M/NATO Theater: A Case Study

Strategically for the allies, the North African campaign was very significant. Britain had retained control of Egypt and the Suez Canal; important as it provided a quick route to India and the Far East where allied forces were fighting the Japanese. This was particularly important as Singapore had already been lost in the Far East. The allies held the Middle-Eastern oil fields and supplies and denied Germany any access. The shortages of resources on the Axis

The United States entered World War Two in late 1941, and right away they were thrown into a conflict that involved making important decisions that would affect generations of people, in the United States and elsewhere, for years to come. A most notable decision by the Allies, namely the United States and Great Britain, was the combining of the American and British military chiefs of staff. This joint collaboration was appropriately titled the “Combined Chiefs of Staff”. They worked together as one body, and made war planning decisions and strategized together. This type of alliance was an innovation in war planning for the time, and the decisions made collaboratively by the two powers contributed greatly to the Allied victory in 1945. The relationships involved and the disputes that came up are worth noting, specifically the question of the Allies opening up a second front in the west, particularly titled “Operation Sledgehammer”. The relationship between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, as well as General George Marshall of the United States and General Sir Alan Brooke of Great Britain were the main actors involved in this undertaking, and they will be the main individuals discussed and analyzed for the purposes of this paper. Ultimately Operation Sledgehammer was delayed and no action was taken upon it. Even though it caused rifts between the USSR, for reasons that will be explained, and the Allies far into the future, in retrospect they may have been

When the National Security Council Report 68, better known, as NSC was first made known in Washington, policy makers thought that the evident build-up of Soviet nuclear arsenal would severely counteract America’s eminent nuclear edge, and would, in theory, weaken the country’s plain superiority in economic power. Truman’s advisors were particularly worried about the fact that the danger of mutual destruction would never dissuade the Soviet Union from launching pre-emptive attacks against American positions in Europe and the Pacific. If in fact the Soviets refrained from attacking American military installations in Europe and elsewhere, the only rational option that the Soviets might take would be to reposition its conventional forces in Europe

The development of the allied military strategy in World War II (WWII) presented challenges for the U.S. and Great Britain as they worked together to defeat the Axis powers. First, this paper will review the environment at the time of WWII when Admiral Stark penned the “Plan Dog” memorandum and MAJ Wedemeyer’s War Defense Team put together the “Victory Plan”. Next, it will look at the advantages and disadvantages of coalition operations with supporting examples. Then, a review of two major meetings between U.S. and Great Britain will identify what strategic decisions were made and the effects they have on the war. Finally, this paper will explore the foundations of strategy (Clausewitz and Sun Tzu) by which the allied forces used and

Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall to work as a planning officer in Washington, D.C. In November of 1942, he led Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. This was an attack across the English Channel, the principal allied offensive effort. The Allies commenced as a combined operation under the command of Eisenhower. The objective of this maneuver was to seize the main ports between Casablanca and Algiers (USHMM 2). Many troops faced resistance from Casablanca and Algiers. Eisenhower motivation was to push quick east along the Mediterranean and take the important ports of Bizerte and Tunis. The invasion was a success along with hardships along the way and it resulted in the end of the empire in

Based on the reading, several M/NATO theater-level adversary Center of gravity (COGs) and critical factors were identified by me. The Center of Gravity, best known for its physical strength, power and resistance. In the early 1941, when his alliance was bolstered with Italy by Hitler, against the operations against the British Eighth Army in Egypt is certainly a graphic episode of a center of gravity (physical strength). The Axis (adversary) objective of taking control of the Suez Canal is certainly another platform of center of gravity (power) that was used. Finally, the endurance during the battle of Gazala Gallop is prime example of the resistance to be defeated by the Allied forces. The adversary center of gravity physical strength

Lawrence exhibited his innovative leadership during the attack on Aqaba as he depleted the Ottoman defenses, therefore bolstering the Allied Powers. Aqaba was a strategic location that provided essential resources for Turkish troops in Northwestern Arabia. “Lawrence later wrote that A[q]aba’s ‘special value to the Turks was that, in their hands, it might, when they pleased, be constituted as a threat on the right flank of the British army’” (Wilson 398). Just as Aqaba was valuable for the Allies, it could also prove to be detrimental to the British, given its location near their Suez Canal forces. While searching for access to the Aqaba-Ma'an supply route and having made significant progress toward Aqaba, Lawrence encountered Auda abu Tayi. Lawrence recognized Auda’s unique situation in

This paper provides an evaluation of the command and control and integration of joint functions associated with the invasion of Sicily, known as Operation HUSKY. The Allies achieved a positive outcome despite the fact that key leaders demonstrated ineffective command and control capabilities and poor integration. The paper will first evaluate the joint function of command and control, using the three attributes of mission command from joint doctrine: commander’s intent, mutual trust, and understanding. An evaluation of the integration of intelligence and fires joint functions at the Operational level will follow.

1. Problem Statement - How do Allied forces control sea lines of communications and Land lines of communication in Mediterranean and North Africa for continued access to Persian Gulf oil?

The largest of these was access to the Mediterranean and Italy. Up until this point, “routes of delivery [from the Allies to the USSR] were long, roundabout, and difficult” because “the Mediterranean and the Baltic were closed to Allied cargo vessels.” (Greenfield, 228) Now, using ports and outposts in Africa, the Mediterranean was open and the USSR could get the reinforcements it needed to begin its fatal push into Germany. At the same time, Britain and the US were able to begin the Italian campaign, overthrowing one of Germany’s main allies and supporters and beginning their own push into Germany. Losing control of Africa provided the Allies with a strategic advantage that Germany didn’t have the resources to cope with.

History.army.mil claims," Loss of the air and sea routes through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal that led to China and India would have required Allied shipping to travel far to the south around the tip of Africa, thus lengthening the time required to supply American and British forces in the China, Burma, India (CBI) Theater of Operations" ("Egypt-Libya"). Losing the Suez Canal would be catastrophic for the Allied forces to continue in the war. It would have to take hours more to ship and supply soldiers, weapons, and resources to South Asia. If the canal had been lost it would be likely Dahl would not have been alive to tell the

With the proclaimed defeat of ISIS, current ties with Russia, and the seemingly inevitable defeat of rebel forces against the Assad Regime, the Iranian government has the opportunity to spread influence within the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), specifically within Syria. Iran’s persistent influence across Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon via proxy forces has multiple diplomatic, economic, military, and ______ implications. These relationships and

This is where the island of Crete, in Greece, had an advantage. As Crete was the largest of the islands in the Mediterranean, it would be the perfect location for raids into the Balkans and Southern Europe, along with being a base for tactical air support in Greece and the Balkans. The harbor was also the largest in the Mediterranean, so it would be ideal for Naval base operations. If Crete were to fall into the hands of the Germans, it could be used for raids into Egypt and Palestine, used as a base in the eastern Mediterranean, used to prevent the British from taking advantage of the Balkans, to support operations in North Africa,

A few primary goals for the Axis powers to invade North Africa. The first goal they had in mind was that of cutting off the Allies’ oil access in the Middle East. As oil was a big strategic advantage. Armies were becoming more modernized and they became more mechanized by oil powering. Another objective was the control of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was a valuable connection for Britain of its international rule. As well as providing a valuable link with the Mediterranean Sea (www.historynet.com). The ultimate goal for the invasion was to prevent the British from gaining too much in North Africa. War fired up in North Africa when Italy declared for war in 1940. Italy was a key piece to the puzzle for Britain’s control of the Mediterranean. If Italy would continue neutrality, Britain

France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO 's integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing DE GAULLE 's 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and were made part of France proper.