Army in 1965 had seen extensive fighting within two decades and maintained a higher level of readiness despite the conclusion of the Korean War and World War II.Ĭhina's military has an increasingly impressive high-tech arsenal, but its ability to use these weapons and equipment remains unclear. Army on the cusp of World War II had fallen into unreadiness after an extensive demobilization from World War I, two decades prior. Army they served in had been shaped by the experience of previous wars. Very few of the American troops entering the two battles had fought before, but the U.S. In the latter case, however, an inexperienced force nevertheless demonstrated competent decisionmaking and effective battlefield performance, and it sustained fewer casualties than the enemy.Įven the idea of “combat inexperience” carries its own ambiguities. In the first case, inexperience correlated with poor decisionmaking, weak battlefield performance, and high casualties. Yet as these two examples illustrate, how much experience matters remains far from clear. Intuitively, the idea that experience should give a military some advantage seems self-evident. forces eventually withdrew from the battlefield, they did so in good order and inflicted at least twice as many casualties as they incurred. Using accurate artillery fire, close air support, and novel doctrines of air mobility, the disciplined, well-led American forces fought skillfully against a resolute and capable adversary that had been at war for decades.

soldiers at Ia Drang fended off numerous assaults by North Vietnamese conventional forces over several days. In 1965, during one of the first engagements of the Vietnam War, outnumbered U.S. troops and another seasoned adversary produced a different outcome. Two decades later, a clash between inexperienced U.S. The United States paid for its inexperience with the lives of about 6,500 men. At Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, their inexperience was evident in the indiscipline and fragile morale of the troops a dispersed, vulnerable deployment and a rigid, inflexible approach to command and control. troops suffered a humiliating defeat in their first major battle with German forces during World War II.

Long war 2 specialist