US Army history - Essay Example

USA Army History The U.S. Army history goes back to 1775, when Congress adopted the American continental army after reaching a consensus position in The Committee of the Whole. The record indicates only that Congress undertook to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form for them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and Schuyler) to draft rules and regulations for the government of the army. "In 1775, determined and angry colonists took up arms against a common foe, and their battle cries signaled the birth of the United States Army" (Millett, Maslowski, 1984). Today, four of America's five military branches are under the Department of Defense: United Sates Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air forces. The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 ml active duty personal along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserve. The United States Armed Forces are considered to be the most powerful millitery around the world (Luttwak, Koehl, 1998). Historians suppose that from its first stand at Lexington, the Army has always had a non-negotiable contract with the American people to fight and win the nation's wars. Now, over 400 years since the first colonial militia was formed in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, the spirit and essence of the United States Army is celebrated for the first time. In retrospect, 1775 decision of the Continental Congress to create the Continental Army seems remarkably free from political strife. Delegates of all shades of opinion supported each step, and arguments largely concerned technical details. In 1794 Congress established the Office of the Purveyor of Public Supplies in the Treasury and the Office of Superintendent of Military Stores in the War Department to continue the same broad supply functions established in the Confederation period. This organization of military supply remained in effect with only slight modification until 1812.Training and discipline were the key to an effective militia. It should be mentioned that the President first exercised his authority to employ militia for suppressing insurrection and executing the laws of Congress in 1794 when Washington sent a large force of militia under Maj. The conduct of the war in 1812 revealed deficiencies in the administration of the War Department that would plague the American cause to the end. Lack of transportation was a major problem of the Army. By the end of 1848 the Army had reverted to a peacetime strength somewhat smaller than the 10,000 authorized in 1815 (Luttwak, Koehl, 1998). Congress in June 1850 approved "enlarging the companies serving on the frontier to 74 privates, a considerable increase over the 50 in the dragoons, 64 in the mounted rifles, and 42 in the artillery and infantry authorized at the end of 1848" (Millett, Maslowski, 1984). The new infantry units were armed with percussion-cap, muzzle-loading rifle muskets instead of smoothbore muskets. Nineteenth century technological developments had made possible an accurate, dependable muzzle-loading rifle with at least as fast a rate of fire as the smoothbore musket. At the U.S. Military Academy during this period, such great names as Robert E. Lee and Dennis Mahan (author of many works on engineering and fortification) appeared on the roster of staff and faculty (Millett, Maslowski, 1984). During the middle of the XIXth century the severe forms of corporal punishment were abolished in the U.S. Army. Still, Civil War medical science was primitive in comparison with that of the mid-twentieth century, an effort was made to extend medical services in the Army beyond the mere treatment of battle wounds. As an auxiliary to the regular medical service, the volunteer U.S. Sanitary Commission fitted out hospital ships and hospital units, provided male and, for the first time in the U.S. Army, female nurses, and furnished clothing and fancier foods than the regular rations (Conn, 1980). The industrial age, made a significant influence on military strategy, tactics, and organization. During 1907-1912 the U.S. Navy's highly successful performance in the Spanish-American War increased the willingness of Congress and the American public to support its program of expansion and modernization. Development of American artillery and artillery ammunition continued to lag behind that of western European armies. At the beginning of the XXth century the Army adopted a new basic field weapon, the 3-inch gun with an advanced recoil mechanism (Conn, 1980). During the WWI and WWII an imposing structure of federal agencies and committees grew up to control the nation's economic mobilization. "In 1942 American factories produced for the British almost three times more lend-lease materials than for the Russians, including 185,000 vehicles, 12,000 tanks, and enough planes to equip four tactical air forces, and for the French, all weapons and equipment for 8 divisions and 1 tactical air force, plus partial equipment for 3 more divisions" (Conn, 1980). While the Germans had developed a flying bomb and later a supersonic missile, the weapons with which both sides fought the war were in the main much improved versions of those that had been present in World War I: the motor vehicle, the airplane, the machine gun, indirect fire artillery, the tank. The difference lay in such accouterments as excellent radio communications and in a new sophistication, particularly in terms of mobility, that provided the means for rapid exploitation that both sides in World War I had lacked (Conn, 1980). During the WWII the Army and Navy had worked separately to determine what their postwar strengths should be and had produced plans for an orderly demobilization. "The Army Air Forces was equally specific, setting its sights on becoming a separate service with 400,000 members, 70 air wings, and a complete organization of supporting units" (Conn, 1980). A National Security Council and a National Military Establishment were esteblished. The national military organisations included the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense exercised general direction over the three departments. Unification also touched the military school system, although each service continued to conduct courses to meet its own specialized needs. Also inhibiting a response to the military needs of containment was the influence of World War II the advent of the atomic bomb. After the WWII the armed forces took on a "new look". The Air Force increased its strategic bombing forces, the Navy concentrated its efforts on development of the Polaris nuclear missile, which could be launched from submarines or other ships, and the Army sought to perfect tactical nuclear weapons to support the soldier on the battlefield. The need to adjust to the nuclear threat had a deep impact upon the Army, since it had to be prepared for both conventional and nuclear war. "As the Army underwent its postwar reduction, from 8 million men and 89 divisions in 1945 to 591,000 men and 10 divisions in 1950, it also underwent numerous structural changes" (Conn, 1980). The loss of the nuclear monopoly prompted a broad review of the entire political and strategic position of the United States, a task carried out at top staff levels in the National Security Council, Department of State, and Department of Defense. Strategic and tactical success rests not only on military progress but on correctly analyzing the nature of the particular conflict, understanding the enemy's strategy, and realistically assessing the strengths and weaknesses of allies. Stressing tactical operations of units below the division in the Vietnam war neglected the role of larger Army echelons. Recognition of this deficiency led to a revival of interest in the role of divisions, corps, and armies in the gray area between grand strategy and tactics. Reliance on massive firepower and technological superiority and the ability to marshal vast logistical resources are the main features of the American military tradition. It is important to note that legacy may be the lesson that unique historical, political, cultural, and social factors always impinge on the military. References 1. Conn, S. Historical Work in the United States Army 1862-1954 .U.S. Army Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 1980. 2. Luttwak, E., Koehl S. A Dictionary of Modern War. N.Y.: HarperCollins, 1998. 3. Millett, A. R., Maslowski, P. For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of AmericaFree Press, 1984. Read More