Journal of Military History
Vol. 82, No. 2
April 2018
Articles
“Ivan IV’s State Cossacks,” by Charles J. Halperin, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 357-71
Despite the romanticized image of a Cossack as a free mounted warrior living in the steppe serving under elected atamans, during the reign of Ivan IV (1533–1584) Muscovite “State Cossacks” lived in urban enclaves and fought under the command of government-appointed colonels. Most were infantry, but some were cavalry. Probably a majority fought with sabers, lances, and bows, but at least a sizeable minority used guns. During the 1570s, between 5,000 and 6,000 State Cossacks served in the Russian army. Probably the total was between 7,000 and 7,500, fewer than the number of musketeers.
“Military Learning and Adaptation Shaped by Social Context: The U.S. Army and Its ‘Indian Wars,’ 1790–1890,” by Samuel Watson, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 373-412
The regular army, rather than citizen-soldiers, drove nineteenth-century U.S. military history (apart from the Civil War). The national standing army was crucial to the defeat of Native Americans, and more important than citizen-soldiers or white pressure on Native American subsistence. Despite new circumstances west of the Mississippi River, the contexts and methods of this warfare did not fundamentally change, and learning (or relearning) and adaptation were crucial to the army’s success. The most important learning was strategic, particularly in lessons of patience, persistence, and control over the initiation and conduct of warfare, and responded to external, non-military contexts (the tug of war between citizen land hunger and tax aversion). Army learning and adaptation did not win these wars by itself, but it facilitated the effective and successful use of force at a cost the nation was willing to pay, and reduced the incidence of large-scale atrocity in comparison with operations by citizen-soldiers.
“Reconsidering the Wilderness’s Role in Battle, 4–6 May 1864,” by Adam H. Petty, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 413-38
This article questions the traditional interpretations of how the Wilderness, a forest some sixty miles south of Washington, D.C., affected strategy and combat during the Battle of the Wilderness, 4–6 May 1864. It argues that other factors besides the Wilderness determined the Federal and Confederate commanders’ strategies. It also undermines the contentions that the Confederates held a tactical edge in the Wilderness and that the Wilderness was a unique landscape.
“The American Origins of Academic Military History in Canada: Princeton University, the Carnegie Endowment, and C. P. Stacey’s Canada and the British Army,” by Roger Sarty, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 439-60
C. P. Stacey (1906–1989), Canada’s first academic military historian, owed his career to opportunities in the United States. He was at an academic dead end when Princeton University provided a Ph.D. fellowship and employment. Carnegie Endowment funding allowed him to publish his thesis as Canada and the British Army, the book that secured his future. It remains the foremost account of how confrontation between Britain and the United States in the 1840s–1860s brought the creation of the modern Canadian state in 1867, which helped set the course for rapprochement and then alliance among the three nations.
“The Crossing Challenge: The Suez Canal Crossing by the Israel Defense Forces during the Yom Kippur War of 1973,” by Amiram Ezov, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 461-90
The crossing of the Suez Canal by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the Yom Kippur War of October 1973 encompassed the toughest and bloodiest battles that the IDF had ever known. Because of the characteristics of the forces and missions involved, it was the ultimate expression of a multi-dimensional battle. During the campaign, there were battles to achieve breakthrough and approach clearing, armor versus armor battles, water obstacle crossings, bridging, establishment of a bridgehead, all featuring complicated logistics. Most of the branches of the IDF became involved and a full range of combat apparatus was deployed, including some items which had not been fully developed and on which training had not been suitably completed. The central problem of the crossing campaign was the “orchestration” of new fighting materials—the means to achieve a water crossing—into a battle that had not been foreseen. Alongside organization, fighting doctrine, and training, this kind of orchestration also demanded innovative leadership and command and control, effective communications, and the ability to cope with a complex and unexpected battlefield. The aim of this article is to test and compare the objectives, planning, and execution of two crossing campaigns—that of the Egyptian Army and that of the IDF. The differences in doctrine stemmed from the choice of strategic objectives and from the adoption of differing combat doctrines.
“Unintended Consequences: Baton Rounds, Riots, and Counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland, 1970–1981,” by Brian Drohan, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 491-514
By analyzing the use of baton rounds as riot control weapons during the Northern Ireland “Troubles,” this article explores the British Army’s difficult transition from colonial counterinsurgency to a war in which the army faced greater public sensitivity and scrutiny than before. British forces tried to minimize the use of force against rioters by introducing new non-lethal baton rounds. But soldiers often disregarded the rules of engagement by firing the weapons excessively and at unsafe distances, which resulted in injuries and deaths that infuriated the local population. The technological innovation of baton rounds thus undermined British counterinsurgency efforts.
“‘Is it For This We Fought And Bled?’: The Korean War and the Struggle for Civil Rights,” by Mitchell Lerner, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 515-45
The relationship between the Korean War and the African American civil rights movement is one that has been largely overlooked in the historical literature. This paper traces the internal struggles of the African American community during the war to examine its role in the evolution of the movement. It focuses in particular on the battlefield treatment of African American soldiers and the response of the home front to suggest that the Korean War was an important event in turning the civil rights movement towards a more confrontational position.
Review Essay:
“Custer before the Little Bighorn: A Boy General Heads West,” by Arthur I. Cyr, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 547-50
“Custer before the Little Bighorn: A Boy General Heads West,” by Arthur I. Cyr, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 547-50
Review Essay:
“My Lai at Fifty: A History of Literature on the ‘My Lai Incident’ Fifty Years Later,” by Fred L. Borch, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 551-64
“My Lai at Fifty: A History of Literature on the ‘My Lai Incident’ Fifty Years Later,” by Fred L. Borch, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 551-64
Status Report:
“Pre-Modern Military History in American Doctoral Programs: Figures and Implications,” by John D. Hosler, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 565-82
“Pre-Modern Military History in American Doctoral Programs: Figures and Implications,” by John D. Hosler, The Journal of Military History, 82:2 (April 2018): 565-82
The dearth of pre-modern military historians within American graduate programs is well known but has never been quantified. This essay tallies the number of experts in ancient and medieval European warfare teaching at 247 doctoral and master’s-granting institutions. It then examines possible reasons for the low ratio of such faculty and outlines the deleterious impact it has upon the field of military history at large. It ends with a call to action, in the spirit of the Society for Military History’s white paper, “The Role of Military History in the Contemporary Academy.”
Book Reviews:
Military Thought in Early China, by Christopher C. Rand, reviewed by Paul Jakov Smith, 583-85
Lever of Power: Military Deception in China and the West, by Ralph D. Sawyer, reviewed by Kenneth M. Swope, 585-87
The Topography of Violence in the Greco-Roman World, edited by Werner Riess and Garrett G. Fagan, reviewed by Lee L. Brice, 587-88
Thucydides on Strategy: Grand Strategies in the Peloponnesian War and their Relevance Today, by Athanassios G. Platias and Constantinos Koliopoulos, reviewed by Patrick Hunt, 588-90
De Rebus Bellicis: Sur les affaires militaires, translated by Philippe Fleury, reviewed by Philip Rance, 590-91
The Storm before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, by Mike Duncan, reviewed by Rose Mary Sheldon, 592-93
Friedrich Barbarossa in den Nationalgeschichten Deutschlands und Ostmitteleuropas (19.–20. Jh.), edited by Knut Görich and Martin Wihoda, reviewed by John B. Freed, 593-94
Saladin: The Sultan Who Vanquished the Crusaders and Built an Islamic Empire, by John Man, reviewed by John France, 594-95
Warriors for a Living: The Experience of the Spanish Infantry in the Italian Wars, 1494–1559, by Idan Sherer, reviewed by Andrew Mitchell, 596-97
The Struggle for Power in Colonial America, 1607–1776, by William Nester, reviewed by Matthew S. Muehlbauer, 597-99
Bouquet’s Expedition against the Ohio Indians in 1764 by William Smith, edited by Martin West, reviewed by R. Douglas Hurt, 599-600
The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: An Untold Story of the American Revolution, by Robert Watson, reviewed by Timothy A. Snell, 600-1
Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution, by Judith L. Van Buskirk, reviewed by Robert Parkinson, 601-3
Motivation in War: The Experience of Common Soldiers in Old-Regime Europe, by Ilya Berkovich, reviewed by Gregory Hanlon, 603-4
A History of Military Occupation from 1792 to 1914, by Peter M. R. Stirk, reviewed by Brian Drohan, 605-6
Napoleonic Warfare: The Operational Art of the Great Campaigns, by John T. Kuehn, reviewed by Jackson Pearson, 606-8
A Military History of the Modern Middle East, by James Brian McNabb, reviewed by John C. Hanley, 608-9
To the Walls of Derne: William Eaton, The Tripoli Coup and the End of the First Barbary War, by Chipp Reid, reviewed by Frederick C. Leiner, 610-11
Napoleon’s Paper Kingdom: The Life and Death of Westphalia, 1807–1813, by Sam A. Mustafa, reviewed by Ralph R. Reinertsen, 611-12
Waterloo, by Alan Forrest and Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles, by Bernard Cornwell, reviewed by Mark T. Gerges, 613-14
The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War, by Peter Guardino, reviewed by Brady L. Holley, 615-16
Patriots, Prostitutes, and Spies: Women and the Mexican-American War, by John M. Belohlavek, reviewed by Peter Guardino, 616-17
Always Ready: A History of the Royal Regiment of Canada, by Donald E. Graves, reviewed by Charles P. Neimeyer, 617-19
Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861–2015, by Timothy B. Smith, reviewed by Steven E. Sodergren, 619-20
Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson, by Timothy B. Smith, reviewed by Aaron D. Dilday, 621-22
The Confederacy at Flood Tide: The Political and Military Ascension, June to December 1862, by Philip Leigh, reviewed by Donald B. Connelly, 622-24
The Yankee Plague: Escaped Union Prisoners and the Collapse of the Confederacy, by Lorien Foote, reviewed by Paul J. Springer, 624-25
Battle of Wills: Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and the Last Year of the Civil War, by David Alan Johnson, reviewed by Steven J. Ramold, 625-27
Wars for Empire: Apaches, the United States, and the Southwest Borderlands, by Janne Lahti, reviewed by Robert Wooster, 617-28
The Myth and Reality of German Warfare: Operational Thinking from Moltke the Elder to Heusinger, by Gerhard Gross, reviewed by Douglas Peifer, 628-30
The Modoc War: A Story of Genocide at the Dawn of America’s Gilded Age, by Robert Aquinas McNally, reviewed by Michael F. Magliari, 630-32
Dollar Diplomacy by Force: Nation-building and Resistance in the Dominican Republic, by Ellen Tillman, reviewed by Johnhenry Gonzalez, 632-34
Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America, by Ronit Y. Stahl, reviewed by Jacqueline E. Whitt, 634-35
Clash of Fleets: Naval Battles of the Great War, 1914–1918, by Vincent P. O’Hara and Leonard R. Heinz, reviewed by Perry A. Colvin, 635-37
Black Shame: African Soldiers in Europe, 1914–1922, by Dick Van Galen Last, with Ralf Futselaar, translated by Marjolijn de Jager, reviewed by Richard Fogarty, 637-38
They Called It Shell Shock: Combat Stress in the First World War, by Stefanie Linden, reviewed by Hugh Gardenier, 639-40
The Allied Intervention in Russia, 1918–1920: The Diplomacy of Chaos, by Ian C. D. Moffat, reviewed by William Thomas Allison, 640-42
Lossberg’s War: The World War I Memoirs of a German Chief of Staff, Fritz von Lossberg, edited and translated by David T. Zabecki and Dieter J. Biedekarken, reviewed by Michael B. Barrett, 642-43
To Raise and Discipline an Army: Major General Enoch Crowder, the Judge Advocate General’s Office, and the Realignment of Civil and Military Relations in World War I, by Joshua E. Kastenberg, reviewed by Matthew J. Margis, 643-45
Die Militärstrategie Seeckts, by Karen Schäfer, reviewed by Timothy C. Dowling, 645-46
Remembering the Great War: Writing and Publishing the Experiences of World War I, by Ian Andrew Isherwood, reviewed by Steven Trout, 646-48
Wars of Modern Babylon: A History of the Iraqi Army from 1921 to 2003, by Pesach Malovany, reviewed by Kate Tietzen, 648-49
Burdens of War: Creating the United States Veterans Health System, by Jessica L. Adler, reviewed by Denis Alfin, 650-51
Total Germany: The Royal Navy’s War against the Axis Powers, 1939–1945, by David Wragg, reviewed by Kevin Braam, 651-53
Miracle at the Litza: Hitler’s First Defeat on the Eastern Front, by Alf R. Jacobsen, reviewed by Martijn Lak, 653-54
In the Highest Degree Tragic: The Sacrifice of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in the East Indies during World War II, by Donald M. Kehn, Jr., reviewed by Roger Dingman, 654-55
New Georgia: The Second Battle of the Solomons, by Ronnie Day, reviewed by Stan Osterbauer, 656
Wartime Macau: Under the Japanese Shadow, edited by Geoffrey C. Gunn, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 656-58
Toxic Exposures: Mustard Gas and the Health Consequences of World War II in the United States, by Susan L. Smith, reviewed by Alex Souchen, 658-59
Monty’s Functional Doctrine: Combined Arms Doctrine in British 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe, 1944–45, by Charles Forrester, reviewed by H. Spencer Beaumont, 660-61
Sabers through the Reich: World War II Corps Cavalry from Normandy to the Elbe, by William Stuart Nance, reviewed by Bradley Lynn Coleman, 661-62
Intelligence, Security and the Attlee Governments, 1945–51: An Uneasy Relationship?, by Daniel W. B. Lomas, reviewed by Phil McCarty, 663-64
Critical Assembly: Poems of the Manhattan Project, by John Canaday, reviewed by Paisley Rekdal, 664-65
Soldados Razos at War: Chicano Politics, Identity, and Masculinity in the U.S. Military from World War II to Vietnam, by Steven Rosales, reviewed by Sarah E. Patterson, 666-67
The British Army of the Rhine: Turning Nazi Enemies into Cold War Partners, by Peter Speiser, reviewed by Jonathan Zimmerli, 667-68
The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 7: “The Man of the Age,” October 1, 1949–October 16, 1959, edited by Mark A. Stoler and Daniel D. Holt, reviewed by Amanda Kay McVety, 669-70
Code Warriors: NSA’s Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War against the Soviet Union, by Stephen Budiansky, reviewed by J. P. LeVay, 671-72
Aid under Fire: Nation Building and the Vietnam War, by Jessica Elkind, reviewed by Christopher T. Fisher, 672-74
See It, Shoot It: The Secret History of the CIA’s Lethal Drone Program, by Christopher J. Fuller, reviewed by Philip O. Warlick II, 674-75
Service in Time of Suspicion: Experiences of Muslims Serving in the U.S. Military Post 9-11, by Michelle Sandhoff, reviewed by Gloria Van Rees, 675-76
Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State, by Ali Soufan, reviewed by Melia Pfannenstiel, 677-78
BOOKS RECEIVED: 679-85
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 686-94
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: 695
SMH 2019 CALL FOR PAPERS: 696-97
