Air Power and Maneuver Warfare [Paperback]

Martin L. Van Creveld (Author), Steven L. Canby (Author), Kenneth S. Brower (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002 | ISBN-10: 0898758769 | ISBN-13: 978-0898758764

In the form it has finally assumed, this volume falls into two very different parts. Part 1 was written by Dr. Steve Canby, Ken Brower, and Martin van Creveld at the invitation of Air University, Maxwell Airforce Base, Alabama. It represents the authors joint attempt to clarify the relationship between air power and maneuver warfare since 1939, a subject that derives its importance from the fact that maneuver warfare has been the U. S. Army’s official doctrine since the early eighties and remains so to the present day.

By contrast, part 2 was added ex post facto. It contains the collective wisdom of the military doctrine analysts of the Air University on the same subjects, as well as the way in which the authors in the first section have presented them. The reader is invited to wade through the entire volume and draw his/her own conclusions about the past, present, and future of air power on the one hand and maneuver warfare on the other, assuming indeed that they do have a future.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of the Pacific (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898758769
• ISBN-13: 978-0898758764
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a excellent perspective of close air support operations., August 12, 2002

By 

1. "John Henninger" (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Air Power and Maneuver Warfare (Paperback)

The first part of the book Van Creveld describes German air operations in the early phases of the Second World War. The Luftwaffe was extremely effective in interdicting and preventing enemy counterattacks, also Luftwaffe officers and army officers directed the attacks. But Van Creveld argues that the Luftwaffe wasted their resourcers against civilian targets such as railroads. The next air force that Van Creveld analyzes is the Soviet air force. The Soviet air force was under complete control of the army and acted as flying artillery to prevent any German counterattacks from appearing, but the Soviet air force engaged in hardly any interdiction missions against the Germans. According to Van Creveld the Soviets had the most effective form of aerial warfare since their role as flying artillery impeded the Germans from stopping the Soviet attacks. The final air force that Van Creveld evaluates is the Israeli air force. During the Six Day War, the Israeli air force was able to destroy lightly armored trucks but could not due any damage to the Arab tank forces. In the 1973 war the Israeli airforce couldn't provide close air support due to the presence of SAMS. Van Creveld than concludes the book by writing a chapter about the Gulf War that is strongly crititcal of the USAF. In Van Creveld's opinion if the USAF wasn't addicted to strategic air warfare than it could have closely cooperated with the ground forces in destroying the Iraqi army. In the appendix chapters USAF generals reply to Van Creveld's criticisms by stating that the Allied bombing campaign in Western Europe allowed the Russians to gain air supremacy and have effective close air support operations and the same applied to the IAF's performance in the Six Day War. The only weakness of Van Creveld's book is that he ignores Allied close air support operations in Western Europe from 1944-45, but otherwise this an excellent description of how the Russain and German airforces operated in the Second World War and how the IAF operates today.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb read for military, history, or business strategists!, August 10, 2002

By 

"cannotthinkofanickname" (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Air Power and Maneuver Warfare (Paperback)

Blargh! That was the sound of my brain spewing out all the garbage thoughts I had about strategy before I read this book. Dr. van Creveld, et. al., provide a remarkable (and concise) analysis of manuever warfare and the coexistent application of airpower. You're missing the boat if you think this book is Stewart Smalley self-motivational testimony for the "Zoomies" (Air Force). This book concisely provides the six tenets of maneuver warfare within the first 10 pages, giving the lay-reader an excellent oversight into how it is that the United States dominates every battlefield (and by extrapolation, the reader can figure out why disasters such as Somalia occur when the military deviates from that 'winning' formula).

In describing the history of maneuver warfare, van Creveld pre-empts the maneuver warfare nay-sayers by going beyond simple parallels of the German model. Yes, he gives the reader an outstanding version how Nazi Germany 'Blitzkrieg' tactics (really the application of maneuver warfare concepts) devasted Europe in the opening months of the Second World War. But Dr. van Creveld also goes into detail regarding the Soviets' masterful turning of the tables on the Eastern Front, Israel's decisive brilliance in the Six Day War, and maneuver warfare's direct role in the defeat of Iraq in 1991.

Now, who should read this book? In my humble opinion this book should be mandatory for all new military officers and senior non-commissioned officer. Not because it espouses air power's importance in modern warfare, but because it gives the reader an excellent template from which to build a cohesive team and winning strategy for overcoming challenges. Hell, you could even cull out all references to air power and strictly look at the six principles of manuever warfare - I'm strongly considering doing my master's thesis on "Maneuver Warfare Concepts and Modern Business Strategy".

In short, whether you're a military member, aspiring military historian, or a business person looking for new creative techniques to conquering the competition, this book is for you!