Publisher's Synopsis
This new compendium is the first volume in the Art of Tactics series, sponsored by the Department of Army Tactics, US Army Command and General Staff College. This collection examines various aspects of division-level operations, to include Fires, Wet Gap Crossings, and Consolidating Gains, as part of the Army's effort to refocus the force on large-scale combat against near peer and peer adversaries.In 1915, the Department of Military Art of the Army Service Schools at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., revised and published Studies in Minor Tactics. In the preface of this volume, Lt. Col. W. A. Holbrook, cavalry officer and senior instructor for the department, wrote: "It is believed this book will prove of great value to those officers seeking information as to the practical handling of small units in field operations, and of marked assistance to those preparing themselves for admission to The Army Service Schools."More than 100 years later, the Department of Army Tactics (DTAC) aspires to deliver a volume of similar value as our Army orients on largescale combat operations. In this inaugural contemporary compendium, several DTAC faculty members-representing both active-duty and retired Army officers-have put their ideas on paper to reinforce our emerging Operations doctrine and continue the professional discourse required to stimulate and improve our profession of arms. The chapters in this volume are intentionally focused on large-scale combat operations at the division level. While there was no specific guidance to address any particular warfighting function, most of the work is oriented on mission command or movement and maneuver. There is a nod to fires and intelligence, as well as the broader areas of leadership and information within the elements of combat power. All chapters adhere to the aim of contributing to our body of knowledge and assisting the force. A project of this type does not just happen, and I am grateful to the authors who chose to put themselves out there and to the many peers and colleagues who critically reviewed their work. I also wish to thank Dennis S. Burket, the current Gen. George S. Patton Jr. Chair of Tactical Studies, for his exceptional dedication to the quality and production of what we intend to be an ongoing publication from DTAC.
