Journal of Military History
Article Abstracts
Vol. 69, No. 2
April 2005

Articles:

Susannah U. Bruce, "Remember Your Country and Keep Up Its Credit": Irish Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861-1865," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 331-360.

Historians have lacked a central theme to explain Irish-American service in the Union Army during the American Civil War, due to the varying experiences of Irish immigrants. There is, however, one common thread linking their service: their dual loyalties to Ireland and America. When the Union cause supported their interests in Ireland and America, Irish Americans volunteered for the war and their families supported them. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the federal draft, and a staggering rise in Irish-American casualties, they began to question, and in some cases, abandon, the Union war effort because it no longer protected their interests in both countries.

 

Nicholas A. Lambert, "Strategic Command and Control for Maneuver Warfare: Creation of the Royal Navy's 'War Room' System, 1905-1915," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 361-410.

Between 1905 and 1914, the British Board of Admiralty developed and implemented a revolutionary system of naval command and control intended to facilitate the adoption of maneuver warfare strategy and built upon the concept of what is known today as "information dominance." Under Admiral Sir John Fisher, the Admiralty transformed itself into the Royal Navy's operational command and control center and in the process fundamentally redefined the relationship between the supreme command and the fleet (and theatre) commanders. Adoption of the "War Room" system entailed coordination of British investment in global communications infrastructure as well as the centralization of gathering and processing of intelligence from around the world.

 

Matthew Hughes, "Logistics and the Chaco War: Bolivia versus Paraguay, 1932-1935," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 411-438.

This article assesses how Paraguay, the weaker power, managed to defeat Bolivia in the 1932-35 Chaco War, fought over the disputed and remote Gran Chaco region that separated the two countries. Using a broad definition of logistics to include the acquisition of matériel before the war as well as the establishment of national and international supply lines during the war, it examines the logistical infrastructure of Bolivia and Paraguay from the early 1920s to 1935. The article argues that Paraguay's logistical superiority, developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, was a decisive factor leading to its victory in 1935.

 

Douglas Ford, "British Intelligence on Japanese Army Morale During the Pacific War: Logical Analysis or Racial Stereotyping?" The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 439-474.

The British army's image of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during the Pacific War (1941-45) was shaped by a logical analysis of the intelligence obtained through combat experience. Early in the war, the Japanese soldier's exceptional level of morale played a crucial role in enabling the IJA to oust the Allies from Southeast Asia. By late 1944, the British concluded that when the Japanese were being pushed back on all fronts their fighting spirit was prone to deteriorate when faced with setbacks and prolonged hardships on the battlefield, thus significantly damaging the IJA's capabilities. British appreciations were based not on preconceived notions, but on a judicious analysis of the relevant information.

 

Matthias Reiss, "Bronzed Bodies behind Barbed Wire: Masculinity and the Treatment of German Prisoners of War in the United States during World War II," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 475-504.

During the Second World War, some 371,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) were interned in the United States. Historians studying this group have so far mainly focused on the country's adherence to the Geneva Convention and on its reeducation program for German POWs. This article argues that the prisoners' bodies are also a central category for understanding their experience of captivity. For many Americans, the German veteran soldiers seemed to embody central masculine virtues. This linked Americans to their own boys in uniform and led to heavy fraternization with the prisoners. Unable to stop this and especially worried about relationships between POWs and American women, the War Department did not follow the example of other powers and refused to parole the Germans into the custody of American employers.

 

 

Document of Note:

Suzanne Geissler, "Professor Dennis Mahan Speaks Out on West Point Chapel Issues, 1850," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 505-520.

Dennis Hart Mahan, legendary West Point professor of the pre-Civil War era, was also a devout Christian and active Episcopal layman. In this 1850 letter to the Secretary of War, Mahan explains (1) why the post of West Point chaplain should always go to an Episcopalian, and (2) why chapel attendance should not be mandatory for West Point staff. His explanation indicates that for Mahan the concept of being a "Christian gentleman" was not merely a nominal one.

Review Essay:

Reed Browning, "New Views on the Silesian Wars," The Journal of Military History 69 (April 2005): 521-534.

In the past twenty-five years, scholarship on the Silesian Wars (1740-42, 1744-45, and 1756-63) has adjusted our views of these conflicts. This article identifies eight conclusions that may be drawn from this scholarship. In general, they lead to a heightened respect for Austria's military capacity but also to an enhancement of Frederick the Great's reputation as a commander. They even hint that as scholars chip away at received ideas, a view of the wars that is not basically Fredrician may be attainable.