Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Examining the Application and impact of the various concepts of Operational Art and Design in
the UN Defensive campaign.

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Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Introduction

The first campaign of the Korean war known as the UN Defensive campaign happened in

the period between 27th June and 15th September, 1950. The campaign was triggered by the

invasion of North Korea on South Korea with the initial attack on South Korean and US Air

force aircrafts and the facilities at Seoul and Kimpo Air base. Clearly, the North Korean attacks

were targeted to both the US Army in South Korea and the South Korean Army. The UN

Council called on the UN members to assist the Republic of Korea and subsequently the US

President, Harry S. Truman ordered the use of US Air and Naval Forces to counter the invasion.

In an organized and defensive approach, the forces undertook various attacks on North Korean

Forces which ultimately led to the neutralization of the enemy and safeguarding the Republic of

Korea. A combination of actions was employed; ranging from Air attacks to ground attacks.

Some forces were running missions from neighboring countries like Japan. All this time, the US

Air and Naval forces worked together with the Forces of the Republic of Korea; utilizing various

war tools and fighter jets to combat the enemy. One of the noticeable attributes of the UN

Defensive is the range of tact adopted by the army in counteracting the enemy. The fusion of

different forces, weapons and enemy neutralization techniques was based on high level

operational art and design concepts. The precision of actions and the combination of both attack

and safeguarding strategies intended to secure the territory of the Republic of Korea resulted in a

successful war campaign.

Thesis Statement

The success of the UN Defensive campaign is greatly attributed to the application of the

various concepts of operational art and design which effectively neutralized the enemy while

essentially securing the friendly centers of gravity.

Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Operational Art Concepts Adopted and their Impact

By examining the various events, actions and the ultimate result of the UN Defensive

campaign, there are various concepts of operational art and design that were applied. Suffice to

attribute the successful war campaign on the application of the various concepts of operational

art and design.

Synergy and Anticipation

Synergy is an operational art concept that entails the integration and synchronization of

operations. Synergy produces precision in the coordination of activities and therefore enhancing

productivity, precision in actions, maximization of resources and reduction of inefficiencies. In

joint operations especially in war campaigns, there are different activities and strategies in play.

It calls for synchronization and integration of all the forces and resources employed to achieve

the desired outcome. Synergy is even a more sensitive requisite in planning operations where

multiple resources and actions are in use. The level of synergy in such a case determines the

performance of each unit of forces or resources and hence the aggregate performance of all

towards the common mission. The UN Defensive campaign featured well-coordinated actions

across the various forces and strategies to counter the enemy invasion. The coordination of Air

and Naval forces that combated the enemy from both the air strikes as well as the ground while

still securing the friendly centers of gravity within the Republic of Korea required high level of

synergy. The UN Defensive also involved various forces; the American, South Korean and the

British troops all worked in sync to combat the enemy force. Synergy in the UN Defensive

campaign also ensured that the available resources were utilized effectively and the collateral

damage especially in South Korea was minimized.

Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Similarly, anticipation as a concept of operational art and design remains a key element

for effective planning for a successful defensive campaign since it helps the Joint Force

Commanders to remain alert and prepared for any unexpected event. Therefore, the purpose of

anticipation is to help in the exploitation of the available resources and opportunities so as to deal

with any unexpected situation. Anticipation also helps in evaluating the probable impact of the

operations and to prepare for such. It is important to note that situational awareness remains a

key prerequisite of this concept. Without a doubt, the US Air and Naval Forces employed this

concept by gathering information through observation. They were also in constant

communication with their subordinates, the headquarters as well as other emerging forces in their

area of operation. They also could signal each other about the actions that they ought to take in

order to remain in control of the events. Consequently, this helped in avoiding surprises through

monitoring the current operations as well as the unfolding events. Besides, the UN forces also

had the advantage of situational awareness and this was crucial in anticipating both the available

opportunities as well as the challenges that may have arisen. Besides the forces had intelligence

preparation of the battle space and this helped them to define the present and the potential

courses of action the opponents. In fact, having intelligence preparation of the battle space

significantly contributed to the UN Defensive campaign’s ability to not only anticipate but also

exploit the opportunities that were available to them.

Leverage and Arranging Operations

To leverage is to make use of tactics that can help in gaining, maintaining and exploiting

the advantages that helps in combating the opponent’s powers that run across all dimensions.

Analyzing the Korean War reveals that the Joint Force Commanders were able to leverage their
Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

advantages for a common good. Also, by being able to negotiate and fight with the enemy, the

Forces were able to form complex strategic alliances that ultimately led to the end of the war.

Nevertheless, despite the US abilities to leverage on its resources, it faced various operational

and strategic challenges in their fight against its adversaries. In fact, the war caught the US

strategically and intellectually unprepared, but they were able to combat the North Korean

powers under the auspices of the UN. This is because the UN was able to seek and exploit their

victories and this kept piling pressure on the enemy. Moreover, the commanders were committed

to ensure that the war did not escalate into the larger regional or global conflagration.

In the same manner, arranging the operations is a crucial concept in any defensive

campaign since it is important to determine the best arrangement of all the core operations. The

UN Defensive campaign’s arrangement involved the combination of simultaneous as well as the

sequential operations in order to achieve the desired results. For instance, the commanders

ensured that the arrangement was the most cost efficient in terms of human resources as well as

other resources, and they achieved this by putting into consideration all the factors that needed to

be taken into account while arranging the operations. Such factors included the geography of the

operational area, the capabilities of the opponents, any changes in the command structure etc.

Hence, by critically arranging all their operations, the forces were able to determine the

sequence, the time and space of all their activities. However, it is important to note that the US

Army command did struggle in their efforts to master the complexities that would have enabled

them to think critically. Consequently, this posed a challenge in the application of the concept of

arranging operations in dealing with complex multinational military operations. Besides, the

broad international environment considerably influenced the manner in which the UN Defensive

forces arranged their strategic and operational courses of actions. This is because although the
Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Korean War was confined in a specific geographical scope, it was no doubt being fought

between two conflicting international coalitions.

Centers of Gravity and Decisive Points

Centers of Gravity (COG) refer to the features, capabilities or key locations from where a

military force gets its physical strength and the will to fight. The UN defensive team had a

number of Centers of Gravity and they were in form of military force, strategic alliances as well

as a considerable set of capabilities and functions. Evidently, the destruction and neutralization

of the enemy’s centers of gravity can be a sure way to victory. However, at times the COG’s may

neither be apparent nor easily discernible. Moreover, they keep changing during the operation.

Fortunately, while designing its campaign and operations, the UN Defensive Campaign team

took note of the North Korea’s centers of gravity as a key analytical tool. Consequently, this

assisted the commanders in analyzing both the strengths and the weaknesses of the opponents. In

fact, the UN engaged in a continuous analysis of the centers of gravity throughout the entire

operation. Furthermore, they understood that the identification of North Korean Centers of

gravity required a detailed understanding of how they organized themselves and how they made

their decisions. Furthermore, they were also quite alert to the possible circumstances that would

cause the North Korean’s Centers of gravity to change. Hence, they were able to make the

necessary adjustments on their operations accordingly. However, it is important to state that The

North Korean’s COGS were well protected and this posed a major challenge to the forces.

The decisive points are perceived as the objectives where the commander can allocate

resources that would help in controlling, destroying and even neutralizing the enemy In fact,

identifying and being in control of the decisive points enables a commander to gain a
Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

considerable advantage over the enemy. Consequently, this helps in influencing the outcome of

their actions. In some instances, the decisive points are geographic in nature and they may

include an air base, a hill etc. It is without a doubt that the UN defensive team put into use their

decisive points and this helped in attacking the protected centers of gravity of North Korea. Also,

they analyzed all the potential decisive points and established the exact points from where the

opponents were likely to attack. Besides, since the desired end state of the war continued to

evolve, the commanders would continuously reframe and refine the most desired end state, and

this allowed them to foresee and focus on the future conditions. Hence, by having the right

leadership as well as the right channels of command, they were able to achieve victory. In sum,

the concept of centers of gravity should not be confused with decisive points. While a decisive

point refers to a geographic place which if acted upon, allows the commander to achieve a

considerable marked advantage over the opponent, the centers of gravity are the key sources of

power which provides the freedom of action, physical strength and the will to fight.

Simultaneity and Depth

Simultaneity refers to the consistent and sequential application of diverse capabilities

against the whole array of the capabilities and the sources of strength of the opponent. In other

words, it is the strategy of attacking the targeted forces of the enemy. Simultaneity functions in a

way that inhibits the enemy’s functionality by causing confusion and demoralization. The UN

Defensive campaign incorporated this concept in their tactics, leading to the direct and imminent

collapse of the North Korean invasion to the South Korea. This is because they placed more

demands than the opponents’ forces, operations and functions could handle. Besides, through the

application of the concept of simultaneity the joint forces commanders were able to synchronize

their operations at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. Moreover, simultaneity enabled
Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

the US forces to closely monitor any developments in the North Korea force and to make

necessary and timely adjustments that enabled them to weaken the opponents’ sources of

strength. While operating under the guidance of their able commanders, the joint forces were

able to seize opportunities that enabled them to respond to the attacks of the enemies.

The concept of depth leads to the protection and maintenance of the force since it

weakens the potential of the enemy before they can realize and make use of their capabilities.

Therefore, the objective of depth is to overwhelm the opponent from diverse dimensions

throughout the entire battle period. It is important to note that the concept of depth applies to

space (geographically) as well as time. Thus the operations that the UN defensive applied in

depth tended to shape their subsequent operations, and they successfully managed to distract the

cycle of the opponents. Moreover, the application of the concept of depth enabled the US Air and

Naval Forces to shape emergent opportunities. In turn, this provided a crucial framework to

examine the effects of both the friendly and the oppressor’s forces on the operations of the

campaign. Also, since every action, be it friendly or enemy action results in some kind of

reaction, the concept of depth enabled the defensive team to anticipate such actions and their

counteractions and come up with decisions that provided an effective exploitation of the

emergent opportunities. In sum, the sole intention of simultaneity and depth is to help in bringing

forces that can bear the weight of the entire structure of the enemy in a manner that overwhelms

and cripples its capabilities. However, since the concepts of simultaneity and depth operate on

the premise of situational awareness at all the operational levels, the North Korea had a

significant advantage of being familiar with their mountainous terrain and also, they were more

accustomed to the extremely harsh weather of the region.

Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

Conclusion

In any military defensive campaign, it is important to make use of both the tactical

actions as well as Operational Art Concepts in order to achieve strategic objectives. Without a

doubt, through the use of operational art concepts, the UN Defensive operational commanders

were able to organize their visions for the entire operation into consistent and coherent actions

which informed the purpose of the campaign. Hence, the forces were able to balance the risks

and opportunities, create the necessary conditions for victory and gain a considerable advantage

over North Korean Forces. Clearly, the UN Defensive campaign largely derived its success from

well-articulated application of the various concepts of operational art and design.

Running Head: The UN Defensive Campaign – Korean War

References

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Joint Publication: JP 5-0. Joint Operation Planning. Retrieved on 6th December, 2018 from

https://grugq.github.io/resources/jp5_0.pdf

Haseman M. (2004). Campaign Planning Handbook. United States Army War College.

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