Rudolph
09-05-2008, 08:25 PM
Fighting Columns in Small Wars (http://www.smallwars.quantico.usmc.mil/search/Papers/morris.pdf) - USMC.
Fighting Columns In Small Wars: An OMFTS Model
CSC 2000
Subject Area - Warfighting
Preface
From August to December 1987, South Africa conducted a little-known campaign in southeastern Angola to prevent a communist regime from gaining complete control of the state and further destabilizing the region. The fighting was the culmination of many years of intermittent conflict along the border of Angola and Namibia. The campaign is of contemporary interest for two reasons. First, it provides an excellent example of the political utility of carefully modulated military power. In short, South Africa achieved its policy goals by employing a small but potent strike force. Second, the force selected was a modern version of the colonial war era "flying column", a mobile all-arms battle group tailored to operate effectively at the end of a long supply line. Both aspects of the operation make it an interesting model for potential United States Marine Corps (USMC) Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS) applications. Part I will establish the strategic context behind the Modular campaign. Chapter One will examine the historical background, the primary players involved in the drama, and the results of previous South African military excursions into the maelstrom of Angola. Subsequent chapters will examine the elements of the operation itself, the tactical lessons it underscores, and the pointers it provides towards possible naval applications. Part II will assess the viability of Marine fighting columns launched from the sea to conduct similar combat operations several hundred miles inland.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Title. Flying Columns in Small Wars: An OMFTS Model
Author. Major Michael F. Morris, USMC
Thesis. The colonial war "flying column" concept provides an effective model for MEU and MEB level OMFTS/STOM operations.
Discussion. This monograph examines the feasibility of MEU and MEB level STOM operations in the 2014 timeframe. It concludes that specially organized, trained, and equipped MAGTFs can conduct STOM versus objectives up to three hundred miles inland. Specific MEU and MEB models, based on the proven concepts inherent in various historical flying column operations, are proposed. Required shifts in doctrine, organization, training, and equipment are identified.
The study also illustrates the utility of battalion and brigade level MAGTFs at the operational level by analyzing a case study, Operation Modular. In 1987 in southeastern Angola the South African Defense Force employed a three thousand man mobile strike force to defeat a combined Angolan / Cuban division size force intent on destroying the UNITA resistance movement. The campaign's military outcome convinced the Soviets and Cubans to settle the twenty-three year Angolan border war and the political future of Namibia in a diplomatic venue rather than by force of arms. Operation Modular highlights the potential of small, mobile, hard-hitting fighting columns in a small war environment.
Conclusion. Most OMFTS/STOM analysts have thus far advocated either infestation or vertical envelopment tactics. Few recommend using surface battle groups with significant organic CS and CSS capabilities. This study suggests that fighting columns, heavy (by Marine standards) in armor, artillery, and logistic support, provide the most flexible and powerful STOM employment option. It concludes that a combination of robust, mobile CSSDs and aerial resupply can furnish the supplies, particularly Classes I, III, and V, necessary to fight and win.
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It's a very long piece, but the first chapter is a clearly written narrative, and pretty interesting for Angolan war enthusiasts.
Fighting Columns In Small Wars: An OMFTS Model
CSC 2000
Subject Area - Warfighting
Preface
From August to December 1987, South Africa conducted a little-known campaign in southeastern Angola to prevent a communist regime from gaining complete control of the state and further destabilizing the region. The fighting was the culmination of many years of intermittent conflict along the border of Angola and Namibia. The campaign is of contemporary interest for two reasons. First, it provides an excellent example of the political utility of carefully modulated military power. In short, South Africa achieved its policy goals by employing a small but potent strike force. Second, the force selected was a modern version of the colonial war era "flying column", a mobile all-arms battle group tailored to operate effectively at the end of a long supply line. Both aspects of the operation make it an interesting model for potential United States Marine Corps (USMC) Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS) applications. Part I will establish the strategic context behind the Modular campaign. Chapter One will examine the historical background, the primary players involved in the drama, and the results of previous South African military excursions into the maelstrom of Angola. Subsequent chapters will examine the elements of the operation itself, the tactical lessons it underscores, and the pointers it provides towards possible naval applications. Part II will assess the viability of Marine fighting columns launched from the sea to conduct similar combat operations several hundred miles inland.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Title. Flying Columns in Small Wars: An OMFTS Model
Author. Major Michael F. Morris, USMC
Thesis. The colonial war "flying column" concept provides an effective model for MEU and MEB level OMFTS/STOM operations.
Discussion. This monograph examines the feasibility of MEU and MEB level STOM operations in the 2014 timeframe. It concludes that specially organized, trained, and equipped MAGTFs can conduct STOM versus objectives up to three hundred miles inland. Specific MEU and MEB models, based on the proven concepts inherent in various historical flying column operations, are proposed. Required shifts in doctrine, organization, training, and equipment are identified.
The study also illustrates the utility of battalion and brigade level MAGTFs at the operational level by analyzing a case study, Operation Modular. In 1987 in southeastern Angola the South African Defense Force employed a three thousand man mobile strike force to defeat a combined Angolan / Cuban division size force intent on destroying the UNITA resistance movement. The campaign's military outcome convinced the Soviets and Cubans to settle the twenty-three year Angolan border war and the political future of Namibia in a diplomatic venue rather than by force of arms. Operation Modular highlights the potential of small, mobile, hard-hitting fighting columns in a small war environment.
Conclusion. Most OMFTS/STOM analysts have thus far advocated either infestation or vertical envelopment tactics. Few recommend using surface battle groups with significant organic CS and CSS capabilities. This study suggests that fighting columns, heavy (by Marine standards) in armor, artillery, and logistic support, provide the most flexible and powerful STOM employment option. It concludes that a combination of robust, mobile CSSDs and aerial resupply can furnish the supplies, particularly Classes I, III, and V, necessary to fight and win.
---
It's a very long piece, but the first chapter is a clearly written narrative, and pretty interesting for Angolan war enthusiasts.