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18 - War planning

from Part III - Fighting Forces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2015

John Ferris
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Evan Mawdsley
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
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Summary

Strategic war planning involves two activities. The first is anticipating the requirements of war and preparing operations for its initial phases. The second task is intrawar planning, adjusting to the new circumstances that invariably develop, and drafting campaign plans to replace those rendered obsolete by events. By the late 1930s, the basic system for warning and command and control had been laid out, ready for the injection of a new technology, radar. The British were the first of the Western Allies to recognize the scale on which it would be necessary to build air forces. Before the Second World War, the main form of joint operations consisted of amphibious operations at the Dardanelles in 1915, the result was a notable and bloody debacle. The initial successes of the Germans and Japanese owed less to masterly planning than to the strength of their military organizations and tactical cultures, the excellence of their technology, and the sheer audacity of their operations.
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

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  • War planning
  • Edited by John Ferris, University of Calgary, Evan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow
  • Book: The Cambridge History of the Second World War
  • Online publication: 05 June 2015
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHO9781139855969.023
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  • War planning
  • Edited by John Ferris, University of Calgary, Evan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow
  • Book: The Cambridge History of the Second World War
  • Online publication: 05 June 2015
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHO9781139855969.023
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • War planning
  • Edited by John Ferris, University of Calgary, Evan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow
  • Book: The Cambridge History of the Second World War
  • Online publication: 05 June 2015
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHO9781139855969.023
Available formats
×