Journal of Military History
Vol. 88, No. 2
April 2024
Articles
“Treason Refuted: Why Major General Charles Lee’s Plan for the British to “Win” the Revolution was an Act of Patriotism,” by Eugene A. Procknow, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 301–29
Since the 1860 discovery of a plan written by Charles Lee during his captivity in the American War of Independence, historians have asserted that he was a traitor or pursued self-serving motivations. A detailed analysis of the plan from the perspective of its intended audience of British commanders, however, reveals that Lee sought to persuade readers that the British could not win the war and should pursue a negotiation strategy. While the plan might represent a technical violation of the articles of war, British contemporary correspondence indicates that British generals considered Lee a dangerous adversary, loyal to the rebel cause.
“Local Defense, the British West Indies, and Recruitment in the First World War,” by Justin Fantauzzo and Christopher Reid, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 330–66
This article focuses on the local defense threat posed by German commerce raiders and warships operating in or near the Caribbean between August 1914 and May 1915, when the War Office sanctioned recruitment in the Caribbean for what would eventually become the British West Indies Regiment. We argue that in addition to institutional racism and other factors, the War Office’s decision to begin recruiting Black West Indians in May 1915 should be understood within a larger strategic context, and ongoing discussions between the War Office, the Colonial Office, and the Admiralty, about the German naval threat to the British West Indies and the safety of Britain’s overseas possessions.
“Policing Venereal Disease at Fort Huachuca, 1941–1945,” by Natalie Shibley, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 367–97
This article discusses the racialization of venereal disease during World War II at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the installation with the largest number of African American troops, arguing that medical and law enforcement surveillance overlapped in venereal disease prevention efforts in ways unique to the post’s location and racial demographics. It analyzes how military and civilian agencies attempted to limit venereal disease and how Black officers and enlisted men and women responded to and influenced these policies. The U.S. Army used statistics to construct venereal disease as a racially specific problem and developed venereal disease education efforts at the post. Gendered effects of venereal disease control policy included a proposal to quarantine civilian women within the post hospital. As the army tried to maintain racial, gender, and geographic boundaries, the biomedical and carceral technologies used to police venereal disease grew more similar.
“A Successful Strategy: The Failure to Punish Italian War Criminals and the Creation of a Self-absolving Memory,” by Filippo Focardi, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 398–425
This article explores the campaign by Italian military and civilian authorities following the 8 September 1943 armistice to whitewash the war crimes committed by Italian units from 1940 to 1943 in occupied Europe. This campaign followed a two-pronged strategy: first, the transformation of the Italians from perpetrators to victims by distinguishing the Italians from their former German allies and highlighting war crimes against them; and second, the use of fictitious trials to whitewash the records of military commanders. This concerted effort was finally sanctioned by the Western Allies in the increasingly confrontational climate of the Cold War to bolster one of their main partners, whom they needed to contain the spread of communism.
“Counterrevolutionary Warfare on Trial: Theory, Terrorism, and Treason at the End of Empire,” by Lydia Walker, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 426–49
This article reads the political thought of a collection of treasonous and treason-sympathizing French military officers who supported the cause of the OAS (Organisation de l’armée secrète), a terrorist organization that fought President Charles de Gaulle’s decision to leave Algeria in 1960. It draws upon a selection of the doctrine they wrote, that of guerre révolutionnaire or counterrevolutionary warfare; the novels that popularized their perspectives for broader audiences; and the transcripts from the trial of General Raoul Salan, the leader of the OAS. Based on these texts, it argues that counterrevolutionary warfare doctrine attempted to circumvent decolonization by articulating a form of violent nostalgia that continued colonial war without colonial conquest. In this way, counterrevolutionary warfare was a military doctrine, an ideological world view, and a theory of decolonization.
“For A Period of Four Years: The Evolution of Term Lengths for the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” by Christopher D. Holmes, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 450–82
This article originated with a simple question: why do the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the service chiefs, all serve four-year terms? The evolution over the course of a century towards that fixed length reflects debate and tension about balancing three concerns: becoming familiar with one’s duties and responsibilities, offering independent military advice, and preventing the military’s accumulation of power. This article argues that the last was the real, underlying concern, and four years is the compromise that satisfied members of both the executive and legislative branches, as well as the military.
Historiographical Essay:
“An Act of Self-indulgence? The Yamamoto Mission after Eighty Years,” by Klaus Schmider, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 483–500
“An Act of Self-indulgence? The Yamamoto Mission after Eighty Years,” by Klaus Schmider, The Journal of Military History 88:2 (April 2024): 483–500
Book Reviews:
Real Soldiering: The US Army in the Aftermath of War, 1815–1980, by Brian McAllister Linn, reviewed by Benjamin Lee Brewster and by Peter Mansoor, 501–5
Unit Cohesion and Warfare in the Ancient World: Military and Social Approaches, edited by Joshua R. Hall, Louis Rawlings, and Geoff Lee, reviewed by Brian Turner, 506–8
Julius Caesar’s Civil War: Tactics, Strategy & Logistics, by Julian Romane, reviewed by Everett L. Wheeler, 508–10
They Suffered under Pontius Pilate: Jewish Anti-Roman Resistance and the Crosses at Golgotha. by Fernando Bermejo-Rubio, reviewed by Rose Mary Sheldon, 510–13
Cavalry: A Global History, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Alaric Searle, 513–15
Theoderic the Great: King of Goths, Ruler of Romans, by Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, translated by John Noël Dillon, reviewed by David Stewart Bachrach, 515–17
Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint, by Peter Sarris, reviewed by David Alan Parnell, 518–19
The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500–1800, by Wayne E. Lee, reviewed by Jon Parmenter, 520–21
Conquistadors and Aztecs: A History of the Fall of Tenochtitlan, by Stefan Rinke, translated by Christopher Reid, reviewed by William F. Connell, 522–24
The War of American Independence, 1763–1783: Falling Dominoes, by Stanley D. M. Carpenter, Kevin J. Delamer, James R. McIntyre and Andrew T. Zwilling, reviewed by Susan Brynne Long, 524–26
American Presidents in Diplomacy and War: Statecraft, Foreign Policy, and Leadership, by Thomas R. Parker, reviewed by Thomas W. Zeiler, 526–28
The Naval Government of Newfoundland in the French Wars, 1793–1815, by John Morrow, reviewed by Jeff A. Webb, 528–30
Fighting Napoleon at Home: The Real Story of a Nation at War with Itself, by Paul Dawson, reviewed by Travis G. Salley, 530–32
The Coalitions Against Napoleon: How British Money, Manufacturing and Military Power Forged the Alliances that Achieved Victory, by William R. Nester, reviewed by Evan Wilson, 532–34
War Without Bodies: Framing Death from the Crimean to the Iraq War, by Martin A. Danahay, reviewed by Alexander G. Lovelace, 534–36
Civil War Torpedoes and the Global Development of Mine Warfare, by Earl J. Hess, reviewed by Stephen K. Stein, 536–38
Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era, by Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant, reviewed by Lorien Foote, 539–41
From the Mountains to the Bay: The War in Virginia, January–May 1862, by Ethan S. Rafuse, reviewed by Steven E. Sodergren, 541–43
I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign, by D. Scott Hartwig, reviewed by Arnold Blumberg, 543–45
July 22: The Civil War Battle of Atlanta, by Earl J. Hess, reviewed by Christopher Thrasher, 545–46
One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause, by Stephen A. Goldman, reviewed by Evan C. Rothera, 547–48
The Neptune Factor: Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Concept of Sea Power, by Nicholas A. Lambert, reviewed by John T. Kuehn, 549–50
At the Dawn of Airpower: The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps’ Approach to the Airplane, 1907–1917, by Laurence M. Burke II, reviewed by Frank A. Blazich Jr., 551–53
German Ways of War: The Affective Geographies and Generic Transformations of German War Films, by Jaimey Fisher, reviewed by Jay Lockenour, 553–54
The Battle of Megiddo, Palestine 1918: Combined Arms and the Last Great Cavalry Charge, by Eric W. Osborne, reviewed by Edward J. Erickson, 554–56
The Last Treaty: Lausanne and the End of the First World War in the Middle East, by Michelle Tusan, reviewed by Brian C. Johnson, 556–58
Before Endeavours Fade: A Guide to the Battlefields of the First World War, by Rose E. B. Coombs, reviewed by James R. Arnold, 558–61
The U.S. Army Combat Historian and Combat History Operations: World War I to the Vietnam War, by Kathryn Roe Coker and Jason Wetzel, reviewed by Charles R. Bowery Jr., 561–63
Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars, by Helen Fry, reviewed by Artemis Photiadou, 563–64
Shared Experience: Organizational Culture and Ethos at the U.S. Marine Corps Basic School, 1924–1941, by Jennifer L. Mazzara, reviewed by John R. Satterfield, 565–66
Rearming the RAF for the Second World War: Poor Strategy & Miscalculation, by Adrian Phillips, reviewed by Robert H. Clemm, 567–68
German Blood, Slavic Soil: How Nazi Königsberg Became Soviet Kaliningrad, by Nicole Eaton, reviewed by John Ashbrook, 569–70
Home Run: Allied Escape and Evasion in World War II, by Howard R. Simkin, reviewed by Brian K. Feltman, 571–72
Forgotten War: The British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941–1945, by Brian E. Walter, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 573–74
Delivering Destruction: American Firepower and Amphibious Assault from Tarawa to Iwo Jima, by Chris K. Hemler, reviewed by Hal Friedman, 575–76
Leyte Gulf: A New History of the World’s Largest Sea Battle, by Mark E. Stille, reviewed by Daniel Curzon, 577–78
“Invasion On!” D-Day, the Press, and the Making of an American Narrative, by Stephen M. Rusiecki, reviewed by Adam R. Seipp, 579–80
Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II, by Evan Thomas, reviewed by Michael Kort, 581–82
The Price of Truth: The Journalist who Defied Military Censors to Report the Fall of Nazi Germany, by Richard Fine, reviewed by Ingo Trauschweizer, 583–85
The Nuclear Club: How America and the World Policed the Atom from Hiroshima to Vietnam, by Jonathan R. Hunt; and Ploughshares and Swords: India’s Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War, by Jayita Sarkar, reviewed by Toshihiro Higuchi, 585–88
Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia, by Gary J. Bass, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 588–90
Empire’s Violent End: Comparing Dutch, British, and French Wars of Decolonization, 1945–1962, edited by Thijs Brocades Zaalberg and Bart Luttikhuis, reviewed by Jonathan Carroll, 591–93
The Racial Integration of the American Armed Forces: Cold War Necessity, Presidential Leadership, and Southern Resistance, by Geoffrey W. Jensen, reviewed by Douglas Bristol Jr., 593–95
Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966–1975, by Huw Bennett, reviewed by Tony Novosel, 595–97
Unwilling to Quit: The Long Unwinding of American Involvement in Vietnam, by David L. Prentice, reviewed by Brian Washam II, 597–99
Canadian Military Intelligence: Operations and Evolution from the October Crisis to the War in Afghanistan, by David A. Charters, reviewed by Levon Bond, 599–601
Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East, by L. Scott Lingamfelter, reviewed by Brian Drohan, 601–3
China’s Law of the Sea: The New Rules of Maritime Order, by Isaac B. Kardon, reviewed by Andrew Chubb, 603–5
BOOKS RECEIVED: 606–7
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 608–14
Real Soldiering: The US Army in the Aftermath of War, 1815–1980, by Brian McAllister Linn, reviewed by Benjamin Lee Brewster and by Peter Mansoor, 501–5
Unit Cohesion and Warfare in the Ancient World: Military and Social Approaches, edited by Joshua R. Hall, Louis Rawlings, and Geoff Lee, reviewed by Brian Turner, 506–8
Julius Caesar’s Civil War: Tactics, Strategy & Logistics, by Julian Romane, reviewed by Everett L. Wheeler, 508–10
They Suffered under Pontius Pilate: Jewish Anti-Roman Resistance and the Crosses at Golgotha. by Fernando Bermejo-Rubio, reviewed by Rose Mary Sheldon, 510–13
Cavalry: A Global History, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by Alaric Searle, 513–15
Theoderic the Great: King of Goths, Ruler of Romans, by Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, translated by John Noël Dillon, reviewed by David Stewart Bachrach, 515–17
Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint, by Peter Sarris, reviewed by David Alan Parnell, 518–19
The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500–1800, by Wayne E. Lee, reviewed by Jon Parmenter, 520–21
Conquistadors and Aztecs: A History of the Fall of Tenochtitlan, by Stefan Rinke, translated by Christopher Reid, reviewed by William F. Connell, 522–24
The War of American Independence, 1763–1783: Falling Dominoes, by Stanley D. M. Carpenter, Kevin J. Delamer, James R. McIntyre and Andrew T. Zwilling, reviewed by Susan Brynne Long, 524–26
American Presidents in Diplomacy and War: Statecraft, Foreign Policy, and Leadership, by Thomas R. Parker, reviewed by Thomas W. Zeiler, 526–28
The Naval Government of Newfoundland in the French Wars, 1793–1815, by John Morrow, reviewed by Jeff A. Webb, 528–30
Fighting Napoleon at Home: The Real Story of a Nation at War with Itself, by Paul Dawson, reviewed by Travis G. Salley, 530–32
The Coalitions Against Napoleon: How British Money, Manufacturing and Military Power Forged the Alliances that Achieved Victory, by William R. Nester, reviewed by Evan Wilson, 532–34
War Without Bodies: Framing Death from the Crimean to the Iraq War, by Martin A. Danahay, reviewed by Alexander G. Lovelace, 534–36
Civil War Torpedoes and the Global Development of Mine Warfare, by Earl J. Hess, reviewed by Stephen K. Stein, 536–38
Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era, by Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant, reviewed by Lorien Foote, 539–41
From the Mountains to the Bay: The War in Virginia, January–May 1862, by Ethan S. Rafuse, reviewed by Steven E. Sodergren, 541–43
I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign, by D. Scott Hartwig, reviewed by Arnold Blumberg, 543–45
July 22: The Civil War Battle of Atlanta, by Earl J. Hess, reviewed by Christopher Thrasher, 545–46
One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause, by Stephen A. Goldman, reviewed by Evan C. Rothera, 547–48
The Neptune Factor: Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Concept of Sea Power, by Nicholas A. Lambert, reviewed by John T. Kuehn, 549–50
At the Dawn of Airpower: The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps’ Approach to the Airplane, 1907–1917, by Laurence M. Burke II, reviewed by Frank A. Blazich Jr., 551–53
German Ways of War: The Affective Geographies and Generic Transformations of German War Films, by Jaimey Fisher, reviewed by Jay Lockenour, 553–54
The Battle of Megiddo, Palestine 1918: Combined Arms and the Last Great Cavalry Charge, by Eric W. Osborne, reviewed by Edward J. Erickson, 554–56
The Last Treaty: Lausanne and the End of the First World War in the Middle East, by Michelle Tusan, reviewed by Brian C. Johnson, 556–58
Before Endeavours Fade: A Guide to the Battlefields of the First World War, by Rose E. B. Coombs, reviewed by James R. Arnold, 558–61
The U.S. Army Combat Historian and Combat History Operations: World War I to the Vietnam War, by Kathryn Roe Coker and Jason Wetzel, reviewed by Charles R. Bowery Jr., 561–63
Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars, by Helen Fry, reviewed by Artemis Photiadou, 563–64
Shared Experience: Organizational Culture and Ethos at the U.S. Marine Corps Basic School, 1924–1941, by Jennifer L. Mazzara, reviewed by John R. Satterfield, 565–66
Rearming the RAF for the Second World War: Poor Strategy & Miscalculation, by Adrian Phillips, reviewed by Robert H. Clemm, 567–68
German Blood, Slavic Soil: How Nazi Königsberg Became Soviet Kaliningrad, by Nicole Eaton, reviewed by John Ashbrook, 569–70
Home Run: Allied Escape and Evasion in World War II, by Howard R. Simkin, reviewed by Brian K. Feltman, 571–72
Forgotten War: The British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941–1945, by Brian E. Walter, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 573–74
Delivering Destruction: American Firepower and Amphibious Assault from Tarawa to Iwo Jima, by Chris K. Hemler, reviewed by Hal Friedman, 575–76
Leyte Gulf: A New History of the World’s Largest Sea Battle, by Mark E. Stille, reviewed by Daniel Curzon, 577–78
“Invasion On!” D-Day, the Press, and the Making of an American Narrative, by Stephen M. Rusiecki, reviewed by Adam R. Seipp, 579–80
Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II, by Evan Thomas, reviewed by Michael Kort, 581–82
The Price of Truth: The Journalist who Defied Military Censors to Report the Fall of Nazi Germany, by Richard Fine, reviewed by Ingo Trauschweizer, 583–85
The Nuclear Club: How America and the World Policed the Atom from Hiroshima to Vietnam, by Jonathan R. Hunt; and Ploughshares and Swords: India’s Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War, by Jayita Sarkar, reviewed by Toshihiro Higuchi, 585–88
Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia, by Gary J. Bass, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 588–90
Empire’s Violent End: Comparing Dutch, British, and French Wars of Decolonization, 1945–1962, edited by Thijs Brocades Zaalberg and Bart Luttikhuis, reviewed by Jonathan Carroll, 591–93
The Racial Integration of the American Armed Forces: Cold War Necessity, Presidential Leadership, and Southern Resistance, by Geoffrey W. Jensen, reviewed by Douglas Bristol Jr., 593–95
Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966–1975, by Huw Bennett, reviewed by Tony Novosel, 595–97
Unwilling to Quit: The Long Unwinding of American Involvement in Vietnam, by David L. Prentice, reviewed by Brian Washam II, 597–99
Canadian Military Intelligence: Operations and Evolution from the October Crisis to the War in Afghanistan, by David A. Charters, reviewed by Levon Bond, 599–601
Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East, by L. Scott Lingamfelter, reviewed by Brian Drohan, 601–3
China’s Law of the Sea: The New Rules of Maritime Order, by Isaac B. Kardon, reviewed by Andrew Chubb, 603–5
BOOKS RECEIVED: 606–7
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 608–14
