OCS Military History All Lessons Exam Questions
with Solutions
War - --Conflict between organized groups with "Unknown Resolve"
- Each seeking to impose its will on the other
-Linear Tactics - -- Troops Marched in column formation
- 2 to 3 ranks, shoulder to shoulder
- Used successive volleys of fire
- Purpose was to mass greatest amount of firepower over a given area
- Tactics prevailed through WWI
-Smoothbore Musket - -- Used from 1600's to Pre-Civil War
- Max Effective Distance of 100m
- Highly inaccurate
- 3 Rounds per minute
-Friction - -- Any impediment to a commanders ability to wage war
- EX: Muddy roads, undisciplined troops, bad weather
-Strategic Level of War - -All of a nation's armed forces in all campaigns
-Operational Level of War - -In-theater forces; Where the battle or war is actually taking
place—i.e. Afghanistan
-Tactical Level of War - -Individual field units (division or below)
-Battle of Bunker Hill - -- Revolutionary War - 1775
- Took place near Boston Town on the Charlestown Peninsula
- Patriot forces actually occupied and fortified Breed's Hill. - English sacrificed the
principals of surprise and maneuver in an effort to publicly defeat and humiliate the
American's in a frontal assault.
- Patriots held the line, inflicting massive casualties on the British,
- Retreated after running dangerously low on ammunition. - Psychological victory for the
American's.
- Compare with Picket's Charge
-NYC Campaign - -- Revolutionary War - 1776
- British forces landed 32,000 soldiers on the shores of Staton Island NY.
- Washington split forces in an effort to meet British forces at both Staton and Long Island
- Violated the principal of mass.
- British forces continually out-maneuver Washington, forcing him to fall back several
times
,- Washington realized that he did not need to defeat the British only needed to assure his
army remain standing.
-Battle of Trenton - -- Revolutionary war - 1776
- Washington crossed the Deleware on Christmas night with 4,000 untrained militia and
1,000 Short-time regulars.
- Despite low morale among his troops and austere weather conditions, Washington
inspired his men to keep moving forward.
- He separated his forces and using the principle of surprise,
- Patriots captured a German mercenary garrison, killing 40 Hessians and capturing
another 918.
-Battle of Princeton - -- Revolutionary War - After Battle of Trenton
- Cornwallis of the British forces aimed to trap Washington at Trenton
- Washington deployed the feint tactic and left a small security element at Trenton
- Washington, using an economy of force, took his main element and utilizing frozen over
swamps,
- Maneuvered behind Cornwallis to surprise his units from the rear.
- Washington got out in front of his troops, and rallied his men to a victory.
- Victory reinvigorated the American cause, rallied "fence sitters" to join the cause, and
ruined any British hope for negotiations.
-Interior Lines - -Pro's
- Lines of communication/logistics are short
- More effective, easier to win a battle/campaign
Con's
- Requires coordination
- Facing outside, multiple converging threats
-Exterior Lines - -Pro's
- Converge upon the enemy
- Creates a multi-axis threat
Con's
- Lines of communication/logistics are long
- Requires Unity of Command
-Saratoga Campaign - -- Revolutionary War - 1777
- British General Burgoyne attempted to launch a complex multi-avenue attack on patriot
forces led by General Gates.
- British poor unity of command and lack of coordination led to him attempting to take
Saratoga by himself - Fought an exterior line campaign against the American's interior lines
- Burgoyne's forces are defeated and surrender to a mixed force of militia and regulars.
- This victory causes France to see the US as a safe bet and ushers in a military alliance
between France and American Forces.
Compare with: Exterior / Interior Lines
, -Valley Forge Winter - -- Revolutionary War - 1777-1778
- Suffering caused by poor distribution of supplies/food/clothing
- Not a lack of supply, but poor logistics
- 2,500 Die
- Von Stueben comes in from Prussia and reforms training and made the Continental Army
more effective in the spring
- Compare with Battle of Monmouth
-Battle of Monmouth - -- Revolutionary War - 1778
- Washington launched an attack against a retreating British force led by Clinton.
- Washington allowed Charles Lee to lead the charge
- Lee botched the attack and sparked a flanking counter-assault
- Washington took over and rallied retreating soldiers.
- American's utilized tactics and training recently learned by Wilhelm von Steuben to come
to a draw with British forces.
- This battle marks a milestone when patriot forces were able to match British regulars in
maneuver and proficiency using conventional warfare.
- Compare with Valley Forge
-Battle of Kings Mountain - -- Revolutionary war - 1780
- Against British led Tories under Major Ferguson
- British misused the terrain and tried to fire and launch a bayonet charge from an open
silhouetted position on the actual crest of the mountain.
- The Patriots "over mountain men" defeated the Tories, lowering their overall morale but
boosting the morale of the Patriot militia.
- This also caused Cornwallis to pause, and was fatal to the British Southern Campaign.
- Compare / Contrast with Camden
-Battle of Cowpens - -- Revolutionary War - 1781
- Patriots led by Morgan and the British, led by Tarleton.
- Morgan, using surprise and maneuver, put his militia out in front and had them fire two
volleys and then fall back causing the British to charge into his reglulars
- Caught the Brits in a double envelope.
- Tarleton retreats after British suffer heavy causalities, leading to an American victory
-Battle of Camden - -- Revolutionary War - 1780
- Gates vs Cornwallis
- Gates split patriot forces and put all of (out of state) militia on one side and regulars on
the other
- Militia side fled against superior trained forces, allowing Cornwallis' troops to wheel
around and flank patriot regulars
- Demonstrates the perils of a reckless advance, bad logistics, misplaced militia(out of
state)
- Brits under Cornwallis used maneuver and mass—also combined arms-infantry/cavalry
- Defeat for patriots
- Compare / Contrast with Kings Mountain
with Solutions
War - --Conflict between organized groups with "Unknown Resolve"
- Each seeking to impose its will on the other
-Linear Tactics - -- Troops Marched in column formation
- 2 to 3 ranks, shoulder to shoulder
- Used successive volleys of fire
- Purpose was to mass greatest amount of firepower over a given area
- Tactics prevailed through WWI
-Smoothbore Musket - -- Used from 1600's to Pre-Civil War
- Max Effective Distance of 100m
- Highly inaccurate
- 3 Rounds per minute
-Friction - -- Any impediment to a commanders ability to wage war
- EX: Muddy roads, undisciplined troops, bad weather
-Strategic Level of War - -All of a nation's armed forces in all campaigns
-Operational Level of War - -In-theater forces; Where the battle or war is actually taking
place—i.e. Afghanistan
-Tactical Level of War - -Individual field units (division or below)
-Battle of Bunker Hill - -- Revolutionary War - 1775
- Took place near Boston Town on the Charlestown Peninsula
- Patriot forces actually occupied and fortified Breed's Hill. - English sacrificed the
principals of surprise and maneuver in an effort to publicly defeat and humiliate the
American's in a frontal assault.
- Patriots held the line, inflicting massive casualties on the British,
- Retreated after running dangerously low on ammunition. - Psychological victory for the
American's.
- Compare with Picket's Charge
-NYC Campaign - -- Revolutionary War - 1776
- British forces landed 32,000 soldiers on the shores of Staton Island NY.
- Washington split forces in an effort to meet British forces at both Staton and Long Island
- Violated the principal of mass.
- British forces continually out-maneuver Washington, forcing him to fall back several
times
,- Washington realized that he did not need to defeat the British only needed to assure his
army remain standing.
-Battle of Trenton - -- Revolutionary war - 1776
- Washington crossed the Deleware on Christmas night with 4,000 untrained militia and
1,000 Short-time regulars.
- Despite low morale among his troops and austere weather conditions, Washington
inspired his men to keep moving forward.
- He separated his forces and using the principle of surprise,
- Patriots captured a German mercenary garrison, killing 40 Hessians and capturing
another 918.
-Battle of Princeton - -- Revolutionary War - After Battle of Trenton
- Cornwallis of the British forces aimed to trap Washington at Trenton
- Washington deployed the feint tactic and left a small security element at Trenton
- Washington, using an economy of force, took his main element and utilizing frozen over
swamps,
- Maneuvered behind Cornwallis to surprise his units from the rear.
- Washington got out in front of his troops, and rallied his men to a victory.
- Victory reinvigorated the American cause, rallied "fence sitters" to join the cause, and
ruined any British hope for negotiations.
-Interior Lines - -Pro's
- Lines of communication/logistics are short
- More effective, easier to win a battle/campaign
Con's
- Requires coordination
- Facing outside, multiple converging threats
-Exterior Lines - -Pro's
- Converge upon the enemy
- Creates a multi-axis threat
Con's
- Lines of communication/logistics are long
- Requires Unity of Command
-Saratoga Campaign - -- Revolutionary War - 1777
- British General Burgoyne attempted to launch a complex multi-avenue attack on patriot
forces led by General Gates.
- British poor unity of command and lack of coordination led to him attempting to take
Saratoga by himself - Fought an exterior line campaign against the American's interior lines
- Burgoyne's forces are defeated and surrender to a mixed force of militia and regulars.
- This victory causes France to see the US as a safe bet and ushers in a military alliance
between France and American Forces.
Compare with: Exterior / Interior Lines
, -Valley Forge Winter - -- Revolutionary War - 1777-1778
- Suffering caused by poor distribution of supplies/food/clothing
- Not a lack of supply, but poor logistics
- 2,500 Die
- Von Stueben comes in from Prussia and reforms training and made the Continental Army
more effective in the spring
- Compare with Battle of Monmouth
-Battle of Monmouth - -- Revolutionary War - 1778
- Washington launched an attack against a retreating British force led by Clinton.
- Washington allowed Charles Lee to lead the charge
- Lee botched the attack and sparked a flanking counter-assault
- Washington took over and rallied retreating soldiers.
- American's utilized tactics and training recently learned by Wilhelm von Steuben to come
to a draw with British forces.
- This battle marks a milestone when patriot forces were able to match British regulars in
maneuver and proficiency using conventional warfare.
- Compare with Valley Forge
-Battle of Kings Mountain - -- Revolutionary war - 1780
- Against British led Tories under Major Ferguson
- British misused the terrain and tried to fire and launch a bayonet charge from an open
silhouetted position on the actual crest of the mountain.
- The Patriots "over mountain men" defeated the Tories, lowering their overall morale but
boosting the morale of the Patriot militia.
- This also caused Cornwallis to pause, and was fatal to the British Southern Campaign.
- Compare / Contrast with Camden
-Battle of Cowpens - -- Revolutionary War - 1781
- Patriots led by Morgan and the British, led by Tarleton.
- Morgan, using surprise and maneuver, put his militia out in front and had them fire two
volleys and then fall back causing the British to charge into his reglulars
- Caught the Brits in a double envelope.
- Tarleton retreats after British suffer heavy causalities, leading to an American victory
-Battle of Camden - -- Revolutionary War - 1780
- Gates vs Cornwallis
- Gates split patriot forces and put all of (out of state) militia on one side and regulars on
the other
- Militia side fled against superior trained forces, allowing Cornwallis' troops to wheel
around and flank patriot regulars
- Demonstrates the perils of a reckless advance, bad logistics, misplaced militia(out of
state)
- Brits under Cornwallis used maneuver and mass—also combined arms-infantry/cavalry
- Defeat for patriots
- Compare / Contrast with Kings Mountain
