This study examines the effectiveness of Union and Confederate offensive infantry tactics during the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1863. The analysis of offensive infantry tactics focuses on three types of offensive operations: meeting engagement, hasty attack, and deliberate attack. The primary echelons of command through which tactics are analyzed are brigade, division, and corps. The meeting engagement occurs between a Union and a Confederate division at the start of the battle on 1 May. The hasty attack is a Union operation directed against the 2d Confederate Corps on 2 May and the deliberate attack occurs later that afternoon by the 2d Confederate Corps against the Union Army's right flank. The results of this study indicate that the senior Confederate leaders employed their forces more effectively than did the Union commanders. The Confederate offensive tactics demonstrated a superior ability at the art of war. Following the Jominian principles of interior lines and concentration of forces, the Confederates, despite vast numerical inferiority, created physical and psychological advantages over the Union forces that helped secure victory in each engagement.

ADA 272880 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)