Free Army Books
Amelie Robertos
Army forces achieve objectives through the conduct of operations. Operations vary in many ways. They occur in all kinds of physical environments and vary in scale of forces involved and duration.
The Army provides forces capable of transitioning to combat operations, fighting for information, producing intelligence, adapting to unforeseen circumstances, and defeating enemy forces. Army forces employ capabilities from multiple domains in a combined arms approach that creates complementary and reinforcing effects through multiple domains while preserving combat power to maintain options for the joint force commander.
Combat power is the total means of destructive and disruptive force that a military unit/formation can apply against an enemy at a given time. It is the ability to fight. The complementary and reinforcing effects that result from synchronized operations yield a powerful blow that overwhelms enemy forces and creates friendly momentum. Army forces deliver that blow through a combination of five dynamics: leadership, firepower, information, mobility, and survivability.
The warfighting functions contribute to generating and applying combat power. Well sustained units able to move and maneuver bring combat power to bear against the opponent. Joint and Army indirect fires complement and reinforce organic firepower in maneuver units. Survivability is a function of protection tasks that focus friendly strengths against enemy weaknesses. Information contributes to the disruption and destruction of enemy forces. Intelligence determines how and where to best apply combat power against enemy weaknesses. C2 enables leadership, the most important qualitative aspect of combat power.
Commanders, staffs, and subordinate headquarters employ the operations process to organize efforts, integrate the warfighting functions across multiple domains, and synchronize forces to accomplish missions. This includes integrating numerous processes and activities within the headquarters and with higher, subordinate, supporting, and supported units. Key integrating processes that occur throughout the operations process include intelligence preparation of the battlefield, information collection, targeting, risk management, and knowledge management.
Planning requires the integration of both conceptual thinking and detailed analysis. Army leaders employ several methodologies for planning, determining the appropriate mix based on the scope and understanding of the problem, time available, and availability of a staff. Army planning methodologies include the Army design methodology (ADM), military decision-making process (MDMP), Troop leading procedures (TLP), rapid decision-making and synchronization process (RDSP),and Army problem solving.
Commanders and staffs integrate the warfighting functions and synchronize the force to adapt to changing circumstances throughout the operations process. They use several integrating processes to do this. An integrating process consists of a series of steps that incorporate multiple disciplines to achieve a specific end. For example, during planning, the military decision-making process (MDMP) integrates the commander and staff in a series of steps to produce a plan or order. Key integrating processes that occur throughout the operations process include intelligence preparation of the battlefield, information collection, targeting, risk management, and knowledge management.
At 344-pages, chapters and topics include tactical mission fundamentals, the offense, the defense, stability and counterinsurgency operations, tactical enabling tasks (security, reconnaissance, relief in place, passage of lines, encirclement, and troop movement), special purpose attacks (ambush and raid), urban and regional environments (urban, fortified areas, desert, cold region, mountain, and jungle operations), patrols and patrolling.
Tactics is the employment and ordered arrangement of forces in relation to each other. Through tactics, commanders use combat power to accomplish missions. The tactical-level commander uses combat power in battles, engagements, and small-unit actions.
The nature of close combat in land operations is unique. Combatants routinely come face-to-face with one another in large numbers in a wide variety of operational environments comprising all types of terrain. When other means fail to drive enemy forces from their positions, forces close with and destroy or capture them.
Leadership is the most essential dynamic of combat power. Leadership is the activity of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.
The human dimension encompasses people and the interaction between individuals and groups, how they understand information and events, make decisions, generate will, and act within an operational environment. A human advantage occurs when a force holds the initiative in terms of training, morale, perception, and will.
The Army relies on effective teams to perform tasks, achieve objectives, and accomplish missions. Building and maintaining teams that operate effectively is essential. Team building is a continuous process of enabling a group of people to reach their goals and improve their effectiveness through leadership and various exercises, activities, and techniques.
The sustainment warfighting function is the related tasks and systems that provide support and services to ensure freedom of action, extended operational reach, and prolong endurance. Sustainment determines the depth and duration of Army operations. Successful sustainment enables freedom of action by increasing the number of options available to the commander. Sustainment is essential for retaining and exploiting the initiative. The sustainment warfighting function consists of four elements: logistics, financial management, personnel services and health service support.
Sustainment is essential for conducting operations and generating combat power as the Army performs its strategic roles. Sustainment provides the operational commander freedom of action, operational reach, and prolonged endurance necessary to shape operational environments, prevent conflict, prevail in large-scale ground combat operations, and consolidate gains.
The effectiveness of the sustainment warfighting function is dependent upon actions of units and staffs at the operational and tactical levels. Execution is putting a plan into action by applying combat power to accomplish the mission. It focuses on actions to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. Sustainment determines the depth and duration of Army operations. It is essential to retaining and exploiting the initiative and it provides the support necessary to maintain operations until mission accomplishment. Failure to provide sustainment could cause a pause or culmination of an operation resulting in the loss of the initiative.
In addition to paperback, SMARTbooks are also available in digital (eBook) format. Our digital SMARTbooks are for use with Adobe Digital Editions and can be transferred to up to six computers and six devices with free software available for 85+ devices and platforms.
Department of Defense personnel may order up to five complimentary books per calendar year. Individuals ordering multiple volumes or titles for institutional or unit use must provide details in the justification block. The Borden Institute will review all book orders and accommodate based on resources and requirements. The online order form is DoD Common Access Card (CAC) enabled and requires a military email address. Please complete the online order form .
Civilians can purchase volumes through the Government Printing Office (GPO) Web site, if available, at or via telephone at 202-512-1800. For orders from outside the United States, please add 25% to the price of the book.
These volumes, prepared by the Operation Enduring Freedom Study Group, present a first cut operational-level narrative of how the U.S. Army formed, trained, deployed, and employed its forces in Afghanistan from October 2001 to December 2014. At the same time, it delves into the tactical realm when such insights amplify the implications of operational decisions or occurrences.
The two-volume book set will be released as CMH Pub 59-1-1 and will be available in print, as an eBook, and as a free pdf download starting November 17, 2021. Access to these options are found at: -1/
For more information about the U.S. Army Center of Military History or for media queries please contact the CMH Public Affairs Officer, Mr. F. Lee Reynolds, at francis.l.r...@army.mil or 202-714-1562.
An Army Book in the Warhammer Fantasy tabletop wargame, is a rules supplement containing information concerning a particular army, environment, or worldwide campaign.Army Books for particular armies were introduced for the fourth edition of the game (prior to that all armies were included in the main rulebook). The sixth edition rendered these obsolete. Until superseded by newer versions, the 6th edition and later books remain valid for the newer editions of Warhammer.
Games Workshop has also released various expansions over the years, including a siege rules supplement and campaign expansions. Expansions and Supplements may or may not be valid over multiple editions, though generally they cycle similarly to the Army Books.
Starting with the 4th edition rules, individual Army books were published for various races and realms of the Warhammer world that had coinciding miniatures armies to play the Warhammer Fantasy Battles tabletop game. Earlier versions of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle Game did not have individual Army books.
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