Operatin Desert Storm: R.E. Lee or W.T. Sherman?

• Author: major Jeffrey F. Addicott
• Pages: 04

War will never be abolished by people who are ignorant of war.

-Walter Lippman'

I Introduction

As the brilliant Aiiied military victory in the Persian Gulf recognizes its first anniversary, the focus has shifted from the emotions of homecoming celebrations to the seriousness of lessons learned and lessons validated. While the ingredients of victory are a combination of many factors-from logistics to training to armament-history has shown that one of the most important elements in a successful combat operation is the quality of the commander. The commander decides the strat-egy, directs the tactics, and inspires the morale of his soldiers, To those mediocre captains of history who arrogantly relied on sheer numbers of forces to ensure success on the battlefield, the past is replete with the story of the small army which, with the leadership of a great commander, overwhelms numerically superior forces.

Operation Desert StormZ confirmed that the American commander, General Sorman Schwarzkopf, was no mediocre leader. Clearly, he had learned well many of the lessons written in the bloody ink of military history In this context, the war also paid a magnificent tribute, albeit a silent one, to a man who is arguably the greatest military leader this country

has ever produced-Robert E Lee Actually, not only in the sphere of battlefield tactics, but in ensuring strict adherence to the laws regulating ~ a r f a r e , ~

General Lee and General

Schwarzkopf had much in common; tactical skills and ethical conduct go hand in hand in the making af a great leader

Unfortunately, however, many are unaware of the phenomenal benefits that our military has most certainly drawn from General Lee. Curiously, this was brought out by the battle inthe Persian Gulf When reporters asked General Schwarzkopf which military leaders he most admired, Schwarzkopf, as ex-pected, turned to the War Between the States for his examples. What was totally unexpected to some, however, was that he departed from the opinions of recent prominent Amencan military leaders who typically cited General Lee.' and instead cited General William T. Sherman as one of his her0es.j As this art]-cle will assert, the United States of America was fortunate that both General Schwarzkopf and the forces under his command emulated the tactics and humanity of the Confederate General instead of the Union leader he mentioned.

Although General Schwarzkopf's public admiration for General Sherman really raised little concern about the soundness of America's military strategy or its willingness to abide by the law of war In the conduct of hostilities, his recognition of Sher. man and exclusion of Lee does raise several critical issues

First, recognizing the importance of image projection, it provides an opportunity to examine the roots of America's international reputation in terms of war-making and the role of law in regulating this conductB Second, from both a tactical and law-of-war perspective, whom did our commanders and soldiers most emulate-Robert E Lee or William T. Sherman?

11. R.E. Lee

The blow, whenever struck, must, to be successful, be sudden and heavy.

-R.E. Lee:

An unspoken tribute to General R.E. Lee was particularly evident in the grand strategy used by the American commander in the Gulf. As General Schwarzkopf held his "vic-tory" press conference and explained the concept of the overall operation in the defeat of the Iraqi forces, he obviously not only had been able to apply the lessons and experiences of his own career successfully, but also had drawn heavily from the wisdom of General Lee

To the serious student of American history, Schwarzkopf's celebrated "Hail Mary" flanking movement to the west of the enemy strongly echoed from another time and place. While no two wars are ever alike, and every commander's actions must be evaluated in terms of their unique circumstances, the basic tactics emoloved in the "hundred-hour" eround war were un-

19921 R.E. LEE or W.T.

. "

deniably similar to those used by the commander of the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia.

Time after time, General Lee executed magnificent flanking movements at battles such as Second Manassas (1862), Chancellorsvilie (ISM), and The Wilderness (1864).6

Similarly, the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm was vintage Lee-that IS, fix the enemy forces in place and hit them suddenly

'See uuo Sre~hen

5 Semi. UcClrIlan os Lee MIL Hirr 9,

Autumn 108s sf 10 A similar compariaan bcrwem Lee and anorher Lnlon eornrnander Geneial George McClellan. concluder rhar Lee probably was the %IP~LPI~ Ammean military commander ever produced and that UcClellao !vas sameone uha had considerable military knowledge, Kanred to be Dreildent and sal L horse well

.Rod Gra~mhr Qvorobic Robert E Lee, S P*ar.li\ IX 1888 at 21 31

and heavily in the flank. The heart and soul of Lee's superior strategy was based on surprise and economy of force-the same key elements superbly employed in Operation Desert Storm

1. Lee as a Role Model

   That America's military leaders continue to concentrate on the military campagns of General Lee LS, of course. no revela. tion to most senior officers in the armed forces. Even the United States Xavy acknowledges the leadership abilities of Lee, studying and publishing at the ?Java1 War College the works of scholars who have devoted their entire lives to exploring the person and legend of Lee.# As for Lee's most natural constituency-the ground commanders!'-one need only take a cursory tour of the Army War College in Pennsylvania to confirm its commitment to studying the War Between the States in general, and R.E Lee in particular. Battle scenes from the bloodiest war in American history hang from almost every hall in the institution. In a recent United States Army War College publication concermng two of Lee's most classic wctories, the authors confidently challenged modern officers to learn from, and appreciate the genius of, Lee and his corps commander T.J "Stonewall" Jackson. In the preface they note, "Lee and Jackson did not see themselves as old soldiers; they considered themselves modern soldiers, and today's officers will quickly learn to identify lcith them.""

2. Lee's Impact on the American Military

   Apart from being the most enduring conflict in the nation's

   psyche, the "Civil War"12 brought into focus the extraordinary genius of General R.E Lee-a genius SO phenomenal that his impact upon the armed forces of the United States is still felt over a hundred and twenty years after his death. This is not surprising, however, when one considers that even before the outbreak of the War, Lee's military value already was firmly established in the young nation.

   General Winfield Scott, commander of the American forces during the Mexican War (1846-1848),noted on many occasions that that war was won due largely to the efforts of, then, Captain Robert E. Lee Captain Lee had made such an impression on Scott that thirteen years later, in 1861, when asked about the best officer in the United States military, he promptly replied, "I tell you, sir, that Robert E. Lee is the greatest soldier now living, and if he ever gets the opportunity, he will prove himself the greatest captain of history "I3

   President Abraham Lincoln also was well acquainted with Lee's military acumen. In April 1861, before Colonel Lee-then serving in the 2d United States Cavalry-had to decide between Virginia and the Union, Lincoln eagerly tendered to Lee the supreme command of all Union forces in the field, If he had accepted, Lee would have been second only to General Scott, who was then the general-in-chief of the Federal forces.

   Weighing a devoted career spanning over thirty years of service to the Armed Forces of the United States against his attachment to Virginia, Lee turned down this greatest of all opp~rtunities.'~

   Taken to the mountain top of temptation and offered what many a soldier dreams of-fantastic success and fame -Lee maintained his loyalty to his state and family, thereby reflecting to the world a glimpse of his incredible in- . .

   tegrity A product of southern aristocracy, honor and duty were more important than fame He could not draa his sword against his native state. U'.T Sherman would later write of Lee, "His Virginia was to him the world . . "E

   At the conclusion of the War Between the States, military leaders throughout the world quickly recognized the incredible battlefield accomplishments of Lee. British, Prussian, and French officers, renowned in their own rights, expressed only the highest regard for General Lee l6 The great British officer, General Garnett Joseph Wolseley. had observed Lee at firsthand during the War and called him a genius in the art of warfare, "being apart and superior to ail others in every way, a man with *horn none I ever knew and few of whom I have read are worthy to be classed ''Ii

   While the Virginia of the Old South long since has faded, in the decades that have passed and to this day, Lee's name only has increased in brlghtness,la Illuminating the pages of military doctrine as perhaps no other soldier in American history. "Few public figures in any age have bequeathed such an enduring legacy of national respect and affection . . ''le Indeed, in the history of the United States, no officer has inspired such great devotion and trust in his soldiers as did General Lee.2@

   This leadership quality was illustrated beautifully in an inci. dent...