This course develops an understanding of military operations from historical and theoretical perspectives. It explores operations in all three environments – land, sea and air. Through a series of case studies spanning warfare in the mid-20th century until the Iraq conflicts of today [Vietnam, Malayan Emergency, Dhofar, Arab/Israeli Wars, Falklands War and the Iraq wars from 1990] the module examines issues affecting the conduct of operations and their relationship with the strategic and tactical levels of command. The common themes from the ACSC MSDP program will be integrated across the module: the political objective; unity of force (joint and coalition); strategic / military culture; sustainment; learning and adaptation; leadership and command; capability and force structure; operational environment and civ-mil relationships. There are three sessions (12 hours) per week, over the course of 5 weeks.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify, describe and analyse trends in the conduct of military operations from the late 19th century to the 21st century
- Analyse military operations through the lens of ACSC course themes: the nature and character of war, political objective, unity of effort, learning and adaptation, leadership and command, logistics and sustainment, geography and environment, and strategic and military culture.
- Articulate the fundamentals of major operational theories developed from the late 19th Century to the present and apply them to the contemporary environment.
- Appraise the development of military operations across land, sea, air and joint environments from the late 19th century to the 21st century.
- Identify and analyse the relationship between the strategic, operational and tactical levels of war in conceptual and historical terms.
- Apply lessons identified through historical analysis of conflict to the contemporary environment.
Other Information
To enrol in this course, you must be studying the Master of Military and Defence Studies (7829XMMDS). Students must pass an examination and complete an interview with the MDSP Principal, the Commandant of the Australian War College and ANU academic faculty involved in the program.
Indicative Assessment
- Notes for Evaluation (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Essay (60) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
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Workload
Approximate 120 hours consisting of lectures, reading, and assessment work
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
No prescribed texts required
Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $6180 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
