As a result of the Industrial Revolution, warfare became more complicated with growth in the size of armies, increased ranges and lethality of weapons, increased mobility, and the greatly expanded logistical system needed to enable this advancements. Long accustomed to thinking in terms of strategy and tactics, military leaders began wondering if there was another dimension or level of war, commonly called the Operational Level. Others viewed the increased planning and control requirements of waging war more in terms of an activity conducted by expanded and increasingly specialized military staffs, which was commonly termed as the Operational Art. The debate continues to this day.

Proponents of the Operational Level base their case primarily on distributed but coordinated movement over great distances, higher levels of command and formations at the corps level and upwards, an underpinning doctrine with emphasis on maneuver and mobility, and the cumulative effects of battles and campaigns. Proponents of an Operational Art view the Operational Level as a dangerous breaking of the inextricably linked strategy and tactics, arguing that the latter encompasses how to win battles of all scales and size to achieve the goals of the strategy. This, the Operational Art is about staff activities — planning, preparing, enabling, and sustaining military forces. From this perspective, “command and control” is the responsibility of Commanders and Staffs, respectively.

To a degree, I seem to want it both ways. In studying war, I study the relationship between strategy and tactics, and generalship — command in war. However, in terms of my solo miniature wargaming, I want to be — and have my own ruleset that lets me be — both commander and staff. Most wargamers focus only on the former and shy away from the latter. That makes for good “games”, but doesn’t allow for an in-depth understanding of how wars are actually fought

So, let’s aside the debate of level or art of war. The following table describes at how I look at the big picture of war from the perspectives of command and control, military operations, types of wargames, and battlefield visits. Again, this is my perspective for wargaming in miniature, not a war college definition.

Reading and Map Study

Generalship — the skill and practice of exercising command on the battlefield — is essential to developing a deeper understanding of strategy, operations, and tactics. Such study will also aid wargamers in determining commander ratings and formation ratings. I recommend the following as among the best reading on generalship in the ETO.

Adams, John A. The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944: An Operational Assessment. Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN; 2010. In my opinion, this is one of the best books assessing the 1944-45 campaigns in the ETO. See my previous posting for more detail on this book.

Carafano, James Jay. After D-Day: Operation Cobra and the Normandy Breakout. Lynne Rienner: Boulder, CO: 2000. An excellent assessment of American leadership at all levels from Army Group to Field Grade Officers.

Citino, Robert M. The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand: The German Campaigns of 1944-45. University of Kansas Press: Lawrence, KS; 2020. The third book in Citino’s study of German military operations from 1942 through the end of the war. Like his previous excellent works, this book looks at the relationships between operations across the theaters of war.

D’Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius for War. Harper Colliins, New York; 1995. No single general is less understood than Patton, whose depth of understanding of the nature of war often takes a back seat to his eccentric personality.

English, John A. The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign: A Study of Failure in High Command. Praeger: New York; 1991. This is an essential read on the Canadian Army in Normandy.

Friedman, B.A. On Operations — Operational Art and Military Disciplines. Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, MD; 2021. The author strongly argues against the Operational Level of War, instead viewing the “Operational Art” as the activity carried out by military staffs.

Hart, Stephen Ashley. Colossal Cracks: Montgomery’s 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe. Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg, PA: 2007. An excellent overview of the British throughout the campaign.

Morelock, Jerry D. Generals of the Bulge: Leadership in the US Army’s Greatest Battle. Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg, PA: 2015. A well developed assessment of American generalship in the US Army’s largest engagement.

Patton, George S., General. War As I Knew It. New York: Bantam Books; 1947. A must read in any attempt to understand this controversial general.

Richard, John Nelson. Advance and Destroy: Patton as Commander in the Bulge. University of Kansas Pres; Lawrence, KS; 2011. A detailed account of Patton’s Third Army performance in the Ardennes. A must read.

Taafe, Stephen R. Marshall and His Generals: US Army Commanders in World War II. University of Kansas Pres; Lawrence, KS; 2011. Looks at the assignment and performance of army, corps, and division commanders against the background of the global conflict.

Winton, Harold R. Corps Commanders of the Bulge — Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes. University of Kansas Pres; Lawrence, KS; 2007. An excellent read on generalship.

These suggested readings barely scratch the surface of such study, but are books that I have found particularly helpful over the years. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these and your recommendations for additional books on the subject.

Miniature Wargaming

A scenario provides the point of departure in designing and playing a battle in miniature. The first question that needs to be answered is whether a particular battle is playable. I make this determination on the basis of several fundamental considerations including:

• To what extent can the battlefield’s terrain be replicated? At one inch representing 100 yards and at a scale of 6mm, an exact duplication of the terrain is not possible on the gaming table. However, it is usually possible to include the terrain features that were historically important. Including a ridge or hill that was tactically significant is essential, while slight rises or rolling ground might be ignored. A narrow river with a deep bed and obstructed banks might be included while a broader river easily crossed at any point might be excluded. Not all villages can be included and the footprints of those included on the battlefield might differ in shape and size from the real thing. Elevated railway lines are usually included as they may prevent movement and block lines of sight and fire, but I rarely include level railway lines.
• The battle must also fit on the gaming table, in my case with a size of 8.5 miles/13.7 kilometers by 4.1 miles/6.6 kilometers. It usually takes considerable effort to orient the battlefield template on a map to fit a scenario to the gaming table. Occasionally, there is no good match. Although it’s possible to develop a campaign scenario that allows for sequential battles that requires setting up and taking down two or more battlefields, a lengthy proposition that can be further confused by individual scenario outcomes that take the battles in unexpected directions.
• How long will the scenario last? As it takes quite some time to develop a scenario, I generally don’t want to fight a battle that lasted only a single or handful of days. This consideration and the limited size of the gaming table largely precludes maneuver across open terrain like North Africa or the Eastern Front. Fortunately, most of Western Europe is compartmented by hedgerows, forests, waterways, high ground, and urbanization that constricts and limits maneuver. So it is possible to find battles that will fit the gaming table and historically lasted 3, 4, 5, or more days, yet do not provide the stalemate typical of the First World War.
• How much information is available on the historical orders of battle, including actual manpower and material on hand, the operation proficiency of the commanders from corps down to battalion commanders, and the daily weather and ground conditions? Finding this information often requires considerable research, which is part of the learning process.

In later blogs, I’ll share my thoughts on the information that a scenario must provide the gamers.

Battlefield Visits

Earlier blog posts provided sources for battlefield guidebooks plus historical and contemporary maps of the battlefield. For many, these published battlefield guidebooks will be sufficient in their content and coverage. However, these guidebooks provide excellent starting points for developing battlefield visits tailored to individual special interests. Study the tours to see how responsive they are to your interests. It’s a relatively simple matter to squeeze in other stops between tour’s stops.

In situations where there is no published guidebook, it’s best to study the battle hard before attempting to develop your own tours. Make a list of where the important events happened and start marking these “stops” with removable arrows on a 1:25,000 scale map. If the result seems a bit overwhelming or confusing, use your knowledge of the battle to group the stops either by a specific unit involved, by events, or by sections of the battlefield. Replace your original arrows with the same color arrows for each tour, and number each stop chronologically or whatever order you wish to visit them. I always generate a separate document for each tour that includes an overview of important dates, events, units, individuals, etc. I also type up a couple of sentences or paragraphs for each stop as a refresher. I also note if the stop actually involves parking and getting out of the car or whether a slow drive-by will suffice. Even a “windshield tour” can provide great insight into the lay of the land that will be helpful to your future reading and wargaming.

Most importantly before traveling to the battlefield, conduct a reconnaissance of your route as it is today. Use contemporary maps from which you can compare urban sprawl with the historic maps. Google Maps can be incredibly helpful in this regard. You will save much time and frustration by doing this.

Lastly, put all this on paper!! Do not assume access to the internet. Yes, that means a lot of paper. But you can use that to jot down notes associated with stops, unexpected sites of interest, which stops you photographed and what direction you were taking, which of the three hills in the photo is the “real” Hill 217, etc.