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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until September 01, 2028

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Planning World War Three: How the German Army Shaped American Doctrine After the Vietnam War

Fitzpatrick, Michael
http://orcid.org/0009-0006-9379-1711
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1683892994619294

Abstract Details

2023, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
After the Vietnam War, the US Army pivoted from counter-insurgency in Southeast Asia towards the renewed possibility of war with the USSR in Central Germany. This shift in perspective coincided with dramatic shifts in Army policy, most importantly the transition from conscription to the All-Volunteer Force, as well as the introduction of new battlefield technologies which transformed the battlespace. This dissertation analyzes the complicated military relationship between the US Army and an important European ally. It argues that during this period of intense reform, the US Army and the West German Bundeswehr used both new and preexisting institutions to engage in a period of intense, sympathetic, and mutually inspired reforms which developed significant new concepts in land warfare. This is significant because this period of cooperation helped to reaffirm a special relationship between the US and West Germany, which transformed to become the most significant within NATO and Western Europe. The focus of this dissertation is on the mechanics of the transatlantic exchange and how this shaped both forces through the last decades of the Cold War.
Ingo Trauschweizer (Advisor)
Mirna Zakic (Committee Member)
Paul Milazzo (Committee Member)
Nukhet Sandal (Committee Member)
424 p.
American History; European History; History; Military History
Military History; German History; History; American History; Strategy; Operations; Doctrine; Cold War; Late-Cold War; Technology; Revolution in Military Affairs; TRADOC; Donn Starry; Bundeswehr; Heer; US Army; NATO; Soviet Union; Yom Kippur War; Israel

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fitzpatrick, M. (2023). Planning World War Three: How the German Army Shaped American Doctrine After the Vietnam War [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1683892994619294

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. Planning World War Three: How the German Army Shaped American Doctrine After the Vietnam War. 2023. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1683892994619294.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. "Planning World War Three: How the German Army Shaped American Doctrine After the Vietnam War." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1683892994619294

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1683892994619294
© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.