One More Bridge to Cross: Lowering the Cost of War - Softcover

H. John Poole

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0963869531 ISBN 13: 9780963869531

Publisher: Posterity Press (NC), 2003

Synopsis

Without "boots on the ground" that are tactically proficient enough to survive as tiny well-dispersed elements without any help from supporting arms, America should not plan to win any more wars. This book shows how the Pentagon could--with some "truly light" infantrymen and more self-sufficient commandos--project more overseas power at less cost in money and lives. Since Korea, America's foes haven't needed as much preparatory fire or technology, nor have they caused as much collateral damage. This makes them more appealing to local populations. "One More Bridge to Cross" takes a closer look at what happened at Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, and later battles. Then, it shows how to defend against (and acquire) advanced surprise assault technique. Semi-autonomous U.S. squads will not be possible until control over training has been decentralized. Too little tactical experimentation at the company/school level has been the problem. Since the Vietnam War, it has become increasingly clear that America's defense establishment cannot defeat any "bottom-up-operating" (criminal-or-Asian-oriented) foe without first allowing more initiative from its own lowest echelons.

About this title

From the Publisher:

One More Bridge to Cross shows how to combine human compassion with ground warfare. To win a guerrilla, terrorist, or 4th-generation war, the U.S. military must win the hearts and minds of the people. To win the hearts and minds of the people, it must project less force. To project less force, it must have better light infantry. Eastern military and paramilitary organizations use the experimental, "bottom-up" approach to small-unit training. Western armies use the doctrinally driven, "top-down" approach. One produces progressively better tactical technique; the other produces situationally dismissive, totally predictable, and technologically-dated procedure. To win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, read this book.

From the Author:

This book is about enemy small-unit infantry tactics. Designed to baffle the Western mind, they have remained essentially unchanged since WWI. Possibly because they are more effective than U.S. tactics and require decentralized control, they have never been shared with the U.S. infantryman. This puts him at increased risk in combat.

About this edition

• Publisher: Posterity Press (NC)
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0963869531
• ISBN 13: 9780963869531
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 142
• Illustrator: Edward Molina