Battle of Antietam Assignment: Mission Command Analysis

Battle of AntietamFirst and Last nameClass: Title of the ClassMonth, Day Year
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
Introduction
The battle of Antietam also known as the battle of Sharpsburg was fought on September 17th, 1862. It is always mentioned as the bloodiest single day in the American history. The war took place in Sharpsburg in Maryland, and it lasted for seven hours. The army of the Potomac, which was commanded by Major General McClellan assaulted General Robert E. Lee's forces along the Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. The main reason why it is called one of the bloodiest single day war in the US is that by the evening of September 17th, 4,000 American soldiers had been killed and over 18, 000 soldiers were left wounded due to the war. In the battle of Arkansas battle, by Robert Lewis Chalk, one of the men who took part in the war recalls how he saw his friend, Andy Sutton, with blood flowing from all his wounds. He later died as he observed since he would do nothing.[Cannan, John. The Antietam Campaign. Combined Publishing, 1999.] [Robert, Lewis Chalk. "Battle of Arkansas Post." Confederate Veteran Volume IV (2004).]
Description of the Battle
After crossing the Potomac River, Gen. Robert Lee divided his army so that he can be able to capture the Union garrison that was located at Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry was located in such a way that it made communication and also the supply of lines back to Virginia to be easier. In fact, there were over 12, 000 union soldiers at the place who was not very comfortable with Gen Lee's actions of linking the South and they did everything possible to make sure that they threaten his invasion of the South. Gen. Thomas Stonewall with a group of soldiers to make sure that they capture Harpers Ferry and make it inaccessible to Gen. Lee.
Major General George B. McClellan was instructed by President Abraham Lincoln to go and protect the capital. Maj. Gen George B. McClellan had been appointed by President Lincoln to command the forces around Washington, DC after the Bull Run and after he was tired of the protests against his cabinet. He then organized his army and made it ready for the attack on Lee's Army. Both armies later clashed on South Mountain when the Confederates tried to block the Federals at the three main phases of the mountain. However, their efforts were not successful. After the efforts of the Confederates were not successful, Lee considered returning to Virginia. He later stopped at Sharpsburg.[Craig, Symonds. A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War. The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983.]
The Confederate Commander gathered his army on the West of the Antietam Creek with the order that they would hold the center and also the right while Jackson's men would be required to fill the left side. The position of the Confederate was strengthened due to the mobility that was provided by the Turnpike that went all the way to the North and South along Lee's line. Gen. McClellan employed the Napoleonic tactics his attack against Lee's army. He wanted to begin the war by attacking the Confederate left, then move to the right thus forcing Lee to weaken his center. At the climax of the battle, he would then go ahead to send his reserves who were porters coups so that they can smash through the center and as a result ring victory. However, one of the factors that McClellan did not put into consideration was the numerical superiority over is the enemy. His army was more than twice that of Lee.[Jeffry, Wert. "Disaster in the Westwood." Civil War Times, October 2002.]
The battle began, and it lasted for twelve hours. During the first seven-hour period, there were three major attacks against Confederate. They began from the left and moved to the north and also south. General Joseph Hooker led the first Union assault. He led the attack at dawn, thus driving Jackson's men through the West woods. On the other side, Major General John B. Hood countered the attack and the Confederate were forced to hold a bit. Then at around 7.30 am, the twelfth corps, which was led by Major General Joseph Mansfield attacked through the Miller’s Cornfield where most of the war took place. During this time, one of the commanders Gen. Mansfield was killed. However, the Union troops did not give up, but they rather continued with their attack and managed to capture the Dunker Church at around 9 am. During this time, the Confederate was unable to hold the calculated union attacks, and they were pushed, but they did not give up.[, Duncan, Captain Louis C. "The Bloodiest Day in American History- Antietam ." The Military Surgeon, May 1913]
Major General Edwin V. Sumner led the third union attack. Gen. Edwin Sumner led one of the groups that attacked the Dunker church while the other two fell attacked through D.H Hill's Division. Ambrose Burnside attacked the Confederate from their right, and he had to begin by capturing the bridge that would later bear his name. Ambrose was successful in taking over the bridge, he reorganized his troop for two hours, then proceed on to arduous terrain. He began advanced attacks in the afternoon at around 3 pm, and actually, in less than one hour he succeeded in driving the Longstreet's men back to Sharpsburg.
At this time the leading elements of A.P Hills Division marched into the field after receiving reinforcement from Harper's Ferry. McClellan was unable to execute his counter attack, and there remained a sizeable union force that chose not to enter in the attack, thus bringing to an end of the battle of Antietam.[Ibid, 77]
Mission Command Analysis
1 Creating a Shared Understanding
As one of the principles of mission command, a commander and his army is required to have a shared understanding of the operational environment and the various problems that are associated with the operation and how the commander can be able to solve them. When General Less stood
6
<...