Margin of Victory: Five Battles That Changed the Face of Modern War

289 Pages·2016·7.937 MB·English

by  Douglas A. Macgregor, Robert M. Citino

“Col. Douglas Macgregor shows how shaping armies “It is a measure of Douglas Macgregor’s power as an analyst, historian, and writer that even readers Macgregor
and their doctrines to meet the challenges of past who differ with some of his conclusions will enjoy and learn from his argument. This is the rare book
rather than future warfare produces defeat and how on military policy that is both interesting and important.”
organizing and equipping forces for the future can
JAMES FALLOWS, correspondent for The Atlantic and
bring victory. Margin of Victory will be given close
author of Blind Into Baghdad: America’s War in Iraq
attention by America’s competitors overseas. Those
responsible for organizing and directing the adaptation
“Douglas Macgregor, one of our finest military visionaries and reformers,...compellingly illustrates the IN Margin of Victory Douglas Macgregor tells the
of the U.S. military to emerging realities need to give it
need for nations to understand and apply both strategy and geopolitics before engaging in military M
equal attention.” riveting stories of five military battles of the
action in this new age, where the guiding principles have changed dramatically.”
twentieth century, each one a turning point in history.
AMBASSADOR CHAS W. FREEMAN JR., UNITED A
CARLO D’ESTE, author of Patton: A Genius for War
STATES FOREIGN SERVICE (RET.), former Assis- Beginning with the British Expeditionary Force holding
R
tant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to “What does it take to win a war? West Pointer, combat leader, and renowned military thinker Douglas
the line at the Battle of Mons in 1914 and concluding
Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield Macgregor answers that question in this engaging look at five major battles during the last century of
G with the Battle of 73 Easting in 1991 during Operation
and Desert Storm combat: Mons 1914, Shanghai 1937, Belorussia 1944, Suez 1973, and Iraq 1991. You may not yet
know much about these great clashes, but when you read this book, you will. More than that, you’ll I Desert Storm, Margin of Victory establishes a connec-
know just what it takes to fight and win.” N
tion among these clashes and teaches its readers an
LT. GEN. DANIEL P. BOLGER, USA (RET.), author of Why We Lost: A important lesson about how future battles can be won.
General’s Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars O
Emphasizing military strategy, force design, and mod-
“Douglas Macgregor has a brave tank commander’s perspective on modern warfare and a restless refusal
F
to accept the status quo when soldiers must pay for their officers’ lack of higher critical thinking or ernization, Macgregor links each of these seemingly

preparation for combat. . . . [H]e shows in moving detail how a mixture of foresight and failure to plan isolated engagements thematically. At the core of his
V
ahead impacted the fates not only of soldiers’ lives, but of whole nations. A salutary—and wonderfully
analysis, the author reminds the reader that to be suc-
readable—lesson for us all today.” I
C cessful, military action must always be congruent with
NIGEL HAMILTON, author of The Mantle of Command:
national culture, geography, and scientific-industrial
FDR at War, 1941–1942 T
capacity. He argues that strategy and geopolitics are
“Douglas Macgregor’s superb analysis points to a wholesale restructuring of the American military—a O
ultimately more influential than ideology. Macgregor
COL. DOUGLAS MACGREGOR, USA (RET.), is a dec- general staff and cadre of officers with lifetime expertise in such issues as cyber warfare or distinct
R
orated combat veteran with a PhD in international third-world regions and cultures, not cookie-cutter products trained to fill slots to refight World War II.” stresses that if nation-states want to be successful,
relations from the University of Virginia. He is the
JON BASIL UTLEY, publisher, The American Conservative Y they must accept the need for, and the inevitability
author of five books and is the executive vice president
of, change. The five dramatic battles in this book, ren-
of Burke-Macgregor Group LLC, a defense and foreign
policy consulting firm in Northern Virginia. dered in vivid detail by lively prose, offer many lessons
on the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war.
Naval
Cover image: An M1A1 Abrams main battle tank lays a smoke screen
For more information on this and other great books, Institute
during Operation Desert Storm. (U.S. Department of Defense) visit www.nip.org. HISTORY • MILITARY
Press
Cover designer: Matthew Simmons, www.myselfincluded.com eBook edition also available. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
MARGIN
OF
VICTORY

MARGIN
OF Five Battles that Changed
the Face of Modern War
VICTORY
Douglas Macgregor
Naval Institute Press
Annapolis, Maryland
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2016 by Douglas Macgregor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without per-
mission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Macgregor, Douglas A., author.
Title: Margin of victory : five battles that changed the face of modern war /
Douglas Macgregor.
Other titles: Five battles that changed the face of modern war
Description: Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, [2016] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015046174 (print) | LCCN 2015046307 (ebook) | ISBN
9781612519968 (alk. paper) | ISBN 9781612519975 (epub) | ISBN
9781612519975 (mobi) | ISBN 9781612519975 (ePDF)
Subjects: LCSH: Battles—History—20th century. | Military history,
Modern—20th century.
Classification: LCC D431 .M26 2016 (print) | LCC D431 (ebook) | DDC
355.4—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046174
Maps created by Charles Grear.
Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Perma-
nence of Paper).
Printed in the United States of America.
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First printing
In memory of General Glenn K. Otis, USA (Ret.),
1929–2013

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword by Robert M. Citino xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Mission Impossible: The Battle of Mons, 1914 7
Chapter 2 War without End: The Battle of Shanghai, 1937 41
Chapter 3 R eversal of Fortune: The Destruction of Army 70
Group Center, 1944
Chapter 4 E nemy at the Gate: Counterattack across 100
the Suez, 1973
Chapter 5 L ost Victory: Desert Storm and the Battle of 135
73 Easting, 1991
Conclusion A merica’s Margin of Victory in the Twenty-First 167
Century
Notes 195
Selected Bibliography 245
Index 255
vii

Illustrations
MAPS
Map 1. Opposing Forces in the Battle of Mons, 22–23 August 1914 20
Map 2. Battle of Le Cateau, 26 August 1914 33
Map 3. Shanghai and Its Surroundings 49
Map 4. J apan’s Shanghai Expeditionary Force Lands in China, 56
22 August–23 September 1937
Map 5. G eneralissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s 21 September Plan for 59
the Defense of Shanghai and Its Surroundings
Map 6. The Battles between the Creeks, 24 September– 61
26 October 1937
Map 7. Th e Arrival of the Japanese 10th Army and the Chinese 65
Retreat
Map 8. Opposing Forces, 22 June 1944 85
Map 9. Operation Bagration in Two Phases 90
Map 10. Egyptian Attack (Operation Badr), 6–15 October 1973 105
Map 11. Israeli Counterattack (Operation Valiant), 118
15–23 October 1973
Map 12. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf’s Battle Plan 143
Map 13. Th e Battle Plan for 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 151
26 February 1991
Map 14. L t. Gen. Frederick Franks’ Plan for VII Corps, 152
25–26 February 1991
Map 15. C ougar Squadron’s Advance to the 73 Easting, 156
26 February 1991
TABLES
Table 1. Lend-Lease Tonnage to the Soviet Union, 1941–45 84
Table 2. The Road to War with Iraq in 2003 162
FIGURES
Figure 1. German and Soviet Annual Tank Production, 1939–45 78
Figure 2. J oint Force Commands: The Path to Unity of Command 185
in the Twenty-First Century
ix