Military Review VOLUME XLII JANUARY 1962 NUMBER 1 CONTENTS Editor in Chief The ROAD Ahead 2 Col Kennetl! E. Lay Lt Col Carl P. Keiser, USA : Assistant Editor Night Counterattack 7 Maj Gen H. Essame. B"itish Lt CAJI Jerry G. Wallace Army, Ret Features Editor The Common Denominator 17 Lt Col Cleo S. Freed De Malaville , Layout Editor The Western Soldier and 2d Lt Russell W. Munson, Jr. Communism . 19 Capt E. M. McCormick. Spanish·American Editor A ustmlian A 1'/11 if Lt Hetalltl!S-Ramir~z Col C. The Strength of India _ ~S Ma] Edna)' O'Ralia»rr, Ten';lm';al . Associate Editor Army. Great Britain Lt Col Daniel E. Halpin Army IVar College Soviet Colonialism in the Baltic 36 l'aclovas Sidzilcauskas Executive Officer Soviet Power in the Baltic 41 , Mai Lorenzo D. Laughlin Siegfried Breye,' ~ Production Officer Japanese Operations in Hukawng ,i,. Lt Col Louis Ruiz Valley . 48 Hiroshi Fulf'u 11 Staff Artist ­ I) Charles A. Moore Defense of the British Common­ I· wealth in Asia and the Pacific 64 ~ The lIIilitary Review, a Harald Husemallu ,publication of the UNITED Realism in Military Thinking . 75 ; STATES ARMY, provides a Capt Robert B. Hen,-y. USA \ forum for the expression of i mIlitary thought and a me­ Nuclear Stalemate and -~ dlUm for the dissemination Simulated War . 78 lof Army doctrine of the di­ Charles T. Slewa,·t, Jr. I vision and higher levels. Realism Through Planning 90 The VIEWS expressed in U Col Stephen A. Day,~ USA ,this magazine ARE THE AUTHORW and not neces­ Military Notes 97 sarily those of the Army or Military Books 107 the Command and General Staff· College. ' Military Review Annual Awards 112' An Introduction to the Reorganization of the Army Division THE ROAD AHEAD Lieutenant Colonel Car] P. Keiser, United States Army ROAD, the U. S. Army's newest idea on division organization, is a real. istic approach to the facts of today's and tomorrow's military life-one Ihat will better prepare us to fight under the most diverse circumstances. Like the fighter who would take on all comers, the Army must be ready to quickly. alter its weapons and tactics to defeat any opponent in any arena. I As the Army prepares itself to meet the challenge .it is most important, that its officer corps understand the basic philosophies that underlie the! ROAD organization and its employment doctrine. It is also important that we look beyond the immediate task of reorganization, for ROAD will profoundly influence the future of the Army. ROAD i's rapidly moving from an begun to incorporate ROAD into thelT idea to a reality. Since 25 May 1961. curricula. when President Kennedy announced In its 1960-61 academic year. th, the decision to reshape the AI'my's U. S. Army Command and General divisions. much of the foundation for Staff College was able to orient a the reorganization has been laid. Ta­ number of its classes on the ROAD bles of organization and equipment concept of organization. The 1961·6~ (TOE's) have bee n drafted. The classes will receive instruction on both United States Continental Army Com­ the ROAD and the pentomic divi· mand has set the service schools to sions. and by the fall of 1962 all Com· work writing training literature for mand and General Staff College in· the new divisions and the schools have struction will be based on ROAD. 2 Military Reyill The division level training litera­ with a working knowledge of RI'>AD ture on ROAD organization and doc­ doctrine. trine will be published soon in two Tailor Unit to Meet Need field mahuals. Field Manual 61-100, The basic philosophy of ROAD is The Division, will contain the fun­ to fit the unit to meet the need. damentals ()f organization and em­ The ROAD formula does not pro­ ployment of all ROAD divisions. Field vide a universal division capable of Manual 54-2, Division Logistics and doing all things. Rather, it is a stand­ the Support Command also will be ard division structure uJlon which 'the common to all divisions. capabilities for doing specific tasks Other manuals covering the divi­ can be built. To the common division sion's subordinate units and many base, combat battalions-airborne in­ special subjects, such as airborne op­ fantry, mechanized infantry, jus-t DIVISION BASE XX HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS COMPANY erations, are being written by the plain infantry, and armor-can be service schools. Much, of this litera­ added in whatever numbers and types ture will be ready for publication in the division needs to perform its an­ time to support the actual reorgani­ ticipated missions. The division then zation. assumes the character, capabilities, In early 1962 the first ROAD divi­ and limitations of its particular com­ : 'sions are to be formed. Sometime in bination of combat battalions. In other 1963, all active Army divisions and words, it becomes exactly what its some of the Reserve component divi­ combat battalions make it. 'sions should be fully organized under When a division is to operate in the new structure. TOE's and train­ a known environment-for example, ing literature will be available to sup­ jungles, mountains, deserts, plains­ port their new organizations and their it will be given the battalions that personnel should include a substantial best suit it for its operational setting number 9f service sclibol graduates and probable opposition. For some I mary 1962 3 ROAD very practical reasons, such as the ments of the job carries down to the requirements in personnel and funds, battalion and company levels. The bri­ type divisions-mechanized, airborne, gade commander may employ his at­ armored, and infantry-will be estab­ tached combat battalions without at­ lished. tachments, or he may form battalion To simplify the "tailoring" process, task forces with combinations of the combat battalions themselves are arms and services that he believes are similar in structure. Each is composed best able to do the jobs he has as­ of a headquarters company and three signed to them. Cross attachment of identical companies of its particular companies between battalions is the arm. Infantry, air b 0 r n e infantry, method used to build these battalion mechanized infantry, and tank bat­ task forces. Cross attachment of pla­ talions are generally the same except toons to form company task forces is for variations in 'quantity and type a further extension of the concept. of equipment. ROAD gives us a doctrine of build­ Since early in World War II, United ing the organization to meet the needs States armored division commanders of the task-from Department of the have tailored their subordinate com­ Army level all the way down to the fighting company. mands to per for m specific tasks. Fighting forces were formed by at­ Functionalized Support taching combat battalions to the three ROAD also represents a new look small combat command headquarters. at some old ideas on administrative ROAD adopts this scheme of tailor­ support-and adapts some of these ing within the division, replacing the ideas to the division and lower levels. title "combat command" with "bri­ It breaks away from the tradition of gade." Without combat battalions, the support by separate technical service brigade is nothing more than a small units, each directly responsible to the headquarters having essentially no dIvision commander. and in its place combat capability. With combat bat­ prescribes a division level logistical talions attached to It, the brigade, commander and func!ionalized logis· like the division, assumes the char­ tical support. acter of its battalions. The division's administrative sup· This versatility does not stop at the port unitg are grouped into a !"uppnrt brigade. The concept of matching the command. This is not new. Division command's capabilities to the require- trains and support commands have been used before. \Vhat is new is that Lieutcnant Colonel Carl P. Keiser all divisions will have a support com­ is a member of the faculty of the mand and all division support com· U. S. Army rnmmand and Gellrml mands will be similar in structure. Staff Col/cr.<'. He .'<'n'cd with the 14th Logistical units within the support ..1,/ morcd Dil'ision during Wm:ld WO?' command are grouped functionally II. Subsequent assignments inciud{' Repair parts supply. and essentially all duty with Headquarters, 6th Army; Depa/'fmen! of th'e Arm y General field maintenance, reg a r dIe s s of Staff; and United Nations Command whether it is perf~med on engines, in Korea. He is a gr,aduate of the radios. canvas. or rifles, are carried USA CGSC and the US Army War out by a maintenance battalion. Sup· College. ply, from rations to barbed wire, e" 4 Military Review cept medical, is handled by a supply means that commanders, both logisti­ and transportation battalion. The sup­ cal and combat arms, and at levels port units are designed to be frag­ down to the company, must now direct mented. Each part is capable of join­ their thinking toward combined-arms ing and supporting a combat unit employment-and away from tradi­ when that combat unit cannot be sup­ tional branch orientation. This is es­ ported from a central location. sential if we are to derive the great­ est benefit from the ROAD concept. Reorganization Effects How will ROAD affect the Army of This is not a prophecy of doom for the branches of service, because we tomorrow? Some of its effects such as changes in strengths of divisions, will continue to need the specialists different blocks on the organization they produce.