Steven L. Ossad
writer, historian, consultant, analyst
Selected WorksMajor General John P. Lucas at Anzio: Prudence or Boldness?, Global War Studies, Fall 2011
A hero who faced down Pancho Villa with only a pistol and turned the tide of battle during the Salerno Operation in late 1943, John Lucas discovered at Anzio that his comrades were more dangerous than his enemies. Henry Ware Lawton: Flawed Giant and Hero of Four Wars, Army History, Winter 2007
Brevet Colonel, Commander of the 30th Indiana Volunteers, and recipient of the Medal of Honor - all at the age of 23 - Henry Lawton's career spanned four decades until he fell in battle "bringing democracy to a distant land." BG Joseph Mansfield, Military Heritage Magazine, February 2007
When Joseph K.F. Mansfield fell at the Battle of Antietam, he was the ranking casualty on either side, the oldest general and West Point graduate to die in battle. The Terrills: "God Alone Knows Which Was Right", America's Civil War Magazine, September 2006
William and James Terrill of Virginia chose opposing sides in the Civil War, each rose to general and fell in battle. Theirs is a unique story of "brother against brother". Major General Maurice Rose: World War II's Greatest Forgotten Commander, 2006
The only American armored division commander to die in battle, Maurice Rose was the son and grandson of rabbis who rose from private to general to lead the premier American armored force to victory over the Nazi empire. The Corporate Staff Ride: A Proven Military Training Tool Comes to the Boardroom, Wharton Leadership Digest, January 2006
For more than a century, the "Staff Ride" has been used to train the nation's military leaders. Now it has been adapted by APPLIED BATTLEFIELD CONCEPTS LLC for use by corporations to train top management in the principles of leadership under pressure. Drawings of Antietam Commanders
"Commanders at Antietam" is a collection of the author's drawings related to ongoing work on the Corporate Staff Ride Command Failures: Lessons Learned from Lloyd R. Fredendall, Army Magazine, March 2003
Winner, 2003 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award The Fighting McCooks, Military History Magazine, October 2005
Sixteen of the McCook Family served in the Union Army or Navy during the Civil War. Seven became generals. Four gave the last full measure. Commodore Thomas Macdonough: Hero of the Barbary Wars, Victor at Lake Champlain, Military Heritage Magazine, October 2004
Thomas Macdonough faced Arab terrorists with steel and musket - in 1804 Russian General Ivan D. Chernyakhovsky, WWII History Magazine, May 2004
Russia's Rommel, General Ivan Chernyakhovsky survived brutal Anti-Semitisim, Stalin's madness, and German tanks to achieve a stunning combat record and fell at the end of the war. Fighting Admiral of Guadalcanal, World War II Magazine, May 2004
Daniel Judson Callaghan's heroic sacrifice off Guadalcanal saved the embattled defenders of Henderson Field. In the Front Ranks of Gallant Men, World War II Magazine, November 2003
Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle's leadership in and out of the cockpit made him one of the most admired men in the Eighth Air Force The Frustrations of Leonard Wood, Army Magazine, September 2003
The only physician ever to rise to Army Chief of Staff, Leonard Wood's path to success produced as many enemies as admirers. The Last Battle of Gen. William Orlando Darby, Army Magazine, January 2003
Creator of the modern American Rangers, Darby led his men to great victories and a catastrophic defeat, but was always in the thick of the action. Martin Blumenson (1918-2005)
Martin Blumenson spent his life writing the history of an institution he respected greatly and knew intimately, the United States Army. He inspired generations of his students and successors to the highest standard of excellence. The Battle of Anghiari: "This Most Bestial Madness"
Described by eminent art historians as perhaps his greatest work, Leonardo Da Vinci's "Battle of Anghiari" defined for centuries the way artists portray the fury of battle and the anatomy and motion of warriors and horses in combat. The lost work sparked intense and on-going debate, and inspired many other great masters working in a variety of media. But, the battle has disappeared from history. Why? Xenophon's "Hipparchicus, Commander of Cavalry"
Historian, biographer, memoirist, "novelist", and companion of Socrates, at the end of his life Xenophon wrote a small book of advice about reforming the Athenian cavalry. A discussion of specific suggestions, Xenophon's Hipparchicus reflects decades of the author's experience as an army commander. The wily survivor offers subtle insights on leadership as well as observations valuable to modern theorists and practioners of the "mounted service" that will always resonate. The Battle of Kadesh: Public Relations Trumps Performance
The Battle of Kadesh, the greatest chariot clash in all recorded history, pitted the war-hardened Hittites against an untested Pharaoh in a struggle that shaped the destinies of the two dominant empires of the early Iron Age. Recorded as a great Egyptian victory, it is a case study of how a brilliant and well-executed public relations campaign can trump performance - and reality. Charles Sanders Peirce: America's Greatest Genius
Born to greatness, Peirce ended his life in poverty, obscurity, and disappointment. Afflicted by illness, pain, drug-addiction and the suffocating moral intolerance of 19th Century America, the time to tell his story to a broad audience has finally arrived. 'BRAD': The GI’s General - Omar N. Bradley (1893-1981)
Omar Bradley was one of a handful of “larger than life” figures to emerge from World War II and go on to deeply influence the post-war era. Those later contributions especially have shaped our history and culture in decisive, dramatic, and virtually unexamined ways. The challenges we face – fighting fanatic global enemies, organizing our forces for that and other struggles, coordinating our strategy with allies, determining the roles and powers of our military leaders, and providing care and benefits for our veterans – were framed in the top counsels of our government by Omar Bradley. Reading the Bible as Military History
More than 3,500 years ago, Abram, the leader of the Hebrews, led his men on a daring, long-distance, night time commando raid to rescue hostages. Hidden in a very brief passage of Genesis is the story of the first organized military action and victory of the Jewish people, a tale of courage and inspired leadership. The Philosophy of War: A General Inquiry
Does it make any sense to talk about a "philosophy of war?" What kinds of things would be discussed in such an academic sub-category? Whose works would make up the canon of study? On that point, why is it that Carl von Clausevitz's early 19th century book "On War" is virtually the only work universally accepted as a work of philosophy? In a world where war is so common, why is there so little systematic examination of its "first principles?" These are only a few of the questions that spark this general inquiry. Saratoga Corporate Staff Ride
This program is structured as a half-day, corporate retreat tour of the American Revolution Saratoga Campaign, 1777. It was the decisive strategic victory of the War, and pitted the vainglorious British dandy Gen. "Johnny" Burgoyne against the flagrant and grandly ambitious American Gen. Gage. Military History Depicted in US Postage Stamps
A stamp "album" that illustrates the military history of the United States as dispicted in postage stamps. From the first stamp showing George Washington in uniform (1857) to the present, the nation has remembered its wars and battlefields - both famous and forgotten - and honored its heroes. |
Major General John P. Lucas at Anzio: Prudence or Boldness?, Global War Studies, Fall, 2011
MG John Porter Lucas
For more than sixty-five years, participants and military historians have argued the question of whether US VI Corps commander Major General John P. Lucas should have captured the Alban Hills immediately after the successful landing at Anzio in late January 1944. This article addresses that question beginning with an examination of Lucas’s career and the circumstances under which he was selected for command of Operation SHINGLE. Next, it examines the rationale, underlying assumptions, plans, and orders issued for the campaign to ascertain where the responsibility lay for the disaster that ensued. It argues that the senior Allied commanders, especially US Fifth Army commander Lt. General Mark Clark and 15th Army Group commander General Sir Harold Alexander, bear the full burden of failure. They countenanced the selection of a man they knew to be unfit for command for purely expedient reasons and allowed a complex amphibious operation to proceed in spite of insufficient planning, resources, and rehearsal. Ignoring basic internal inconsistencies between the British and American positions about SHINGLE’s purpose, immediate goal, and ultimate objective, Fifth Army then issued written orders that were intentionally ambiguous and designed to give the top commanders cover in the event the operation foundered. When that happened, they laid the blame on Lucas. The controversy over the Alban Hills was a “straw man” argument and irrelevant in assessing Lucas’s role at Anzio. Many have rightly used the word scapegoat; indeed, it is difficult to find a more cynical example of perfidy in the Allied high command during World War II. The treatment of John Lucas – an honorable and brave soldier who should have been hailed a great hero after Salerno but instead languishes in the shadow of history – contains a warning that will always be relevant. 
Operation SHINGLE, 22 January 1944
Hitler called it an “abscess.” Winston Churchill, the chief sponsor and loudest cheerleader for the endeavor, called it a “disaster” and admitted that it was his “worst moment in the war.” Lt. General Mark Clark, the American commander, described it as a “barren little strip of hell.” American GI’s, their British brothers-in-arms, as well as their German adversaries had more profane and gruesome descriptions. The bloody four-month agony of Anzio was one of the most difficult and costly campaigns ever fought by an Anglo-American army. In spite of its disappointing results, it was also a heroic stage upon which the grim determination, bravery and sacrifice of soldiers from both sides was displayed. In just one measure of gallantry and courage, of the nearly seventy Medals of Honor awarded to ground soldiers fighting in Italy, one in four went to men at Anzio.
Lucas at West Point, Washington's Birthday, Feb 22, 1911
Part of the ceremony was a cadet riding demonstration; Lucas rode the stallion 'Hardeman'
That night, Lucas wrote his mother about it - and cramming for an exam
John P. Lucas Papers, Army War College Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA
Lucas and the Pancho Villa Raid on Columbus, NM, March 1916
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