Walter E. Kretchik's Books

U.S. Army Doctrine

From the American Revolution to the War on Terror

By: Walter E. Kretchik

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U.S. Army Doctrine

From the American Revolution to the War on Terror

By: Walter E. Kretchik

From the American Revolution to the global war on terror, U.S. Army doctrine has evolved to regulate the chaos of armed conflict by providing an intellectual basis for organizing, training, equipping, and operating the military. Walter E. Kretchik analyzes the service's keystone doctrine over three centuries to reveal that the army's leadership is more forward thinking and adaptive than has been generally believed. The first comprehensive history of Army doctrine, Kretchik's book fully explores the principles that have shaped the Army's approach to warfare. From Regulations For the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States in 1779 to modern-day field manuals, it reflects the fashioning of doctrine to incorporate the lessons of past wars and minimize the uncertainty and dangers of battle. Kretchik traces Army doctrine through four distinct eras: 1779-1904, when guidelines were compiled by single authors or a board of officers in tactical drill manuals; 1905-1944, when the Root Reforms fixed doctrinal responsibility with the General Staff; 1944-1962, the era of multiservice doctrine; and, beginning in 1962, coalition warfare with its emphasis on interagency cooperation. He reveals that doctrine has played a significant role in the Army's performance throughout its history-although not always to its advantage, as it has often failed to anticipate accurately the nature of the "next war" and still continues to be locked in a debate between advocates of conventional warfare and those who emphasize counterinsurgency approaches. Each chapter presents individuals who helped define and articulate Army doctrine during each period of its history-including George Washington and Baron von Steuben in the eighteenth century, Emory Upton and Arthur Wagner in the nineteenth, and Elihu Root and William DePuy in the twentieth. Each identifies the "first principles" set down in manuals covering such topics as tactics, operations, and strategy; size, organization, and distribution of forces; and the promise and challenges of technological innovation. Each also presents specific cases that analyze how effectively the Army actually applied a particular era's doctrine. Doctrine remains the basis of instruction in the Army school system, ensuring that all officers and enlisted soldiers share a common intellectual framework. This book elucidates that framework for the first time.

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408

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700632948

ISBN 13

9780700632947

Eyewitness to Chaos

Personal Accounts of the Intervention in Haiti, 1994

By: Walter E. Kretchik

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Eyewitness to Chaos

Personal Accounts of the Intervention in Haiti, 1994

By: Walter E. Kretchik

Haitian culture and military power -- Preventive diplomacy and military intervention -- Planning a military intervention -- Conducting a military intervention -- Intervention under the Blue Beret -- Aftermath -- Appendix: Oral history interviewees

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Page Count

238

Publisher

U of Nebraska Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612348688

ISBN 13

9781612348681

Army Diplomacy

American Military Occupation and Foreign Policy after World War II

By: Walter M. Hudson

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Army Diplomacy

American Military Occupation and Foreign Policy after World War II

By: Walter M. Hudson

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the United States Army became the principal agent of American foreign policy. The army designed, implemented, and administered the occupations of the defeated Axis powers Germany and Japan, as well as many other nations. Generals such as Lucius Clay in Germany, Douglas MacArthur in Japan, Mark Clark in Austria, and John Hodge in Korea presided over these territories as proconsuls. At the beginning of the Cold War, more than 300 million people lived under some form of U.S. military authority. The army's influence on nation-building at the time was profound, but most scholarship on foreign policy during this period concentrates on diplomacy at the highest levels of civilian government rather than the armed forces' governance at the local level. In Army Diplomacy, Hudson explains how U.S. Army policies in the occupied nations represented the culmination of more than a century of military doctrine. Focusing on Germany, Austria, and Korea, Hudson's analysis reveals that while the post–World War II American occupations are often remembered as overwhelming successes, the actual results were mixed. His study draws on military sociology and institutional analysis as well as international relations theory to demonstrate how "bottom-up" decisions not only inform but also create higher-level policy. As the debate over post-conflict occupations continues, this fascinating work offers a valuable perspective on an important yet underexplored facet of Cold War history.

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Page Count

483

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813160987

ISBN 13

9780813160986

U.S. Army Doctrine

From the American Revolution to the War on Terror

By: Walter E. Kretchik

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U.S. Army Doctrine

From the American Revolution to the War on Terror

By: Walter E. Kretchik

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

408

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700632948

ISBN 13

9780700632947

Book's by Walter E. Kretchik

U.S. Army Doctrine

U.S. Army Doctrine

Eyewitness to Chaos

Eyewitness to Chaos

Army Diplomacy

Army Diplomacy

U.S. Army Doctrine

U.S. Army Doctrine

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