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71	The Limits of Fire Support: American Finances and Firepower Restraint during the Vietnam War Hawkins, John Michael 16 December 2013 (has links) Excessive unobserved firepower expenditures by Allied forces during the Vietnam War defied the traditional counterinsurgency principle that population protection should be valued more than destruction of the enemy. Many historians have pointed to this discontinuity in their arguments, but none have examined the available firepower records in detail. This study compiles and analyzes available, artillery-related U.S. and Allied archival records to test historical assertions about the balance between conventional and counterinsurgent military strategy as it changed over time. It finds that, between 1965 and 1970, the commanders of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Generals William Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams, shared significant continuity of strategic and tactical thought. Both commanders tolerated U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Allied unobserved firepower at levels inappropriate for counterinsurgency and both reduced Army harassment and interdiction fire (H&I) as a response to increasing budgetary pressure. Before 1968, the Army expended nearly 40 percent of artillery ammunition as H&I – a form of unobserved fire that sought merely to hinder enemy movement and to lower enemy morale, rather than to inflict any appreciable enemy casualties. To save money, Westmoreland reduced H&I, or “interdiction” after a semantic name change in February 1968, to just over 29 percent of ammunition expended in July 1968, the first full month of Abrams’ command. Abrams likewise pursued dollar savings with his “Five-by-Five Plan” of August 1968 that reduced Army artillery interdiction expenditures to nearly ten percent of ammunition by January 1969. Yet Abrams allowed Army interdiction to stabilize near this level until early 1970, when recurring financial pressure prompted him to virtually eliminate the practice. Meanwhile, Marines fired H&I at historically high rates into the final months of 1970 and Australian “Harassing Fire” surpassed Army and Marine Corps totals during the same period. South Vietnamese artillery also fired high rates of H&I, but Filipino and Thai artillery eschewed H&I in quiet areas of operation and Republic of Korea [ROK] forces abandoned H&I in late 1968 as a direct response to MACV’s budgetary pressure. Financial pressure, rather than strategic change, drove MACV’s unobserved firepower reductions during the Vietnam War. 11th marines 12th marines abrams air force allied american way of war ammunition army artillery attrition arvn australian b-52 birtle budget cap cea classical clausewitz clifford coled-v collins communist congress constraints conventional counter-battery counterinsurgency dollar expenditures filipino finances fire support firepower five-by-five free world military fwmaf h&i haines harold harrassment hunt hybrid interdiction johnson kalergis komer korean krepinevich laird leonard taylor lewy lyndon macv marines mcnamara mekong nagl new zealand nixon nva observed operations philippine preemptive preparatory resor restraint riverine rok savings sensors sorley south vietnamese strategy summers tactics thai third country trinity unconventional unobserved usarv van fleet viet cong vietnam westmoreland wheeler wise men
72	Low Intensity Conflict: Contemporary Approaches and Strategic Thinking Searle, Deane January 2007 (has links) Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) is a significant feature of the contemporary world and it is a particular challenge to the armed forces of many states which are involved is such conflict, or are likely to become so. This thesis is not concerned with how such difficult conflict situations arise. Rather it is concerned with how, from the point of view of the state, they may be contained and ultimately brought to a satisfactory resolution. The work is thus concerned with the practicalities of ending LIC. More specifically, the purpose of this research is to establish a framework of doctrinal and military principles applicable to the prevention and resolution of LIC. The principles of this thesis are based in numerous historical examples of LIC and six in depth case studies. These distilled principles are analysed in two central chapters, and are then applied in two latter defence force chapters so as to ensure there practicality and resilience. Numerous defence academics and military practitioners have been consulted in the production of this thesis; their contribution has further reinforced the functionality of the principles examined in this research. The research illustrates the criticality of a holistic approach to LIC. The function of this approach is to guarantee the stability of the sovereign state, by unifying civil, police, intelligence and military services. The effectiveness of the military elements must also be ensured, as military force is central to the suppression of LIC. Consequently, the research makes strategic and operational prescriptions, so as to improve the capability of defence forces that are concerned with preventing or resolving LIC. low intensity conflict counterinsurgent counterinsurgency insurgent insurgency guerrilla small wars conflict combat urban conflict new zealand defence force australian defence force afghanistan iraq somalia chechnya east timor bougainville bosnia defence policy doctrine soviet russia red army airpower combined arms intelligence command control communications surveillance intervention peacekeeping peacebuilding peace enforcement strategy tactics infantry armour aviation non-urban terrain psychological war small scale operations combat service support civil military affairs urban dominance rapid dominance manoeuvre warfare nationalism restraint civil resolve operation enduring freedom operation anaconda suppressing fire joint warfare synergy strike target acquisition civil affairs public affairs operation iraqi freedom operation telic professionalism asymmetric warfare power projection sea power precision strike C4ISTAR C4ISR HUMINT logistics coalition post war environment internal security population security civil support unitary command expeditionary civil service personnel techniques standard operating procedures artillery protection manoeuvrability firepower visibility helicopters aircraft friendly fire initiative policy training light armoured vehicle light operational vehicle aviation navy air force army counter communications sea control maritime power projection rules of engagement engineers

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The Limits of Fire Support: American Finances and Firepower Restraint during the Vietnam War

Low Intensity Conflict: Contemporary Approaches and Strategic Thinking