Anatomy of victory : why the United States triumphed in World War II, fought to a stalemate in Korea, lost in Vietnam, and failed in Iraq / John D. Caldwell.
Material type:
TextPublisher: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2019]Description: xviii, 550 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781538114773
- 1538114771
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 355.0097 C147 | Available | 33111009274339 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
This groundbreaking book provides the first systematic comparison of America's modern wars and why they were won or lost. John D. Caldwell uses the World War II victory as the historical benchmark for evaluating the success and failure of later conflicts. Unlike WWII, the Korean, Vietnam, and Iraqi Wars were limited, but they required enormous national commitments, produced no lasting victories, and generated bitter political controversies. Caldwell comprehensively examines these four wars through the lens of a strategic architecture to explain how and why their outcomes were so dramatically different. He defines a strategic architecture as an interlinked set of continually evolving policies, strategies, and operations by which combatant states work toward a desired end. Policy defines the high-level goals a nation seeks to achieve once it initiates a conflict or finds itself drawn into one. Policy makers direct a broad course of action and strive to control the initiative. When they make decisions, they have to respond to unforeseen conditions to guide and determine future decisions. Effective leaders are skilled at organizing constituencies they need to succeed and communicating to them convincingly. Strategy means employing whatever resources are available to achieve policy goals in situations that are dynamic as conflicts change quickly over time. Operations are the actions that occur when politicians, soldiers, and diplomats execute plans. A strategic architecture, Caldwell argues, is thus not a static blueprint but a dynamic vision of how a state can succeed or fail in a conflict.
"This groundbreaking book provides the first systematic comparison of America's modern wars, analyzing how and why the United States has moved from success to failure since WWII. As the United States enters a new period of uncertainty in the world, Caldwell makes the compelling case that leaders must think, plan, and prepare before shooting"-- Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Battle of Britain: winning by not losing -- Battle of the Atlantic: protecting the maritime lifeline -- Invasion of Russia: Hitler's strategic mistake -- Battle of El Alamein and operation torch: cracking German invincibility -- Battles of Midway and Guadalcanal: regaining initiative in the Pacific -- Strategic bombing offensive: breaking German airpower -- Invasion of Italy: deciding to fight somewhere in Europe in 1943 -- D-Day and Battle for Normandy: retaking the Continent -- Battle for the Rhine: attacking Germany's vitals -- Battle of Okinawa and the bombing of Japan: ending the war -- The strategic architectures of World War II -- Battle of the Pusan perimeter: getting the most out of a bad situation -- Inchon: Operation Chromite: MacArthur's masterstroke -- Crossing the 38th parallel and driving north to the Yalu: the risks of overreaching -- Operations Ripper and Killer: recovery and frustration -- The strategic architectures of the Korean War -- Battle of Ia Drang Valley: not fighting the decisive battle -- Bombing campaign and high-tech initiatives: Operations Rolling Thunder and Igloo White: airpower and technology indecisive -- The Pacification program (1967-1968): failing to change behavior -- The Tet Offensive (1968): strategic disaster -- Vietnamization: never a winning strategy -- The final years (1969-1975): the losing path -- The strategic architectures of the VIetnam War -- Iraqi War I, Persian Gulf War: defeating Saddam, losing politically -- Iraqi War II, 13-year air conflict: the limits of airpower -- Iraqi War III, invasion of Iraq: winning without an endgame -- Iraqi War IV, the insurgency and the surge (2007-2008): relearning counterinsurgency -- Iraqi War V, the rise of ISIS: a new, more violent enemy -- The strategic architectures of the Iraqi Wars.