For the US Army to succeed in the 21st Century, Soldiers of all ranks must understand and use Mission Command. Mission Command empowers leaders at all levels, allowing them to synchronize all warfighting functions and information systems to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against a range of adversaries. This collection of historical vignettes seeks to sharpen our understanding of Mission Command philosophy and practice by providing examples from the past in which Mission Command principles played a decisive role. Some vignettes show junior officers following their commander's intent and exercising disciplined initiative in very chaotic combat operations. Others recount how field grade officers built cohesive teams that relied on mutual trust to achieve key operational objectives. Each historical account is complemented by an annotated explanation of how the six Mission Command principles shaped the action. For this reason, the collection is ideal for leader development in the Army school system as well as for unit and individual professional development. Mission Command places great responsibility on our Soldiers.

This collection of historical vignettes seeks to sharpen our understanding of Mission Command philosophy and practice by providing examples from the past in which Mission Command principles played a decisive role. Some vignettes show junior officers following their commander's intent and exercising disciplined initiative in very chaotic combat operations. Others recount how field grade officers built cohesive teams that relied on mutual trust to achieve key operational objectives. Each historical account is complemented by an annotated explanation of how the six Mission Command principles shaped the action. For this reason, the collection is ideal for leader development in the Army school system as well as for unit and individual professional development. For the US Army to succeed in the 21st Century, Soldiers of all ranks must understand and use Mission Command. Mission Command empowers leaders at all levels, allowing them to synchronize all warfighting functions and information systems to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against a range of adversaries. Section 1: Cases at Corps/Division Level * 1. Failure of Command at Pea Ridge, 1862 * 2. Extending the Line at Little Round Top, July 1863 * Section 2: Cases at Brigade/Regiment/Battalion Level * 3. Nelson, Mission Command, and The Battle of Nile * 4. Assault on Queenston Heights, October 1812 * 5. A Motorized Infantry Regiment Crosses the Meuse River, May 1940 * 6. Corregidor: Triumph in the Philippines * 7. Assault River Crossing at Nijmegen, 1944 * 8. Sicily, 1943: Initiative Prevails at Biazza Ridge * 9. Thunder Run in Baghdad, 2003 * 10. The Drive to Bastogne * Section 3: Cases at Company/Platoon/Squad Level * 11. An Engineer Assault Team Crosses the Meuse, May 1940 * 12. Capturing Eben-Emael: the Key to the Low Countries * 13. The Bridge at Mayenne, France 1944 * 14. The Victory at Tarin Kowt * 15. The Attack on the Ranch House, August 2007 * 16. Operation NASHVILLE: Breaking the Taliban's Stranglehold in Kandahar, 2010

From the introduction: "In early 2013, the Combat Studies Institute became involved in this effort by writing a series of Mission Command case studies for use at the US Army's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk. Those case studies form the core of this collection. Each case includes a brief account of a military action followed by an explanatory section that demonstrates how the case illustrates Mission Command principles. This structure was designed for use in training and schools but is equally conducive for self-study programs. None of the 16 cases in this volume offer examples of leaders practicing Mission Command perfectly. Some of the actions described, in fact, come from early periods in which the lack of radio and other modern communications made any level of command and control very difficult to attain. The real value of these cases lies in their ability to clearly convey how past leaders employed principles such as the use of commander's intent and the exercise of disciplined initiative to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. In this way, the past breathes life into current doctrine, making it more tangible and understandable. "

"This collection of historical vignettes seeks to sharpen our understanding of mission command philosophy and practice by providing examples from the past in which mission command principles played a decisive role ... Each historical account is complemented by an annotated explanation of how the six mission command principles shaped the action"--Foreword.

The book tells the story of the theory and history of the mission command approach (decentralized command) and the attempts by different armies to adopt and reform according to this approach.

In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.

Experienced commanders discuss anecdotes and case studies from their past operations.