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Download (4MB) Ydstebø, Palle (2021) 1918 and the emergence of operational art. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/82285/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] 1918 and the Emergence of Operational Art Palle Ydstebø Submitted in the fulfilment of requirements for PhD in War Studies School of humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow June 2021 1 Abstract This thesis examines the origins and emergence of operational art. It does so by studying the changes in the conduct of warfare that caused operational art to emerge. It further investigates how armies perceived and responded to the changes. The thesis emphasises how armies adapted at the higher levels of command and especially the strategic-operational interactions. Operational art in western armed forces is often defined in broad terms and may span the entire spectre from strategy to tactics. It has been criticised for that reason and for being a relic from the Cold War. This thesis argues that operational art emerged piece-meal from the mid-nineteenth century. The reason for its emergence was the increased complexity of warfare caused by the effects of new technology, the industrial revolution, and mass armies. The parts first came together in the Allied 1918 offensive that won the First World War. When operational art was defined conceptually in the Soviet Union’s Red Army in the 1920s, the Allied offensive was at the core of the definition. There were previous examples of successful operational art, such as the Russian 1916 Brusilov offensive and the German 1918 spring offensives. Still, all suffered from dysfunctional strategic direction and failed strategically despite positive tactical and operational results. 2 Content Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Content .................................................................................................................................................. 3 List of sketches ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 6 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Sources and methodology ................................................................................................................ 15 Outline.............................................................................................................................................. 18 Level of analysis................................................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 1. Theory and methodology.................................................................................................... 21 Soviet elaboration of operational art as a concept .......................................................................... 22 Use of the concept by military historians: problems ........................................................................ 26 A new conceptual and methodological framework .......................................................................... 31 New interpretation of the emergence of operational art ................................................................ 47 Yet practice did precede the development of the concept: Jourdain............................................... 50 Chapter 2: Origins of operational art ................................................................................................... 53 Terminology ..................................................................................................................................... 53 The Napoleonic heritage .................................................................................................................. 57 The American Civil War .................................................................................................................... 69 Legacy............................................................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3: Experience and interpretations of industrialised war ......................................................... 85 The Wars of German Unification ...................................................................................................... 87 The Russo-Japanese War .................................................................................................................. 97 Thinking and theory ....................................................................................................................... 104 On the eve of war ........................................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 4: Endeavours ....................................................................................................................... 125 Entente strategy development and strategic coordination ............................................................ 126 The 1916 Brusilov offensive ........................................................................................................... 131 The 1918 German spring offensives ............................................................................................... 142 Observations and conclusions ........................................................................................................ 162 Chapter 5: Materialisation, the Allied 1918 offensive ........................................................................ 163 Context ........................................................................................................................................... 164 Prelude: The Second Battle of the Marne ...................................................................................... 171 The evolution of a campaign .......................................................................................................... 174 Step Two: Counterattack ................................................................................................................ 177 3 Step Three: General Offensive ....................................................................................................... 185 Operational elements ..................................................................................................................... 209 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 215 Chapter 6: Perceptions and definition................................................................................................ 219 The Soviet Union ............................................................................................................................ 221 Germany ......................................................................................................................................... 242 France ............................................................................................................................................. 247 The United States ........................................................................................................................... 255 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 263 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 267 Glossary .............................................................................................................................................. 275 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 276 Key primary sources ....................................................................................................................... 276 Other primary sources.................................................................................................................... 277 Secondary sources .......................................................................................................................... 282 4 List of sketches Sketch no. Subject Page Sketch 2.1. The Jena Campaign 61 Sketch 2.2. The Gettysburg Campaign 73 Sketch 2.3. The Mississippi River 78 Sketch 2.4. The Vicksburg Campaign 79 Sketch 3.1. The Prussian operations against Austria’s North Army 89 Sketch 3.2. The Franco-Prussian War from July to early August
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