This monograph explores why the Second Seminole War required seven years to reach conflict termination. To create conditions for favorable conflict resolution, the Army transformed from a peacetime establishment, adapted its tactics to satisfy the public expectation of a just war, and required a whole of government approach to isolate the Seminoles from outside support. Understanding these issues is significant for operational planners, because creating conditions for conflict resolution is the purpose of Unified Land Operations. Setting these conditions required a significant investment of...

Characterized by some authors as a rehearsal for the First World War, the Russo- Japanese War was arguably the world's first modern war. During this war, the lethality of weapons on the 20th Century battlefield was clearly demonstrated. Recording the events of the Russo-Japanese War were military and civilian observers from every major power of the time. These observers wrote voluminous accounts of the war that clearly illustrated this new battlefield destructiveness. The research question of this thesis is what tactical lessons were available to the observer nations of the Russo-Japanese War...

The primary question this thesis aims to answer is--did the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) covert and clandestine operations contribute significantly to the Vietnam War effort? The scope of research is an examination of SOG operations throughout the war. To determine SOG's contributions, research will answer the following secondary and tertiary questions: (1) What were the US strategic, operational, and tactical goals for Vietnam and how did they develop? (2) Did SOG contribute to the accomplishment of strategic, operational, and tactical goals in the Vietnam War? and (3) How did SOG...

After World War II the United States (U.S.) struggled to counter communist expansion by establishing a world order that fostered capitalism. Key to success in the Asian-Pacific region was rebuilding the Japanese economy as a capitalist power. Toward that end, the U.S. indirectly supported the French during the First Indochina War to recolonize and take advantage of the area's raw materials. The French failed and agreed in the Geneva Accords to partition the country with a goal of reunifying North and South Vietnam. The U.S. realized the Viet Minh would dominate and gain control of the country...

1863 was the third year of the American Civil War. When the year began, the war was still largely unsettled. This was the case in the western theater, where the Union Army of the Cumberland faced the Confederate Army of Tennessee, vying for control of Tennessee and its valuable resources and strategic rail interchanges. In the early months of 1863 the Army of the Cumberland was resting and reorganizing. General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, resisted pressure from Washington to commence his spring offensive against General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army...

To determine why ASEAN failed to reach consensus required answering four interrelated questions. First, what is the strategic importance of the South China Sea? The importance of the South China Sea lies both in its resource potential and its location on a major sea lane. Second, what documents provide jurisdiction over actions inside the South China Sea? The assertion of claims in the South China Sea is governed by the provisions of the UN Law of the Sea treaty and a declaration of principles by ASEAN. Third, what are the claims of the individual nations involved in the dispute? The claims...

This study investigates the American Civil War role and contributions of Major General John Buford. Buford, a 1848 graduate of the United States Military Academy, began his Army career on America's frontier with the First United States Dragoons. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Buford was selected to command a cavalry brigade in John Pope's Army of Virginia, and participated in the Second Manassas Campaign. Buford went on to make significant contributions to the Union efforts in the Eastern Theater; however, history has generally portrayed Buford as a one-dimensional character based on his...

The Battle of Powder River occurred on 17 March 1876 in southeastern Montana. Historians and researchers have consistently overlooked the importance of this battle on the outcome of the Great Sioux War of 1876. Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds set out to destroy the Indian camp established by the combined Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux in order to push the Indians back to the reservations and allow miners to enter the Black Hills to mine gold. Reynolds failed to accomplish this mission. The intelligence from his Indian scouts was flawed. Logistically, the soldiers were not fed, clothed, armed, or...

Terrorism and democracy make an interesting dichotomy. Political rhetoric from recent and present world leaders link the spread of a strong democracy with a decline in the number of areas that are capable of producing and harboring terrorists. George W. Bush stated in his inaugural address that "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. . . . So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions...