GDG- BMI

[Tom Ryan]

<<It is interesting, though, how the intelligence gathered and, more
importantly, so accurately evaluated, by the BMI still seems to have such
limited influence on the mindset within much of the senior command of the
AOP that the ANV was so much larger than it actually was.  Almost as if the
AOP's "corporate culture" was predisposed to act on the basis it was
outnumbered, even when, objectively, it should have known better.>>

Jim,

	As the King of Siam said to Anna "It is a puzzlement."  I have argued on
this board in the past that any competent corps commander should have been
able to determine fairly accurately after three days of fighting the size of
the forces he had in front of him.  Yet this seems to have eluded all of the
AoP commanders including Meade.  This does not take into consideration the
resource of the BMI that had those figures nailed, but no one seems to have
bothered to ask them what they discovered through their interrogation and
analysis (with the exception of Meade's request through Butterfield about
what size force Ewell had on the Union right).

	I will probably get taken to task for saying this, but it was as if they
did not want to know the truth about the size of Lee's army.  Better to
believe they were as strong if not stronger than the AoP.  That seems to
have provided cover for not going on the offensive.

Regards, Tom