Turning the Vertical Flank
Research Report
Turning the Vertical Flank: Airpower as a Maneuver Force in the Theater Campaign
Robert P. Givens
Copyright Date: Jun. 1, 2002
Published by: Air University Press
Pages: 100
OPEN ACCESS
https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13973
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-ii)
  2. Disclaimer
    Disclaimer (pp. ii-iii)
  3. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. v-vi)
  4. Foreword
    Foreword (pp. vii-vii)
    JAMES R. W. TITUS

    The role of airpower in theater campaigns is a matter of heated debate among the military services and their supporters. Lt Col Robert P. Givens’s Turning the Vertical Flank: Airpower As a Maneuver Force in the Theater Campaign addresses a question that is fundamental to that debate: to what extent can airpower function as a maneuver force in a theater campaign.

    The US Air Force contends that airpower is a maneuver force and frequently turns to the 1991 Persian Gulf War for evidence in support of their position. Those critical of the Air Force’s view argue that Operation Desert Storm...

  5. About the Author
    About the Author (pp. ix-ix)
  6. Acknowledgments
    Acknowledgments (pp. xi-xi)
  7. Chapter 1 Introduction
    Chapter 1 Introduction (pp. 1-5)

    Is airpower a maneuver force? This question has been hotly debated within the realm of military doctrine. United States Air Force (USAF) doctrine claims that airpower is a maneuver force while joint and US Army (USA) doctrine imply it is not. At the heart of the issue is how best to employ all combat forces in a theater campaign. This study contributes to the resolution of the debate by answering the following question: To what extent can airpower operate as a maneuver force in a theater campaign?

    Air Force doctrine considers airpower a maneuver force. As stated in Air Force...

  8. Chapter 2 Functions of a Maneuver Force
    Chapter 2 Functions of a Maneuver Force (pp. 7-25)

    What is a maneuver force? The term is often used but much less frequently defined. Indeed, a definition may be unnecessary. Instead of discussing what a maneuver force is, perhaps it is more important to understand what it does. The object is then defined by its function. To derive the functions of a maneuver force, one must look at how units have operated in the past. This study examines military operations from the ancient Greeks to Napoleonic France. This period is the bedrock for modern maneuver forces. The Greeks provide the foundation stone for Western military traditions.¹ The Napoleonic period...

  9. Chapter 3 1973 Yom Kippur War
    Chapter 3 1973 Yom Kippur War (pp. 27-48)

    The first case this study examines is the use of airpower in the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and the Arab coalition of Egypt and Syria. While the Yom Kippur War resembles the environmental conditions of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, its operational context is different. In this war, airpower was used against an attacking mechanized force. This chapter examines airpower’s ability to perform maneuver functions against a mobile force by focusing on the Israeli use of airpower as a maneuver force to stop and reverse an invasion of their territory in both the Sinai and the Golan. In...

  10. Chapter 4 1972 Easter Offensive
    Chapter 4 1972 Easter Offensive (pp. 49-64)

    Airpower’s potential to function as a maneuver force in a desert environment against an enemy on the offensive has been the focus of this study to this point. Now it will consider airpower employment in a jungle environment against an enemy conventional attack. Over a half a world away and little more than a year earlier, airpower had played a major role in another conventional war. This time the battles took place in the jungles of Southeast Asia. This case examines how the United States used airpower against communist forces to defeat the North Vietnamese Army’s (NVA) 1972 Easter offensive....

  11. Chapter 5 Normandy Campaign
    Chapter 5 Normandy Campaign (pp. 65-80)

    In both Vietnam and the Middle East, airpower acted as a maneuver force. What can be said about the use of air forces in prior conflicts? Are airpower’s maneuver force characteristics merely a function of modern weaponry such as PGMs, or are they inherent airpower characteristics? This third case study examines Allied use of airpower toward the end of World War II. More than any other campaign of the war, the Allied invasion of France required the careful integration of air and ground forces. Airpower in Normandy represented a newly perfected form of combined arms warfare. The Allied powers had...

  12. Chapter 6 Conclusions and Implications
    Chapter 6 Conclusions and Implications (pp. 81-85)

    This study set out to determine the extent to which airpower can act as a maneuver force in a theater campaign. To accomplish this task, it was first necessary to determine the essential characteristics of a maneuver force. These were derived from a review of military history from ancient Greece to the American Civil War. The following functions of a maneuver force were derived from this survey. The maneuver force

    comes into direct contact with an enemy force and shocks it;

    exerts influence over enemy units and terrain;

    denies or compels battle; and

    gains and exploits a position of advantage,...

  13. Bibliography
    Bibliography (pp. 87-92)
  14. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 93-93)