haunted by the bloodshed of World War I's Meuse-Argonne Offensive, fully expected to return to Europe to conclude the "unfinished business" of that conflict, and they prepared well. Schifferle examines for the first time precisely how they accomplished this through a close and illuminating look at the students, faculty, curriculum, and essential methods of instruction at Fort Leavenworth. He describes how the interwar officer corps there translated the experiences of World War I into effective doctrine, engaged in intellectual debate on professional issues, conducted experiments to determine the viability of new concepts, and used military professional education courses to substitute for the experience of commanding properly organized and resourced units. Schifferle highlights essential elements of war preparation that only the Fort Leavenworth education could provide, including intensive instruction in general staff procedures, hands-on experience with the principles and techniques of combined arms, and the handling of large division-sized formations in combat. This readied army officers for an emerging new era of global warfare and enabled them to develop the leadership decision making they would need to be successful on the battlefield. But Schifferle offers more than a recitation of curriculum development through the skillful interweaving of personal stories about both school experiences and combat operations, collectively recounting the human and professional development of the officer corps from 1918 to 1945. Well crafted and insightful, Schifferle's meticulously researched study shows how and why the Fort Leavenworth experience was instrumental in producing that impressive contingent of military officers who led the U.S. Army to final victory in World War II. By the end of the book, the attentive reader will also fully comprehend why the military professionals at Fort Leavenworth have come to think of it as the "Intellectual Center of the Army.

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Page Count

310

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700625275

ISBN 13

9780700625277

The Ia Drang Campaign 1965: A Successful Operational Campaign Or Mere Tactical Failure?

By: Lt.-Col. Peter J. Schifferle

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The Ia Drang Campaign 1965: A Successful Operational Campaign Or Mere Tactical Failure?

By: Lt.-Col. Peter J. Schifferle

This monograph analyzes the effectiveness of operational campaign design during the initial US ground combat in the Vietnam War. The focus is on the linkage of national strategic ends with military means and ways from the Spring of 1965 through the results of the la Drang battles of November 1965. The monograph identifies lessons from this period that are applicable to current US Joint and Army doctrine as well as lessons for planners and executors of US military action under the American system of civilian control of the military. First, the monograph evaluates current US doctrine for campaigns and identifies the concept of linkage of national strategic ends with military ways and means as critical to successful campaign design. Then the monograph assesses US military doctrine in 1965, identifying the weakness of unconventional warfare capabilities. A detailed discussion of the concept of both limited war and gradualism as national strategies, includes the limits on military action imposed by these strategies. Section III identifies specific military objectives identified by the National Command Authority, including preventing the war in Vietnam from escalating to a general war. The primacy of President Johnson’s domestic concerns is also identified. The monograph then assesses the effectiveness of US military campaign planning and execution in 1965. The conclusion is that the operational ways and means used by General Westmoreland in the conduct of his chosen strategy of attrition were not linked in any way with the national strategic aim of limited warfare. The monograph also identifies a failure in supervision by civilian leaders, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of the military planning and conduct of the air and ground campaign in South Vietnam. Too little supervision was the cause of failure, not over supervision by the civilian and military leadership.

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Page Count

105

Publisher

Pickle Partners Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1786251884

ISBN 13

9781786251886

America's School for War

Fort Leavenworth, Officer Education, and Victory in World War II

By: Peter J. Schifferle

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America's School for War

Fort Leavenworth, Officer Education, and Victory in World War II

By: Peter J. Schifferle

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

310

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700625275

ISBN 13

9780700625277

Book's by Peter J. Schifferle

America's School for War

America's School for War

The Ia Drang Campaign 1965: A Successful Operational Campaign Or Mere Tactical Failure?

The Ia Drang Campaign 1965: A Successful Operational Campaign Or Mere Tactical Failure?

America's School for War

America's School for War

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