Book Shelf 24-9 ~ Patton’s Way: A Radical Theory of War (James Kelly Morningstar, Naval Institute Press, 2017)

Patton’s Way: A Radical Theory of War was unfortunately published a few years too early. Written in the later years of the U.S. fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, author James Kelly Morningstar, likely at the behest of the editor, tries—in a somewhat clumsy and frankly ineffective manner—to relate Patton’s way of war to the battle of those days:

The fact is that Patton’s way of war was tailored to the particular circumstances of conventional land warfare, not counterinsurgency. His methods might apply against ISIS ground units, but such forces remain a “protean enemy,” In Jessica Stern’s brilliant phrase. Defeat their conventional forces, and they transform into guerrilla and terrorist operations. However, just because Patton’s ideas might not apply does not mean attrition strategy serves as an appropriate default. Americans traditionally fight in a style of warfare that mirrors football: huddle to plan, violent action, and measurable progress towards a physical goal. Insurgents employ a Greco-Roman wrestling paradigm: no clocks, grapple for leverage, and indue the opponent into a sudden fall. Different styles of warfare require different counters. In the final analysis, Patton proposed a revolutionary approach to conventional warfare, and that is enough.

Morningstar, p. 283

The dust jacket for Patton’s Way captures the four key principles: “targeting the enemy’s moral through shock; utilizing highly practiced combined arms mechanized columns; relying on mission tactics and flexible command and control; and employing multilayered and synthesized intelligence systems to identify enemy capabilities and weak spots” (Patton’s Way dust jacket). If that sounds a bit like the U.S. military’s Air-Land Battle Doctrine of the 1980’s it should as Morningstar explains in the book. A reader might even question if Patton’s Way has applicability to land warfare in Europe in the 2020’s; especially in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Could Patton’s Way provide insight into what it takes to defeat the Russian Bear, like it’s cousin Air-Land Battle Doctrine provided a foundation for facing off against the Soviets over 30 years ago? For myself, the answer is “Yes…and more.”

Strongly Recommended.

Citations

Morningstar, J.K. (2017) Patton’s Way: A Radical Theory of War. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

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Feature image courtesy RMN

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