Operation HUSKY

Great Essays
Operation HUSKY was ultimately an Allied victory that met its objectives, but its planning and execution highlighted significant deficiencies in command and control and integration of Allied forces. Senior commanders, primarily General Eisenhower and British General Alexander, failed to adequately provide their staffs and subordinate commanders with clear intent, nor did they fully exploit the combined ground, air, and naval capabilities available to them. This essay identifies the shortcomings in Allied planning and execution in relation to mission command and the integration of joint functions during HUSKY. These shortcomings were not so grave as to bring about defeat, but they do provide vivid examples of faulty planning and execution when applied to current Joint doctrine. Eisenhower and Alexander exercised poor command and control during HUSKY due to a combination of factors including staff organization, doctrine, and distractions from ongoing combat operations. Their collective efforts failed to clearly articulate commander’s intent while simmering differences between U.S. and British forces fostered mistrust, both of which inhibited a clear understanding of the operation’s objectives by subordinate commanders. The above obstacles and toxic climate among U.S. and British forces set the stage for disjointed and confusing operations throughout the conduct of the campaign. Foremost in mission command is commander’s intent, which when clearly articulated, fosters and enables decentralized execution at subordinate echelons of command. …show more content…
Eisenhower did not effectively establish and issue his intent for two reasons. First, planning for HUSKY commenced while he was still prosecuting the TORCH campaign as Commander, Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ). His chief of staff thus led the early planning effort but with limited authority and no experience in the Mediterranean theater of operations (MTO). Second, Eisenhower’s component commanders for HUSKY were likewise still engaged in TORCH and geographically dispersed around the MTO, making communication and coordination difficult in the important early planning stages. The distracted and disjointed arrangement of AFHQ and its components just months prior to HUSKY’s D-day limited Eisenhower’s ability to adequately develop and issue his intent. This contributed to his subordinate commander’s inability to develop a clear understanding of the campaign’s purpose and desired end state. Understanding, as a by-product of effective mission command, fosters decentralized decision making which further increases operational tempo and the ability to exploit success. Intense disagreement by senior U.S. and British leaders over Allied intentions for Sicily and the MTO hindered the development of clear understanding by field commanders of HUSKY’s desired end state. The U.S. viewed HUSKY as the culminating operation in the Mediterranean, while Britain wanted it to be a stepping stone to subsequent operations in Italy and the rest of southern Europe. This lack of clarity at the strategic level flowed down to the AFHQ commanders and muddled the planning effort. General Alexander, as the ground component commander, further compounded the confusion by neglecting to develop plans for his two armies once they were established ashore. This led General Patton to make assumptions about the employment of his Seventh Army that turned out to be false as Alexander eventually issued orders that vastly changed the initial plan. The cascading effects of disjointed and poor planning prohibited subordinate commanders from developing the necessary understanding of the objectives. Mutual distrust between U.S. and British forces further hindered planning and execution by the AFHQ and component command staffs. Trust between allies, services, and components enables the unified, focused application military force at the appropriate time and place. Mutual distrust between U.S. and British staffs had …show more content…
The climate fostered by AFHQ leadership significantly contributed to the disjointedness and confusion in very linear environment and opposed by an inferior force. Command and control and integration shortcomings may not as easily be overcome in the increasingly complex and uncertain environment within which joint forces will operate today. Current doctrine has captured the hard-earned lessons from HUSKY and mitigates many of the issues encountered in that campaign. For example, land, air, and maritime forces do not operate autonomously but instead are integrated into joint force component commands (JFLCC, JFACC, and JFMCC) under a joint force commander. Best practices such as mission command and integration of joint functions are essential for the Joint Force to fight and win in today’s operating

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Lt-Gen Cornwallis Essay

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Lt-Gen Cornwallis unsuccessfully applied mission command principles as the British Army commander during the siege of Yorktown. Before and during the siege, Lt-Gen Cornwallis failed to communicate his intent clearly, exercise disciplined initiative, create a shared understanding, and build cohesive teams through mutual…

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    LTG Sattler the 1 MEF commander gave MG Natonski the mission “attack to destroy insurgents within Fallujah” and in turn gave him the freedom to make this happen without micromanaging. In turn, MG Natonski allowed the same standard for his subordinate leaders. Since TF 2-2 and TF 2-7 commanders were subject matter experts on the capabilities and limitations of their assets, they were able to better allocate assets. Using disciplined initiative to problem solve and better task organize the armored companies. More importantly as the different task force leaders identified a problem they didn’t just back brief MG Natonski,…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    General Patton and the Battle of the Bulge Mission command is an important part of what makes a military leader successful. It is not easy to accomplish but will lead to victory when done well. Mission command can be broken down into six sub-categories consisting of, mutual trust, create shared understanding, provide a clear commander’s intent, exercise disciplined initiative, use mission orders, and accept prudent risk. During the Battle of the Bulge General George S. Patton was in charge of the United States Third Army and demonstrated many of the qualities that make up mission command. His successful use of these tenants of mission command not only led to the multiple successes of the Third Army but also a victory at the Battle of the Bulge.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As Kennedy and his managerial “whiz kids” took office, they challenged traditionally accepted policies and sought a wider range of diplomatic options. Significantly impacted by crises in both Berlin and Cuba, Kennedy and his acolytes deplored the dearth of Eisenhower’s military force alternatives. Very little diplomatic maneuvering room existed within massive retaliation’s “all or nothing construct.” Among Kennedy’s criticisms, Eisenhower’s nuclear policy rested upon the flawed fundamental premise that a thermonuclear war was winnable. After staring down the barrel of Armageddon, many in the administration, particularly Defense Secretary McNamara, came to agree with Eisenhower’s personally held belief deeming the offensive use of nuclear…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    D-Day Battle Analysis

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages

    June 6th of 1944, better known as D-Day, was not the first time the Allies had planned a major large scale invasion against Nazi Germany. The British were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel in 1942 as well as later on in 1943. However, none of these operations were ever carried out, specifically due to the fact that the Germans were almost always aware of the Allies’ plans. This was not the case during D-Day, though, because the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would strike. As a result, Adolf Hitler ordered Erwin Rommel to finish the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines, and beach/water obstacles (Levine 43).…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dieppe Raid Research Paper

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Strategy plays a crucial role in determining the success or failure of a battle. Allied soldiers were thrown into the middle of a battlefield with the purpose of failure on their minds. Brigadier General Forbes West, who was taken and held prisoner during the raid once stated "I feel that from the day planning began, it was intended to be a failure." Unfortunately, West was not the only troop from this operation that went into it knowing that it would fail. The Generals left in charge of planning the raid had only declared it with the motive of gaining knowledge for the future battle of D-day in 1944.…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Admiral Stark and Major Wedemeyer shared similar views on the design question of how to change their environment from its existing state to their desired end state. They both strove for victory over totalitarian powers in Europe and the Pacific. Both men advocated an alliance with Great Britain and prosecution of an allied strategy to defeat the Axis powers. Stark envisioned a pursuing an allied strategy with Britain across multiple theaters.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cold War Containment

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The US and United Nations forces are nearly pushed pff the Korean Peninsula". Seeing as the defense did not work, other plans had to be places in effect. According to document C, General Douglass MacArthur, the American commander, planned a different attack at a different location, in which the plan worked. " MacArthur stages a risky, yet successful counterattack at the port of Inchon. North Korean forces are routed and pushed back all the way to the Yalu River, the border of North Korea and communist China".…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Operation Anaconda- Task Orginazation Operation Anaconda should be looked at as a success for the Allied troops. The troops succeeded in greatly reducing the footprint of enemy Soldiers and disrupting their operations, and although task organization is vital to any mission success, at times this appeared to be lacking. Not only does well calculated task organization increase the likelihood of success, but it greatly mitigates the risks associated with the mission. With better reconnaissance, command structure and logistical planning, this mission could have been carried out with less confusion and casualties while achieving the same outcome.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Chief among these gaps is the lack of trust by the civilian populace that the Army is an effective organization. Effective means not only fighting wars but also winning them and while minimizing cost. I believe a strong sentiment has arisen in the civilian sector that the military is just a vessel of waste that has not brought a successful resolution to a conflict since World War Two. The military is not entirely at fault in this matter since national policy certainly has its own impact. To ensure the success of both and avoid finger pointing, the Army professional must apply strong stewardship in providing unique and vital expertise to the decision making process on both sides of the aisle (ADRP 1, p. 6-10).…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During August of 1990, the army of Iraq invaded Kuwait. A few months after this, the impregnable coalition, which was led by the United States, launched its famous Operation Desert Storm, usually noted as one of the most decisive, quick and bloodless victories of all time. After just a few days of combat, the Coalition eventually was able to liberate Kuwait, destroy the Iraqi army at a very minimal cost in casualties. The amount of Iraqi losses was large (around 22,000 killed and 60,000 wounded and/o captured.) In contrast, the United States only suffered approximately 150 battle deaths.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mission Command Analysis

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Message to Garcia The Army Doctrine Publication 6-0 explains in detail the concept of mission command. Understanding the philosophy of mission command will facilitate the success and development of my military career as an officer. The philosophy of mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by commanders using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations (ADP 6-0). Using the principles of mission command, leaders are more effective with subordinate units accomplishing the mission.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Disciplined Initiative

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Our decisions carry a heavy burden of life or death. Brian Leakey talks about the correlation between Disciplined Initiative and the commander’s intent. He states Commanders develop their intent statement personally using Expanded Purpose, Key Tasks and the End-State. What does this mean for NCO’s? It requires us to help fill in the blanks using disciplined initiative to help achieve overall mission success by accomplishing the Commander’s intent.…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The relationship between the Operations Process and the Troop Leading Procedures exist in a symbiotic and mutually necessary system. This system allows leaders to plan, prepare for, and react to various missions and situations in a fluid and organized fashion. As situations develop on a global scale, our national leaders continually develop the policy and precedent that drives the Troop Leading Procedures that lower level leadership is responsible for. Once higher level leadership passes down orders through the Operations Process, actions are taken in the field and in support of maneuvers by lower level leaders and their troops. These smaller units, in turn, gather intelligence and detailed knowledge of the environment and pass this information…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As sergeant major, I will work with subordinates and staffs and there will be situations that I will have to remember the principles of mission command, summarized in the memorable quotation from the Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 6-0 (2012). Through leadership, commanders build teams. They develop and maintain mutual trust and a shared understanding throughout the force and with unified action partners. Commanders understand that subordinates and staffs require resources and a clear intent to guide their actions. They allow them the freedom of action to exercise disciplined initiative to adapt to changing situations.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays