Considerations for Deep Maneuver: Lessons from North Africa, 1941-1942 - Tapa blanda

This study uses historical analysis to derive factors which merit consideration by the commander or staff officer contemplating the employment of large ground maneuver forces in deep maneuver. The study focuses on whether there are conditions or factors which, if present, tend to favor success in deep maneuver. Following a general review of the development of maneuver warfare from the time of Frederick the Great to the outbreak of World War II, the study analyzes four battles from the North African campaign of 1941-42 in which deep maneuver played a significant role. The battles studied are Operation Battleaxe (June 1941), Operation Crusader (November 1941), the Battle of Gazala (May-June 1942) and the Battle of Alam el Halfa (August-September 1942). The study concludes that deep maneuver by ground forces is a viable means of seizing and retaining the initiative during offensive operations. It can yield results out of proportion to the size of the force involved. Correctly used, deep maneuver can enable the commander to defeat an enemy superior in strength and defending the ground of his choice. The study identified certain conditions which were characteristically present when deep maneuver was successful. Successful deep maneuver forces in North Africa possessed, or achieved, a clear operational concept; accurate and timely intelligence; surprise; superior relative speed of operations; freedom, or flexibility, of maneuver; adequate logistical sustainment; the ability to concentrate and synchronize the effects of all available sources of combat power; and an internalized doctrinal approach to war which emphasized the importance of all the preceding.