Journal of Military History
Vol. 79, No. 4
October 2015
Articles
Foreword: In Commemoration of the First World War, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 925-28
“Evacuating Wartime Europe: U.S. Policy, Strategy, and Relief Operations for Overseas American Travelers, 1914–15,” by Branden Little, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 929-58
The U.S. government facilitated the repatriation of more than 125,000 Americans stranded in Europe upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 by declaring neutrality and dispatching the U.S. Relief Commission, which comprised U.S. warships carrying gold to assist desperate citizens. Participating U.S. officers conducted unauthorized tours of battlefields and arms plants to glean intelligence that would aid American mobilization plans. The relief commissioners and many of the Americans they aided, moreover, championed additional humanitarian interventions in war-torn regions and catalyzed the defense preparedness movement in the United States.
“‘Papa’ Joffre and the Great War,” by Robert A. Doughty, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 959-79
As commander of French forces in World War I from August 1914 until December 1916, General Joseph Joffre is one of the most controversial leaders of the war. As victor of the “miracle” of the Marne, he earned almost universal respect and admiration, but in subsequent years he came under scathing criticism for the enormous French casualties and for his failure to drive the Germans out of France. A strong supporter of the American Expeditionary Forces, he was praised by General John J. Pershing as “my loyal and consistent personal friend.” This article attempts to determine whether Joffre’s failures outweigh his successes in the enormously destructive and complex war.
“The Limits of Technology: The Invasion of Serbia, 1915,” by Richard L. DiNardo, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 981-95
The invasion of Serbia in October 1915 saw the Serbian army, which had fought off three separate invasions by Austria-Hungary the year before, driven out of Serbia within six weeks. A critical land route to Turkey and Bulgaria was opened, and Austria-Hungary’s southern flank was secured. The forces of the Central Powers made extensive use of the most modern technology of the day—including railroads, bridging, aircraft, artillery and telephone—and demonstrated their potential. This article suggests that while they gave the Central Powers a major edge early, the campaign also revealed the limits of these technologies.
“General Ferdinand Foch and Unified Allied Command in 1918,” by Elizabeth Greenhalgh, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 997-1023
In support of the claim that Marshal Ferdinand Foch’s appointment to supreme command made a difference to the final year of the First World War, this article analyses seven examples of his actions and decisions. Four are taken from the period March–July 1918, when the Allies were resisting the German offensives, and two from August–September 1918, when the Allies counter-attacked. The final example concerns Foch’s role in the armistice negotiations.
“The Sinking of the Lusitania, Wilson’s Response, and Paths Not Taken: Historical Revisionism, the Nye Committee, and the Ghost of William Jennings Bryan,” by Douglas Peifer, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1025-45
The sinking of the Lusitania sharpened debate in Washington over whether the United States should make the defense of neutral rights a casus belli. The hard line that President Woodrow Wilson adopted regarding German violations of neutral rights caused his secretary of state to resign in protest, with the redlines established in 1915 generating a precarious neutrality that lasted less than two years. This article examines the links between Wilson’s wartime policies, the revisionist literature of the interwar period, and the Neutrality Acts of the mid-1930s. It argues that “history’s lessons” may mislead rather than inform if context is ignored.
“Monuments Men and Martyred Towns: The Arras Belfry by Fernand Sabatté,” by Andrew Moore, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1047-57
The Arras Belfry, an oil painting by the French artist Fernand Sabatté, is held at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. It depicts the destruction of the town’s late medieval belfry by German artillery in 1914 and is part of a genre of First World War propaganda imagery known as the “martyred towns” series. This imagery was so popular at the time that when destruction visited Dublin during the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916, the city became known as “Ypres on the Liffey.” Artist Sabatté was a French army officer based in Arras in Northern France where he was in charge of salvaging artworks from medieval churches and town halls destroyed in the fighting.
“British Folk Songs of the Great War—Then and Now,” by Robert G. H. Burns, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1059-71
While the Roud Index at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in London contains over 19,000 folk songs about wars waged by Britain and its allies, there are comparatively few composed specifically about World War One. This article explores the musical heritage of the Great War in the songs about the conflict that have been composed, or rearranged, by singers in the early twenty-first century. By studying folk songs sung during the war itself, we can learn how new folk songs draw on historical elements to create a new World War One folk canon.
“Environment and the Course of Battle: Flooding at Shiloh (6-7 April, 1862),” by Phillip R. Kemmerly, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1079-1108
The influence of weather conditions on combat operations has not received the attention it deserves from military historians. No better example can be provided, however, of the sometimes determinant effect of weather on the course of battle than the impact of severe flooding on the outcome of the U.S. Civil War battle of Shiloh, fought between Union and Confederate armies in southwestern Tennessee on 6-7 April, 1862.
Review Essays:
“Grant’s Drinking or . . . The Beast That Will Not Die,” by Mike Kaplan, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1109-19
“Italian Imperialism and the Onset of the Great War,” by Bruce Vandervort, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1121-26
“Patrick Gordon Rides Again,” by Geoffrey Parker, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1127-29
“Grant’s Drinking or . . . The Beast That Will Not Die,” by Mike Kaplan, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1109-19
“Italian Imperialism and the Onset of the Great War,” by Bruce Vandervort, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1121-26
“Patrick Gordon Rides Again,” by Geoffrey Parker, The Journal of Military History, 79:4 (October 2015): 1127-29
Reviews:
Other Fronts, Other Wars? First World War Studies on the Eve of the Centennial, edited By Joachim Bürgschwenter, Matthias Egger, and Gunda Barth-Scalmani, reviewed by Matthew Stibbe, 1131-33
Wounded: A New History of the Western Front in World War I, by Emily Mayhew, reviewed by Gavin Harris, 1133-34
The Great War for Peace, by William Mulligan, reviewed by Ian Isherwood, 1134-35
World War I and Propaganda, edited by Troy R. E. Paddock, reviewed by Stephen Badsey, 1136-37
Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I, by Alexander Watson, reviewed by Holger H. Herwig, 1137-38
The First World War, Vol. I: Global War; Vol. II: The State; Vol . III: Civil Society, edited by Jay Winter, reviewed by Len Shurtleff, 1138-40
World War I Companion, edited by Matthias Ströhn; and The Greater War: Other Combatants and Other Fronts, 1914-1918, edited by Jonathan Krause, Reviewed by Richard L. DiNardo, 1140-41
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, by Christopher Clark, reviewed by Jonathan Gumz, 1142-43
Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War, by Max Hastings, reviewed by Jonathan Grant, 1144
Crisis in the Mediterranean: Naval Competition and Great Power Politics, 1904-1914, by Jon K. Hendrickson, reviewed by Alan M. Anderson, 1145-46
The Outbreak of the First World War; Structure, Politics and Decision-Making, edited by Jack S. Levy and John A. Vasquez, reviewed by David Hamlin, 1146-47
The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914, by Margaret MacMillan, reviewed by Len Shurtleff, 1147-49
The Rocky Road to the Great War: The Evolution of Trench Warfare to 1914, by Nicholas Murray, reviewed by Gary Cox, 1149-50
The Darkest Days: The Truth behind Britain’s Rush to War, 1914, by Douglas Newton, reviewed by William Mulligan, 1150-52
The Hidden Perspective: The Military Conversations 1906-1914, by David Owen, reviewed by David R. Woodward, 1152-53
The Naval Route to the Abyss: The Anglo-German Naval Race, 1895-1914, edited by Matthew S. Seligmann, Frank Nägler, and Michael Epkenhans, reviewed by Terence D. Gottschall, 1153-54
A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire, by Geoffrey Wawro, reviewed by Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., 1155-56
The Failure to Prevent World War I: The Unexpected Armageddon, by Hall Gardner, reviewed by Porter R. Blakemore, 1156-58
The Siege of Kut-al-Amara: At War in Mesopotamia 1915-1916, by Nikolas Gardner, reviewed by David French, 1158-59
The Young Atatürk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey, by George W. Gawrych, reviewed by Edward J. Erickson, 1159-61
The British Imperial Army in the Middle East: Morale and Military Identity in the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns, 1916-1918, by James E. Kitchen, reviewed by Yigal Sheffy, 1161-62
The First World War in the Middle East, by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, reviewed by Nikolas Gardner, 1163-64
The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, by Eugene Rogan, reviewed by Mehrdad Kia, 1164-65
The Impact of the First World War on U.S. Policymakers: American Strategic and Foreign Policy Formulation, 1938-1942, by Michael G. Carew, reviewed by Donald B. Connelly, 1166-67
Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experience, by Edward A. Guttiérrez, reviewed by Paul Herbert, 1167-68
The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War, by Samuel Hynes, reviewed by John H. Morrow, Jr., 1169-70
Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne, by Douglas V. Mastriano, reviewed by Lon Strauss, 1170-71
Nels Anderson’s World War I Diary, edited by Allan Kent Powell, reviewed by Steven Trout, 1171-73
The American Army and the First World War, by David R. Woodward, reviewed by Douglas V. Johnson II, 1173-74
Thunder and Flames: Americans in the Crucible of Combat, 1917-1918, by Edward G. Lengel, reviewed by Douglas V. Johnson II, 1174-75
Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania, by Michael B. Barrett, reviewed by Richard L. DiNardo, 1175-76
Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology, by Norman Friedman, reviewed by Lawrence Sondhaus, 1177-78
Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I, by Nick Lloyd, reviewed by Ralph M. Hitchens, 1178-79
Verdun: The Lost History of the Most Important Battle of World War I, 1914-1918, by John Mosier, reviewed by Robert A. Doughty, 1180-81
Air and Sea Power in World War I: Combat Experience in the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy, by Maryam Philpott, reviewed by Robert Morley, 1181-82
The Great War at Sea: A Naval History of the First World War, by Lawrence Sondhaus, reviewed by Gordon E. Hogg, 1182-83
In All Respects Ready: Australia’s Navy in World War One, by David Stevens, reviewed by Gordon E. Hogg, 1184-85
First Over There: The Attack on Cantigny. America’s First Battle of World War I, by Matthew J. Davenport, reviewed by Mitchell Yockelson, 1185-86
L’Artillerie de Campagne de l’Armée Impériale Allemande, by Bernard Delsert, reviewed by Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson, 1186-87
The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917, by David R. Stone, reviewed by Michael P. Kihntopf, 1188
BOOKS RECEIVED: 1189-91
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLE: 1192-1200
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: 1201-4
INDEX TO VOLUME 79: 1205-28
