andy@DEC-Lite.Stanford.EDU (Andy Freeman) (05/21/91)
From: andy@DEC-Lite.Stanford.EDU (Andy Freeman)
Immediately after the Gulf War, there was a brief discussion about
what kind of war it was. A couple of people mentioned the name "Boyd"
and suggested that some book that he had written was the state of the
art in US strategic planning (or maybe it was tactical planning; I
didn't pay much attention).
What book is this and where can one get it?
--
UUCP: {arpa gateways, sun, decwrl, uunet, rutgers}!neon.stanford.edu!andy
ARPA: andy@neon.stanford.edu
BELLNET: (415) 723-3088qj0309@westpoint-emh2.army.mil (Welsh James CPT) (05/23/91)
From: Welsh James CPT <qj0309@westpoint-emh2.army.mil>
Boyd is a retired air force colonel. He noticed that there was a
similarity between ground battles and campaigns, and a theory he developed in
his study of air-to-air combat. One side always seemed to be able to act
quicker and more unexpectedly than the other. The slower side was invariably
defeated. He saw conflict as "a series of time-competitive
observation-orientation-decision-action cycles...If one side can consistently
go through this cycle faster than the other, then it gains a tremendous
advantage. With each cycle the slower party's action is inappropriate by a
larger time margin...and each action is less useful than the preceding action.
Often, when he realizes this is happening, he panics or surrenders." (LIND,44)
This cycle is referred to as the "Boyd Cycle" or the "OODA-Loop". It is a
fundamental concept of maneuver warfare that operating at a higher tempo than
your enemy will allow you to collapse your enemy by shattering his forces and
disrupting his cohesion. A recent article in U.S.News and World Report refers
to both Boyd and William Lind. Lind in particular, deserves a great deal of
credit for the shift in the U.S. Armed Forces from an attrition to a maneuver
style of warfare.
The following is list of books recommended in a warfighting course that
was developed for Marine company-grade officers and NCOs:
1. Understanding War:
The Defense of Duffers Drift, Maj General Ernest B. Swinton
FMFM 1, Warfighting, Marine Corps Combat Development Center
The Forgotten Soldier, Guy Sajer
Forward into Battle, Paddy Griffith
Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
2. History of Tactics:
British Light Infantry in the Eighteenth Century, JFC Fuller
Death to the French, C.S. Forrester
Dynamics of Doctrine, Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First
World War, CPT T.T. Lupfer USA
Sturmtruppen, Bruce I. Gudmundsson
On Infantry, John English
Defeat into Victory, Sir William Slim
3. Maneuver Warfare Tactics:
Attacks, Erwin Rommel
Maneuver Warfare Handbook, William S. Lind
Panzer Battles, Maj General F.W. von Mellenthin
FM 100-5, AirLand Battle (US Army)
4. Education and Training:
Battle Leadership, Adolf von Schell
Common Sense Tactics, Lt General Arthur S. Collins
5. Strategy:
On War, Clausewitz
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Strategy, Liddell Hart
Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace, Edward Luttwak
Grant and Lee: A Study in Personality and Generalship, JFC Fuller
The American Way of War, Russell Weigley
This is hardly an all-inclusive list, but it covers the whole spectrum of
war. Most of these titles can be ordered from the Marine Corps Association
Book Store, PO Box 1775, Quantico, Va. 22134.
Welsh James CPT
<qj0309@staff>