Journal of Military History
Vol. 82, No. 1
January 2018
Articles
“Flodden 1513: Re-examining British Warfare at the End of the Middle Ages,” by David Grummitt, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 9-28
On 9 September 1513 a Scottish army led by King James IV was decisively defeated by an English army, led by Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey. Most recent scholarship on the battle has concentrated on new European-style tactics of the Scots, part of James’s ultimately futile effort to introduce a “Renaissance-style” of kingship. This article re-examines the battle from the English perspective, arguing the English army was more “modern” in terms of its weaponry, tactics, and military organization and, second, that in the person of Thomas Howard they benefitted from the leadership of Britain’s first “Renaissance general.”
“How Wars End: Victorian Colonial Conflicts,” by Ian F. W. Beckett, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 29-44
Previously in the Journal of Military History, Bruce Collins contended that military influences shaped the definition of victory in British colonial campaigns between 1860 and 1882. It is argued that Collins’s examples showed a greater degree of political achievement in their outcome than he suggested. Collins mostly selected successful campaigns for analysis, whereas there were also clear failures in the application of British military power. Even where soldiers defined objectives, they did not necessarily shape the agreements that terminated campaigns. In particular, the example of India’s North West Frontier demonstrated the difficulties of achieving lasting passivity where permanent military occupation was not the objective.
“Mapping the First World War: The Empowering Development of Mapmaking during the First World War in the British Army,” by Andrea Siotto, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 45-66
The First World War (1914–1918) revolutionized warfare in many ways: in addition to new technologies the old and well-known one of maps acquired a crucial role in sharing information, and understanding and controlling the battlefield. This paper advances three main arguments: first, that maps became an integral part of every aspect of warfare; second, that maps became a mindset, a language to understand, rationalize, and share any kind of information; and third, that it is necessary to rethink the concept of the mapmaker and include within it the multitude of soldiers that at any level collected information.
“Technology, ‘Machine Age’ Warfare, and the Military Use of Dogs, 1880–1918,” by Gervase Phillips, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 67-94
Many military historians have emphasised technological innovation as the defining characteristic of modern “machine age” warfare. This paradigm ignores the central roles that animals have played in twentieth-century wars and fails to recognise that the scale of their exploitation has actually escalated in modernity, largely in response to technological innovation. In short, the military employment of animals on a massive scale is as much a defining characteristic of modern warfare as is mechanisation. Here, the example of the establishment of permanent, regular military dog units, for use in “civilised” warfare, from the 1880s onwards is used to illustrate this point.
“The Yugoslav Partisans’ Lost Victories: Operations in Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1944–1945,” by Gaj Trifković, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 95-124
The essay at hand covers the operations on the southern flank of the German front in Yugoslavia from October 1944 to April 1945. During this period, the Germans managed to extricate their XXI Mountain Corps from virtual encirclement on two occasions (in Montenegro and the Bosna River Valley) and ultimately reinforce their hard-pressed main line in the Balkans with this battered, but still battle-worthy, formation. This article will provide the reader with a brief description of this little-known campaign and explain the reasons behind what was probably the Yugoslav Partisans’ greatest “lost victory” of the war. The main argument is that such an outcome was largely the result of the Yugoslav leadership’s refusal to award sufficient attention to this sector of the front and the internal political considerations, but also of the German army’s skillfully conducted defense. The article will also dwell on the battlefield effectiveness of both sides, and the Partisans’ efforts to become a regular army in both their outlook and operational manner.
“Rommel Almighty? Italian Assessments of the ‘Desert Fox’ during and after the Second World War,” by Bastian Matteo Scianna, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 125-145
Erwin Rommel is by any standard a mythical figure. He has been the subject of countless studies in English and German. However, the “Italian side of the hill” has been largely neglected, despite the fact that the foundation of the myth around him lies in the North African campaign, where, after all, thousands of soldiers of the Italian army fought alongside the Afrika Korps. This article will provide an Italian view of the “Desert Fox,” using new primary material that provides insights into Italian assessments during the war. A major source is material gathered by way of eavesdropping by British intelligence on Italian officers held as POWs in Cairo and in England.
“A Damn Hard Job: James A. Van Fleet and the Combat Effectiveness of U.S. Army Infantry, July 1951–February 1953,” by William M. Donnelly, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 147-179
James A. Van Fleet believed that units possessing the will to win would always emerge victorious from any battle. From July 1951 to the end of his tenure as Eighth Army’s commander in Korea in February 1953, he would find that his mission of holding the line until an armistice made it difficult to maintain a will to win among U.S. Army infantrymen. Also working against him were factors arising from the Army’s manpower crisis and the tactical problems facing his infantrymen on the battlefield. Under these conditions Van Fleet was unable to keep these units “fit, ready, and eager to fight.”
Historiographical Note:
“Mansplaining Vietnam: Male Veterans and America’s Popular Image of the Vietnam War,” by Gregory A. Daddis, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 181-207
“Mansplaining Vietnam: Male Veterans and America’s Popular Image of the Vietnam War,” by Gregory A. Daddis, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 181-207
Of the more than 3 million Americans who deployed to Southeast Asia during the United States’ involvement in the Vietnamese civil war, only some 7,500 were women. Thus, it seems reasonable that memoirs, novels, and film would privilege the male experience when remembering the Vietnam War. Yet in the aftermath of South Vietnam’s collapse, Americans’ memory of the war narrowed even further, equating the conflict as a whole to the male combat veteran’s story. This synthetic literary review examines some of the more lasting works sustaining the popular narrative of Vietnam, one that was constructed, in substantial part, by veterans themselves and one in which the male voice reigned supreme.
Review Essay:
“A Tale of Two Fronts: Israeli Military Performance during the Early Days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War,” David Rodman, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 208-218
“A Tale of Two Fronts: Israeli Military Performance during the Early Days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War,” David Rodman, The Journal of Military History, 82:1 (January 2018): 208-218
Caught by surprise by the Syrian and Egyptian armies at the outset of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) experienced serious reverses on both the Golan and Sinai fronts during the early days of hostilities but recovered more quickly in the north than in the south. The Israeli government’s prioritization of the Golan front early in the war and the cumulative effects of at least six other variables—terrain, frontline forces, command and control (C2), reserve mobilization, airpower, and combined arms warfare—explain the IDF’s better performance in the north during the early days of the conflict.
Book Reviews:
Grand Illusions: American Art and the First World War, by David M. Lubin, reviewed by Steven Trout and by Jennifer Zoebelein, 219-22
The Causes of War & The Spread of Peace: But Will War Rebound? By Azar Gat, reviewed by Budd Jones, 222-23
Great Strategic Rivalries from the Classical World to the Cold War, ed. James Lacey, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 224-25
Warrior Churchmen of Medieval England, 1000–1250: Theory and Reality, by Craig M Nakashian, reviewed by G. E. M. Lippiatt, 226-27
The Principality of Antioch and Its Frontiers in the Twelfth Century, by Andrew D. Buck, reviewed by Stuart Gorman, 227-29
The Mongol Conquests: The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe’etei, by Carl Fredrik Sverdrup, reviewed by Patrick Wing, 229-30
Balkan Wars: Habsburg Croatia, Ottoman Bosnia, and Venetian Dalmatia, 1499–1617, by James D. Tracy, reviewed by Brian Davies, 230-32
Small Wars and their Influence on Nation States, 1500 to the Present, by William Urban, reviewed by Nicholas J. Schlosser, 232-34
Les armées du Roi: Le grand chantier XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle, by Olivier Chaline, reviewed by Gregory Hanlon, 234-36
Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America, by David J. Silverman, reviewed by Brian D. Carroll, 236-38
Nationalizing France’s Army: Foreign, Black, and Jewish Troops in the French Military, 1715–1831, by Christopher J. Tozzi, reviewed by Thomas Cardoza, 238-4
Drawdown: The American Way of Postwar, ed. Jason W. Warren, reviewed by Laura McEnaney, 240-4
A Social History of British Naval Officers, 1775–1815, by Evan Wilson, reviewed by Stuart Salmon, 242-43
The Life and Times of General Andrew Pickens: Revolutionary War Hero, American Founder, by Rod Andrew, Jr., reviewed by Andrew M. Schocket, 244-4
Martyr of the American Revolution: The Execution of Isaac Hayne, South Carolinian, by C. L. Bragg, reviewed by Aaron J. Palmer, 245-47
Theaters of the American Revolution: Northern-Middle-Southern-Western-Naval, ed. James Kirby Martin and David L. Preston, reviewed by James K. Perrin, Jr., 247-48
It’s My Country Too: Women’s Military Stories from the American Revolution to Afghanistan, ed. Jerri Bell and Tracy Crow, reviewed by Gina M. Martino, 249-50
Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion that Opened the West, by William Hogeland, reviewed by David A. Nichols, 250-52
Titan: The Art of British Power in the Age of Revolution and Napoleon, by William R. Nester, reviewed by Sarah Kinkel, 252-53
Naval Warfare: A Global History since 1860, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Ryan Wadle, 253-54
Civil War in the Southwest Borderlands, 1861–1867, by Andrew Masich; and Soldiers in the Southwest Borderlands, 1846–1886, ed. Janne Lahti, reviewed by Irving W. Levinson, 255-57
American Civil Wars: The United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Crisis of the 1860s, ed. Don H. Doyle, reviewed by Carl J. Guarneri, 258-59
Theater of a Separate War: The Civil War West of the Mississippi River, 1861–1865, by Thomas W. Cutrer, reviewed by Matt M. Matthews, 259-61
The Army of the Potomac in the Overland & Petersburg Campaigns: Union Soldiers and Trench Warfare, 1864–1865, by Steven E. Sodergren, reviewed by Zachery A. Frye, 261-62
German Colonial Wars and the Context of Military Violence, by Susanne Kuss, trans. Andrew Smith, reviewed by Christopher Thomas Goodwin, 262-64
The French Army and Its African Soldiers: The Years of Decolonization, by Ruth Ginio, reviewed by Suzanne Kaufman, 264-65
America’s Needless Wars: Cautionary Tales of US Involvement in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Iraq, by David R. Contosta, reviewed by Daniel P. Bolger, 266-67
The War with Germany (vol. 3, The Centenary History of Australia and the Great War), by Robert Stevenson, reviewed by Michael K. Cecil, 267-69
Colonial Soldiers in Europe, 1914–1945: “Aliens in Uniform” in Wartime Societies, ed. Eric Storm and Ali al Tuma, reviewed by Stephen Kostes, 269-70
Medicine in First World War Europe: Soldiers, Medics, Pacifists, by Fiona Reid, reviewed by Evan P. Sullivan, 270-72
The Great War and the Middle East: A Strategic Study, by Rob Johnson, reviewed by Matthew Hughes, 272-73
Allenby’s Gunners: Artillery in the Sinai & Palestine Campaigns, 1916–1918, by Alan H. Smith, reviewed by D. M. Giangreco, 273-75
Beyond 1917: The United States and the Global Legacies of the Great War, ed. Thomas W. Zeiler, et al., reviewed by Justin Quinn Olmstead, 275-76
The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I, by Lynn Dumenil, reviewed by Kimberly Jensen, 276-78
Why Wilson Matters: The Origin of American Liberal Internationalism and Its Crisis Today, by Tony Smith, reviewed by Chris Booth, 278-79
Broken Wings: The Hungarian Air Force, 1918–45, by Stephen Renner, reviewed by Zsolt Nagy, 280-81
Heroes or Traitors? Experiences of Southern Irish Soldiers Returning from the Great War, 1919–1939, by Paul Taylor, reviewed by Augustine Meaher, 281-83
Defenseless under the Night: The Roosevelt Years and the Origins of Homeland Security, by Matthew Dallek, reviewed by Roger Chapman, 283-84
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The War Years, 1939–1945, by Roger Daniels, reviewed by Elizabeth Ann Bryant, 284-86
Occupation in the East: The Daily Lives of German Occupiers in Warsaw and Minsk, 1939-1944, by Stephan Lehnstaedt, trans. Martin Dean, reviewed by Gesine Gerhard, 286-88
Norway 1940: Chronicle of a Chaotic Campaign, by Harry Plevy, reviewed by Ralph M. Hitchens, 288-90
Persecution and Rescue: The Politics of the “Final Solution” in France, 1940–1944, by Wolfgang Seibel, trans. Ciaran Cronin, reviewed by Paul R. Bartrop, 290-92
Serbia under the Swastika: A World War II Occupation, by Alexander Prusin, reviewed by Nick Miller, 292-93
The Extreme Right in the French Resistance: Members of the Cagoule and Corvignolles in the Second World War, by Valerie Deacon, reviewed by Caroline Campbell, 294-95
The French Resistance, by Olivier Wieviorka, trans. Jane Marie Todd, reviewed by Cameron Zinsou, 295-97
The War Beat: Europe, The American Media at War against Nazi Germany, by Steven Casey, reviewed by William M. Hammond, 297-98
American Grand Strategy in the Mediterranean during World War II, by Andrew Buchanan, reviewed by Howard Portnoy, 298-99
Rails of War: Supplying the Americans and their Allies in China-Burma-India, by Steven James Hantzis, reviewed by Albert Churella, 299-301
Triumph at Imphal-Kohima: How the Indian Army Finally Stopped the Japanese Juggernaut, by Raymond Callahan, reviewed by Daniel Marston, 301-2
Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War, by Noriko Kawamura, reviewed by Akiko Takenaka, 302-3
Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific 1944–1945, by Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Gallicchio, reviewed by Roger Dingman, 304-5
Airpower Applied: U.S., NATO, and Israeli Combat Experience, ed. John Andreas Olsen, reviewed by Heather Venable, 305-7
Cold War on the Airwaves: The Radio Propaganda War against East Germany, by Nicholas J. Schlosser, reviewed by Quinn Slobodian, 307-8
Creating Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force, 1945–2015: A Sword Well Made, by David Hunter-Chester, reviewed by Katherine K. Reist, 309-10
The Tito-Stalin Split and Yugoslavia’s Military Opening toward the West, 1950–1954: In NATO’s Backyard, by Ivan Laković and Dmitar Tasić, reviewed by Mary Ann Heiss, 310-12
A Korean Conflict: The Tensions between Britain and America, by Ian McLaine, reviewed by Bruce Zellers, 312-13
A Tale of Two Navies: Geopolitics, Technology, and Strategy in the United States Navy and the Royal Navy, 1960–2015, by Anthony Wells, reviewed by Philip C. Shackelford, 313-15
The Portuguese Massacre of Wiriyamu in Colonial Mozambique, 1964–2013, by Mustafah Dhada, reviewed by Zachary Kagan Guthrie, 315-16
Whose Mission, Whose Orders? British Civil-Military Command and Control in Northern Ireland, 1968–1974, by David A. Charters, reviewed by David Hudson, 317-18
Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War, by James Wright, reviewed by William Thomas Allison, 318-19
Reagan and the World: Leadership and National Security, 1981–1989, ed. Bradley Lynn Coleman and Kyle Longley, reviewed by Michael V. Paulauskas, 320-21
The Chosen Few: A Company of Paratroopers and Its Heroic Struggle to Survive in the Mountains of Afghanistan, by Gregg Zoroya, reviewed by James Sandy, 321-23
BOOKS RECEIVED: 324-328
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 329-340
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: 341-345
