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    Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876
    Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876
    Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876
    Ebook85 pages58 minutes

    Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876

    By Major James W. Shufelt Jr.

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    This monograph discusses the role of operational art in the Sioux War of 1876, the U.S. Army’s largest campaign between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. This campaign, often overlooked in the historical study of operational art, demonstrates the successful application of operational art in a non-traditional campaign: the U.S. Army’s defeat of the Northern Sioux Indians and their allies. This campaign also demonstrates how operational art can lead to operational victory, despite repeated tactical failures.
    The monograph first defines operational art, based on emerging U.S. Army doctrine, and then reviews its role in three campaigns that served as models for the Army’s operations in the Sioux War of 1876: Grant’s 1864-1865 campaign to defeat the Confederacy, the Southern Plains War of 1868-1869, and the Red River War of 1874-1875. The plans and execution of the Sioux War of 1876 are then reviewed and analyzed utilizing the definition of operational art and modem concepts for operational planning. The causes of failure in the 1876 campaign are then analyzed, based on Cohen and Gooch’s methodology for analysis of military failure, followed by explanation of the campaign’s ultimate success.

    The monograph concludes that the Frontier Army’s success in this campaign demonstrates successful application of operational art, despite many errors in planning and execution committed by General Sheridan and his subordinates. Additional lessons from this campaign include the danger of blindly applying previously successful models for operations, the preeminent role of the operational commander, and the validity of operational art in campaigns against unconventional foes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNormanby Press
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781782899556
    Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876

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      Book preview

      Operational Art In The Sioux War Of 1876 - Major James W. Shufelt Jr.

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1993 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      OPERATIONAL ART IN THE SIOUX WAR OF 1876

      By

      MAJ James W. Shufelt, Jr., USA

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      ABSTRACT 5

      Section 1—Introduction 6

      Section 2—The origins of Operational Art 8

      Section 3—Post-Civil War Campaigns. 186&-1877 13

      The Southern Plains War of 1868-1869. 14

      The Red River War of 1874-1875 17

      The Sioux-Cheyenne War of 1876 19

      Section 4—The Sioux War of 1876: Failure and Success 29

      Section 5—Operational Art and the Sioux War of 1876 36

      Section 6—Conclusion and Recommendations 41

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 44

      BIBLIOGRAPHY 45

      A. Government Documents: 45

      B. Books: 45

      C. Other Documents: 48

      Appendix 50

      Appendix D. Sioux War Chronology, 1866-1876 56

      ABSTRACT

      This monograph discusses the role of operational art in the Sioux War of 1876, the U.S. Army’s largest campaign between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. This campaign, often overlooked in the historical study of operational art, demonstrates the successful application of operational art in a non-traditional campaign: the U.S. Army’s defeat of the Northern Sioux Indians and their allies. This campaign also demonstrates how operational art can lead to operational victory, despite repeated tactical failures.

      The monograph first defines operational art, based on emerging U.S. Army doctrine, and then reviews its role in three campaigns that served as models for the Army’s operations in the Sioux War of 1876: Grant’s 1864-1865 campaign to defeat the Confederacy, the Southern Plains War of 1868-1869, and the Red River War of 1874-1875. The plans and execution of the Sioux War of 1876 are then reviewed and analyzed utilizing the definition of operational art and modem concepts for operational planning. The causes of failure in the 1876 campaign are then analyzed, based on Cohen and Gooch’s methodology for analysis of military failure, followed by explanation of the campaign’s ultimate success.

      The monograph concludes that the Frontier Army’s success in this campaign demonstrates successful application of operational art, despite many errors in planning and execution committed by General Sheridan and his subordinates. Additional lessons from this campaign include the danger of blindly applying previously successful models for operations, the preeminent role of the operational commander, and the validity of operational art in campaigns against unconventional foes.

      Section 1—Introduction

      While most modem American military officers know of the 25 June 1876 defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry Regiment at the Little Big Horn River, few would admit familiarity with the origins, conduct, or outcome of the conflict in which the Custer Massacre occurred—the U.S. Army’s 1876 campaign to defeat the Northern Sioux Indians. This lack of familiarity with the U.S. Army’s largest campaign between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War is regrettable not only for its importance in American westward expansion, but also for the lessons that analysis of this conflict reveals for modem campaign planners. The Sioux War of 1876 is similarly significant for modem students of operational art because of this war’s linkage in design and leadership to General Ulysses S. Grant’s successful 1864-1865 campaign against the Confederacy.

      Considered by some modem historians as the first American example of operational art, Grant’s campaign against the Confederacy was the model in design and spirit for two successful post-Civil War military campaigns against the Plains Indians: the Southern Plains War of 1868-1869 and the Red River War of 1874-1875. Despite these successes, the Army’s 1876 campaign against the Sioux was initially disastrous, highlighted by defeats at the Powder River, Rosebud Creek, and the Little Big Horn River. Recovering from these setbacks, the Army eventually succeeded in its campaign against the Sioux, driving the Indians back to government reservations by the Spring of 1877.

      Simple explanation of the Army’s initial failure and ultimate victory in 1876 is confused by a century of emotional debates, personal defenses by key participants, and

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