Journal of Military History
Vol. 87, No. 2
April 2023
Articles
The 2023 George C. Marshall Lecture in Military History
“The Rise and Fall of the Grand Alliance: The U.S. Airmen behind Stalin’s Lines, 1944–1945,” by Serhii Plokhy, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 297–307
“The Rise and Fall of the Grand Alliance: The U.S. Airmen behind Stalin’s Lines, 1944–1945,” by Serhii Plokhy, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 297–307
“Military Engineers as Combat Support Forces in the Armies of Edward III,” Ronald W. Braasch III, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 308–21
In the armies of the late Middle Ages, engineering forces fell into a gray area between combatant and noncombatant. They might fight if necessary, but that was not their primary role, suggesting that late medieval military engineers might best be defined as combat support personnel. A study of contemporary sources supports the argument that engineers in King Edward III of England’s expeditionary armies, although proportionately few in comparison to his fighting forces, were key to his strategic successes and that they occupy a pivotal spot in the history of military engineering.
“No Settled Principles? Military Law in the Late Victorian Army,” Ian S. Kelly, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 322–44
The British Army during Victoria’s reign has been portrayed as an institution standing awkwardly next to British society. Legal authorities and academics have used military law as an example, noting the military’s “capricious” legal processes in contrast to the predictable civilian experience. Rather than understanding military legal processes though, academics tend to focus on discipline or penalties foreign to today’s mind. This article draws evidence from centuries of legal development and late-nineteenth-century sources to demonstrate a far greater commonality between civilian and military legal experiences. The military’s legal tradition describes, in part, the military’s position as a rare example of a truly “British” institution.
“The Staff of the 1st Australian Division: A Study in the Composition of the Divisional and Brigade Staff from Assembly to Armistice,” Zacharia Bruckner, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 345–66
The staff officers of the 1st Australian Division often are lauded as "invaluable" and commended for having fought “half the battle” during the First World War yet they have received only passing mention in military histories. This article builds on Dale Blair’s analysis of officer demographics to highlight the prevalence of British and Indian Army officers holding key staff positions, thus dispelling the popular perception of an “all-Australian” force. The “first Australian staff” was fundamentally British in its personnel, concept, and organization. Yet the appointment of staff officers remained a matter of individual ability rather than a political agenda, and British regular officers made up for the shortfall in qualified Australian officers throughout the war.
“From Mobile Fleet to Mobile Force: The Evolution of U.S. Navy Logistics in the Central Pacific during World War II,” by Trent Hone, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 367–403
According to the U.S. Army’s official history, joint army-navy logistics reached a high point during World War II in the Central Pacific. That required the creative integration of army and navy methods. Although the pre-war U.S. Navy emphasized the importance of mobility, its logistical methods were inadequate to meet the challenges of war in the Pacific. Collaboration with the army led to improvements that sustained a rapid tempo of offensive operations and enabled numerous victories. By 1945, a new paradigm emerged, allowing the navy’s striking forces to maintain a forward presence for months in the face of increasing Japanese resistance.
“Neither Apathetic nor Empathetic: Investigating and Prosecuting the Rape of German Civilians by U.S. Servicemen in 1945,” by R. M. Douglas, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 404–37
In spring and early summer 1945, U.S. forces in Germany were responsible for a wave of violent rapes of local women and girls. Investigating and prosecuting these crimes proved a major challenge for the U.S. Army’s military justice system. This article examines ninety-five documented cases of rape and sexual assault from the period, involving more than two hundred uniformed culprits. Within the constraints imposed by wartime, investigators and members of courts-martial brought a surprising degree of professionalism to bear upon their task. Their efforts were, however, often frustrated by the army’s system of post-trial review which, in response to public pressure, displayed a marked preferential option for perpetrators. The record thus indicates that in contrast to a pervasive “rape culture” at all levels of command, the failure to deliver justice to victims is attributable in these cases to more specific and identifiable causes.
“From Deception to Mass Murder: Operation Mole and the Kafr Qasim Massacre Reconsidered,” by Yagil Henkin and Danny Orbach, Journal of Military History 87:2 (April 2023): 438–70
On 29 October 1956, the first day of the Suez War, detachments of the Israeli Border Police massacred forty-seven Arab men, women, and children in the village of Kafr Qasim. Although the government and army denounced the atrocity, some historians have since argued that the massacre was planned by high-level military and government circles. The government’s goal, according to this view, was to drive the Arab villagers across the border in line with a contingency plan known as Operation Mole. We present an alternative view based on new documents: rather than being either part of a preconceived plan of expulsion or an aberrant individual crime, the massacre was in fact a result of an Israeli deception plan that got out of hand.
Book Reviews:
The British Way of War: Julian Corbett and the Battle for a National Strategy, by Andrew Lambert, reviewed by Paul Kennedy and by G. H. Bennett, 471–74
The Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC): Caesar, Pompey, and the Early Campaigns of the Third Roman Civil War, by Gareth C. Sampson, reviewed by Fabrizio Biglino, 475–76
Battle: Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand, by Graeme Callister and Rachael Whitbread, reviewed by Ethan S. Rafuse, 476–77
Machiavelli and the Problems of Military Force: A War of One’s Own, by Sean Erwin, reviewed by Andrea Polegato, 478–79
The Conquest of Mexico: 500 Years of Reinventions, edited by Peter B. Villella and Pablo García Loaeza, reviewed by Hannah R. Abrahamson, 479–81
Time of Anarchy: Indigenous Power and the Crisis of Colonialism in Early America, by Matthew Kruer, reviewed by Brandon C. Downing, 481–83
How the Army Made Britain a Global Power, 1688–1815, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Regan Murr, 483–84
Down the Warpath to the Cedars: Indians’ First Battles in the Revolution, by Mark R. Anderson, reviewed by Timothy J. Shannon, 485–86
The Battle of Gloucester 1777, by Garry Wheeler Stone and Paul W. Schopp, reviewed by Anna Fitzpatrick Layer, 486–88
Surviving the Winters: Housing Washington’s Army during the American Revolution, by Steven Elliott, reviewed by Harold Selesky, 488–90
Commanding Petty Despots: The American Navy in the New Republic, by Thomas Sheppard, reviewed by S. A. Cavell, 490–91
Arming America Through the Centuries: War, Business, and Building a National Security State, by Benjamin Franklin Cooling, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 492–93
Engineering Expansion: The U.S. Army and Economic Development, 1787–1860, by William D. Adler, reviewed by John Wendt, 493–95
Convoys: The British Struggle against Napoleonic Europe and America, by Roger Knight, reviewed by Kristie DeLuna, 495–97
The Creole Rebellion: The Most Successful Slave Revolt in American History, by Bruce Chadwick, reviewed by Anthony J. Cade II, 497–98
Queen Victoria’s Wars: British Military Campaigns, 1857–1902, edited by Stephen M. Miller, reviewed by Jeremy Black, 498–500
Turret versus Broadside: An Anatomy of British Naval Prestige, Revolution, and Disaster, 1860–1870, by Howard J. Fuller, reviewed by Eric W. Osborne, 500–1
General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man, by Allen J. Ottens, reviewed by Zachery Cowsert, 501–3
The Atlanta Daily Intelligencer Covers the Civil War, by Stephen Davis and Bill Hendrick, reviewed by Kevin McPartland, 503–5
At War with King Alcohol: Debating Drinking and Masculinity in the Civil War, by Megan L. Bever, reviewed by Matthew M. Stith, 505–7
The Lion of Roundtop: The Life and Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War, by H. G. Myers, reviewed by Zak Johnson, 507–8
Transport to Another World: HMS Tamar and the Sinews of Empire, by Stephen Davies, reviewed by Liam Caswell, 508–10
Illusions of Empire: The Civil War and Reconstruction in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, by William S. Kiser, reviewed by Liz Elizondo, 510–11
Misfire: The Sarajevo Assassination and the Winding Road to World War I, by Paul Miller-Melamed, reviewed by Emma Hatto, 512–13
The Age of the Gas Mask: How British Civilians Faced the Terrors of Total War, by Susan R. Grayzel, reviewed by Gabriel Moshenska, 513–14
Mythologies without End: The U.S., Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917–2020, by Jerome Slater, reviewed by Elena Andreeva, 515–16
Transwar Asia: Ideology, Practices, and Institutions, 1920–1960, edited by Reto Hofmann and Max Ward, reviewed by Peter Lorge, 516–18
Fallschirm Panzer Division ‘Hermann Göring’: A History of the Luftwaffe’s Only Armoured Division, 1939–1945, by Lawrence Paterson, reviewed by Alaric Searle, 518–20
The Resistance: The Underground War Against Hitler, 1939–1945, by Halik Kochanski, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 520–22
Prisoners of War: Europe, 1939–1956, by Bob Moore, reviewed by Jean-Michel Turcotte, 522–23
The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945: War, Occupation, Memory. By Xosé M. Núñez Seixas, reviewed by Antonio Cazorla-Sánchez, 523–25
Darkest Christmas: December 1942 and a World at War, by Peter Harmsen, reviewed by Graydon Dennison, 525–26
War in the Far East: Asian Armageddon, 1944–1945, by Peter Harmsen, reviewed by Liam Kane, 527–28
Covert Legions: U.S. Army Intelligence in Germany, 1944–1949, by Thomas Boghardt, reviewed by Peter Clemens, 528–30
The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia: From Things of Tyranny to Troubled Treasure, by Michael Hughes, reviewed by Christopher J. McNulty, 530–31
A Question of Standing: The History of the CIA, by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, reviewed by Hugh Wilford, 532–33
Seeking the Bomb: Strategies of Nuclear Proliferation, by Vipin Narang, reviewed by Marc Reyes, 533–35
The End of Victory: Prevailing in the Thermonuclear Age, by Edward Kaplan, reviewed by Nicholas Eckenrode, 535–36
Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World, by Benjamin R. Young, reviewed by Robert Winstanley-Chesters, 537–38
Making Peace with Nature: Ecological Encounters along the Korean DMZ, by Eleana J. Kim, reviewed by Su-kyoung Hwang, 538–40
Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons that Nearly Destroyed NATO, by Susan Colbourn, reviewed by Matthew Jones, 540–42
The Influence of Foreign Wars on U.S. Domestic Military Policy: The Case of the Yom Kippur War, by Robert W. Tomlinson, reviewed by Mohammad Ebad Athar, 542–44
Freeze! The Grassroots Movement to halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War, by Henry Richard Maar III, reviewed by Holger Nehring, 544–45
Mobilizing in Uncertainty: Collective Identities and War in Abkhazia, by Anastasia Shesterinina, reviewed by Tracey German, 546–47
The Trillion Dollar War: The U.S. Effort to Rebuild Afghanistan, 1999–2021, by Abdi Amiri, reviewed by Emrah Özdemir, 547–49
A Nation of Veterans: War, Citizenship, and the Welfare State in Modern America, by Olivier Burtin, reviewed by Steve Early, 549–50
The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about Al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family, by Nelly Lahoud, reviewed by Silke Zoller, 551–52
Rebel Economies: Warlords, Insurgents, Humanitarians, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo, Didier Fassin, and Clémence Pinaud, reviewed by Brian R. Price, 552–54
BOOKS RECEIVED: 555–57
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 558–64
The British Way of War: Julian Corbett and the Battle for a National Strategy, by Andrew Lambert, reviewed by Paul Kennedy and by G. H. Bennett, 471–74
The Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC): Caesar, Pompey, and the Early Campaigns of the Third Roman Civil War, by Gareth C. Sampson, reviewed by Fabrizio Biglino, 475–76
Battle: Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand, by Graeme Callister and Rachael Whitbread, reviewed by Ethan S. Rafuse, 476–77
Machiavelli and the Problems of Military Force: A War of One’s Own, by Sean Erwin, reviewed by Andrea Polegato, 478–79
The Conquest of Mexico: 500 Years of Reinventions, edited by Peter B. Villella and Pablo García Loaeza, reviewed by Hannah R. Abrahamson, 479–81
Time of Anarchy: Indigenous Power and the Crisis of Colonialism in Early America, by Matthew Kruer, reviewed by Brandon C. Downing, 481–83
How the Army Made Britain a Global Power, 1688–1815, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Regan Murr, 483–84
Down the Warpath to the Cedars: Indians’ First Battles in the Revolution, by Mark R. Anderson, reviewed by Timothy J. Shannon, 485–86
The Battle of Gloucester 1777, by Garry Wheeler Stone and Paul W. Schopp, reviewed by Anna Fitzpatrick Layer, 486–88
Surviving the Winters: Housing Washington’s Army during the American Revolution, by Steven Elliott, reviewed by Harold Selesky, 488–90
Commanding Petty Despots: The American Navy in the New Republic, by Thomas Sheppard, reviewed by S. A. Cavell, 490–91
Arming America Through the Centuries: War, Business, and Building a National Security State, by Benjamin Franklin Cooling, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 492–93
Engineering Expansion: The U.S. Army and Economic Development, 1787–1860, by William D. Adler, reviewed by John Wendt, 493–95
Convoys: The British Struggle against Napoleonic Europe and America, by Roger Knight, reviewed by Kristie DeLuna, 495–97
The Creole Rebellion: The Most Successful Slave Revolt in American History, by Bruce Chadwick, reviewed by Anthony J. Cade II, 497–98
Queen Victoria’s Wars: British Military Campaigns, 1857–1902, edited by Stephen M. Miller, reviewed by Jeremy Black, 498–500
Turret versus Broadside: An Anatomy of British Naval Prestige, Revolution, and Disaster, 1860–1870, by Howard J. Fuller, reviewed by Eric W. Osborne, 500–1
General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man, by Allen J. Ottens, reviewed by Zachery Cowsert, 501–3
The Atlanta Daily Intelligencer Covers the Civil War, by Stephen Davis and Bill Hendrick, reviewed by Kevin McPartland, 503–5
At War with King Alcohol: Debating Drinking and Masculinity in the Civil War, by Megan L. Bever, reviewed by Matthew M. Stith, 505–7
The Lion of Roundtop: The Life and Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War, by H. G. Myers, reviewed by Zak Johnson, 507–8
Transport to Another World: HMS Tamar and the Sinews of Empire, by Stephen Davies, reviewed by Liam Caswell, 508–10
Illusions of Empire: The Civil War and Reconstruction in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, by William S. Kiser, reviewed by Liz Elizondo, 510–11
Misfire: The Sarajevo Assassination and the Winding Road to World War I, by Paul Miller-Melamed, reviewed by Emma Hatto, 512–13
The Age of the Gas Mask: How British Civilians Faced the Terrors of Total War, by Susan R. Grayzel, reviewed by Gabriel Moshenska, 513–14
Mythologies without End: The U.S., Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917–2020, by Jerome Slater, reviewed by Elena Andreeva, 515–16
Transwar Asia: Ideology, Practices, and Institutions, 1920–1960, edited by Reto Hofmann and Max Ward, reviewed by Peter Lorge, 516–18
Fallschirm Panzer Division ‘Hermann Göring’: A History of the Luftwaffe’s Only Armoured Division, 1939–1945, by Lawrence Paterson, reviewed by Alaric Searle, 518–20
The Resistance: The Underground War Against Hitler, 1939–1945, by Halik Kochanski, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 520–22
Prisoners of War: Europe, 1939–1956, by Bob Moore, reviewed by Jean-Michel Turcotte, 522–23
The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945: War, Occupation, Memory. By Xosé M. Núñez Seixas, reviewed by Antonio Cazorla-Sánchez, 523–25
Darkest Christmas: December 1942 and a World at War, by Peter Harmsen, reviewed by Graydon Dennison, 525–26
War in the Far East: Asian Armageddon, 1944–1945, by Peter Harmsen, reviewed by Liam Kane, 527–28
Covert Legions: U.S. Army Intelligence in Germany, 1944–1949, by Thomas Boghardt, reviewed by Peter Clemens, 528–30
The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia: From Things of Tyranny to Troubled Treasure, by Michael Hughes, reviewed by Christopher J. McNulty, 530–31
A Question of Standing: The History of the CIA, by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, reviewed by Hugh Wilford, 532–33
Seeking the Bomb: Strategies of Nuclear Proliferation, by Vipin Narang, reviewed by Marc Reyes, 533–35
The End of Victory: Prevailing in the Thermonuclear Age, by Edward Kaplan, reviewed by Nicholas Eckenrode, 535–36
Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World, by Benjamin R. Young, reviewed by Robert Winstanley-Chesters, 537–38
Making Peace with Nature: Ecological Encounters along the Korean DMZ, by Eleana J. Kim, reviewed by Su-kyoung Hwang, 538–40
Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons that Nearly Destroyed NATO, by Susan Colbourn, reviewed by Matthew Jones, 540–42
The Influence of Foreign Wars on U.S. Domestic Military Policy: The Case of the Yom Kippur War, by Robert W. Tomlinson, reviewed by Mohammad Ebad Athar, 542–44
Freeze! The Grassroots Movement to halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War, by Henry Richard Maar III, reviewed by Holger Nehring, 544–45
Mobilizing in Uncertainty: Collective Identities and War in Abkhazia, by Anastasia Shesterinina, reviewed by Tracey German, 546–47
The Trillion Dollar War: The U.S. Effort to Rebuild Afghanistan, 1999–2021, by Abdi Amiri, reviewed by Emrah Özdemir, 547–49
A Nation of Veterans: War, Citizenship, and the Welfare State in Modern America, by Olivier Burtin, reviewed by Steve Early, 549–50
The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about Al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family, by Nelly Lahoud, reviewed by Silke Zoller, 551–52
Rebel Economies: Warlords, Insurgents, Humanitarians, edited by Nicola Di Cosmo, Didier Fassin, and Clémence Pinaud, reviewed by Brian R. Price, 552–54
BOOKS RECEIVED: 555–57
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 558–64
