Sergeant Major Valliant, of the 82nd Airborne, had embedded himself with the scout platoon that was heading for Washington DC. They were being flown up north in a C-17 along with two Bradley’s and a Humvee. This was meant to supplement the Armor platoon from 11th ACR out of Fort Irwin and they would come under the command of 3rd Infantry Regiment. The mission was, along with an infantry platoon from the 3rd were to maneuver outside of the fifty mile radius north of the capital. The powers that be, knew that Colonel Magnus and his army were a little over a hundred miles away. They wanted to do their best to cut that distance in half. They wanted to bring the fight to Colonel Magnus and not allow them into the capital, however everyone …show more content…
Everyone was at the LOD, gassed up and ready to go, it was now 2300 and they began to move out, it was going to be a long road march, first on the freeways to get out of the city as quickly as possible, then off onto secondary roads. The noise of the tracks carried at night, there was no traffic anymore, not many people out at this time of night – too dangerous, the normal post event noise levels that could be found in your average American city that might have masked the noise of the tracks was gone. It was warm night and the Tank commanders and drivers traveled with hatches open or standing within the turret. They were the only lights on the roads and they could be seen from quite a ways. They took the I-495 north, then merge onto the I-270 and continue onto the US-40 W into Frederick, and hoping there were no issues there. From there continue onto US-15 N into Pennsylvania and exit onto secondary roads and secure an area to conduct reconnaissance operations from. They did have a shortwave radio which would allow them to communicate with the rear echelon and give and get SITREPS (situation reports). Colonel Lambert knew they were putting all of their eggs in one basket by running operations from this location. There were several ways Colonel Magus could approach the Capital. However, Intelligence reports coming from the Special Forces teams on the ground stated
General Washington 's adherence to mission command principles promoted the environment needed to win. Senior allied partners deferred decision making to Washington based on trust and collaborative input. Effective communications encouraged subordinate commanders to propose constructive alternatives aimed at streamlining action. The Siege of Yorktown embodied the approach effectiveness. Admiral Lafayette’s decision to avoid a major naval battle in Chesapeake Bay demonstrated this. Lafayette’s understood Washington’s intent, and the established trust ensured vital Colonial waterway supremacy. This decisive act ensured Lord Cornwallis’ entrapment throughout the siege. (COL Jerry A. Turner, 2015)
It went over the radio net that General Magnus had been captured and his CP destroyed by three Apache helicopters, which of course lead to many questions regarding where the helicopters came from. General Clayton and First Sergeant Diaz kept pushing through to the rear echelon units, many of not most of the units within the Army of the Potomac hadn’t heard of the capture of their commander. Even if General Clayton and the First Sergeant told every commander of the Army of the Potomac they came in contact with that General Magnus had been captured, they wouldn’t have believed them.
I had to order them to move back into line on the right wing. As the attacks and counter attacks of the 15th Alabama and 20th progressed, men became scrambled into smaller groups and attacks from the right wing eventually pushed the left wing of the 20th Maine to higher ground. Intervals of the struggle were seized to gather ammunition from the cartridge boxes of the disabled friend or foe on the field as ammunition ran low. Far to the rear of the 20th Maine, our men and those of the 83rd Pennsylvania and 44th New York Regiments began receiving fire from the right end of the 15th Alabama line at higher ground . It was then that Lieutenant Martin Van Buren Gifford who was sent by Captain Woodward of the 83rd to ask if we had been turned, but I denied and asked for a company to shore up our left wing . Captain Woodward couldn’t spare a company but fortunately, he would pull back the left wing of his regimental line and straighten it to the left, closing the gap between the 83rd, for me to move my right wing to the left. However, continued attacks by the left wing of the 15th Alabama forced companies E, I, K, and D of the 20th Maine to fall back up the slope of Little Round Top . Heavy fire opened from a scrub wood in the valley in two lines in rank by the right, taking us by surprise. By then, ammunition was soon exhausted and our men were
The person I picked to interview is Mr. Antonio (Tony) Cruz. I have know Mr. Cruz since I was 8 years old and attended the same school as his youngest son. I quickly became best friends with his daughter when I was invited to be part of her court for her Quincenanera. I interviewed Mr. Cruz at in home in Colorado Springs, Colorado face to face on October 30, 2015 at 10:30 am.
Civil War historians view the Battle of Chancellorsville as General Robert E. Lee’s “greatest and most remarkable” victory (Sears 1). Lee, facing an army twice his size, defies all military doctrine and divides his army multiple times in order to out-maneuver and surprise the Union forces. The daring maneuver succeeds and ultimately forces the Union’s Army of the Potomac to retreat. The victory was another major blow to Union troops, but it came at a huge cost to the Confederacy: the loss of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. By evaluating the battle through the lens of the mission command activities, one can see how Lee’s daring maneuver was actually very calculated and his only option for victory. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will describe the timeline of the battle and how General Lee used the mission command activities of understand, visualize, assess, and lead to ultimately achieve victory at Chancellorsville.
The plan was to have the mission function like a “hammer and anvil.” The very outer cordon area would consist of mainly US SOF and numerous other nations. Task Force Rakkasans (10th Mountain and 101st Airborne Divisions) would be air assaulted in by Chinooks helicopters on the eastern side of the valley to set up blocking positions. The valley floor
We started moving towards and into the outskirts of the town which at this point mostly consisted of ruins. Everything around there was pretty flat besides the scattered craters left from the bombing. Farther down the road I could see that the church steeple in the center of the town was still intact, but the roof was on fire with holes that it was trying to escape through. And along that road where hedges so tall and thick that the Sherman’s have to have special blades installed on the front in order to move through them. It was also now a reoccurring thing that the Germans would hide their tanks behind them, then ambush the Allied troops once they moved pass them.
At 2:06 P.M. Colonel Smith ordered to withdraw toward Ansong. He did it, because he could not predict reinforcement. Colonel Smith thought it was the time to start withdraws. However, because of the strength of enemy fire and the daylight, it was a risky mission. Moreover, perhaps it was too late to start the movement. First, the C Company started withdraws. The artillery unit could move back by track. The enemy did nut peruse them intensively. When the B Company moved back the enemy’s pressure was intense and there was not opportunity to conduct a fighting withdraw. The units broke up smaller group to seek save movement back. American unit carried out as many injured soldiers as they
Since Petersburg was the main supply base and rail depot for the entire region, including Richmond, the taking of Petersburg by Union forces would make it impossible for Lee to continue defending Richmond. This represented a major shift in the overall way the North would fight the war from that of the preceding Overland Campaign, in which confronting and defeating Lee's army in the open was the primary goal. Now, Grant selected a geographic and political target and knew that his superior resources could besiege Lee there, pin him down, and either starve him into submission or lure him out for a decisive
The Marine flank on the right would attack and turn and head north and the other Marine’s would attack and turn south and eventually meet up with 3rd ID, then they both would mope up the rest. It was a kill, kill, kill plan, but with a bit more finesse. The Marines would move out at zero two-hundred the next morning, to be able to hit the 3rd Army Division’s flanks at the same time the 3rd ID started their Artillery bombardment. It had been a long day, after they had solidified their plans MG Romney returned to the 3rd ID, they had a lot to get ready for. It was going to be a busy morning, as far as they could tell the 3rd Army Division was still in the dark about what was getting ready to happen.
Upon reaching the decrepit district, Elis had tapped Lambert’s side and pointed to the taller buildings. Sure he’d be out of sight, but his tracker was on and so were his comms. He learned to never turn the off if he went to a nest, it took too long to radio otherwise. However, he knew that was the one thing he was good at and it was worth the risk to have in a position he was skilled in rather than have the cadet on the ground struggling to find his niche. At least for this mission.
So here Callum was, trudging alongside several thousand men under General Lee’s command. The Union has been trying to gain control of Virginia since the very inception of the war. After Virginia joined the Confederacy, it was rewarded with the Confederate capitol in Richmond due to its industry and factories. His hometown was the only large-scale industrial city in the Confederacy. Having the capitol and the bulk of the army here allowed for easy restocking of supplies. It was a logistically sound move, but also a dangerous one.
He wanted to read what they would do next, for most of what he did as commander relied on discerning the intentions of the enemy. Yet he was perplexed at the moment. The opposing host had suffered a defeat, perhaps a great one, for they had worked themselves into a frenzy all night in order to try to win the fight today. They had lost, and yet now was also the time to attack. The defenders on the wall were weary. Their spirits might be high, but if the enemy could not take the walls in a single assault they must show that they had the numbers to keep on coming back, even after a defeat. That would be the most demoralizing message of all, and yet no attack
Bowden explains how the force assembled represented and highlighted the unsuccessful planning and lack of oversight that was associated with the mission. General Garrison made point 4: “Enemy situation was well known. Proximity to Bakara Market (SNA strongpoint); previous reaction times of bad guys” (Bowden, 1999, p.337). Bowden agrees with this point that because it was well known the actions and activities of Aidid and his militias. It was the opposite that proved to affect the mission, poor communications, and the convoy being disrupted. Also the soldiers on the ground not being able to communicate with other elements on the ground. Also General Garrison also made point 7: “Reaction forces were planned for contingencies, A). CSAR on immediate standby (UH 60 with medic and security” (Bowden, 1999, p.337). The reaction forces were planned for contingencies, but they necessarily did not come out in the results desired. Bowden also talks about the point of how the men could have possibly fought back: “There is no doubt that Garrison’s men if so ordered, would have tried to fight their way out, but they stayed
While they were on their way to 42nd Street, they passed numerous Humvees, M1 Tanks and countless NYPD vehicles patrolling the boroughs. Fortunately, they were being escorted by the military, expediting their journey. At some point, the soldiers dropped them off on the corner of 42nd street and drove North West toward 9th Avenue.