Journal of Military History
Vol. 72, No. 2
April 2008
Articles
Robert H. Larson, "Max Jähns and the Writing of Military History in Imperial Germany," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 345-370.
This article examines the work of the late nineteenth-century German military historian Max Jähns. A career officer in the Prussian Army, he taught military history at the elite War Academy for fourteen years and was a prolific and highly respected author. Significantly, he focused not on operational history--for which the Imperial German Army was and remains well known--but on the place of military institutions and practices in the context of general history. This and the army's positive response to his work shed new light on the evolution of the new military history and the Imperial German Army's reaction to it.
Lisa M. Budreau, "The Politics of Remembrance: The Gold Star Mothers' Pilgrimage and America's Fading Memory of the Great War," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 371-411.
This essay investigates the American post-First World War commemorative experience and highlights the significance of the war's aftermath on a diverse society, and the process by which a democracy remembers war. It examines the efficacy of government policy regarding the return of American war dead that triggered the Gold Star Mothers' successful efforts to obtain a sponsored pilgrimage overseas. It then asks whether participants truly gained the closure desired. Collectively, these women offer a multidimensional model of ethnic, cultural, economic, and religious diversity prevalent in America during the interwar years while providing scope for exploring racial, gender, and political issues within the context of national mourning.
Tami Davis Biddle, "Dresden 1945: Reality, History, and Memory," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 413-449.
The Anglo-American air attack on the city of Dresden, in February 1945, has become one of the most famous events of the Second World War. The word "Dresden" is typically one of the first uttered whenever the topic of strategic bombing is raised. And yet, like many other high-profile historical events, the Dresden raid is encrusted with myth and misunderstanding. This essay is an effort to make sense of a complicated and much misunderstood episode in the history of modern warfare-and to make sense of it in the context in which it occurred. The essay draws upon the rich recent literature on Dresden, earlier histories, and a wide array of primary sources in an effort to provide - for teachers, scholars, and general readers - a comprehensive but still concise overview of the air raid that has won such a central place in the history of the Second World War.
Kenneth P. Werrell, "Across the Yalu: Rules of Engagement and the Communist Air Sanctuary during the Korea War," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 451-475.
Many believe that the United States fought the Korean War with "its hands tied behind its back" because it had decided to restrict its air war to the Korean peninsula. In fact, breaches of this restriction by incursions into Chinese air space occurred more frequently than was generally acknowledged. Mostly deliberate, they were often encouraged and sometimes led by field grade officers. Pilots won fame and glory, while few were punished. Although the violations risked international incidents, they did not expand the war but helped the United Nations achieve air superiority and gave the Communists much less of a sanctuary than has been commonly believed. These infractions also set a dangerous precedent for the future.
Ingo Wolfgang Trauschweizer, "Learning with an Ally: The U.S. Army and the Bundeswehr in the Cold War," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 477-508.
This essay considers four critical areas of German-American defense cooperation during the Cold War: personal and material American aid for West German rearmament and its impact on the character of the German army, reorganization of German and American combat divisions in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the ultimately failed joint venture in tank design in the 1960s and the lack of cooperation in developing infantry fighting vehicles, and the impact of German tactical and operational concepts on post-Vietnam War U.S. Army doctrine. The essay will argue that in critical aspects, U.S. Army leaders adopted German modes of operation.
Uri Bar Joseph, "Strategic Surprise or Fundamental Flaws? The Source of Israel's Military Defeat at the Beginning of the 1973 War," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 509-530.
During the decade after the 1973 War of Yom Kippur, the consensus was that Israel's military defeat in the war's first stage was caused by the failure of intelligence to provide a warning prior to the Arab attack, but many experts maintained later that it reflected improper preparations for war. Using recently released evidence, this article analyzes Israel's inadequate war deployment when firing commenced and its impact on the failure to repel the attack. It concludes that since this deficient deployment resulted from the absence of a sufficient intelligence warning, the intelligence failure was at the root of the Israeli failure at the war's start.
Notes and Comment
George D. Salaita, "Embellishing Omaha Beach," The Journal of Military History 72 #2 (April 2008): 531-534.
Great military events like the American landing on Omaha Beach in the early morning hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944, do not require embellishment. The invasion was especially horrendous for Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. Too many facts about that unit have been unnecessarily embellished and misreported. Most books have credited the town of Bedford, Virginia, as the home of many in the company who perished that day, when in fact, more of the casualties came from the county of that same name, not the town. This article attempts to clarify that issue.
Reviews:
Hiroshima in History: The Myths of Revisionism, edited with an Introduction by Robert James Maddox, reviewed by Thomas A. Julian and by Sean L. Malloy, 535-539
War Crimes and Just War, by Larry May, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 540-541
Prisoners of War: A Reference Handbook, by Arnold Krammer, reviewed by Robert C. Doyle, 542-543
What is Military History? by Stephen Morillo with Michael F. Pavkovic, reviewed by Ronald L. Spiller, 543-544
A Military History of Modern China: From the Manchu Conquest to Tian'anmen Square, by Peter Worthing, reviewed by Bernard D. Cole, 544-545
The Archaeology of Warfare: Prehistories of Raiding and Conquest, edited by Elizabeth N. Arkush and Mark W. Allen, reviewed by Katherine M. Harrell, 546-547
Spies of the Bible: Espionage in Israel from the Exodus to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, by Rose Mary Sheldon, reviewed by Yoaz Hendel, 547-549
Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History, by William J. Hamblin, reviewed by Antonio Santosuosso, 549-550
Per La Storia Militare del Mondo Antico: Prospettive retrospettive, by Luigi Loreto, reviewed by Lee L. Brice, 550-551
Alexander the Great, by Paul Cartledge, reviewed by James Doyne Dawson, 551-552
Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric, by Michael Kulikowski, reviewed by Lawrence A. Tritle, 553-554
War in Late Antiquity: A Social History, by A.D. Lee, reviewed by Bernard S. Bachrach, 554-555
Guerra en _arq Al'andalus: Las batallas cidianas de Morella (1084) y Cuarte (1094), by Alberto Montaner Frutos and Alfonso Boix Jovaní, reviewed by Óscar Martín, 556-557
The Trial of Joan of Arc, translated by Daniel Hobbins, reviewed by Laurence W. Marvin, 557-558
Special Operations in the Age of Chivalry, 1100-1550, by Yuval Noah Harari; Medieval Mercenaries: The Business of War, by William Urban, reviewed by Niccolò Capponi, 559-560
North American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence, edited by Richard J. Chacon and Rubén G. Mendoza, reviewed by Mark van de Logt, 561-562
Politique, guerre et fortification au Grand Siècle. Lettres de Louvois à Louis XIV, reviewed by Jamel Ostwald, 562-563
Revolutionary War Almanac, by John C. Fredriksen, reviewed by John Buchanan, 563-565
"That Ever Loyal Island": Staten Island and the American Revolution, by Phillip Papas, reviewed by Ira D. Gruber, 565-566
Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country: The Native American Perspective, edited by Frederick E. Hoxie and Jay T. Nelson, reviewed by Rodger C. Henderson, 566-568
Oliver Hazard Perry: Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy, by David Curtis Skaggs, reviewed by Robert Malcomson, 568-569
1812: War with America, by Jon Latimer, reviewed by Richard V. Barbuto, 569-571
The Eagle's Last Triumph: Napoleon's Victory at Ligny, June 1815, by Andrew Uffindell, reviewed by James R. Arnold, 571-572
Civil War Leadership and Mexican War Experience, by Kevin Dougherty, reviewed by Timothy D. Johnson, 573-574
To Rescue My Native Land: The Civil War Letters of William T. Shepherd, First Illinois Light Artillery, edited by Kurt H. Hackemer, reviewed by Glenn W. LaFantasie, 575-576
"My Brave Mechanics": The First Michigan Engineers and Their Civil War, by Mark Hoffman, reviewed by David Fitzpatrick, 576-577
Jeb Stuart and the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg, by Warren C. Robinson, reviewed by Steven E. Woodworth, 578-579
Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign, by Earl J. Hess, reviewed by Philip Shiman, 579-580
Policing the Great Plains: Rangers, Mounties, and the North American Frontier, 1875-1910, by Andrew R. Graybill, reviewed by Robert M. Utley, 581-582
Imagining Future War: The West's Technological Revolution and Visions of Wars to Come, 1880-1914, by Antulio J. Echevarria II, reviewed by John Ferris, 582-584
Russia and Iran in the Great Game: Travelogues and Orientalism, by Elena Andreeva, reviewed by Martin Leer, 584-586
Sea Power Ashore and in the Air, edited by David Stevens and John Reeve, reviewed by Kathleen Broome Williams, 586-587
A Companion to International History 1900-2001, edited by Gordon Martel, reviewed by Martin Horn, 587-588
Savage Century: Back to Barbarism, by Thérèse Delpech, translated by George Holoch, reviewed by Jeremy Black, 588-589
The Echo of Battle: The Army's Way of War, by Brian McAllister Linn, reviewed by Douglas V. Johnson II, 589-590
Amphibious Assault: Manoeuvre from the Sea. From Gallipoli to the Gulf A Definitive Analysis, edited by Tristan Lovering, reviewed by Christopher Mann, 590-591
Wars of Latin America, 1899-1941, by René de la Pedraja, reviewed by Jerry W. Cooney, 592-593
Empires of Intelligence: Security Services and Colonial Disorder after 1914, by Martin Thomas, reviewed by Matthew Hughes, 593-594
The Imperial War Museum Book of 1914: The Men Who Went to War, by Malcolm Brown; The World War I Reader, edited by Michael S. Neiberg, reviewed by Scott E. Belliveau , 595-596
The Good Soldier: The Biography of Douglas Haig, by Gary Mead, reviewed by Peter Simkins, 596-597
America and World War I: A Selected Annotated Bibliography of English Language Sources, by David R. Woodward, reviewed by Jennifer D. Keene, 597-598
Rehearsals: The German Army in Belgium, August 1914, by Jeff Lipkes, reviewed by Wim Klinkert, 598-599
To the Limits of Endurance: A Battalion of Marines in the Great War, by Peter F. Owen, reviewed by Daniel R. Beaver, 600
Friends Or Foes? The United States & Soviet Russia, 1921-1941, by Norman E. Saul, reviewed by Curtis S. King, 601-602
Midway Inquest: Why the Japanese Lost the Battle of Midway, by Dallas Woodbury Isom, reviewed by Anthony Tully, 602-604
Carrier Battles: Command Decision in Harm's Way, by Douglas V. Smith, reviewed by Stephen K. Stein, 604-605
Women of Valor: The Rochambelles on the WWII Front, by Ellen Hampton, reviewed by Rita Kramer, 605-606
The Normandy Campaign: Sixty Years On, edited by John Buckley, reviewed by Jeff Demers, 607-608
Taught to Kill: An American Boy's War from the Ardennes to Berlin, by John B. Babcock, reviewed by Christopher Hamner, 608-609
Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible, by John C. McManus, reviewed by Roger Cirillo, 609-610
Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace, by Mark Perry, reviewed by Daun van Ee, 610-611
Camus at Combat: Writing 1944-1947, edited by Jacqueline Lévi Valensi, reviewed by David A. Messenger, 611-612
The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Series, edited by Mark Atwood Lawrence and Fredrik Logevall, reviewed by Douglas Porch, 613-614
Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense, by Jonathan D. Moreno, reviewed by Mark F. Leep, 614-616
Learning to Love the Bomb: Canada's Nuclear Weapons During the Cold War, by Sean M. Maloney, reviewed by Alexander W.G. Herd, 616-617
The Korean War: The Essential Bibliography, by Allan Millett, reviewed by Paul M. Edwards, 618
The War That Never Ends: New Perspectives on the Vietnam War, edited by David L. Anderson and John Ernst, reviewed by Peter Maslowski, 619-620
US Special Forces and Counterinsurgency in Vietnam: Military Innovation and Institutional Failure, 1961-1963, by Christopher K. Ives, reviewed by Joseph R. Fischer, 620-622
Red Star Rogue: the Untold Story of a Soviet Submarine's Nuclear Strike Attempt on the U.S., by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond, reviewed by Robert G. Smith, 622-623
Powerful and Brutal Weapons: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Easter Offensive, by Stephen P. Randolph, reviewed by Donald J. Mrozek, 623-624
From Détente to the Soviet Collapse: The Cold War from 1975 to 1991, edited by Malcolm Muir, Jr., reviewed by Jonathan N. House, 624-625
Malvinas: la odisea del submarino Santa Fe, by Jorge Bóveda, reviewed by Blair P. Turner, 625-626
Clausewitz & Contemporary War, by Antulio J. Echevarria II; Clausewitz's On War: A Biography, by Hew Strachan, reviewed by Daniel Moran, 627-628
Clausewitz and America: Strategic Thought and Practice from Vietnam to Iraq, by Stuart Kinross, reviewed by Richard M. Swain, 628-629
Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The Neo Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan, by Antonio Giustozzi, reviewed by Lester W. Grau, 630
300. Dir. Jack Snyder. Perf. Gerard Butler, Lena Headley, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Andrew Tiernan, Vincent Regan. DVD. Warner Bros Entertainment. 2007. Reviewed by Frank J. Wetta, 631-632
Other:
BOOKS RECEIVED, 634-640.
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES, 641-644.
