Thread: Good books or other reads on Operational Art?

You do realize that I as LCol spent 3 years reading FM 3.0

"You do realize that I as LCol spent 3 years reading FM 3.0"

Colonel,

In all seriousness and fairness you likely have spent that time not simply reading as a once-over but truly studying to absorb its tenets. There is a difference which I've been experiencing myself in conducting a self-education (with Shek's help) WRT Systemic Operational Design.

I frankly don't recall much of FM 3-O Operations and Major Shek has just dumped Joint Operations on me as well.

Why don't I have much recall? Perhaps age for starters. Further, I read it-once over only when released in 2006-7. Clearly not as detailed as necessary. Further we no longer benefit from peer education that comes with embedding amidst an officer corps that's living and breathing the same new doctrine as yourself. Almost a lonely monastic pursuit without that feedback and discussion platform.

Well, Steve, the point is that the FMs were never a once over. You have to read it over and over. In the case of FM3, battle exercises ere extremely required. One of the best thing I've ever learned was that a bad plan was still a bad plan no matter how many hours you've spent up trying to mitigate the damages.

At some point, the smart officer would cut his losses and run. Try teaching that to a young captain is worst than trying to teach a rope how to do sex.

Colonel,

"Well, Steve, the point is that the FMs were never a once over."

Sadly, for myself the new manuals are exactly that if read at all. I no longer feed myself from their lessons and only follow to the extent that time and interest allow. Both wane compared to the past.

Only the 6 series (artillery) remains reasonably grounded and even there I've experienced changes WRT to munitions. Technical and tactical employment considerations remain generally the same from what I can tell but advances in munitions open new capabilities of which I'm not entirely apprised.

I can live with my foibles. A serving officer mustn't.

Kevin,

In addition to FM 3.0, go back and read FM 101-5 back to 1982 to get a feel for how the US Army has evolved its thinking on the operational art.

Read JP 3.0.

Go through this thread to get a taste of pre-modern operational art: Grant and the Operational Art (to get a feel for American modern operational art, read here, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/...operations.pdf).

I believe the above thread has some links as well to Military Review articles that trace the Soviet conceptualization of the level of war between tactical and strategic.

The FM 3.0 is on a theoretical level. What I am interested are case scenarios that deals with real-life situations or past live situations and how military leaders and officers created solutions and how they dealt with fog of war.

Originally Posted by Blademaster

The FM 3.0 is on a theoretical level. What I am interested are case scenarios that deals with real-life situations or past live situations and how military leaders and officers created solutions and how they dealt with fog of war.

Amazon.com: And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May-June 1864 (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) (9780803271197): Mark Grimsley: Books

Read it alongside this: http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Memoi.../dp/0375752285