Journal of Military History
Vol. 74, No. 2
April 2010

Articles

Spencer Jones, “The Influence of Horse Supply Upon Field Artillery in the American Civil War,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 357-377.
The study of the field artillery of the American Civil War (1861–65) has often focused upon the technical aspects of the arm and assessed military performance largely in terms of these criteria. This article examines an understudied influence upon field artillery performance in the form of horse supply, highlighting the problems both armies faced trying to find and maintain animals for their guns. As well as creating strategic and tactical problems for both armies, shortage of horse supply influenced the Confederate decision to substantially reorganise their batteries by 1863. The difficulties of horse supply and its effect on artillery performance have implications for the wider debate on whether the American Civil War marked the beginnings of “modern” war.
Andrew McIlwaine Bell, “‘Gallinippers’ & Glory: The Links between Mosquito-borne Disease and U.S. Civil War Operations and Strategy, 1862,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 379-405.
Disease killed two-thirds of the soldiers who died during the Civil War. And of the various maladies that plagued both armies, few were more pervasive than malaria—a mosquito-borne illness which afflicted over 1.1 million soldiers serving in the Union ranks. Yellow fever, another disease transmitted by mosquitoes, struck fear into the hearts of military planners who knew that “yellow jack” could wipe out an entire army in a matter of weeks. Bell examines the physiological and psychological effects of these two diseases and their impact on military operations and strategy in 1862, the first full year of the war.
Shawn Grimes, “The Baltic and Admiralty War Planning, 1906–1907,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 407-437.
For decades, a belief has persisted that before 1914 the Admiralty in Edwardian Britain was strategically bereft, if not bankrupt, when faced with the modern conditions imposed on naval warfare by mines, torpedoes and submarines. War plans generated under the regime of Admiral Sir A. John "Jacky" Fisher, in particular, have been scorned as politically-inspired smokescreens, designed to prop up Fisher's position as First Sea Lord. A re-examination of the Ballard Committee's 1907 War Plans against Germany, however, and the contexts within which they were drafted, especially the Baltic neutrality crisis provoked by Norwegian independence in 1905, indicates that the measures were legitimate contingency plans designed to effectively exploit the Royal Navy's ability to strike decisively at Germany's military and economic assets in the Baltic. New evidence, with respect to pre-existing strategic planning, fleet manoeuvres, British East Coast development and the procurement of vessels to fill tactical requirements detailed in the plans, demonstrate that previous skeptical interpretations of the Fisher Admiralty's strategic acumen have been mistaken.
Kerry Irish, “Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines: There Must Be a Day of Reckoning,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 439-473.
In 1935 Major Dwight Eisenhower accompanied General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines, where MacArthur was tasked with creating a Philippine army capable of defending an independent Philippines. Eisenhower's odyssey in the American colony (1935–39) left him with a deep and indelible negative impression of MacArthur. Historians have disputed the cause and depth of the rift. Ike’s disagreements with MacArthur were more philosophical than personal and concerned two significant issues: building an army in a developing but still impoverished country, and the leadership qualities that an American army officer should exhibit and develop in his subordinates. The dispute and resulting antipathy lasted the rest of their lives.
Michael Sturma, “U.S. Submarine Patrol Reports during World War II: Historical Evidence and Literary Flair,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 475-490.
Although war patrol reports provide a staple source for histories of U.S. submarine operations during the Second World War, their reliability is open to question and they should be read critically. The “fog of war” often produced exaggerated claims about ships sunk. Submarine commanders in rare cases fabricated parts of reports, and frequently made deliberate omissions for security reasons or to avoid censure. To an extent, war patrol reports should be treated as literary productions. Because the reports passed up the chain of command and circulated widely among submariners, strong incentives ensured that they reflected well on personnel and provided a readable and sometimes entertaining narrative.
Marc Milner, “Stopping the Panzers: Reassessing the Role of 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in Normandy, 7-10 June 1944,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 491-522.
The role of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in the early phases of the Normandy landings of June 1944 has been poorly understood by historians. In particular, the beachhead battles of 7-10 June against the 12th SS Hitler Youth Panzer Division are dismissed as failed attempts to push forward, and typical examples of faulty Anglo-Canadian doctrine, tactics, and leadership. This article argues that none of that is true. Historians have misunderstood the role of the Canadian division in Operation OVERLORD and the larger Allied assumptions that formed the basis of its operational orders. The Canadian role was to stop the panzer counterattack on the crucial ground west of Caen that both Allied and German planners had identified as decisive. The Canadian task was therefore primarily defensive and, although the counterattack did not develop as Allied planners had feared, the Canadians denied 1st SS Panzer Corps the ground it sought for the basis of that attack. In doing so, the Canadians and their supporting British units fought much better than historians have suggested.
Jocelyn Courtney, “The Civil War That Was Fought by Children: Understanding the Role of Child Combatants in El Salvador’s Civil War, 1980–1992,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 523-556.
From 1980 to 1992, the Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN) fought each other in a civil conflict that devastated El Salvador, killing 75,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless or injured. Over 80 percent of the government’s troops and over 20 percent of the FMLN’s were under eighteen years of age; however, thus far, historians have missed the centrality of the role of children in this conflict. This article explores the legacy of both sides’ reliance on child soldiers and examines the costs of child soldiering in terms of demobilization issues and postwar societal problems.
Review Essay:
Bruce Vandevort, “The Indian Wars of North America: From East to West,” The Journal of Military History 74 #2 (April 2010): 557-560.

Reviews:
Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King, by Richard A. Gabriel, reviewed by Steven Weingartner and by Antonio Santosuosso, 561-563.

The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, by Edward N. Luttwak, reviewed by John P. Karras and by Richard Sauers, 564-566.

The Medieval World at War, edited by Matthew Bennett, reviewed by Stephen Morillo, 566-568.

Three Byzantine Military Treatises, text, translation, and notes by George T. Dennis, reviewed by Warren Treadgold, 568-569.

The Rebel Den of Nung Tri Cao: Loyalty and Identity Along the Sino-Vietnamese Frontier, by James Anderson, reviewed by Kathlene Baldanza, 569-570.

Two Faiths One Banner: When Muslims Marched with Christians across Europe’s Battlegrounds, by Ian Almond, reviewed by Virginia H. Aksan, 570-572.

Venice Besieged: Politics and Diplomacy in the Italian Wars, 1494-1534, by Robert Finlay, reviewed by Niccolò Capponi, 572-573.

English Mercuries: Soldier Poets in the Age of Shakespeare, by Adam N. McKeown, reviewed by John Leland, 573-574 .

The Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775: A Political, Social, and Military History, 3 vols., edited by Spencer C. Tucker, reviewed by Michael P. Gabriel, 575-576.

Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682-1862, edited by William E. Whittaker, reviewed by William B. Feis, 576-577.

Quebec: The Story of Three Sieges, by Stephen Manning, reviewed by Frank Kalesnik, 578-579.

Encyclopedia of the Veteran in America: Volume 1, A-P and Volume 2, Q-Z, edited by William Pencak, reviewed by Mark van Ells, 579-581.

Honor Bright: History and Origins of the West Point Honor Code and System, by Lewis Sorley, reviewed by James S. Park, 581-582.

Admiral Saumarez Versus Napoleon: The Baltic, 1807-12, by Tim Voelcker, reviewed by James R. Arnold, 582-583.

Wagram (5 et 6 juillet 1809): Le canon tonne sur les bords du Danube, by Frédéric Naulet, reviewed by John G. Gallaher, 583-584.

The War of 1812 in the Age of Napoleon, by Jeremy Black, reviewed by David Curtis Skaggs, 585-586.

San Martín: Argentine Soldier, American Hero, by John Lynch, reviewed by Roberto C. Delgadillo, 586-587.

Jews in the Russian Army, 1827-1917: Drafted into Modernity, by Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, reviewed by Harold Shukman, 587-588.

Fort Laramie: Military Bastion of the High Plains, by Douglas C. McChristian, reviewed by John H. Monnett, 589-590.

Warship Under Sail: The USS Decatur in the Pacific West, by Lorraine McConaghy, reviewed by Spencer C. Tucker, 590-591.

Lincoln’s Political Generals, by David Work, reviewed by Jennifer M. Murray, 591-592.

Double Duty in the Civil War: Letters of Sailor and Soldier Edward W. Bacon, edited by George S. Burckhardt, reviewed by Harold D. Langley, 593-594.

The Southern Mind Under Union Rule: The Diary of James Rumley, Beaufort, North Carolina, 1862-1865, edited by Judkin Browning, reviewed by Paul A. Cimbala, 594-595.

No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864, by Richard Slotkin, reviewed by Gregory J. W. Urwin, 595-597.

West Pointers and the Civil War: The Old Army in War and Peace, by Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh, reviewed by Ethan S. Rafuse, 597-598.

U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth, by Joan Waugh, reviewed by Frank P. Varney, 598-599.

Scars to Prove It: The Civil War Soldier and American Fiction, by Craig A. Warren, reviewed by David Rachels, 599-600.

Heroes & Cowards: The Social Face of War, by Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn, reviewed by Debra J. Sheffer, 600-602.

Victoria’s Generals, edited by Steven J. Corvi and Ian F.W. Beckett, reviewed by Harold E. Raugh, Jr., 602-4.

Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914, by Charles Stephenson, reviewed by Lawrence Sondhaus, 604-605.

Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters, by Louis Begley, reviewed by Martha Hanna, 605-606.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Naval Diplomacy: The U.S. Navy and the Birth of the American Century, by Henry J. Hendrix, reviewed by Matthew Oyos, 607-608.

Japanese Society at War: Death, Memory, and the Russo-Japanese War, by Naoko Shimazu, reviewed by Gary P. Cox, 608-609.

Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea 1910-1945, by Mark Caprio, reviewed by Courtney A. Short, 609-610.

Guarding the Border: The Military Memoirs of Ward Schrantz, 1912-1917, edited by Jeff Patrick, reviewed by Barry M. Stentiford, 611-612.

War Planning 1914, edited by Richard F. Hamilton and Holger H. Herwig, reviewed by Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., 612-614.

Russia in War and Revolution, 1914-1922, A Documentary History, edited and translated by Jonathan Daly and Leonid Trofimov, reviewed by Michael P. Kihntopf, 614-615.

1917: Beyond the Western Front, edited by Ian F.W. Beckett, reviewed by Nikolas Gardner, 615-616.

The Final Battle: Soldiers of the Western Front and the German Revolution of 1918, by Scott Stephenson, reviewed by Holger H. Herwig, 616-618.

The British Naval Staff in the First World War, by Nicholas Black, reviewed by Geoffrey Till, 618-619.

Tank Men: The Human Story of Tanks at War, by Robert Kershaw, reviewed by Alexander M. Bielakowski, 619-620.

Strategy for Victory: The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1919-1943, by David Ian Hall, reviewed by Mike Bechthold, 620-621.

“If you tolerate this…”: The Spanish Civil War in the Age of Total War, edited by Martin Baumeister and Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, reviewed by Geoffrey Jensen, 621-623.

Wolfram von Richthofen. Master of the German Air War, by James S. Corum, reviewed by Klaus Schmider, 623-624.

World War II: A New History, by Evan Mawdsley, reviewed by Charles Messenger, 624-625.

Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War, by Terry Brighton, reviewed by David T. Zabecki, 626-627.

Masters and Commanders: How Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall, and Alanbrooke Won the War in the West, by Andrew Roberts, reviewed by Albert J. Beveridge III, 627-630.

Targeting the Third Reich: Air Intelligence and the Allied Bombing Campaigns, by Robert S. Ehlers, Jr., reviewed by Phillip S. Meilinger, 630-631.

Special Ops, 1939-1945: A Manual of Covert Warfare and Training. British Special Operations Executive & American Office of Strategic Services, by Stephen Bull, reviewed by Rita Kramer, 632-633.

The Second World War on the Eastern Front, by Lee Baker, reviewed by Jonathan M. House, 633-634.

Black Flag: The Surrender of Germany’s U-Boat Forces, by Lawrence Paterson, reviewed by Keith W. Bird, 634-636.

Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac, by Craig Stockings, reviewed by Niall Barr, 636-637.

To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942, by David M. Glantz with Jonathan M. House, reviewed by Joel Hayward, 637-638.

Canadians Under Fire: Infantry Effectiveness in the Second World War, by Robert Engen, reviewed by Alexander W.G. Herd, 639-640.

Dragons on Bird Wings: The Combat History of the 812th Fighter Regiment, by Vladislav Antipov and Igor Utkin, translated by James F. Gebhardt, reviewed by Reina Pennington, 640-641.

Sources of Weapon Systems Innovation in the Department of Defense: The Role of In-House Research and Development, 1945-2000, by Thomas C. Lassman, reviewed by Robert G. Angevine, 642-643.

The B-45 Tornado: An Operational History of the First American Jet Bomber, by John C. Fredriksen, reviewed by Kenneth P. Werrell, 643-644.

A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon, by Neil Sheehan, reviewed by Michael J. Neufeld, 644-645.

War Without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam, by Bernd Greiner, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 646-649.

An Loc: The Unfinished War, by Tran Van Nhut with Christian L. Arevian, reviewed by Daniel E. Spector, 649-650.

Drop Zone Borneo. The RAF Campaign 1963-65: The Most Successful Use of Armed Forces in the Twentieth Century, by Roger Annett, reviewed by Murdock Moore, 650-651.

Until the Last Man Comes Home: POWs, MIAs, and the Unending Vietnam War, by Michael J. Allen, reviewed by Kelly E. Crager, 651-652.

Immortal: A Military History of Iran and its Armed Forces, by Steven R. Ward, reviewed by Maziar Behrooz, 653-654.

History of Operations Research in the United States Army, Volume III: 1973-1995, by Charles R. Shrader, reviewed by Clayton R. Newell, 654-655.

America's Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force, by Beth Bailey, reviewed by Henry G. Gole, 655-656.

Secret Intelligence: A Reader, edited by Christopher Andrew, Richard J. Aldrich and Wesley K. Wark, reviewed by Thomas G. Mahnken, 656-657.

American Civil-Military Relations: The Soldier and the State in a New Era, edited by Suzanne C. Nielsen and Don M. Snider, reviewed by Lance Betros, 657-659.

The Science of War: Defense Budgeting, Military Technology, Logistics, and Combat Outcomes, by Michael E. O'Hanlon, reviewed by Byron K. Callan, 659-660.

National Security Dilemmas: Challenges and Opportunities, by Colin S. Gray, reviewed by Jeremy Black, 660-661

Film Review Essay:
The Paraguayan War: The Forgotten War, film by Denis Wright, reviewed by José Alvarez, 662-663.

Other:
BOOKS RECEIVED: 664-667
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 668-670
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: 671