Mission Command Analysis Essay

Longstreet understands and senses the birth of a new nature of warfare, and one with machines. He realizes that new technology means the old strategies of war can no longer work as well. Longstreet believes that fortified, defensive positions are the best way to win a battle, and so he suggests that Lee move the Confederate army to a position southeast of Gettysburg, so the Confederates can come between the Union army and the Union capital, Washington, D.C. This strategy will force the Union army to attack to protect the capital, and if the Confederates dig into a defensive position, they can simply destroy the Union army as it attacks. Lee, however, is a more traditional soldier, and he believes he can destroy the Union army if he simply puts his men in the right places. After two days of battering the right and left flanks of the Union army, he finally tries to break through the center with Pickett’s Charge. He believes this tactic will allow him to cut the Union army in two and then destroy the confused pieces that remain. But Lee underestimates the Union artillery which utterly demolishes the Confederate soldiers as they attempt to cross the field. Longstreet is devastated. “He had never believed in this invasion. Lee and Davis together had overruled him. He did not believe in

One of the boldest actions of Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown Stuart under the leadership of Robert E. Lee was his effort to make "a complete circuit around the Union Army, heading to the north end of the lower peninsula (near the York River) and returning to Richmond along the James." . Allowing Stuart to make this move was one of the first decisions of Robert E. Lee, who had just replaced the more cautious Gen. Joseph E. Johnston as the leader of the Confederates. "In the aftermath of the inconclusive battle," led by Johnson "Lee suspected that the right flank of McClellan's army was 'in the air' not anchored to any natural formation, and thus vulnerable to attack. To be certain, he decided to send Stuart to reconnoiter."

The battle of Gettysburg led by General George G. Meade was an excellent example of how the North utilized tactics and territory to their advantage. They utilized the hills and patience which allowed them to maintain

Throughout his time as commander in chief of the union army, Ulysses S. Grant understood and appreciated the commitment his soldiers made, as suggested by letters to his family, which forced him to focus greatly on war technique, ultimately allowing him to be a great leader of the Union army. In a letter written to his Father, in which he discusses the war, Grant states, “I do not wish to act hastily or unadvisedly in the matter.” Grant’s cautiousness and attention to details, when his troops and his army are concerned, shows that all decisions he makes concerning his troops have been carefully thought out, so he doesn’t put his troops in danger. Grant wishes to give “all the

Civil War historians view the Battle of Chancellorsville as General Robert E. Lee’s “greatest and most remarkable” victory (Sears 1). Lee, facing an army twice his size, defies all military doctrine and divides his army multiple times in order to out-maneuver and surprise the Union forces. The daring maneuver succeeds and ultimately forces the Union’s Army of the Potomac to retreat. The victory was another major blow to Union troops, but it came at a huge cost to the Confederacy: the loss of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. By evaluating the battle through the lens of the mission command activities, one can see how Lee’s daring maneuver was actually very calculated and his only option for victory. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will describe the timeline of the battle and how General Lee used the mission command activities of understand, visualize, assess, and lead to ultimately achieve victory at Chancellorsville.

Because of this, Lee wanted to use Gettysburg to bring the fighting up to northern soil to prove that the Confederacy could win in the north. While this was a good thought, this backfired because he gave the Union home court advantage; they were more familiar with the land. Gettysburg was the farthest north battle fought in the Civil War (Document A). This showed that the Confederate loss was detrimental enough to send them back to the south with their tails between their legs. After the Battle of Gettysburg, in a letter to the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Lee attempted to resign: “I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place” (Document C). Lee was discouraged by the loss to the point that he no longer wished to lead the Confederate soldiers. Although President Davis did not accept Lee’s request to resign, this was an amazing example of how the battle chipped away at the South’s confidence. How was the Confederate army supposed to keep their morale if their general’s faith in himself was in

Many attribute the Union’s defense of Little Round Top during The Battle of Gettysburg to Chamberlain, a colonel in the 20th Maine Infantry and defended Little Round Top. It may be true that Chamberlain played an important role in defending Little Round Top, nevertheless all the credit should not go to him. Gouverneur K. Warren should be considered a bona fide key player to the success at Little Round Top, because of his ability to realize the Union’s weak point and form a strong defense in time to fight off the Confederates. If it were not for Warren the Confederates, from the words of Robert McNamara “could have overrun the left flank of the entire Union Army, and possibly won the battle and conceivably the entire Civil War” (1).

For example, after encountering the troops that Grant had sent forth, Lee blocked the Union advance on the Totopotomoy Creek. Grant realized how strong the defenses were and organized another move around. Grant’s army would have to bring the Army of Northern Virginia into the open and kill them all. Grant had the idea that all the union armies would move in a pattern on all fronts. This was to put many and merciless military troops onto the confederacy and to prevent the confederates to reinforce one another. Grant’s believed that if Lee’s army failed, Richmond would fall by default and the war would end. This strategy was from hard and desperate fighting and soldiers were not at their best because this plan made incredible demands on one average soldier, and the decision about making the attack was from invalid assumptions about what the enemy was capable of and poor

“Commanders continuously develop, test, and update their understanding throughout the conduct of operations. They actively collaborate with other commanders, the staff, and unified action partners, to create a shared understanding.” Understanding the mission is a crucial step to start the military decision making process because not understanding the task at hand will create blurred vision of the commander’s intent for any given mission. As Governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison understood that the treaties with the Native Confederacy were extremely fragile. As Tecumseh and his brother’s efforts to demean the treaties’ value continued, Governor Harrison realized that a conflict was inevitable inside his territory. “Harrison suggested, as a means to prevent war, that the calamity might be avoided by marching a considerable force up the Wabash and dispersing the “banditti” the Prophet had collected.” With the idea of preemptive attack firmly planted in his head, he sowed the seeds for the eventual battle that later ensued. Harrison also had received intelligence that the great Native leader Tecumseh was recruiting more warriors to his cause, which furthered the fear that the Natives would grow stronger and eventually raid the settlers to take back some of the lands ceded from them. This intelligence furthered the idea to Harrison that he needed to field an army and quell the Native rebellion before it got too out of hand.

His plan, “Anaconda Plan”, was deemed to slow and passive by Union Commanders who believed in a swift and deliberate victory with aggressive force. The Union underestimated the Confederacy’s resilience and resolve to fight the ground war and proved it on the battlefield of the First Battle of Bull Run. This was a wakeup call to the Union commanders that the war would not be quick and easy and turned to the very tactic Winfield Scott first suggested. The Union would succeede in winning the war of attrition not by a naval blockade, but by a ground blockade that resulted in high casualties on both

There is always strategy involved or else all is lost to the opponent. “Despite the defeat at Peach Tree Creek, Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood still had hopes of driving William Sherman’s Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow.” ("The Battle of Atlanta Summary & Facts") During the battle, John Hood wanted to push the union out of Atlanta. He planned a fifteen mile hike, then a flank attack that would be carried out by Hardee and his men. Hardee’s army ended up off schedule because of the poor conditions of his troops, but he still carried out the attack.("The Battle of Atlanta Summary & Facts") “The battle is not only known for its strategic and military significance but for its political importance.” ("Battle Of Atlanta") The Union had the luck of the day, because McPherson predicted the attack and accidentally placed his army to meet right with Hardee’s troops. The attack by the Confederates had failed, thankfully because of McPherson’s quick thinking. “The victory greatly increased northern morale…” ("Battle Of Atlanta") Without this event during the Battle of Atlanta the Union might had never won. In the end of it all, out of all the soldiers, 74,000 did not walk out of the campaign alive. The Union, once again, was victorious. Though Hood’s strategy was tricky and well thought out, McPherson and his troops, as well as Sherman, were blessed with luck and

Chamberlain spends the night in big round top, and they are short for food and supplies. Chamberlain starts to overlook the battle, he lost eighty percent of his men in the battle last day, and his aide is in hospital. He realizes the problem that presents in the Union government which is the lack of management. On the other side of battle, Longstreet gets the information from the Goree, the aide of Longstreet, that Union is closed in their right side, and Longstreet suggests Lee is better to move south than to attack the center, because if the back army is divided, their battle line is destroyed, but, Lee does it anyway. Then, he and Longstreet go in frontline of the battle, and the soldiers also tells him that situation changes, Union have more food, soldiers, and war stuffs than they do. Later, he knows that Ewell does not follow the order again, and there is a surprise attack on them to force them back. Longstreet persuades Lee to change the order, Lee refuses it, and he persist on the original plan he makes. On the union side, Chamberlain sees Confederate army moves north. In order to save time for reinforcement, he orders Hancock to attack them with high cost. Also, they anticipate the Confederate will attack the

Sheridan’s ability to create a shared understanding had mixed results of success and strategic losses in the war. He was a considered a strategist and understood the overarching mission and the importance of devising a plan with the most chance of success. However, he struggled in dissemination of his meticulous plan to subordinates. When General Sheridan finally decided to attack Early at Winchester the profundity of his intent was not known. The instructions from Union chiefs to cavalrymen were clear and simple “the move means to fight.” However, Sheridan’s plan was far from clear and simple. His plan required speed, stealth and coordination that his Army of 50,000 troops could not execute. Sheridan’s Army was now in motion with a plan that

Leading from the front is the best way to implement Commander 's intent. According to The Army Doctrine Reference Publication 6-0, “The Commander drives the operations process through Understanding, Visualizing, Describing, Directing, Leading and Assessing the operational environment” Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP 6-0, pg. 1-4) (2012). The Command Sergeant Major and Sergeant Major both echo the Commanders directives in driving the operational environment. The Command Staff is to provide timely and effective reporting to the Commander providing a more in-depth analysis. As a senior NonCommisioned Officer (NCO) representing the command, the Sergeant Major (SGM) has high regard with Unit command and subordinate unit Soldiers. The SGM has influence in the Command Staff to drive and verifying timeliness of staff reporting. I will support Mission Command using my influence as a Sergeant Major in planning, problem-solving, assessing, motivating, and echoing the commander’s intent throughout the command.

In any mission, the Commander is the most imperative participant. He or she guides the mission to the intended outcome. It is through the commander’s activities that the directed outcome is achieved. Through successful understanding, visualizing, describing, directing, leading and assessing the commanders of Soldiers are able to accomplish the directed mission and thus winning wars. Throughout the role of commander in the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Weldon Honeycutt attempted the complete these commander’s activities. (ADRP 5-0) The successes and failures of mission command he had, will be explained, giving a better understanding of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and the pivotal turning point in the Vietnam war.