Use this space to develop your presentation, share ideas, and post your required research contributions.
Each member must post his two research contributions with MLA citations AND his six meaningful contributions to the presentation.
I think I should add modern interpretations to the interviews. Like I can compare some tactics used in sports and compare it to war tactics. Teams need to use tactics and certain ways of playing just like certain militaries have to have different strategies. Each hockey team has a different power play and set up and every country has different plans of attack. -JGravina
We are not relating tactics used in sports. While there are many tactics on the battlefield that are used in sports, none of the things we are talking about have anything to do with sports, since we are talking about specific parts of the art of war. Supplies,Terrain, and Psychology is not a factor in sports and since we are focusing on those three subjects sports should not be a part of our presentation.
Should I add in the idea of supplies or lack of? Like during the napoleon era he tried marching into Russia during the winter without the proper snow boots and equipment to keep them warm. We can even incorporate WWII because Hitler did the same mistake. "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" -Rob Gravina -JGravina
Both are good ideas, you should do both sides of the coin however. Talk about what supplies the enemy had that the attackers lacked and why it was important in that environment.
Hey guys so far im bringing a battle from WW1 to the table that we can do. Dont worry ms fotinatos already approved topics from as early as WW1 so dont't worry. The battle is the battle of the somme where the brotish lost 19,000 men to the germans due to a serious miscalculation and not being prepared.
Good idea Genau, i did some research on this battle after you mentioned it and i think this will be a great battle to use. There is something about it that fits all of the experts. Such as the psychological effect the battle had on the british.
So I got around to looking at the battle of somme and saw that the terrain used during the battle had a huge impact on what happened. British didnt really know what they were heading into. I give this suggestion a double thumbs up.
Joe, the other day were were talking about using those mistakes that Napoleon and Hitler made as material for Anton to use. Since he is playing an expert in terrain i think it would be best that he talks about Napoleon and Hitler marching into the Russian winter.
We could also use that for Chris to exploit those for his Psychology. Especially how the cold and lack of supplies effected the soldiers. I remember reading in a book a few years ago that the winter didn't kill the Nazi offensive but the winter killed their will to fight and move on. I will try to find that book but I'm pretty sure I just borrowed it from the library.
James i like the idea. I'le start to look into that to see what i can find, other than the book but if you would find it that would be great. I'le also look into Napoleons army and how Napoleon led them to see if there is any sign of how poorly The The Moral was in comparison to the Nazi's
Okay yeah definitely let Anton go Into it I just thought I should add it into mine because they were with out the proper supplies. I still think I should go into it briefly as a way Anton can in a sense butt in and answer the terrain questions that follow.
Hey guys I'm going to tie all of your projects to the physiology of both the soldiers and the generals. to see how they failed and how could be improved so that they may have been able to succeed. I'm going to analyze how the generals pushed there men to the brink and essentially made them catastrophically fail.
Chris, physiology is the study of the normal functions of living organisms and their parts. We want you to study the Psychology which is the study of mind and behavior of humans. Please do not do the physiology.
Strachan, Hew. "The battle of the Somme and British strategy." The Journal of Strategic Studies 21.1 (1998): 79-95.
This article makes points about how the british focused onto a strategy that relied on large numbers of men due to the use of conscription while the germans focused more heavily on a mechanized strategy. A notable feature of this battle was the germans use of machine guns to mow down the charging lines of British infantry. This is important for the use of strategy/tactics surrounding this battle.
That failed strategy can also attribute to the psychology of the battle. Because they lost so many men so quickly by being mowed down by the machine guns. This had a negative effect on the morale of the men
Shell Shock during World War One By Professor Joanna Bourke
Bourke, Joanna. "Shell shock during World War One." BBCi online (May 4, 2003) (2006).
It is a good description to what happened to many men during the battle of Somme and how they were Psychologically changes for ever in many cases due to the extreme conditions.
That would be excellent because WW1 is known for massive artillery battles and the use of machine guns which were the number one causes of shell shock (and casualties). Particularly the Battle of the Somme is known for its extreme number of casualties and the horrific terrain conditions, artillery, and machine guns. So i think you can focus on the effect the weakened morale of the British had on the outcome of the battle and the number of casualties.
I found a book titled The Battle of The Somme. It gives a detailed account of the battle broken down into stages. I think it might be especially useful for you, James.
Buchan, John. The Battle of the Somme. New York: George H. Doran, 1917. PDF File
That would even be good for Anton if it discussed the types of terrain that the men from both sides had to concur in order to wage war. it could also work in Gravinas favor if it discussed the amount of Supplies that they went through.
United States Of America. United States Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies. Identification of Decisive Terrain:Useful Concept or Historical Label. By Scott D. Harry. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: United States Army Command and General Staff College, 1994. Information for the Defense Community. 7 May 2015.Pdf file.
This is a declassified military document open to the public that explains how to identify terrains and how to properly navigate and use those terrain to your advantage in war. By reading and finding out how to properly use terrain in a war, you can then figure out how one army did not use terrain effectively, and what exactly they did wrong when using that terrain.
This document would be very useful for both the battle of the somme since the British lost many men to the terrain. German artillery had destroyed much of the valley's natural drainage ways. This caused the trenches the British dug and the craters the shells caused to flood and fill with mud. This caused a large number of troops to drown in the field.
Lieven, Dominic. Russia against Napoleon: the battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. Penguin UK, 2009. Print.
This book provides an excellent point of view on the strategy the Russians used to defeat Napoleon and to drive him back to France. This book also makes an excellent point about how strategy is not limited to just the movement of troops and supplies on a battlefield, but also consists of politics and the people that made up the armies of each side.
James i could actually use this under psychology, because you are correct in saying that no matter how well though out the strategy is if the men are not in the right frame of mind, there may as well be no point in a strategy at at all.
Mcneilly, Mark R. Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. Google Books. Oxford University Press, 12 Apr. 2015. 07 May 2015.Web.
This book presents how Sun Tzus art of war can be used in modern warfare. As such they talk about how to properly employ terrain to the advantage of a modern army. It also cites many examples of usage of terrain which can be used as extra examples of a proper way to use terrain to the advantage of a modern army, and also it cites example so of multiple military disasters because of a lack of knowledge of terrain.
I found a pdf on How Human behavior can be affected by the Climate such as Extreme cold weather.
Tavassoli, Nader T. "Climate, psychological homeostasis, and individual behaviors across cultures." Understanding culture: Theory, research, and application (2009): 211-22.
This gives a great in depth view on how drastically a soldiers Mood, how there express them selves to others and also there sensitivity to the world around them.
This article talks about the tactics the Russians used to outsmart Napoleon during his winter campaign. It covers tactics and terrain so I think it will be useful for Anton and Genau
Greenspan, Jesse. "Napoleon’s Disastrous Invasion of Russia, 200 Years Ago." History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
I just read through this article and it gives a nice description of terrain used. It even describes what the russians did with the terrain to screw over the french. Very nice find.
Hey guys Gregory and I are doing the powerpoint right now. We are opening with our thesis and then using it to introduce each of our roles sorta. We are going to use the powerpoint as the opening for our entire presentation.
yea, what were doing is creating an opening slide explaining out thesis followed by slides for each of the experts explaining what they are experts in and their "qualifications"
I wanna discuss maybe adding in a slide for the specific battle we are doing. Nothing major just a slide stating the name and maybe a picture to go along with it. That way the class knows what battle we're on.
I Agree with Anton it would be more aesthetically pleasing if there were one slide a battle and not only for the experts. I'm not sure at the moment how to work that in but if i have any ideas I'll get back to you guys via either this blog or team speak.
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the points. Said resource are not always physical items; they can also be abstract things such as information. The common goal of people who try to study logistics is to minimize the amount of resources used to import and export these goods, as well as being time efficient. So its basically the same as supplies? -JGravina
Supplies and Logistics have a lot in common, they also played a huge part in the battles we will be discussing. For example, in operation compass the Italians had their camps and bases too far apart so it was difficult for them to transport supplies and send information.
This may be a long shot but can't this also be tied into Anton because hes an expert in terrain and geography, he can also discuss how the location of the bases lead to there demise.
Thats a very good suggestion chris. We can talk about the location of the bases and how that affected the flow of supplies in and out, and how that may have factored into their loss. I give this suggestion 3 pineapples out of 4 apples.
yes chris, that is a good point. The desert is considered entangling ground, one of the types of terrain that Sun Tzu said you should avoid fighting in
OK so one more thing: I am making notes with points i have to talk about and you guys should do this too. I have the most stuff to talk about the battle of the somme so we may need to compensate with our time on the other battles some how.
The order I'd like Greg to have us go for each battle is 1. Me, 2. Anton. 3. Chris, 4.Gravina
This is a nice order since strategy and tactics come first and then terrain and psychological follows that and then the supply and resources ties it all in.
The Battle of the Somme was a battle of the First World War. It was fought between the British and French against the German. The battle was one of the biggest of the First World War. The battle caused roughly a million men to get wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battle of all time. For the allies, the battle was a logistical nightmare. The Somme was selected for the combined Allied attack by French Commander in Chief General Joffre, largely for political purposes. For the British, it would mean bringing into the area, and then continuing to supply, some 400,000 men and 100,000 horses and all the necessary equipment, munitions rations and supplies. For doing so, Joffre could not have chosen a worse place. http://www.1914-1918.net/bat15D.htm
Operation Compass was the first big Allied military success of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. Allied forces attacked Italian forces in Egypt and Libya in late 1940, with great success due to their superior logistics.How did the Allied forces manage to achieve such a resounding victory? It was a combination of doctrine, tactics, equipment, logistics, air power and leadership. O'Connor demonstrated an understanding of logistics and a grasp of when to take risks. Italian aircraft were technically inferior to RAF aircraft but also suffered from poor logistics – a large number of aircraft, grounded for the lack of spare parts or fuel, were captured by the WDF. Operation Compass was undoubtedly a British success, although one helped by Italian weaknesses, however a number of factors, including doctrine, leadership and logistics played significant, even crucial roles. Had it been a German force, it is unlikely that the WDF would have enjoyed the success it did, given the Germans' superior (compared to the Italians and a lesser extent the British) training, leadership and equipment, combined with high morale. The Italian Tenth Army had none of these, and these weaknesses led to their shattering defeat. Both O'Connor and the JPS emphasised that the key to success would have been the logistics arrangements to support both the troops left in Cyrenaica and those advancing on Tripoli, the central elements of which were the opening of the port of Benghazi as quickly as possible and the capacity of the supply companies to move supplies.
Though the French did not lose a single battle against the Russian Army until their infamous retreat, they began losing the battle with logistics and the Russian environment from almost the beginning of the campaign. Instead, the Russians allowed the laws of logistics to bring the French war machine to painful, grinding halt. The Russians fought only occasionally through guerilla tactics, retreating ever further into the heart of Russia, while the Grande Armeé pursued them relentlessly. With each new day, the effects of Napoleon’s poor planning wore down his army. Soldiers in the vanguard were able to encounter supplies first and therefore consume them before the men farther back in the column could obtain them. This resulted in increased hardship for soldiers in the rearguard, and exploitative opportunities for those ahead. When analyzing the failure that was Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, many scholars posit that the Russian weather or Russian soldiers are to blame for this disaster of humanity.72 While these factors contributed greatly to the destruction of the Grande Armeé, they did so by exacerbating a monumental underlying problem: poor logistical planning on the part of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. When he entered Russia, Napoleon’s massive army was far too strong for the Russians to effectively counter. The Russian commanders realized his fundamental weakness. By taking so few supplies with him, Napoleon set his army up for destruction from want of the basic necessities.73 The Russian land could not sustain the large human population of the French force, and so the force dwindled to a size the Russians could match. As the mounting supply problems caused a breakdown in discipline and organization, the Grande Armeé became increasingly vulnerable to attack. In addition to destroying order and discipline, starvation took an incredible toll on the horses upon which Napoleon’s few supply wagons and the cavalry depended. The Russians capitalized on their equestrian advantage further weakening the invasion force. Had Napoleon planned properly for his invasion, starvation would not have crippled his force through disorder and destruction of cavalry. Without the loss of cavalry and organization, the Russians likely would not have been able to defeat Napoleon’s superior force
Bennett, Lynch. "The Grand Failure: How Logistics of Supply Defeated Napoleon in 1812." The Grand Failure: How Logistics of Supply Defeated Napoleon in 1812 (n.d.): n. pag. Indiana.edu. Web. 10 May 2015.
Book: The Art of war
ReplyDeleteThesis: Leaders who failed to follow Sun Tzu's guidelines to war alway failed
Presentation: Interview Style
Roles: Greg Nealon- Interviewer
James Genau- Expert
Joe Graving- Expert
Anton- Expert
Chris Katsanos- Expert
I think I should add modern interpretations to the interviews. Like I can compare some tactics used in sports and compare it to war tactics. Teams need to use tactics and certain ways of playing just like certain militaries have to have different strategies. Each hockey team has a different power play and set up and every country has different plans of attack.
ReplyDelete-JGravina
We are not relating tactics used in sports. While there are many tactics on the battlefield that are used in sports, none of the things we are talking about have anything to do with sports, since we are talking about specific parts of the art of war. Supplies,Terrain, and Psychology is not a factor in sports and since we are focusing on those three subjects sports should not be a part of our presentation.
DeleteOkay i Understand just a suggestion
DeleteGenau- Expert in Military tactics & Strategy
ReplyDeleteKatsanos- Expert in psychology
Anton- Expert in Geography & Terrain
Should I add in the idea of supplies or lack of? Like during the napoleon era he tried marching into Russia during the winter without the proper snow boots and equipment to keep them warm. We can even incorporate WWII because Hitler did the same mistake. "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" -Rob Gravina
ReplyDelete-JGravina
Both are good ideas, you should do both sides of the coin however. Talk about what supplies the enemy had that the attackers lacked and why it was important in that environment.
DeleteRussia basically just knew how under prepared the french where and exploited them for it.
DeleteHey guys so far im bringing a battle from WW1 to the table that we can do. Dont worry ms fotinatos already approved topics from as early as WW1 so dont't worry. The battle is the battle of the somme where the brotish lost 19,000 men to the germans due to a serious miscalculation and not being prepared.
ReplyDeleteGood idea Genau, i did some research on this battle after you mentioned it and i think this will be a great battle to use. There is something about it that fits all of the experts. Such as the psychological effect the battle had on the british.
DeleteIKR
DeleteSo I got around to looking at the battle of somme and saw that the terrain used during the battle had a huge impact on what happened. British didnt really know what they were heading into. I give this suggestion a double thumbs up.
DeleteJoe, the other day were were talking about using those mistakes that Napoleon and Hitler made as material for Anton to use. Since he is playing an expert in terrain i think it would be best that he talks about Napoleon and Hitler marching into the Russian winter.
ReplyDeleteWe could also use that for Chris to exploit those for his Psychology. Especially how the cold and lack of supplies effected the soldiers. I remember reading in a book a few years ago that the winter didn't kill the Nazi offensive but the winter killed their will to fight and move on. I will try to find that book but I'm pretty sure I just borrowed it from the library.
DeleteJames i like the idea. I'le start to look into that to see what i can find, other than the book but if you would find it that would be great. I'le also look into Napoleons army and how Napoleon led them to see if there is any sign of how poorly The The Moral was in comparison to the Nazi's
DeleteOkay yeah definitely let Anton go Into it I just thought I should add it into mine because they were with out the proper supplies. I still think I should go into it briefly as a way Anton can in a sense butt in and answer the terrain questions that follow.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRainero this isnt your group
Deletehttp://hurr-durr.com/
Deletehttp://corndogoncorndog.com/
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey guys I'm going to tie all of your projects to the physiology of both the soldiers and the generals. to see how they failed and how could be improved so that they may have been able to succeed. I'm going to analyze how the generals pushed there men to the brink and essentially made them catastrophically fail.
ReplyDeleteCKatsanos
Chris, physiology is the study of the normal functions of living organisms and their parts. We want you to study the Psychology which is the study of mind and behavior of humans. Please do not do the physiology.
DeleteHey Sorry for the mistake, thanks for pointing it out
DeleteStrachan, Hew. "The battle of the Somme and British strategy." The Journal of Strategic Studies 21.1 (1998): 79-95.
ReplyDeleteThis article makes points about how the british focused onto a strategy that relied on large numbers of men due to the use of conscription while the germans focused more heavily on a mechanized strategy. A notable feature of this battle was the germans use of machine guns to mow down the charging lines of British infantry. This is important for the use of strategy/tactics surrounding this battle.
That failed strategy can also attribute to the psychology of the battle. Because they lost so many men so quickly by being mowed down by the machine guns. This had a negative effect on the morale of the men
DeleteGuys I found this pdf on Shell shock
ReplyDeleteShell Shock during World War One
By Professor Joanna Bourke
Bourke, Joanna. "Shell shock during World War One." BBCi online (May 4, 2003) (2006).
It is a good description to what happened to many men during the battle of Somme and how they were Psychologically changes for ever in many cases due to the extreme conditions.
That would be excellent because WW1 is known for massive artillery battles and the use of machine guns which were the number one causes of shell shock (and casualties). Particularly the Battle of the Somme is known for its extreme number of casualties and the horrific terrain conditions, artillery, and machine guns. So i think you can focus on the effect the weakened morale of the British had on the outcome of the battle and the number of casualties.
DeleteI found a book titled The Battle of The Somme. It gives a detailed account of the battle broken down into stages. I think it might be especially useful for you, James.
ReplyDeleteBuchan, John. The Battle of the Somme. New York: George H. Doran, 1917. PDF File
That would even be good for Anton if it discussed the types of terrain that the men from both sides had to concur in order to wage war. it could also work in Gravinas favor if it discussed the amount of Supplies that they went through.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUnited States Of America. United States Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies. Identification of Decisive Terrain:Useful Concept or Historical Label. By Scott D. Harry. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: United States Army Command and General Staff College, 1994. Information for the Defense Community. 7 May 2015.Pdf file.
ReplyDeleteThis is a declassified military document open to the public that explains how to identify terrains and how to properly navigate and use those terrain to your advantage in war. By reading and finding out how to properly use terrain in a war, you can then figure out how one army did not use terrain effectively, and what exactly they did wrong when using that terrain.
This document would be very useful for both the battle of the somme since the British lost many men to the terrain. German artillery had destroyed much of the valley's natural drainage ways. This caused the trenches the British dug and the craters the shells caused to flood and fill with mud. This caused a large number of troops to drown in the field.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLieven, Dominic. Russia against Napoleon: the battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. Penguin UK, 2009. Print.
ReplyDeleteThis book provides an excellent point of view on the strategy the Russians used to defeat Napoleon and to drive him back to France. This book also makes an excellent point about how strategy is not limited to just the movement of troops and supplies on a battlefield, but also consists of politics and the people that made up the armies of each side.
James i could actually use this under psychology, because you are correct in saying that no matter how well though out the strategy is if the men are not in the right frame of mind, there may as well be no point in a strategy at at all.
DeleteMcneilly, Mark R. Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. Google Books. Oxford University Press, 12 Apr. 2015. 07 May 2015.Web.
ReplyDeleteThis book presents how Sun Tzus art of war can be used in modern warfare. As such they talk about how to properly employ terrain to the advantage of a modern army. It also cites many examples of usage of terrain which can be used as extra examples of a proper way to use terrain to the advantage of a modern army, and also it cites example so of multiple military disasters because of a lack of knowledge of terrain.
I found a pdf on How Human behavior can be affected by the Climate such as Extreme cold weather.
ReplyDeleteTavassoli, Nader T. "Climate, psychological homeostasis, and individual behaviors across cultures." Understanding culture: Theory, research, and application (2009): 211-22.
This gives a great in depth view on how drastically a soldiers Mood, how there express them selves to others and also there sensitivity to the world around them.
This article talks about the tactics the Russians used to outsmart Napoleon during his winter campaign. It covers tactics and terrain so I think it will be useful for Anton and Genau
ReplyDeleteGreenspan, Jesse. "Napoleon’s Disastrous Invasion of Russia, 200 Years Ago." History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
I just read through this article and it gives a nice description of terrain used. It even describes what the russians did with the terrain to screw over the french. Very nice find.
DeleteHey guys Gregory and I are doing the powerpoint right now. We are opening with our thesis and then using it to introduce each of our roles sorta. We are going to use the powerpoint as the opening for our entire presentation.
ReplyDeleteyea, what were doing is creating an opening slide explaining out thesis followed by slides for each of the experts explaining what they are experts in and their "qualifications"
DeleteHere's a link to the draft on google slides. we took a slightly comedic approach to avoid having a snooze-fest in class.
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JsMCMh4DzL2cP9cevrjmbPeRUQnb9NGKviIybqR2c-c/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=5000
If you have any change requests let me know so we can edit it
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJames, wheres the slide for Greg?
DeleteI wanna discuss maybe adding in a slide for the specific battle we are doing. Nothing major just a slide stating the name and maybe a picture to go along with it. That way the class knows what battle we're on.
DeleteI Agree with Anton it would be more aesthetically pleasing if there were one slide a battle and not only for the experts. I'm not sure at the moment how to work that in but if i have any ideas I'll get back to you guys via either this blog or team speak.
DeleteI updated the slides so here you go:
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S3KWhzp551Bq_QnGRvFMcR7NKUHbxUDJ_8td_aJEr94/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=5000
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the points. Said resource are not always physical items; they can also be abstract things such as information. The common goal of people who try to study logistics is to minimize the amount of resources used to import and export these goods, as well as being time efficient. So its basically the same as supplies?
ReplyDelete-JGravina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2--BlBVXvOs
DeleteSupplies and Logistics have a lot in common, they also played a huge part in the battles we will be discussing. For example, in operation compass the Italians had their camps and bases too far apart so it was difficult for them to transport supplies and send information.
DeleteThis may be a long shot but can't this also be tied into Anton because hes an expert in terrain and geography, he can also discuss how the location of the bases lead to there demise.
DeleteThats a very good suggestion chris. We can talk about the location of the bases and how that affected the flow of supplies in and out, and how that may have factored into their loss. I give this suggestion 3 pineapples out of 4 apples.
Deleteyes chris, that is a good point. The desert is considered entangling ground, one of the types of terrain that Sun Tzu said you should avoid fighting in
DeleteVictor, Holman. "What Is Logistics Management Supply Chain Management." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 May 2015.
DeleteOK so one more thing: I am making notes with points i have to talk about and you guys should do this too. I have the most stuff to talk about the battle of the somme so we may need to compensate with our time on the other battles some how.
ReplyDeleteThe order I'd like Greg to have us go for each battle is 1. Me, 2. Anton. 3. Chris, 4.Gravina
This is a nice order since strategy and tactics come first and then terrain and psychological follows that and then the supply and resources ties it all in.
The Battle of the Somme was a battle of the First World War. It was fought between the British and French against the German. The battle was one of the biggest of the First World War. The battle caused roughly a million men to get wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battle of all time. For the allies, the battle was a logistical nightmare. The Somme was selected for the combined Allied attack by French Commander in Chief General Joffre, largely for political purposes. For the British, it would mean bringing into the area, and then continuing to supply, some 400,000 men and 100,000 horses and all the necessary equipment, munitions rations and supplies. For doing so, Joffre could not have chosen a worse place.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.1914-1918.net/bat15D.htm
http://www.1914-1918.net/bat15D.htm
Delete"The Long, Long Trail." The Logistical Preparations before the Somme 1916. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOperation Compass was the first big Allied military success of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. Allied forces attacked Italian forces in Egypt and Libya in late 1940, with great success due to their superior logistics.How did the Allied forces manage to achieve such a resounding victory? It was a combination of doctrine, tactics, equipment, logistics, air power and leadership. O'Connor demonstrated an understanding of logistics and a grasp of when to take risks. Italian aircraft were technically inferior to RAF aircraft but also suffered from poor logistics – a large number of aircraft, grounded for the lack of spare parts or fuel, were captured by the WDF. Operation Compass was undoubtedly a British success, although one helped by Italian weaknesses, however a number of factors, including doctrine, leadership and logistics played significant, even crucial roles. Had it been a German force, it is unlikely that the WDF would have enjoyed the success it did, given the Germans' superior (compared to the Italians and a lesser extent the British) training, leadership and equipment, combined with high morale. The Italian Tenth Army had none of these, and these weaknesses led to their shattering defeat. Both O'Connor and the JPS emphasised that the key to success would have been the logistics arrangements to support both the troops left in Cyrenaica and those advancing on Tripoli, the central elements of which were the opening of the port of Benghazi as quickly as possible and the capacity of the supply companies to move supplies.
ReplyDeleteAntill, P. (8 October 2005) Operation Compass: The First Campaign of the Desert War, 1940-1941 (Part Two), articles/battles_compass2.html
DeleteThough the French did not lose a single battle against the Russian Army until their infamous retreat, they began losing the battle with logistics and the Russian environment from almost the beginning of the campaign. Instead, the Russians allowed the laws of logistics to bring the French war machine to painful, grinding halt. The Russians fought only occasionally through guerilla tactics, retreating ever further into the heart of Russia, while the Grande Armeé pursued them relentlessly. With each new day, the effects of Napoleon’s poor planning wore down his army. Soldiers in the vanguard were able to encounter supplies first and therefore consume them before the men farther back in the column could obtain them. This resulted in increased hardship for soldiers in the rearguard, and exploitative opportunities for those ahead. When analyzing the failure that was Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, many scholars posit that the Russian weather or Russian soldiers are to blame for this disaster of humanity.72 While these factors contributed greatly to the destruction of the Grande Armeé, they did so by exacerbating a monumental underlying problem: poor logistical planning on the part of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. When he entered Russia, Napoleon’s massive army was far too strong for the Russians to effectively counter. The Russian commanders realized his fundamental weakness. By taking so few supplies with him, Napoleon set his army up for destruction from want of the basic necessities.73 The Russian land could not sustain the large human population of the French force, and so the force dwindled to a size the Russians could match. As the mounting supply problems caused a breakdown in discipline and organization, the Grande Armeé became increasingly vulnerable to attack. In addition to destroying order and discipline, starvation took an incredible toll on the horses upon which Napoleon’s few supply wagons and the cavalry depended. The Russians capitalized on their equestrian advantage further weakening the invasion force. Had Napoleon planned properly for his invasion, starvation would not have crippled his force through disorder and destruction of cavalry. Without the loss of cavalry and organization, the Russians likely would not have been able to defeat Napoleon’s superior force
ReplyDeleteBennett, Lynch. "The Grand Failure: How Logistics of Supply Defeated Napoleon in 1812." The Grand Failure: How Logistics of Supply Defeated Napoleon in 1812 (n.d.): n. pag. Indiana.edu. Web. 10 May 2015.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"Bringing a knife to a gunfight." A common saying my dad always told me about be unprepared like Napoleon
ReplyDeleteThe Untouchables:. Paramount Pictures, 1987.