The Brigade A History Its Organization And Employment In The Us Army

This work provides an organizational history of the maneuver brigade and case studies of its employment throughout the various wars. Apart from the text, the appendices at the end of the work provide a ready reference to all brigade organizations used in the Army since 1917 and the history of the brigade colors.

Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press. This work provides an organizational history of the maneuver brigade and case studies of its employment throughout the various wars. Apart from the text, the appendices at the end of the work provide a ready reference to all brigade organizations used in the Army since 1917 and the history of the brigade colors.

This work studies the evolution, organizational structure, and employment of the maneuver brigade. In passing, it discusses other army brigades, such as those consisting of field artillery, aviation, and engineer units. This special study illuminates the history and evolution of the brigade as an organization in the US Army, from the earliest days to the current era. It follows both organizational structure and how it was actually employed on the battlefield. It provides an organizational history of the maneuver brigade and case studies of its employment throughout the various wars. Apart from the text, the appendices at the end of the work provide a ready reference to all brigade organizations used in the Army since 1917 and the history of the brigade colors.

This is a timely work as virtually all current Army transformation initiatives focus in on the maneuver brigade as the key element in future reorganization. New initiatives centered on the Unit of Action (UA) concept utilize variations of the basic brigade design currently fielded in the Army for revamped organizations using projected or recently fielded technology. A study illustrating from where the brigade has come to assume such an important role in Army planning and organization is, therefore, very appropriate. This volume illustrates the brigade level of command, both in organizational structure and in battlefield employment. The brigade has been a key component of American Armies since the establishment of the first brigade of colonial militia volunteers under the command of George Washington in 1758. Brigades were key combined arms organizations in the Continental Army and were basic components of both the Confederate and Union forces in the Civil War, and have been the backbone of Army forces in Vietnam, the winning of the Cold War, DESERT STORM, and in the recent War in Iraq. The force structure of the US Army has always been a target of tinkering and major readjustments since the short-lived experimentation with the Legion of the United States in 1792-1996. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the level of the brigade. For most of the history of the Army, the brigade was a temporary wartime expedient organization and the first level of command led by a general officer. In the 20th century, it was the basic tactical unit of trench warfare in World War I. However, in World War II it basically disappeared, though organizations such as the armored division's combat command, retained the spirit, if not the name of the organization. Following the late 1950s Pentomic period, the brigade returned in 1963 in a flexible structure very similar to that of the former combat command. As a mission oriented, task-organized, combat organization, the maneuver brigade has survived the many vicissitudes of Army reorganization. This work provides an organizational history of the maneuver brigade and case studies of its employment throughout the various wars. Apart from the text, the appendices at the end of the work provide a ready reference to all brigade organizations used in the Army since 1917 and the history of the brigade colors.

This book looks at several troop categories based on primary function and analyzes the ratio between these categories to develop a general historical ratio. This ratio is called the Tooth-to-Tail Ratio. McGrath's study finds that this ratio, among types of deployed US forces, has steadily declined since World War II, just as the nature of warfare itself has changed. At the same time, the percentage of deployed forces devoted to logistics functions and to base and life support functions have increased, especially with the advent of the large-scale of use of civilian contractors. This work provides a unique analysis of the size and composition of military forces as found in historical patterns. Extensively illustrated with charts, diagrams, and tables. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press)