Journal of Military History
Vol. 84, No. 2
April 2020
Articles
“There Will Still Remain Heroes and Patriots: The Politics of Resignation in the Early American Navy, 1794–1815,” by Thomas Sheppard, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 369-94
It is widely accepted that there is no tradition of protest resignations in American military history. This article argues that rejection of such a practice was far from foreordained, and officers in the early American navy had no qualms about resigning their commissions, or using the threat to do so, as a bargaining tactic with the Navy Department. Changing cultural norms within the officer corps, along with firm opposition to protest resignations by early secretaries of the navy, had almost entirely eliminated the practice by the end of the War of 1812, thus establishing the absolute respect for civilian control that remains a cornerstone of the modern U.S. military.
"Charlie” Chaplains in the Great War: Chaplains’ Experiences in the U.S. Army, 1917–1919,” by David I. Goldman, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 395-426
Following World War I, the U.S. Army began drafting a comprehensive history of its wartime activities, including a section on chaplains, but by 1920 the project had fallen victim to a wave of budget cuts. What remained of the chaplain’s portion was an incredibly rich collection of letters, photos, and documents compiled by a group of chaplains tasked with writing the section. The author came across these little-used files, and he has used them as the basis to tell a part of the story of the priests, reverends, and rabbis who decided to serve both their nation and denominations in the war.
“Ingenuity, Excess, Incompetence, and Luck: Air-Resupply Anecdotes in Military History,” by Erich Wagner, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 427-57
While there have been numerous comparative case studies involving airlift-dependent situations, this study takes a novel approach and assesses the available evidence supporting six unique airlift anecdotes in military history. The case studies analyzed are either moments for celebration or moments for pause and reflection on the role moral hazard plays in airlift operations.
“Reappraising the Royal Air Force Contribution to the Defense of Crete, 1941,” by David Stubbs, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 459-86
This paper examines how fighter aircraft shortages affected the Royal Air Force’s ability to contest control of the air over the island of Crete in 1941. It shows how dysfunctional personal relations and extended lines of communication combined to obscure decisions, and it unpicks the claim that the loss of Crete was a function of the British army’s inability to protect the airfields required to sustain viable fighter defenses. Instead, it shows that the key decision-makers in London knew that the fighter aircraft destined for the region would arrive too late to affect the course of events.
“Rescuing a General: General Haywood “Possum” Hansell and the Burden of Command,” by Heather Venable, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 487-509
General Haywood Hansell has received praise for his contributions to planning the U.S. Army Air Forces’ (AAF’s) strategic bombardment campaigns during World War II. But he also has been panned for purportedly lacking important leadership traits while in command and being dogmatically committed to prewar doctrine he had helped shape. Yet when commanding in the Eighth Air Force, Hansell demonstrated ingenuity while carefully seeking to balance the doctrine he had helped devise in peacetime with the realities of wartime missions as he helped pioneer operations for a young AAF.
Historiographical Essay:
“The Military Revolution and European Wars Outside of Europe: The Dutch-Portuguese War in Asia in the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century,” by André Murteira, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 511-35
“The Military Revolution and European Wars Outside of Europe: The Dutch-Portuguese War in Asia in the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century,” by André Murteira, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 511-35
This article discusses Portugal’s defeat in the Portuguese-Dutch war in Asia during the first quarter of the 17th Century, focusing on the much-debated issue of whether a military revolution in Europe produced a military exceptionalism that made Europeans militarily superior to non-Europeans in the Early Modern period. The view that Asian military influence on the Portuguese in the 16th Century made them militarily inferior to European enemies like the Dutch remains prevalent in Portuguese historiography. However, such influence appeared to occur only in certain areas of naval warfare, in a way that does not corroborate claims for an extensive Early Modern Western military exceptionalism.
Document of Note:
“Medical Problems in the Sicilian Campaign,” by Sanders Marble, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 537-40
“Medical Problems in the Sicilian Campaign,” by Sanders Marble, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 537-40
Bibliographic Essay:
“Contested Crimes: Race, Gender, and Nation in Histories of GI Sexual Violence, World War II,” by Ruth Lawlor, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 541-69
“Contested Crimes: Race, Gender, and Nation in Histories of GI Sexual Violence, World War II,” by Ruth Lawlor, The Journal of Military History 84:2 (April 2020): 541-69
This essay considers several recent publications in the history of sexual violence and World War II with a view to working through some of the issues currently shaping the field, including difficulties in using fragmentary sources, quantitative approaches to understanding sexual violence in war, and the inclusion of marginalized voices. Blending analysis of secondary works with insights from research conducted in national and regional archives across Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, it reflects on themes of race, gender, and nation, and concludes by offering some thoughts on the direction future scholarship on this subject may take.
Book Reviews:
War and Its Causes, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Gates Brown, 571-72
Espionage and Treason in Classical Greece: Ancient Spies and Lies, by Andre Gerolymatos, reviewed by Rose Mary Sheldon, 572-74
Justinian und die Armee des frühen Byzanz, by Clemens Köhn, reviewed by Warren Treadgold, 574-75
The Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe: Experience, Identity, Representation, by Sue Brunning, reviewed by Michael Livingston, 576-77
The Two Powers: The Papacy, the Empire, and the Struggle for Sovereignty in the Thirteenth Century, by Brett Edward Whalen, reviewed by Laurence W. Marvin, 577-78
The Contemporary English Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses, edited by Dan Embree and M. Teresa Tavormina, reviewed by Brian R. Price, 579-80
Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Rating, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy, by Benjamin Armstrong, reviewed by Thomas M. Truxes, 581-82
Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas, by Jeffrey Ostler, reviewed by Christoph Strobel, 582-83
A Bad Peace and A Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799, by Mark Santiago, reviewed by Liz Elizondo, 584-85
Napoleon’s 1796 Italian Campaign, by Carl von Clausewitz, translated and edited by Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle, reviewed by Frederick C. Schneid, 585-86
Morale: A Modern British History, by Daniel Ussishkin, reviewed by William John Pratt, 587-88
A Bloodless Victory: The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory, by Joseph F. Stoltz III, reviewed by Joseph Miller, 588-89
Rebel Richmond: Life and Death in the Confederate Capital, by Stephen V. Ash, reviewed by John M. Coski, 590-91
The Battle of the Wilderness in Myth and Memory: Reconsidering Virginia’s Most Notorious Civil War Battlefield, by Adam H. Petty, reviewed by Lawrence A. Kreiser, Jr., 591-92
Conquered: Why the Army of Tennessee Failed, by Larry J. Daniel, reviewed by Aaron Astor, 593-94
Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas, by Stephen Budiansky, reviewed by Nathan Marzoli, 594-96
The Frontier Army: Episodes from Dakota and the West, edited by R. Eli Paul, reviewed by Lance R. Blyth, 596-97
Pathan Rising: Jihad on the North West Frontier of India, 1897–1898, by Mark Simner, reviewed by Gavin Rand, 597-98
The Sexual Economy of War: Discipline and Desire in the U.S. Army, by Andrew Byers, reviewed by Josh Cerretti, 599-600
Gambling on War: Confidence, Fear, and the Tragedy of the First World War, by Roger L. Ransom, reviewed by Ralph M. Hitchens, 600-1
Haig’s Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany’s War on the Western Front, by Jonathan Boff, reviewed by Budd A. Jones, 602-3
Supplying the British Army in the First World War, by Janet Macdonald, reviewed by Christopher Phillips, 603-5
War Beneath the Waves: U-boat Flotilla Flandern 1915–1918, by Tomas Termote, reviewed by Matthew A. Yokell, 605-6
Scandinavia and the Great Powers in the First World War, by Michael Jonas, reviewed by Eirik Brazier, 607-8
Internment in Switzerland during the First World War, by Susan Barton, reviewed by Bradley J. Pogue, 608-9
Our Corner of the Somme: Australia at Villers-Bretonneux, by Romain Fathi, reviewed by Laura M. Seddelmeyer, 610-11
Age of Fear: Othering and American Identity during World War I, by Zachary Smith, reviewed by Tomas I. Moore, 611-13
The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War, by Tim Cook, reviewed by Amy Shaw, 613-14
Exhibiting War: The Great War, Museums, and Memory in Britain, Canada, and Australia, by Jennifer Wellington, reviewed by Ian Isherwood, 614-15
Selling Sea Power: Public Relations and the U.S. Navy, 1917–1941, by Ryan D. Wadle, reviewed by John T. Kuehn, 616-17
Neglected Skies: The Demise of British Naval Power in the Far East, 1922–1942, by Angus Britts, reviewed by Joshua Rocha, 617-18
The RAF and Tribal Control: Airpower and Irregular Warfare between the World Wars, by Richard Newton, reviewed by Heather Venable, 618-20
Spain in Arms: A Military History of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939, by E. R. Hooton, reviewed by Christopher G. Marquis, 620-21
The Spanish Civil War: A Military History, by Charles J. Esdaile, reviewed by James Matthews, 621-23
Hitler’s Wehrmacht: 1935-1945, by Rolf Dieter Müller, reviewed by Russell A. Hart, 623-24
Blood, Oil, and the Axis: The Allied Resistance against a Fascist State in Iraq and the Levant, 1941, by John Broich, reviewed by Adrian O’Sullivan, 625-26
Six Victories: North Africa, Malta, and the Mediterranean Convoy War, November 1941–March 1942, by Vincent P. O’Hara, reviewed by Corbin Williamson, 626-27
The Italian War on the Eastern Front, 1941–1943: Operations, Myths and Memories, by Bastian Matteo Scianna, reviewed by Klaus Schmider, 628-29
Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea, by Robert C. Stern, reviewed by Harold J. Goldberg, 629-31
Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power, by William F. Trimble, reviewed by Joe Eanett, 631-32
The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II, by Helen Fry, reviewed by Kyle Hedden, 633-34
Painting War: George Plante’s Combat Art in World War II, by Kathleen Broome Williams, reviewed by Austin Porter, 634-36
The Stuff of Soldiers: A History of the Red Army in World War II through Objects, by Brandon M. Schechter, reviewed by Richard S. Faulkner, 636-37
A Grave Misfortune: The USS Indianapolis Tragedy, by Richard A. Hulver and Peter C. Luebke, reviewed by Joel I. Holwitt, 637-39
Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day, by Giles Milton, reviewed by Robert F. Williams, 639-40
The Secret History of RDX: The Super-Explosive that Helped Win World War II, by Colin Baxter, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 640-42
Engineering Hitler’s Downfall: The Brains that Enabled Victory, by Gwilym Roberts, reviewed by William S. Nance, 642-43
Total Mobilization: World War II and American Literature, by Roy Scranton, reviewed by Ann L. von Mehren, 643-45
Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community, by Richard J. Samuels, reviewed by Victoria Eaves-Young, 645-56
A Shadow of War: Archaeological approaches to uncovering the darker sides of conflict from the 20th century, by Claudia Theune, reviewed by Esther Breithoff, 647-48
The Cold War’s Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long Peace, by Paul Thomas Chamberlin, reviewed by Pierre Asselin, 649-50
At the Decisive Point in the Sinai: Generalship in the Yom Kippur War, by Jacob Even and Simcha B. Maoz, reviewed by Robert B. Bruce, 650-51
The Mayaguez Crisis, Mission Command, and Civil-Military Relations, by Christopher J. Lamb, reviewed by Joseph A. Ledford, 652-53
Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot, by Jeffrey J. Matthews, reviewed by Patrick Maney, 653-55
Black Hawks Rising: The Story of AMISOM’s Successful War against Somali Insurgents, 2007–2014, by Opiyo Oloya, reviewed by Christopher Stamper, 655-56
Taliban Safari: One Day in the Surkhagan Valley, by Paul Darling, reviewed by Jeremy M. Phillips, 657-58
Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies, by Elke Schwarz, reviewed by M. Susan Lindee, 658-59
Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture, by Donald E. Vandergrift, reviewed by David Gray, 660-61
Attachments to War: Biomedical Logics and Violence in Twenty-First-Century America, by Jennifer Terry, reviewed by Elke Schwarz, 661-63
The First Space War: How the Patterns of History and the Principles of STEM Will Shape Its Form, by J. Furman Daniel III, and T. K. Rogers, reviewed by Brent D. Ziarnick, 663-65
BOOKS RECEIVED: 666-69
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 670-78
SMH 2021 CALL FOR PAPERS: 679-80
War and Its Causes, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Gates Brown, 571-72
Espionage and Treason in Classical Greece: Ancient Spies and Lies, by Andre Gerolymatos, reviewed by Rose Mary Sheldon, 572-74
Justinian und die Armee des frühen Byzanz, by Clemens Köhn, reviewed by Warren Treadgold, 574-75
The Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe: Experience, Identity, Representation, by Sue Brunning, reviewed by Michael Livingston, 576-77
The Two Powers: The Papacy, the Empire, and the Struggle for Sovereignty in the Thirteenth Century, by Brett Edward Whalen, reviewed by Laurence W. Marvin, 577-78
The Contemporary English Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses, edited by Dan Embree and M. Teresa Tavormina, reviewed by Brian R. Price, 579-80
Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Rating, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy, by Benjamin Armstrong, reviewed by Thomas M. Truxes, 581-82
Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas, by Jeffrey Ostler, reviewed by Christoph Strobel, 582-83
A Bad Peace and A Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799, by Mark Santiago, reviewed by Liz Elizondo, 584-85
Napoleon’s 1796 Italian Campaign, by Carl von Clausewitz, translated and edited by Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle, reviewed by Frederick C. Schneid, 585-86
Morale: A Modern British History, by Daniel Ussishkin, reviewed by William John Pratt, 587-88
A Bloodless Victory: The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory, by Joseph F. Stoltz III, reviewed by Joseph Miller, 588-89
Rebel Richmond: Life and Death in the Confederate Capital, by Stephen V. Ash, reviewed by John M. Coski, 590-91
The Battle of the Wilderness in Myth and Memory: Reconsidering Virginia’s Most Notorious Civil War Battlefield, by Adam H. Petty, reviewed by Lawrence A. Kreiser, Jr., 591-92
Conquered: Why the Army of Tennessee Failed, by Larry J. Daniel, reviewed by Aaron Astor, 593-94
Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas, by Stephen Budiansky, reviewed by Nathan Marzoli, 594-96
The Frontier Army: Episodes from Dakota and the West, edited by R. Eli Paul, reviewed by Lance R. Blyth, 596-97
Pathan Rising: Jihad on the North West Frontier of India, 1897–1898, by Mark Simner, reviewed by Gavin Rand, 597-98
The Sexual Economy of War: Discipline and Desire in the U.S. Army, by Andrew Byers, reviewed by Josh Cerretti, 599-600
Gambling on War: Confidence, Fear, and the Tragedy of the First World War, by Roger L. Ransom, reviewed by Ralph M. Hitchens, 600-1
Haig’s Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany’s War on the Western Front, by Jonathan Boff, reviewed by Budd A. Jones, 602-3
Supplying the British Army in the First World War, by Janet Macdonald, reviewed by Christopher Phillips, 603-5
War Beneath the Waves: U-boat Flotilla Flandern 1915–1918, by Tomas Termote, reviewed by Matthew A. Yokell, 605-6
Scandinavia and the Great Powers in the First World War, by Michael Jonas, reviewed by Eirik Brazier, 607-8
Internment in Switzerland during the First World War, by Susan Barton, reviewed by Bradley J. Pogue, 608-9
Our Corner of the Somme: Australia at Villers-Bretonneux, by Romain Fathi, reviewed by Laura M. Seddelmeyer, 610-11
Age of Fear: Othering and American Identity during World War I, by Zachary Smith, reviewed by Tomas I. Moore, 611-13
The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War, by Tim Cook, reviewed by Amy Shaw, 613-14
Exhibiting War: The Great War, Museums, and Memory in Britain, Canada, and Australia, by Jennifer Wellington, reviewed by Ian Isherwood, 614-15
Selling Sea Power: Public Relations and the U.S. Navy, 1917–1941, by Ryan D. Wadle, reviewed by John T. Kuehn, 616-17
Neglected Skies: The Demise of British Naval Power in the Far East, 1922–1942, by Angus Britts, reviewed by Joshua Rocha, 617-18
The RAF and Tribal Control: Airpower and Irregular Warfare between the World Wars, by Richard Newton, reviewed by Heather Venable, 618-20
Spain in Arms: A Military History of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939, by E. R. Hooton, reviewed by Christopher G. Marquis, 620-21
The Spanish Civil War: A Military History, by Charles J. Esdaile, reviewed by James Matthews, 621-23
Hitler’s Wehrmacht: 1935-1945, by Rolf Dieter Müller, reviewed by Russell A. Hart, 623-24
Blood, Oil, and the Axis: The Allied Resistance against a Fascist State in Iraq and the Levant, 1941, by John Broich, reviewed by Adrian O’Sullivan, 625-26
Six Victories: North Africa, Malta, and the Mediterranean Convoy War, November 1941–March 1942, by Vincent P. O’Hara, reviewed by Corbin Williamson, 626-27
The Italian War on the Eastern Front, 1941–1943: Operations, Myths and Memories, by Bastian Matteo Scianna, reviewed by Klaus Schmider, 628-29
Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea, by Robert C. Stern, reviewed by Harold J. Goldberg, 629-31
Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power, by William F. Trimble, reviewed by Joe Eanett, 631-32
The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II, by Helen Fry, reviewed by Kyle Hedden, 633-34
Painting War: George Plante’s Combat Art in World War II, by Kathleen Broome Williams, reviewed by Austin Porter, 634-36
The Stuff of Soldiers: A History of the Red Army in World War II through Objects, by Brandon M. Schechter, reviewed by Richard S. Faulkner, 636-37
A Grave Misfortune: The USS Indianapolis Tragedy, by Richard A. Hulver and Peter C. Luebke, reviewed by Joel I. Holwitt, 637-39
Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day, by Giles Milton, reviewed by Robert F. Williams, 639-40
The Secret History of RDX: The Super-Explosive that Helped Win World War II, by Colin Baxter, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 640-42
Engineering Hitler’s Downfall: The Brains that Enabled Victory, by Gwilym Roberts, reviewed by William S. Nance, 642-43
Total Mobilization: World War II and American Literature, by Roy Scranton, reviewed by Ann L. von Mehren, 643-45
Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community, by Richard J. Samuels, reviewed by Victoria Eaves-Young, 645-56
A Shadow of War: Archaeological approaches to uncovering the darker sides of conflict from the 20th century, by Claudia Theune, reviewed by Esther Breithoff, 647-48
The Cold War’s Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long Peace, by Paul Thomas Chamberlin, reviewed by Pierre Asselin, 649-50
At the Decisive Point in the Sinai: Generalship in the Yom Kippur War, by Jacob Even and Simcha B. Maoz, reviewed by Robert B. Bruce, 650-51
The Mayaguez Crisis, Mission Command, and Civil-Military Relations, by Christopher J. Lamb, reviewed by Joseph A. Ledford, 652-53
Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot, by Jeffrey J. Matthews, reviewed by Patrick Maney, 653-55
Black Hawks Rising: The Story of AMISOM’s Successful War against Somali Insurgents, 2007–2014, by Opiyo Oloya, reviewed by Christopher Stamper, 655-56
Taliban Safari: One Day in the Surkhagan Valley, by Paul Darling, reviewed by Jeremy M. Phillips, 657-58
Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies, by Elke Schwarz, reviewed by M. Susan Lindee, 658-59
Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture, by Donald E. Vandergrift, reviewed by David Gray, 660-61
Attachments to War: Biomedical Logics and Violence in Twenty-First-Century America, by Jennifer Terry, reviewed by Elke Schwarz, 661-63
The First Space War: How the Patterns of History and the Principles of STEM Will Shape Its Form, by J. Furman Daniel III, and T. K. Rogers, reviewed by Brent D. Ziarnick, 663-65
BOOKS RECEIVED: 666-69
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 670-78
SMH 2021 CALL FOR PAPERS: 679-80
