Military Strategy in the Civil War

Author(s):  
Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh

Despite the absence of a robust and well-articulated conception of strategy, American military and political leaders during the Civil War had an intuitive sense of how military operations should be coordinated with larger political ends. They also shared a general adherence to the straightforward strategic ideas of Antoine-Henri de Jomini, who emphasized the importance of concentrating one’s own military forces in opposition to dispersed opponents. In the case of the Union, however, victory would require not only a more sophisticated conception of strategy that superseded Jomini and coordinated military operations in geographically disconnected fronts but also the practical implementation of such ideas through well-selected subordinate commanders. It would take Ulysses S. Grant until the end of the war to complete all these tasks. In the case of the Confederacy, secessionist leaders faced the challenge of prioritizing different theaters in the face of their material inferiority to the Union. Robert E. Lee chose the plausible strategy of striking directly at Northern public opinion with aggressive operations waged by his own Army of Northern Virginia, but the final failure of the Confederate war effort raises fair questions about whether the Confederacy should have paid more attention to its western theater.

Author(s):  
Peter R. Mansoor

A recurring theme of post-World War II US military history is the fixation of American policy-makers on technological solutions to strategic challenges. In the wake of the 1991 victory in the Gulf War, American military leaders embraced a Revolution in Military Affairs combining guided munitions with advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems to provide war-winning capabilities for US forces. Although Army experimentation in the 1990s and early 2000s had much to commend it, senior Army leaders lost sight of the connection between strategy and military operations and virtually ignored any type of war other than the one for which the Army's powerful conventional forces were designed. In the aftermath of regime change in Iraq in 2003, US commanders struggled to develop concepts suitable to achieve the nation's strategic goals. Having all but ignored other types of conflict, Army leaders proved incredibly resistant to embracing counterinsurgency operations in Iraq until defeat stared them in the face. In the future, the US Army needs to integrate information networks, ISR systems, and guided munitions into a broader warfighting framework that military leaders can adapt to whatever type of enemies they may face, rather than counting on fighting a mirror-imaged enemy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 375-390
Author(s):  
Christian B. Keller

The Chancellorsville Campaign of early May 1863 was one of the most strategic military operations in any theater of the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and his powerful Army of the Potomac were miraculously defeated by the outnumbered Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the leadership of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. In a daring flank march and attack, the Rebels crushed the federal Eleventh Corps on May 2 and over the next several days hammered the rest of Hooker’s army back across the Rappahannock River. Northern morale sank, Copperheads gained momentum, and German Americans, feeling the sting of nativism, began to question their role in the Union. The initiative in the East once again passed to the South, creating conditions for what became the Pennsylvania Campaign. But Jackson, wounded accidentally by his own men, died, destroying the fragile command team Lee had carefully built over the previous year. His loss was a turning point in the war.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-291
Author(s):  
Manuel A. Vasquez ◽  
Anna L. Peterson

In this article, we explore the debates surrounding the proposed canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken defender of human rights and the poor during the civil war in El Salvador, who was assassinated in March 1980 by paramilitary death squads while saying Mass. More specifically, we examine the tension between, on the one hand, local and popular understandings of Romero’s life and legacy and, on the other hand, transnational and institutional interpretations. We argue that the reluctance of the Vatican to advance Romero’s canonization process has to do with the need to domesticate and “privatize” his image. This depoliticization of Romero’s work and teachings is a part of a larger agenda of neo-Romanization, an attempt by the Holy See to redeploy a post-colonial and transnational Catholic regime in the face of the crisis of modernity and the advent of postmodern relativism. This redeployment is based on the control of local religious expressions, particularly those that advocate for a more participatory church, which have proliferated with contemporary globalization


1914 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-49
Author(s):  
Alfred L. P. Dennis

War has marked the year 1913; and charges and countercharges as to alleged atrocities by belligerents have been rife. Treaties were drawn to be promptly torn up; and solemn declarations of intention and policy often proved futile. The existence of internal disorder and the outbreak of domestic revolutions in several countries have also exerted disturbing influences on international relations. The result was economic loss and diplomatic tension even well beyond the field of military operations. And these conditions have led to renewed activity in the struggle for concessions and investment in renascent communities. Racial and religious sentiments have also aroused bitter feeling; while political leaders in several countries compel renewed consideration of the weight of individuals in the determination of the world's affairs.In large part the problems of 1913 were historic; but in part they were affected by apparently impending changes which we cannot as yet define. Thus the influence of socialism and of various forms of radical thought on international relations is a factor. The adoption of oil as a naval fuel, the opening of the Panama Canal, the plans for administrative reorganization of Turkey, and its capitalistic development, the renewed debate as to the Monroe doctrine, and the problem of China are all matters whose future significance scarcely concern us here; but their influence in the past year has been unquestionably great. We cannot estimate as yet the true value of many recommendations touching various fields of international coöperation; and the value of delay in international action still remains in dispute. So on the whole the year 1913 has apparently been the year of the cynic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 601-618
Author(s):  
Elizabeth R. Varon

Americans experienced the last months of the Civil War as uncertain and full of dramatic events that together finally spelled the Confederacy’s doom. The Union capitalized on its advantages in manpower and materiel, on the command harmony of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his team, and on the political momentum of President Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation policy to seize the prizes of Richmond and Petersburg and send the Confederate government and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia into flight. Confederates, confronting shortages of manpower and materiel, debated how to prolong the fight and clung to the hope that Lee’s army would win victories that breathed new life into the Confederate project. President Lincoln framed this last season of war as a moral reckoning with slavery and the moment to advance the work of reunion. The final campaigns were a watershed in the process of emancipation, as Lee’s surrender brought many slaves their de facto freedom.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Nataliia Riabets

The paper presents the results of the study of the manifestations, trends of business social responsibility during the pandemic and gives the dominant directions of its practical implementation. The paper provides the results of the analysis of the evolutionary development of views and approaches to theoretical and conceptual understanding of corporate social responsibility. The impact of business social responsibility on the results of its activities and the quality of relationships with stakeholders is revealed. A study was also conducted on the transformation of directions and tools for the practical implementation of CSR initiatives before and during the spread of the pandemic. Potential directions for establishing a constructive conversation business structure with society, which will have a positive impact on the success and stability of the business, as well as on social development in the current environment have been identified. A study was carried out to evaluate the perception of the social responsibility by domestic business organizations and awareness of its trends, and the need for its implementation and advantages. A comparative analysis of the development of corporate social responsibility in the world and in Ukraine has been conducted. Trends and mechanisms that have a transformational impact on the formation and implementation of CSR in modern conditions of development are identified. The priority vectors of CSR programs of international business entities in the face of a pandemic are outlined. The necessity of developing a business process management model based on corporate and social responsibility tools has been formulated, taking into account the desire of business to conduct successful activities in a highly dynamic global environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-227
Author(s):  
I. V. Prosvetov ◽  

The first publication of poems by the Soviet writer-historian, 1st degree Stalin Prize laureate Vasily Yan (Yanchevetsky), composed in 1920–1923, when he lived and worked in Siberia. Source – handwritten miscellany “Poems of Wanderings”, recently discovered in the Yanchevetskys’ family archive. The publication is accompanied by detailed biographical comments. In the civil war, V. Yanchevetsky took part on the side of the whites as one of the main propagandists of the Kolchak army – the head of the Informative Department of the Special Chancellery of the Supreme Commander’s Staff, editor of the front newspaper “Vperyod”. After the collapse of the white movement, V. Yanchevetsky had to hide his past, changing occupations and places of residence (Achinsk, Uyuk, Minusinsk). The Siberian po- etic cycle, created at this time, makes it possible to understand not only the mood of the author in the last years of the turning point in Russian history, but also literary searches, and the atmosphere of the time in general. The main themes are homeland, revolution, freedom, atheism, building a new life, preserving the personality in the face of political upheavals. Obviously, the influence on the poetic style of the author of such trends as symbolism and futurism, which he was interested in. In Omsk V. Yanchevetsky closely communicated with the writer, poet and avant-garde artist Anton Sorokin, attended his literary evenings at home. Probably, as a result, some of the Siberian poems were written in free verse, to which V. Yanchevetsky had never used before.


1991 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237-251
Author(s):  
Willbm Nijenhuis

In the year 1643 the Dutch revolt against Spain was dragging gradually to an end. Repeated attempts by Stadtholder Frederick Henry to take Antwerp had failed. Since 1640 only minor military operations had been undertaken. The demand for peace was growing, but this, at the same time, led to divisions of opinion. During this period of domestic tension the United Provinces became involved in events in England leading to the Civil War.


Author(s):  
William O’Toole ◽  
Dr Stephen Luke ◽  
Travis Semmens ◽  
Dr Jason Brown ◽  
Andrew Tatrai

This chapter reviews planning methods and practices. Significant work has been published and used for long periods on planning methods. Preplanning is essential due to the life safety factors that a crowd can develop in situ. Planning can be considered in two phases. Information and background planning essential to communicate facts and identify risk areas in crowd management and operational planning. This then provides resourcing and contingency planning once the operation is in place. Like military operations both phases are important, however in many crowd situations operational and contingency planning is given less scrutiny. This is because the plans are normally scrutinised by authorities, councils, government, venue or land owners and they are more comfortable with pre-information type plans that inform them of the context background and communication flows. How the crowds are managed by security contractors is not usually an area they are experienced in, hence less attention is paid to these areas. The aim of this chapter is to provide enough knowledge for all event stakeholders to review and discuss practical implementation issues in security deployment and control. Planning and preparation requires an increased focus for crowd management because the emerging behaviour from the collective requires more options to be considered and prepared for. As crowds can cause life safety issues and because agents and systems can interact to exaggerate interactions and responses quickly, preparation and contingency planning is vital. Crowd risk assessments have to be conducted to understand and communicate the magnitude of the problems that can occur. If the consequences of the crowd activity are significant to the risk appetite of the organiser then response methods and measures should be developed and implemented. An example of this would be preparing additional signage, barriers and guards to divert pedestrians away or around potential bottlenecks when the flow becomes too congested.


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