World War II military campaigns
Order Description
Assignment: Select and analyze a battle/campaign from World War II. This must be a battle/campaign in which the US had a major role. You may focus on the US role, the German role or the Japanese role. The battle/campaign you select cannot be the same one you covered in the multimedia presentation.
a. Your paper must include a summary of the battle/campaign, including why the battle was fought, the main operational actions, and the results By “why the battle was fought” I want you to provide a strategic context for the battle/campaign. For example, Operation Torch was the US & British landing and attack in French North Africa. The US had preferred to make a landing in France, but Britain argued that landings in North Africa would eventually enable the Allies to invade “the soft underbelly” of Europe, as the British did not Operation Sledgehammer, a proposed landing in Occupied Europe, would be successful. That was one element of the strategic context, with the opening of a second front the strategic objective. Another example might be a battle that was the result of the Germans attacking US forces in a certain location. Remember, that attack was part of an overall German offensive campaign, which had a strategic goal. That is what I mean by “why the battle was fought.” You also should describe the main operational actions involved in the battle/campaign. Include elements of the “order of battle” (the hierarchy of the forces) as needed. You should describe the results of the event, also.
b. Your paper must include an analysis of the battle, using the Joint Pub 3-0 and Army FM 3-0 Principles of War as the foundation of the analysis. The analysis of the principles is the most important portion of the paper, it is more important than the summary of the battle/campaign. You do not have to cover all nine principles. Cover those principles that were clearly demonstrated in the event. You may also discuss those principles that were failed to be employed if that failure influenced the result. Most battles demonstrate, in one way or another, all nine principles, but most battles also demonstrate several principles in a significant manner. Those “significant” principles should be your focus. Your analysis for each principle should be thorough and focus on “how” the principle was demonstrated in the event.
c. Your paper must apply proper Chicago Manual of Style notations and a full bibliography with all sources listed. You should rely on primary and secondary sources, relying exclusively on reference works will not be a successful strategy. Part of your grade will be determined by your sources, their quality, and proper Chicago Style formatting. You must have a bibliography.
d. Final papers will be 5-8 pages in length. Papers should be double-spaced, with standard 1-inch margins and a 12 point standard font. Papers significantly shorter or significantly longer than 5-8 pages will be penalized. Maps can add clarity to battle descriptions, but they will not count in the page count. A bibliography page does not count in the required page count of the paper.