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    LTG James M. Gavin: Theory And Influence
    LTG James M. Gavin: Theory And Influence
    LTG James M. Gavin: Theory And Influence
    Ebook81 pages1 hour

    LTG James M. Gavin: Theory And Influence

    By Major Edward P. Gavin

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    About this ebook

    This monograph approached Lieutenant General James M. Gavin as a military theorist and explored his influence as the Army transitioned from World War II to the Cold War. Gavin’s theory of future warfare required an army with capability in atomic and non-atomic warfare and he recognized the need for readiness for both limited peripheral wars and general war. His theory shaped his vision of the functions, organizations, and technology required to succeed in future conflicts. Gavin organized much of his writing around the concepts of mobility, firepower, and control that he felt were critical for future warfare. His influence shaped development of tactical nuclear weapons, missiles, air mobility, and organizational transformation following World War II and into the Cold War.
    Gavin’s theory of future warfare, his understanding of the Soviet threat, and his concepts of firepower, mobility, and control informed his model of how the Army should organize for future warfare. He envisioned flexible division organizations, capable of fighting dispersed over significant depth, enabled by superior air and ground mobility to deliver firepower adequate prevail on future battlefields...
    The organization that epitomized Gavin’s concepts was the air mobile division that developed from his sky cavalry concept. Gavin’s advocacy for the air mobility concept and his specific actions to advance personnel and positions to build and refine sky cavalry and air mobility capabilities were key factors in the eventual development and acceptance of the airmobile division. While airmobile divisions and sky cavalry would likely have emerged without Gavin, his influence clearly advanced the ideas and shaped the form of the organizations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLucknow Books
    Release dateAug 15, 2014
    ISBN9781782895855
    LTG James M. Gavin: Theory And Influence

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      Book preview

      LTG James M. Gavin - Major Edward P. Gavin

       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 2012 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.

      LTG James M. Gavin: Theory and Influence

      by MAJ Edward P. Gavin, U.S. Army.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      Abstract 5

      Introduction 6

      Section 1: Why He Wrote – Gavin’s Vision of Future Conflict 14

      Section 2: Gavin’s Concepts Applied to Organizational Structures 27

      Section 3: Gavin’s Concepts Realized in Division-level Organizations 35

      Conclusion 44

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 47

      Bibliography 48

      Abstract

      LTG James M. Gavin: Theory and Influence by MAJ Edward P. Gavin, U.S. Army.

      This monograph approached Lieutenant General James M. Gavin as a military theorist and explored his influence as the Army transitioned from World War II to the Cold War. Gavin’s theory of future warfare required an army with capability in atomic and non-atomic warfare and he recognized the need for readiness for both limited peripheral wars and general war. His theory shaped his vision of the functions, organizations, and technology required to succeed in future conflicts. Gavin organized much of his writing around the concepts of mobility, firepower, and control that he felt were critical for future warfare. His influence shaped development of tactical nuclear weapons, missiles, air mobility, and organizational transformation following World War II and into the Cold War.

      Gavin’s theory of future warfare, his understanding of the Soviet threat, and his concepts of firepower, mobility, and control informed his model of how the Army should organize for future warfare. He envisioned flexible division organizations, capable of fighting dispersed over significant depth, enabled by superior air and ground mobility to deliver firepower adequate prevail on future battlefields. He supported General Ridgway’s reorganizational concepts, but despite conceptual similarities with the eventual pentomic reorganization under General Taylor he recognized the pentomic division as a flawed organization that lacked adequate firepower and control.

      The organization that epitomized Gavin’s concepts was the air mobile division that developed from his sky cavalry concept. Gavin’s advocacy for the air mobility concept and his specific actions to advance personnel and positions to build and refine sky cavalry and air mobility capabilities were key factors in the eventual development and acceptance of the airmobile division. Gavin clearly influenced military thought about air mobility as the recommendations by the 1962 Tactical Mobility Requirements Board, known as the Howze Board, follow many of the themes Gavin wrote about from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. While airmobile divisions and sky cavalry would likely have emerged without Gavin, his influence clearly advanced the ideas and shaped the form of the organizations.

      Introduction

      James Maurice Gavin was born in 1907 and raised by adoptive parents in Pennsylvania.{1} He enlisted in 1924 at the age of 17 and served one year in Panama with the Coastal Artillery Corps before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1925.{2} Gavin was commissioned in the infantry in 1929 and, intrigued by the promise of air power, attended the Air Corps Flying School but failed to earn his pilot’s wings. He returned to the infantry and served in various units in around the United States and in the Philippines.{3} After company command, he returned to West Point as a tactics instructor for one year from 1940-1941 where he studied the rapid German victories in Europe.{4} Gavin recognized the promise of airborne operations and volunteered for parachute training in 1941.{5} He served as a company commander and operations officer in the new parachute organization before he assumed command of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in 1942.{6}

      Gavin entered World War II in the North Africa theater, his 505th PIR assigned to Ridgway’s 82nd Airborne Division as of March 1943.{7} Ridgway selected the 505th as the sole American airborne regiment for the invasion of Sicily, and Gavin’s first combat jump came in July 1943.{8} Gavin gained valuable experience in Sicily; he notably recognized the need for improved antitank weapons and pathfinders to mark drop zones for the paratroopers.{9} Gavin saw combat again in September 1943 when the 82nd jumped into Salerno, Italy.{10} Ridgway promoted him to Brigadier General and made him the Assistant Division Commander in Naples on October 10, 1943.{11} As ADC, Gavin’s first task was to serve as

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