Examines how and why the US Army has organized, prepared for war, and engaged in combat from 1898 to the present. Readings included: Arms and the Constitution, 1778-94, The postwar Army : command, staff, and line; AEF strategy in France 1917-1918; St. Mihiel : the birth of an American Army; The final blow; Ambivalent warfare : the tactical doctrine of the AEF in World War I; A history of US Army force structuring; Global war : 1941-45; Sidi Bou Zid : a case history of failure; Infantry in action : battle of the Bulge; Logistics of the battle of the Bulge; The battle of St. Vith; Breakthrough to Bastogne; Buna, 19 November 1942-2 January 1943 : a Leavenworth nightmare; The Mindoro and Luzon operations; The search for a strategy; Epilogue : the legacy of Vietnam; Vietnam : what we might have done and why we didn't do it.