Culminating Point - A Viable Operational Concept or Some Theoretical Nonsense

摘要

This study attempts to determine whether the theoretical concept of the culminating point is relevant today to planning and conducting campaigns or major operations. The study begins with an examination of the culminating point during the conduct of two major WWII operations in which it appears to have played a major role in the outcome of each: (1) Field Marchal Erwin Rommel's drive into Egypt in 1942 which ended at El Alamein, and (2) the combined penetration of the Russian 6th Army and Lieutenant General M.M. Popov's Tank Corps Group into the Ukraine in 1943, which precipitated the third battle of Kharkov. This is followed by an analysis of the various factors involved in the process of identifying the culminating point and a discussion of the role of the commander and his staff in this identification process. The study concludes with a discussion of the utility of this theoretical concept as part of the planning process at the operational level and its applicability to future conflicts and AirLand Battle doctrine.