Planning the Peace: Operation Eclipse and the Occupation of Germany

Abstract

Abstract : This monograph uses the perspective provided by OPERATION ECLIPSE, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) plan for the occupation of Germany, to examine current doctrine on war termination and postconflict operations. It argues that ECLIPSE demonstrates the value of investing staff resources early in a conflict to plan the transition from war to peace. Among the benefits derived from such an investment are synchronization of the terminal military operations with initial peace operations; anticipation of resource requirements; and clarification of the political end state. This monograph argues, based on the perspective of ECLIPSE. that political leaders are unlikely to issue a clear statement of end state because of internal political divisions, requirements for coalition unity, and the changing nature of the war itself. During World War II, the National Command Authority arrived at a vision of end state through an evolutionary process and transmitted it incrementally to planners. The planners, through the questions they asked of their superiors and the discussions engendered by drafts of their plan, assisted in the process of defining the desired end state by the end of the war. The monograph also seeks to demonstrate that it may be erroneous to treat postconflict operations as sequential to the terminal military campaign. War termination and postconflict operations will likely be executed concurrently with military operations and should form an integral part of the campaign plan.