Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for America's Military

by Robert H. Scales Jr.

In view of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the ongoing war against terrorism, the importance of land warfare seems certain to grow. This timely book, by Major General Robert H. Scales Jr., draws upon a long and distinguished military career and wars dating back to Korea for lessons for America's future land wars. He looks at Afghanistan and Iraq, and ahead to a wargame scenario of 'Kosovo 2020,' to develop a picture of the American style of war. High-tech, firepower-driven, and risk-averse, the American precision land war machine must ever guard against complacency and adaptive enemies. Despite superiority on almost every front, the U.S. armed forces have been effectively challenged on battlefields near and far. War remains as much art as science, and General Scales shows us what to expect if we substitute science and technology wholesale for the understanding of history and humanity.

Genres: Military Fiction, History

200 pages, Paperback

First published December 24, 2002

Reviews

[Ajj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting introduction to an outmoded concept. In the current world of insurgencies and irregular combatants a depiction of large scale battles and zones of control with sea based missile support seems a bit far fetched. Scales does present the concepts and theories that a modern army would have to tackle if ever confronted by regular forces and gives a good evaluation of how information and advanced munitions would make up for a smaller force footprint. It is a book that got passed by history.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scales takes the reader thru his vision of what the Army will be like in 2020. How the military will use technology and information to spread out and only mass with overwhelming firepower when the enemy is identified. An imagined Army that can dominate the countryside of any foe and bypass the city-strongholds... humanely.

Why I started this book: Short book that was supposed to be a quick read and an easy win... but this book is dense with military theory.

Why I finished it: The need to cross it off, and the curiosity of why it's on the Navy professional reading list. This book was published in 2003 which means that it was written before America returned to Iraq. This is a futuristic look at what the Army should be that missed the big turn in practice when we stopped fighting armies and instead fought an insurgency. When we dismounted and patrolled the cities.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeking to provide vision to the U.S. Army in a way that allows for the most effectiveness in future military conflicts, Scales provides a compelling read that, even if a reader does not agree with all of his conclusions, will at least provide thought-provoking examination of key elements of the future of limited warfare for the U.S. Army. If you are a fond reader of contemporary or historical military strategy [1], this book will be somewhat familiar with its discussion of interconnected elements of grand strategy, operational doctrine, technology, and tactics, all combined together to make a grand vision, the sort of vision that is designed to win votes and supports but is not likely to survive the first contact with the enemy. To the author's credit, though, this enjoyable and somewhat brief (roughly 170 page) vision for the future of the U.S. Army is combined with a great deal of humility and historical insight, both of which make this short book one that is well worth reading to those who have any interest in weighing in or considering the author's thoughts about future conflicts and how American can be well prepared for them in light of our post-World War II history. The author himself, as a retired Major General in the army and an executive in Walden University and Sylvan Learning, is well equipped to deal with the connection between education and military doctrine.

The content of this book is made up of ten essays that, combined, give the author's vision for the future of the army. First, the author discusses the emergence of an American way of war through the limited wars after World War II, with a clear preference for firepower and a refusal to risk the lives of soldiers on the part of the American public. The author then discusses the question of technology and the way that unrivaled American technological advantages cannot be expected to last, or at least to remain as decisive as they often are at present, especially in a world where improvised technologies can do such damage at such minimal cost. Turning his attention to the issue of grand strategy, the author examines the dilemma of time and risk that have to be addressed by civil and military authorities when faced with crises. The author looks at how the army has gotten better in its post-Vietnam efforts from Panama to Afghanistan, then looks at the tactical element of land war in looking at the human dimension of the close fight, where the vast majority of casualties take place. The last four chapters of the book are dedicated to a discussion of the author's ideals for the new American way of war, an extended wargame for Kosovo 2020 that ends in America's favor as a result of superior tactics and technology and Serbian ineptitude, ten principles for strengthening America's land forces (most notable among them being the upgrading of air transport and dealing with the trade-offs of the weight of armor and its portability into war zones), and a cautionary conclusion about the need to reduce costs and preserve American strength in a dangerous world.

It must be emphasized that this book is not written in a vacuum. Rather, it is written with a particular audience in mind of policymakers for the United States military, both in the interservice competition for funding and in the debates between various camps of the military establishment over the planning of the military. The author's views on these matters are pretty straightforward--focus on unit cohesion and training, make the U.S. Army a more elite force with higher education and a slimmer organizational structure by focusing on 5,000 man units capable of having all of the combined elements of warfare commanded by officers capable of independent thought and tactical choice down to the platoon level. Conceding the high expense of much of American technology, the author wishes to focus on making our military better able to win from the start and less subject to the problems that have resulted from being unprepared at the start of conflict as has been traditional in American military history. These ideas are likely to be pretty controversial in an age of belt-tightening and general incoherence in American policymaking. This book may be about yellow smoke, but it is coming from a pretty intense fire.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

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[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scales makes an argument that information, much like firepower in the past, will increase dispersion on the battlefield. This is a result of the precision fires/information complex. As units reveal themselves as they mass, they are systematically attacked by fire which breaks the will and takes away the means to fight. Scales sees this technological advantage tipping the scales (no pun intended). Fires becomes the decisive act over maneuver to finish the fight. This aligns with the so called American way of War to send bullet over man. Overall, Scales makes a compelling argument while paying heed to friction and fog. I found his ideas challenged my own as he provided a description of war in the Information Age. It is a must read for those preparing for the next war...so not to get that one too wrong.