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Battle-scarred and Dirty: US Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, 1942-1943

Barry, Steven Thomas
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1313541748

Abstract Details

2011, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
Throughout the North African and Sicilian campaigns of World War II, the battalion leadership exercised by United States regular army officers provided the essential component that contributed to battlefield success and combat effectiveness despite deficiencies in equipment, organization, mobilization, and inadequate operational leadership. Essentially, without the regular army battalion leaders, US units could not have functioned tactically early in the war. For both Operations TORCH and HUSKY, the US Army did not possess the leadership or staffs at the corps level to consistently coordinate combined arms maneuver with air and sea power. The battalion leadership brought discipline, maturity, experience, and the ability to translate common operational guidance into tactical reality. Many US officers shared the same “Old Army” skill sets in their early career. Across the Army in the 1930s, these officers developed familiarity with the systems and doctrine that would prove crucial in the combined arms operations of the Second World War. The battalion tactical leadership overcame lackluster operational and strategic guidance and other significant handicaps to execute the first Mediterranean Theater of Operations campaigns. Three sets of factors shaped this pivotal group of men. First, all of these officers were shaped by pre-war experiences. Professional military education, unit training exercises, and commissioning source formed the foundation of how the Army prepared these officers for leadership and combat. This group of officers shared many of the same personal factors that consistently provided sound leadership in North Africa and Sicily. While less tangible than institutional factors, the personal factors include bravery, calmness under fire, vigor, and common personality traits. Finally, the officers’ deft use of doctrine, assigned equipment, mission-oriented orders, and their ability to overcome operational limitations translated into tactical combat effectiveness. The analysis of these three categories above determined that these battalion-level professional officers were the critical cogs for early Allied success in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
Allan Millett, PhD (Advisor)
John Guilmartin, PhD (Committee Member)
John Brooke, PhD (Committee Member)
324 p.
History; Military History; Military Studies
combat effectiveness; battalion leadership; World War II; professional military education; North Africa; Sicily

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Barry, S. T. (2011). Battle-scarred and Dirty: US Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, 1942-1943 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1313541748

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Barry, Steven. Battle-scarred and Dirty: US Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, 1942-1943. 2011. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1313541748.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Barry, Steven. "Battle-scarred and Dirty: US Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, 1942-1943." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1313541748

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.