Shaping operations : how special operations provided an opportunity for Washington’s surprise attack on Trenton, December 1776 / by Jordan D. Ames.

The United States Congress passed legislation in 1986 that created the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Prior to this legislation, US Navy SEALs, US Army Special Forces, US Army Rangers, US Air Force special operations forces, and US Marine Reconnaissance had conducted special operations for decades. Though it appears that special operations have existed in the United States military only since World War II with the advent of the elite Marine Raider Battalions, the truth is Americans conducted special operations-style missions since they adopted irregular warfare tactics when fighting the indigenous people of North America during the colonial era. In the American Revolution, Continental regulars and militia units conducted irregular warfare to shape the operational environment and accomplish specific tactical, operational, and strategic level objectives. Though irregular warfare (today, a doctrinally small component of special operations) was prevalent throughout all theaters of the Revolutionary War, this study seeks to expose the crucial irregular warfare actions and activities which led General George Washington to boldly cross the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and attack the Hessian garrison at Trenton.