Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 47

EXPEDITIONARY LAND POWER miles to the east , the Navy ’ s Home Squadron likewise blockaded enemy ports across the Gulf of Mexico while protecting logistical transports in support of Taylor ’ s capture of Monterrey . 14
The dominate phase of an operation , according to joint doctrine , “ focuses on breaking the enemy ’ s will to resist ” or on “ control [ of ] the operational environment .” 15 Usually reflecting the most destructive moments in thirty thousand defenders and capture Mexico City . Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington , renowned for his 1815 victory at the Battle of Waterloo , reportedly called the invasion “ unsurpassed in military annals .” 16
As with previous successes in northern Mexico , the littoral attack relied upon cooperation by diverse military elements . In the largest wartime collaboration between U . S . ground and naval forces to that point
Rio Lerma
Guadalupe Hidalgo
Molina de Rey
Contreras
Chapultepec
Scott ' s Campaign ( 9 March
Cuernavaca
1847 to 14 September 1847 )
City , Town or Settlement
Forts
Lake Xochimilco Lake Chalco
Lake Zumpango
Texcoco Lake Texcoco
Mexico City
Chubusco Ixtaccihuati
Popocatepti
Warfare of US forces Battle Site Mountains
Tlaxcala
Puebla
Rio Atoyac
Perote
PLATEAU OF ANAHUAC
Las Vigas
Mt . Orizaba
Jalapa
Puenta Nacional
Orizaba
Vera Cruz
TIERRA
Rio Blanco
CALIENTE
Bay of Campeche
Fort San Juan de Ulloa
( Graphic courtesy of Wikimedia Commons )
Figure 1 . Route of Ground Force Led by Maj . Gen . Winfield Scott that Culminated in the Surrender of Mexico
expeditionary warfare , Army formations dominate their adversaries through both traditional military means and emerging technological offsets . The phase often culminates a successful campaign — sometimes deceptively so , as seen in the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 — by shattering the opposing nation ’ s military and economic capability to resist and allowing advancing forces to control politically important spaces .
In the Mexican-American War , the American culmination occurred when Winfield Scott , commanding general of the U . S . Army , led an audacious amphibious attack into Central Mexico via the Atlantic Coast ( figure 1 ). Similar to when a modestly sized and technologically advanced coalition rapidly attacked in Afghanistan in 2001 , the Army relied on operational mobility and combined arms superiority to accomplish the contested entry . Outnumbered and far from support , Scott ’ s eleven thousand soldiers captured the port of Veracruz and marched inland along increasingly vulnerable lines of communication to defeat over in American history , the Home Squadron transported Scott ’ s entire invasion force to the coastal fortress of Veracruz , blockaded the city , and provided heavy cannon to allow an intensive eighty-eight-hour bombardment . Following the “ Gibraltar of Mexico ’ s ” timely capitulation , U . S . Marines then marched with the Army brigades “ to the halls of Montezuma ” while fighting in nearly every battle . Throughout the domination of Central Mexico , just as had occurred under Taylor , thousands of volunteers fought alongside regulars while warships secured maritime lines back to supply depots in New Orleans ( figure 2 , page 46 ). 17
The fifth , and sometimes most challenging , phase of expeditionary warfare is stabilizing the theater after the end of major combat operations . Intended to “ restore local political , economic , and infrastructure stability ,” American joint forces conducting stabilization have remained in numerous countries , sometimes indefinitely , as exemplified by postwar military partnerships with Germany and Japan , after winning large-scale
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