In Limited War - Victory before the Culminating Point,

Abstract : There is a consensus that most wars of the future will be limited wars. When warring parties pass their culminating point limited wars can become protracted and attritional in nature. As neither side gives in, each hoping to drive the opponent past his culminating point of victory, stalemate or ultimate defeat becomes a real possibility. Thus, winning limited wars will be our biggest challenge in the future, and as we saw in Vietnam, defeat of the enemy on the battlefield does not ensure success. A review of the Austro - Prussian war of 1866, the Korean War, and Desert Shield/Desert Storm provide insights into limited war fundamentals and campaign design proven to achieve victory. Limited war fundamentals considered are: Isolate your adversary politically; establish firm political control over the military; establish and maintain limited objectives even in the face of overwhelming victory, and achieve quick military victory. A successful campaign design is one that threatens the survival of the opposing state without actually causing his destruction. The campaign design that forces the enemy leader to choose between collapse of his regime or a settlement is the surest way to achieve victory.