Eyes of Artillery is the first archive-based in-depth study of the institutional origins of modern Army Aviation during World War II. The close-support technique of choice featured airborne eyes and ground artillery. In recounting the experiences of the men who flew observed fire missions in light aircraft, Edgar F. Raines Jr. takes care to delineate how these aircraft-"air observations posts" in War Department parlance, "Maytag Messerschmidts" or "biscuit bombers" to the ground troops-effectively interacted with each element of the combined arms team, thus becoming an integral team player. A valuable resource for students of institutional change, his volume makes a genuine and unique contribution to the literature of World War II.

Eyes of Artillery: The Origins of Modern U.S. Army Aviation in World War II

History

CEnter of Military History United States Army

Raines Jr., Edgar F.

Military

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

<p>On 25 October 1983 U.S. land, sea, and air forces, operating in conjunction with ground force contingents from several Caribbean countries, landed on the island nation of Grenada in the eastern Caribbean. Operation URGENT FURY, the code name for this intervention, marked the U.S. Army’s first commitment to combat since the close of the Vietnam war. In point of fact, the amount of fighting was slight in comparison with other conflicts during the twentieth century, lacking both great intensity and long duration. The logistical effort required to move and sustain two ranger battalions and two brigades of the 82d Airborne Division, in contrast, was considerable and not without difficulty. The genesis, evolution, and eventual solution of the logistical problems, and especially their impact on combat operations on the island, make a fascinating story in their own right. These facets are particularly pertinent because of the likelihood that the Army will face other short-notice contingencies in the future in which the same or similar circumstances prevail. The Rucksack War: U.S. Army Operational Logistics in Grenada, 1983, provides an account of how Army logistics affected ground operations during the Grenada intervention and, in turn, how combat influenced logistical performance. Noteworthy is the emphasis on the role of individuals and the decisions they made based on the necessarily incomplete and sometimes misleading information available at the time during an unexpected and short-notice contingency operation. The narrative ranges from the meetings of the National Security Council, where the president grappled with the question of whether to send in troops, to the jungle environs of Grenada, where a sergeant in combat coped successfully with a Cuban ambush even though he and his men were handicapped by a lack of hand grenades. The considerations that influenced these decisions and others like them are discussed at all three levels of war—strategic, operational, and tactical. Most important, the author tells the story of the Army’s operations and its logistical effort in Grenada from the joint perspective. He covers not only planning and decisionmaking by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Command, and Joint Special Operations Command but also coordination and communications, or lack thereof, between the service contingents in the area of operations. The result is a fascinating account of a complex event that provides insight into the myriad issues the Army encountered and will continue to face in future contingency operations. The author puts forth his conclusions on this brief but important campaign not as authoritative pronouncements but as a springboard for further professional reflection and discussion. Without question, for Army leaders, commanders, and especially logisticians, they offer instructive parallels and trenchant observations pertinent in today’s complicated world.</p>

The Rucksack War: U.S. Army Operational Logistics in Grenada, 1983

Americas

St. John's Press

<p>On 24 February 1991, some two hundred helicopters, UH-60 Blackhawks, AH-64Apaches, CH-47 Chinooks, 0H- 8 Kiowas, and a few UH- I Hueys, carried the 1stBrigade, 101st Airborne Division, ninety-five miles into Iraqi territory - the longest airassault heretofore attempted. It was a striking display of operational mobility during theshort, sharp ground combat portion of the Gulf War and an indication of why some militaryanalysts, most notably Richard E. Simpkin, used the phrase "rotary-wing revolution"to describe warfare in the late twentieth century. The helicopters that made possiblethe 1st Brigade's assault into Forward Operating Base Cobra were operated and supportedby members of the U.S. Army. The Department of the Army had organized the Aviation branch in 1983, but the origins of Army Aviation go back much earlier to World War II.This monograph discusses the institutional beginnings of Anny Aviation in the FieldArtillery's Air-Observation Post Program of World War II. It seeks to explain why theArmy turned to organic aviation as a solution to the doctrinal and tactical problems itfaced in 1942 and how it implemented this change. [n essence, this study argues thattransformations in the art of war created the necessity for reform, which new technologiesprovided the means that previously had not existed. The how is also important. A loosecoalition of senior officer mentors and mid-level and junior officer reformers maneuveredto organize a test of the organic aviation concept, demonstrate its efficacy for the FieldArtillery, set up a training program, use light aircraft effectively in combat, and expandthe program to the other combat arms. In the process the center of innovation shiftedfrom the Office of the Chief of Field Artillery in the War Department to Headquarters,Army Ground Forces, to the Department of Air Training at the Field Artillery School, tothe air sections in field artillery battalions overseas, and back again to the WarDepartment. Depending on the issue and the circumstances, senior officers, mid-levelofficers, junior officers, or some combination of the above were most important at anyparticular time. . . . (An excerpt from the author's Preface)</p>

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Books by Raines Jr., Edgar F.

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Eyes of Artillery: The Origins of Modern U.S. Army Aviation in World War II

The Rucksack War: U.S. Army Operational Logistics in Grenada, 1983

Eyes of Artillery: The Origins of Modern U.S. Army Aviation in World War II