The Battle of Kasserine Pass was an engagement that came about during WWII, had a number of encounters that came about around the Kasserine Pass, which was a gap that was the width of about two miles in the Atlas Mountains. The German Panzer Army was lead by Field Marshal Edwin Rommel a highly revered commander in the German Army. Rommel considered his movement north through Tunisia making his attack through the Kasserine Pass meeting the U.S. Corps main strength head on at Tebesssa.
Rommel might gain very important provisions from the U.S. sites eliminating the military Allies ability to attack the coastal corridor, whereas at the same time menacing the southern flanks of 1st Army. In theory, the German army was at a drawback totally on the shortcomings adequately to provide for their units. Nevertheless they did have an enormous benefit above the allied forces they had a well structured and collective authority. It was obvious who commanded the German armed forces in comparison to the Allied forces were in exceedingly unpleasant disarray.
On 19 February 1943, Rommel launched an assault and personally led the attack. Inside minutes, the lines of the U.S. were overrun. Their light weight guns and tracked vehicles had, no likelihood of winning against the larger German equipment, and that they had, little or no expertise in armored combat. The Panzer and Tiger tracked vehicles fended off every single attack with ease, the Allied track vehicles they faced were menial in firepower and armament additionally their crew members far less experienced.
Under dangerous tank assault, the American forces on Highway 13 conjointly gave way throughout the night, with men at all points falling back before the Italian 131st Armored Division. U....
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...created a situation where you had two inexperienced leaders in charge, as not all excelled and was evident with the loss of lives. Today's NCO has been charged with taking care of Soldiers, in the current battles of GWOT and learning from pros and cons of the past, has greatly improved how military forces of today operate under the mentorship of the NCO.
Conclusion
Understanding the past and the many shortcomings, it has not been uncommon for the military to repeat actions from conflicts, as it seems to happen second nature to planners as change has not occurred. With the difference, of conflicts were fighting has gone from the jungle to the desert and into the mountainous regions adaptation has occurred. The development of effective doctrine and policy must take into account an applicable prospective of history in the application of clear doctrinal philosophy.
While many of these changes include the advancements in technology and ingenuity, nothing can replace the rich history, proud culture, and bright future of the NCO Corps. Though several additional factors doubtlessly play roles in the strength and continuity of the corps, I do not believe any have contributed to the extent of the solid rank structure, efficient training network, and passionate NCO Creed. These elements have worked together in continuously strengthening and molding the NCO Corps, and they will remain building blocks that will project the Army into the
The positions that were held by the Americans were enviable, the line between the two Axis forces; von Arnim’s army in the north and Rommel’s in the south-central, were stretched thin and weak. The center of the Allied Forces with a significant strike would be able to pierce the defenses on the coastlines and separate them all the way to Sfax. The joint forces manned the line from the northern parts of the country to the south, with the British military undoubtedly the most prepared of the joint forces. The American military marched along with the joint forces all the way through the country of Algeria to gain control and hold strategic battle positions on the eastern part of Tunisia Dorsal Mountains. The American Army had never before engaged in any major encounters with the Germans, who would later be nicknamed “the first team”. The lack of experience will prevail once Von Angrnim’s army in the north attacks the center of the Allied Forces. A line that was enforced by the French and the American Forces failed to come to the aid of the French. The Joint Forces were not impressed by the lack of actions and effort the American Forces had shown, which created doubts within the British and French forces about their Allies of the New World. The lack of training on the maneuver and tactical side of the operations, not only left the American Forces
Bell, K. (1998, 11). Innovative general 'tiger jack' wood commanded the 4th armored division during its lightning dash across France. World War II, 13, 72.
“Arracourt was the greatest tank battle of the war on the Allied Front.” This is how US Major General John S. Wood described the Battle of Arracourt, which took place in the last weeks of September 1944 in Northern France. The Allied Forces had landed in Normandy in June 1944, and by the summer had broken out of their beachhead. This started the great pursuit of the German forces across northern France towards the German border. By early fall of 1944, General George S. Patton’s Third Army had raced across France faster than anyone had envisioned and was in place to cross the Moselle River in the Lorraine area. Here his forces would face supply issues due to their speed of advance, increasing resistance from prepared German forces, and increasingly difficult weather. Patton’s first obstacle was the Moselle River and the fortress city of Metz. After crossing the Moselle with most of the Third Army by mid September, the US Third Army’s armored units were engaged in the largest tank battles of the Western Front at Arracourt. The next phase of the campaign was to reorganize and train. In early November, the Third Army attacked again and was able to capture Metz by late November, and reached the Sarre River and the West Wall. During the long Lorraine Campaign in late 1944, the US Third Army armored units were able to overcome stiff enemy resistance, superior quality vehicles, hard terrain, and difficult weather with the use of superior tactics, doctrine and leadership.
In this paper, I will provide a Battle Analysis and outline the events leading up to and surrounding the Battle of 73 Eastings (refers to a north-south grid line). In addition, I will describe how the United States Army’s (USA) 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR) defeated forces from the Iraqi Republican Guard (IRG) using speed, technology and superior combat power. Although some consider the Battle of 73 Eastings extremely successful, some consider it a failure due to the large amount of Iraqi forces that retreated towards Bagdad. Lastly, I will analyze how each side used their intelligence assets and what they could have used to change the outcome.
With World War II lasting six years, there were many battles that had taken place. Three major events that are famous from this war are D-day, Pearl Harbor and Battle of Iwo Jima. D-day, which is where Saving Private Ryan begins, is known as the largest amphibious attack in history. Before the attack could take place though there was a lot of planning done. In months before the attack, General Dwight Eisenhower led allies in an operation to make Germany believe that their main target of invasion was Pas-de-Calais, along with a few other locations. The operation that led Germany to believe this was carried out by fake equipment, a phantom army located in England, counterfeit radio transmissions, and double agents. Once Eisenhower knew Germany was mislead, he led the troops into battle. This attack began with British, American, and Canadian forces landing on five different beaches all along the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. By the end of the first day approximately 156,000 al...
Gabriel, Richard A. "What we learned ... from the battle of Salamis." Military History Oct.-Nov. 2009: 16. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
The Battle of the Bulge is probably the battle that made the general George S. Patten famous his third army was engaged south of the Ardenne in a fierce tank battle. General Patten disengaged and turned north to relieve Bastogne. Why did the Germans attack Bastogne, because the German army was trying to take back the port of Antwerp. Antwerp was a vital port for the German army and the German commanders knew this the German commanders believed that if they
...I without much resistance from the German Army. The German army was reduced to reactionary action after this battle and was unable to go on the offensive for the rest of the Second World War.
McCaffrey, an author for the University of Oklahoma Press, in his historical novel, “Going For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers in the War Against Nazi Germany.” The book describes the unit’s role in the European theater from their training, through all of their subsequent battles, and their eventual return home after the war. McCaffrey often goes into great detail describing the courage and valor that was shown by these Japanese soldiers in their engagements against the Germans. The story of the rescue of the “lost battalion” in no exception. McCaffrey’s recollection of that event truly captures the courageous spirit and fearlessness of the 442nd and demonstrated their crucial role in the rescue of the trapped U.S.
The post D-Day Allied assault that swept through France was halted by Hitler’s unexpected counter-attack through the Ardennes, resulting in a confrontation named the Battle of the Bulge.
It began to emerge the differences in tactics. The question was whether to continue so far the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces Europe, General Eisenhower’s tactics attacking on a broad front, or due to problems of supply to take just one mighty blow. In that period Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery developed a new operation plan, which would include the use of 1st Airborne Army (Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton), actually 1st Airborne Corps (Lieutenant General Frederick Browning). The Corps comprised of 82nd US Airborne Division (Brigadier General James M. Gavin), 101st US Airborne Division (Major General Maxwell D. Taylor), and 1st British Airborne Division (Major General Robert “Roy” E. Urquhart) supported with, under his command, 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade (Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski). These units should be dropped along the roa...
The amphibious landing along the beaches of Normandy known as “Operation Overlord” was one of the most complex and precarious undertakings in the history of warfare. Before “Operation Overlord,” the German army firmly occupied France with access to the industrial capacity of Western Europe. In anticipation of an Allied invasion, the Germans had built a series of heavily armed fortifications along the French coast known as the Atlantic Wall. Invaders would face three football fields of death and destruction crawling through barbed wire fences as Axis powers bore down from inland inflicting appalling casualties. The initial defensive of the Atlantic wall began at the water’s edge with obstructions to keep landing craft from approaching the beach. The outer barrier consisted of a string of steel obstructions called Cointet Gates. The next line of barriers positioned wooden stakes in the formation of tripods with the purpose of blowing holes in the bottom of landing craft. Omaha Beach had the highest density of any of the D-Day beaches with a total...
Regular reconnaissance patrols, assisted by information gathered from aerial photography, meant that records of changes to the German defenses on the Ridge were always up-to-date. Tunnellers dug “subterranean” passages under the Ridge - a total of five kilometers in all on four levels - allowing the attacking troops to move close to their jumping-off positions in some safety. Once the battle had begun, these same tunnels allowed the wounded to be brought back under cover and also provided unseen and safe lines of communications. The Infantry attack was preceded by a powerful artillery bombardment, which lasted almost three weeks, involving about 1,000 guns, including huge, 15-inch howitzers. For the first two weeks, some guns were not fired at all, so that the Germans would not be able to locate their positions but eventually, these guns joined in the bombardment, too.
Non-Commissioned Officers are deficient in vital areas of leadership due to a lack of training. This leads to inexperienced Soldiers becoming inexperienced leaders. The NCO corps needs to develop and enforce comprehensive interactive training that will challenge the next generation to achieve a functional level of communication skills before advancing to leadership positions. This will generate leaders who can write effectively, speak meritoriously and teach adaptively while training others to do the same.