Journal of Military History
Vol. 81, No. 3
July 2017
Articles
The 2017 George C. Marshall Lecture in Military History
“For Want of a Nail: The Impact of Shipping on Grand Strategy in World War II,” by Craig Symonds, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 657-66
“For Want of a Nail: The Impact of Shipping on Grand Strategy in World War II,” by Craig Symonds, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 657-66
Of all the various ways that American participation in World War II contributed to Allied victory, the most critical, and in the end the most decisive, was American industrial productivity, and particularly shipbuilding. United States ship construction between 1941 and 1945 dramatically outstripped both its own allies and all of its foes combined. The United States was not only the “arsenal of democracy” (Franklin Roosevelt’s phrase) but also the Allies’ shipbuilder, and superiority in shipping is what allowed the Allies to win the Battle of the Atlantic, conduct the D-Day invasion, and mount a simultaneous offensive in the Pacific.
“Holy War and Just War in Early New England, 1630–1655,” by Matthew S. Muehlbauer, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 667-92
New England’s leaders employed Western Christian concepts of holy war and just war to address regional crises between 1630 and 1655. Ex post facto attempts to justify the destruction of Mystic village during the Pequot War (1636–37) relied on holy war ideas. But other episodes, including attempts to avoid war, as well as the founding of the United Colonies of New England, demonstrated just war tenets. This essay will examine the use and misuse of these concepts, including during the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54), when disputes over a potential attack on New Netherland almost destroyed the alliance.
“Adversary and Ally: The Role of Weather in the Life and Career of George Washington,” Cameron Boutin, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 693-718
In addition to being the first U.S. president, George Washington was a surveyor, a soldier, a planter, and the commander-in-chief of an army. All significant aspects of his life, these diverse roles involved interaction with weather conditions. More than simply part of the backdrop of Washington’s life, weather had a prominent role in shaping his experiences and the course of his career, both public and private. At times, the weather served as an ally by helping Washington in his pursuits, but most of the time, meteorological conditions were an adversary, inflicting hardships and disrupting or ruining his plans.
“‘The rage of tory-hunting’: Loyalist Prisoners, Civil War, and the Violence of American Independence,” by T. Cole Jones, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 719-46
At the outset of the American Revolution (April 1775), the revolutionaries were unprepared for the challenges of civil war. How would they treat those Americans who remained loyal to Britain? Initially, the Revolutionary leadership strove to conduct the war according to European customs that stressed the humane treatment of enemy prisoners. But in the months following the Declaration of Independence (July 1776), they began to re-imagine loyalists as rebels and traitors. This re-conceptualization had dire consequences for loyalist prisoners in their hands. No longer shielded by the humane conventions of Enlightenment warfare, loyalists were subject to violence scarcely imaginable when the conflict began.
“Emory Upton’s Twenty-six: Desertion and Divided Loyalty of U.S. Army Soldiers, 1860–1861,” by Mark W. Johnson, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 747-74
Enlisted soldiers of the U.S. Regular Army formed the bulk of America’s armed forces before the Civil War (1861–1865). A consensus has emerged that the prewar army’s enlisted men showed no divided loyalties and only twenty-six served in the Confederate Army; but the army’s enlisted soldiers, just like its officers, reacted to the Civil War in varying ways. An analysis of desertion during the secession crisis and first months of the war reveals that many soldiers were just as conflicted as the officer corps. Evidence suggests more than 500 Regular Army soldiers “went South” and served in the Confederate Army.
“‘Little Phil,’ a ‘Bad Old Man’, and the ‘Gray Ghost’: Hybrid Warfare and the Fight for the Shenandoah Valley, August–November 1864,” by Ethan S. Rafuse, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 775-801
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, defense analysts identified the emergence of “hybrid warfare” as a compelling threat to American national security. Generally speaking, hybrid warfare consists of “conflict involving a combination of conventional military forces and irregulars … which could include both state and non-state actors, aimed at achieving a common political purpose.” This paper uses as a case study of hybrid warfare a specific campaign in the U.S. Civil War where conventional and unconventional operations were significant factors. It considers Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s efforts to defeat the Confederate hybrid threat in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the particular dynamics and challenges he confronted, and the factors that enabled him to prevail. By doing so, it will both draw on and contribute to the growing body of literature on the campaign and the challenge of countering hybrid warfare.
“Dissecting the Origins of Air-Centric Special Operations Theory,” by Patrick J. Charles, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 803-28
This article reexamines the intellectual origins, development, and operational execution of air-centric special operations theory during World War II. For over half a century, historians have offered conflicting narratives as to the origins, development, and initial execution of air-centric special operations theory. In light of newly uncovered historical evidence, this article concludes that each of the conflicting narratives falls significantly short of what the evidentiary record informs.
Review Essay:
“Clausewitz’s Life and Work as a Subject of Historical Interpretation,” by Peter Paret, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 829-37
“Clausewitz’s Life and Work as a Subject of Historical Interpretation,” by Peter Paret, The Journal of Military History, 81:3 (July 2017): 829-37
A new biography leads to reflections on different approaches to biography, and on the relationship of military history to the histories of ideas and of culture.
Reviews:
The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India, by Jon Wilson, reviewed by Pradeep Barua and by Manas Dutta, 839-41
Congress Buys a Navy: Politics, Economics, and the Rise of American Naval Power, 1881–1921, by Paul E. Pedisich, reviewed by Thomas J. Legg and by James B. Thomas, 842-44
The Spartan Regime: Its Character, Origins, and Grand Strategy, by Paul Rahe, reviewed by Gregory F. Viggiano, 844-46
Athens Burning: The Persian Invasion of Greece and the Evacuation of Attica, by Robert Garland, reviewed by Peter Krentz, 846-47
The First European: A History of Alexander in the Age of Empire, by Pierre Briant, translated by Nicholas Elliott, reviewed by Everett L. Wheeler, 847-49
Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire, by Peter H. Wilson, reviewed by Karl F. Bahm, 850-51
The Chivalric Biography of Boucicaut, Jean II Le Meingre, translated by Craig Taylor and Jane H. M. Taylor, reviewed by Joëlle Rollo-Koster, 851-53
Agincourt, by Anne Curry, reviewed by Peter Burkholder, 853-55
Battle Royal: The Wars of the Roses, 1440–1462, by Hugh Bicheno, reviewed by Douglas Bisson, 855-57
War in Europe, 1450 to the Present, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Corey Campion, 857-59
Bringers of War: The Portuguese in Africa during the Age of Gunpowder and Sail, from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century, by John Laband, reviewed by Timothy J. Coates, 859-61
In the Shadows of Victory: America’s Forgotten Military Leaders, 1776–1876, by Thomas D. Phillips, reviewed by Phillip Hamilton, 861-62
From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists, by Rebecca Brannon, reviewed by Liam Riordan, 863-65
Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy, by Dave Richards, reviewed by James Kirby Martin, 865-66
The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army, by Colin G. Calloway, reviewed by R. Douglas Hurt, 866-67
Napoleon: A Life, by Andrew Roberts, reviewed by Frederick C. Schneid, 868-69
British Expeditionary Warfare and the Defeat of Napoleon: 1793–1815, by Robert K. Sutcliffe, reviewed by J. Ross Dancy, 870-71
The Silver Man: The Life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie, by Peter Shrake, reviewed by Ann Durkin Keating, 871-72
Knickerbocker Commodore: The Life and Times of John Drake Sloat, 1781–1867, by Bruce A. Castleman, reviewed by Stephen G. Harlan, 872-74
Democracy and the American Civil War: Race and African Americans in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Kevin Adams and Leonne M. Hudson, reviewed by Ash J. Seidl-Staley, 874-75
A Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War, by Williamson Murray and Wayne Wei-Siang Hsieh, reviewed by Bradford Wineman, 876-77
The Infamous Dakota War Trials of 1862: Revenge, Military Law and the Judgment of History, by John A. Haymond, reviewed by Pamela D. Bennett, 877-79
Bushwhackers: Guerrilla Warfare, Manhood, and the Household in Civil War Missouri, by Joseph M. Beilein, Jr., reviewed by William Garrett Piston, 879-81
A Field Guide to Antietam: Experiencing the Battlefield through Its History, Places, and People, by Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler, reviewed by Bradley S. Keefer, 881-83
Summon Only the Brave! Commanders, Soldiers, and Chaplains at Gettysburg, by John W. Brinsfield, Jr., reviewed by John H. Matsui, 883-84
Slaughter at the Chapel: The Battle of Ezra Church, 1864, by Gary Ecelbarger, reviewed by Mark Barloon, 884-86
Sasun: The History of an 1890s Armenian Revolt, by Justin McCarthy, Ömer Turan, and Cemalettin Taşkiran, reviewed by Jonas Kauffeldt, 886-88
Military Intelligence from Germany, 1906–1914, edited by Matthew S. Seligmann, reviewed by William E. Kelly, 888-89
Fall of the Sultanate: The Great War and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1922, by Ryan Gingeras, reviewed by Laura Robson, 890-91
His Father’s Son: The Life of General Ted Roosevelt, Jr., by Tim Brady, reviewed by Zachary Matusheski, 892-93
Palestine: The Ottoman Campaigns of 1914–1918, by Edward J. Erickson, reviewed by Noah Haiduc-Dale, 893-95
Lawrence of Arabia’s War: The Arabs, the British, and the Remaking of the Middle East in WWI, by Neil Faulkner, reviewed by Chris J. Kirkpatrick, 895-96
Black Tommies: British Soldiers of African Descent in the First World War, by Ray Costello, reviewed by Wayne M. Riggs, 897-98
German Propaganda and U.S. Neutrality in World War I, by Chad R. Fulwider, reviewed by Ryan Floyd, 898-900
The Christmas Truce: Myth, Memory, and the First World War, by Terri Blom Crocker, reviewed by Kyle Falcon, 900-1
America’s Sailors in the Great War: Seas, Skies, and Submarines, by Lisle A. Rose, reviewed by Joel I. Holwitt, 902-3
21st Century Ellis: Operational Art and Strategic Prophecy for the Modern Era, edited by B. A. Friedman, reviewed by David J. Ulbrich, 903-4
The Spanish Foreign Legion in the Spanish Civil War, 1936, by José E. Álvarez, reviewed by Michael Seidman, 904-6
Hitler’s Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich, by Ben H. Shepherd, reviewed by Jeff Rutherford, 906-8
Season of Infamy: A Diary of War and Occupation, 1939–1945, by Charles Rist, translated by Michele McKay Aynesworth, reviewed by W. Brian Newsome, 908-9
Coventry: November 14, 1940, by Frederick Taylor, reviewed by Vernon L. Williams, 910-11
Africa and World War II, edited by Judith A. Byfield, Carolyn A. Brown, Timothy Parsons, and Ahmad Alawad Sikainga, reviewed by Myles Osborne, 911-12
Blood and Fears: How America’s Bomber Boys of the 8th Air Force Saved World War II, by Kevin Wilson, reviewed by Kenneth P. Werrell, 913-14
Calculating Property Relations: Chicago's Wartime Industrial Mobilization, 1940–1950, by Robert Lewis, reviewed by Terrence J. Gough, 914-15
The Tragedy of Bleiburg and Viktring, 1945, by Florian Thomas Rulitz, translated by Andreas Niedermayer, reviewed by Daniel Long, 915-17
The Holocaust: History & Memory, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Edward B. Westermann, 917-18
Colonial Counterinsurgency and Mass Violence: The Dutch Empire in Indonesia, edited by Bart Luttikhuis and A. Dirk Moses, reviewed by Fred L. Borch III, 918-20
Homecomings: The Belated Return of Japan’s Lost Soldiers, by Yoshikuni Igarashi, reviewed by Paul E. Dunscomb, 920-22
Eisenhower & Cambodia: Diplomacy, Covert Action, and the Origins of the Second Indochina War, by William J. Rust, reviewed by Richard A. Ruth, 922-23
Cold War Crucible: The Korean Conflict and the Postwar World, by Masuda Hajimu, reviewed by Dane J. Cash, 924-25
Warfare and Tracking in Africa, 1952–1990, by Timothy J. Stapleton, reviewed by Emmanuel M. Mbah, 925-27
Vietnam’s High Ground: Armed Struggle for the Central Highlands, 1954–1965, by J. P. Harris, reviewed by Ronald B. Frankum, Jr., 927-29
Elvis’s Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield, by Brian McAllister Linn, reviewed by Christopher S. DeRosa, 929-30
The Greene Papers: General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., and the Escalation of the Vietnam War, January 1964–March 1965, edited by Nicholas J. Schlosser, reviewed by Robert J. Kodosky, 931-32
The Battle of Hussainiwala and Qaiser-i-Hind: The 1971 War, by Lt. Colonel (Rtd.) Habib Ahmed, reviewed by Yasmin Saikia, 932-34
Eyewitness to Chaos: Personal Accounts of the Intervention in Haiti, 1994, by Walter E. Kretchik, reviewed by Michael R. Hall, 934-35
Ready for Battle: Technological Intelligence on the Battlefield, by Azriel Lorber, reviewed by Nicholas Sambaluk, 936-37
Counter Jihad: America’s Military Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, by Brian Glyn Williams, reviewed by Philip W. Travis, 938-39
Jihad and the West: Black Flag over Babylon, by Mark Silinsky, reviewed by Greg Eanes, 939-41
BOOKS RECEIVED: 942-46
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 947-58
DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS IN MILITARY HISTORY: 959-68
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: 969-70
