This monograph focuses on the geographic component of the contemporary intelligence process at the operational level of war. The concept of coup d'oeil, the intellectual capacity of military commanders to evaluate geography and apply that evaluation to the successful prosecution of war, serves as the unifying theme throughout the monograph. The research question is to examine how to better the coup d'oeil of the commander at the operational level of war. The theoretical nature of coup d'oeil is examined to establish the basis of the relationship between geography and warfare. Recognizing that the classical theorists based their theories on the model of the Napoleonic campaign, a comparison is made between Napoleonic strategy and modern operational art. The salient difference between the two is that whereas Napoleonic strategy sought to bring all resources against the decisive point at the decisive time in one decisive battle, operational art is extended in time and in space beyond one decisive battle. The operational commander sets conditions for tactical execution by his subordinates, while at the same time planning to exploit the new conditions established by tactical results. The changing international security paradigm brought on by the collapse of Communism in the 1980s and 1990s suggests that the most likely future role of United States Forces will be one of regional crises response. Highlighted in the new paradigm is the increasing role of the operational level of war commander. Though he has a methodology for campaign design, missing at the operational level is a methodology to analyze quickly, accurately and appropriately, the key elements of terrain in his theater of operations. An organized application of geographical information appropriate for the operational level of war must not be so descriptive as to be useless, nor should it be restricted to the rather specific and local elements of tactical terrain analysis. The monograph suggests that access, mobility, visibility, communicability, availability, and vulnerability are the appropriate elements of operational terrain analysis. "Operation Neptune" and the subsequent break out from the Normandy beachhead is used as a historical case study to examine these elements in support of a campaign design.

ADA 243343 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.)