Exploring the Resurgence of Tactical Strategy in the Context of Modern International Rivalries
In the realm of military strategy, operational art has emerged as a crucial component in connecting tactical capabilities with strategic goals. This concept, first understood in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries, was formally coined by Russian staff officer Alexander Svechin in the early twentieth century.
The idea of operational art gained significant traction after World War II, with contributions from military theorists and practitioners in the United States. Notable figures included General William DePuy and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in the 1970s and 1980s, who integrated tactical and strategic concepts to form a coherent operational level of warfare.
In the 2001 edition of FM 3-0, the Army's capstone operational doctrine, operational art received only minor attention and lacked any substantive discussion. However, this changed with the new version of FM 3-0, which was produced by a core team of writers, all veterans of either Afghanistan or Iraq, in early 2005. The new version expanded on the discussion of the elements of operational art and provided a comprehensive framework that added richness and context to the application of both operational art and the emergent design methodology.
The US military went into Iraq in 2003 with a false sense of security in its understanding of how the war would be fought. The lack of emphasis on operational art in the initial stages of the conflict was evident in the series of ill-conceived and poorly planned directives issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority, such as Coalition Provisional Authority Order 1, the de-Baathification of the Iraqi government, which was the first in a series of directives that would fuel the nascent insurgency.
One of the most notable examples of the importance of operational art is the German spring offensives in 1918. Despite achieving a series of tactical victories, these offensives amounted to failure due to a lack of understanding of how tactical engagements relate to theater strategic goals.
In contrast, properly connecting tactics to strategy can help avoid doing the wrong things extremely well. This is evident in the 2010 Army Design Methodology, codified in FM 5-0, The Operations Process, due to the expanded discussion of operational art in the new version of FM 3-0.
In recent years, the competitive norms of the new Cold War have included the nine-dash line and the South China Sea, conflict across the cyber domain, and widespread diffusion of military technology. In this context, understanding operational art is more important than ever.
In February 2022, US President Joe Biden declared at the Munich Security Conference that the country is preparing for a long-term strategic competition, with the focus mainly on the United States and China. As the world enters a new era of strategic competition, operational art will continue to play a critical role in shaping military strategy and ensuring success in large-scale operations.
In a 2013 article, journalist Spencer Ackerman offered a particularly scathing review of Rumsfeld's Rules, the collected leadership lessons of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, stating that the lesson "You go to war with the Army you have-not the Army you might wish you have" is uniquely representative of the abandonment of operational art that marked the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This serves as a reminder of the importance of operational art in ensuring that military operations are not only well-executed, but also strategically sound.
In conclusion, operational art is an essential component of large-scale military operations, connecting tactical capabilities with strategic goals and ensuring that military engagements are strategically sound. Its importance has been demonstrated throughout history, and as the world enters a new era of strategic competition, understanding operational art will be more important than ever.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
