Journal of Military History
Vol. 71, No. 3
July 2007
Articles
John F. Guilmartin, Jr., "The Earliest Shipboard Gunpowder Ordnance: An Analysis of Its Technical Parameters and Tactical Capabilities," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 649-669.
Few technological developments in the history of warfare have been as portentous as the appearance around the turn of the sixteenth century of effective heavy gunpowder ordnance on shipboard, which began a new era in sea warfare. Employed on Mediterranean war galleys and Portuguese caravels, the weapons marked the solution of a series of daunting technological problems discussed in this article, beginning with the appearance of gunpowder in Europe about 1300. Unlike developments on land, change was at first gradual, but shortly after 1400 the pace of development sharply accelerated to culminate in what may legitimately be termed a revolution in firepower at sea.
Wayne E. Lee, "Peace Chiefs and Blood Revenge: Patterns of Restraint in Native American Warfare, 1500-1800," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 701-741.
Discussions of the escalation in the intensity and lethality of European-Native American warfare lack a systematic catalog of Indian restraints on war, in contrast to the extensive literature on European warfare. This article surveys eastern Native American societies at war from roughly 1500 to 1800 for limits on destructive potential and intent. Although Indian societies were willing to seek to destroy an enemy, including indiscriminate killing, patterns of restraint inherent to their social authority, cultural values, and methods of warfare tended to limit escalation and the overall level of violence. The dissonance of patterns of restraint in Indian and European warfare contributed to Euro-Indian escalation.
William Philpott and Martin S. Alexander, "The French and the British Field Force: Moral Support or Material Contribution?" The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 743-772.
This article examines how the French viewed British military preparations for a war against Germany in the 1930s. It focuses on declining French expectations of the effectiveness of British military support as the reality of Britain's small and ill-prepared Field Force became apparent as war approached. Nevertheless, France continued to place a high moral value on immediate British participation in the common fight, as a token of her commitment to the alliance and long-term potential. For that reason, careful monitoring of British military developments and strategic intentions remained central to France's preparations for a future war with Germany.
Alexander Hill, "British Lend-Lease Aid and the Soviet War Effort, June 1941-June 1942," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 773-808.
The historiography of Allied assistance to the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) has paid little attention to deliveries made during the First Moscow Protocol period to the end of June 1942, during which Britain was the primary provider of aid. Whilst aid shipped during this period was limited compared to that for subsequent U.S.-dominated protocols, its significance has to be understood in the context of the military and economic situation faced by the Soviet Union during the first year of the war.
William M. Donnelly, " 'The Best Army that Can Be Put in the Field in the Circumstances': The U.S. Army, July 1951-July 1953," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 809-847.
Between July 1951 and July 1953 the U.S. Army found itself attempting to support both a field army in Korea and the NSC 68 military buildup. During these years, however, the Army suffered from a crippling manpower dilemma, both in quantity and in quality, the result of a limited national mobilization and President Harry S. Truman's decision to cut the Army's budget without cutting its missions. This dilemma adversely affected combat effectiveness, readiness, and morale. For some career soldiers, the stresses of this period exposed aspects of the Army's institutional culture that they found disturbing.
Historiographic Essays
Ethan S. Rafuse, "Still a Mystery? General Grant and the Historians, 1981-2006," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 849-874.
In 1879 General William T. Sherman remarked that, although he had known Ulysses S. Grant for years, "to me he is a mystery, and I believe he is a mystery to himself." Over the last quarter-century many authors have claimed to have solved or at least shed fresh light on the mystery of Grant. For the most part, they have portrayed Grant as a great general and good man, dissenting strongly with the highly negative portrayal of Grant contained in William S. McFeely's 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning study. This essay traces the evolution of Grant scholarship since 1981 and suggests possible lines of inquiry for future Grant scholars.
Eugenia C. Kiesling, "Illuminating Strange Defeat and Pyrrhic Victory: The Historian Robert A. Doughty," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (July 2007): 875-888.
"Illuminating Strange Defeat and Pyrrhic Victory: The Historian Robert A. Doughty" is the first of a new genre of Journal of Military History articles designed to explore particular historiographical areas by focusing on the contributions of their most distinguished historians. In surveying the scholarship of Brigadier General (Rtd.) Robert A. Doughty as well as his role in shaping the History Department at the United States Military Academy, this article explores the evolution of English-language interpretations of the fall of France in 1940 and the French effort in the Great War while highlighting Doughty's efforts to teach the U.S. Army how to harness historical study in the interest of doctrinal development.
Document of Note
David J. Ulbrich, "The Long-Lost Tentative Manual for Defense of Advanced Bases (1936)," The Journal of Military History 71 #3 (October 2007): 889-902.
Until 1998, the Tentative Manual for Defense of Advanced Bases was lost at the National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland. Originally published in 1936 by the U.S. Marine Corps Schools, this document resurfaced at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., when Marine Corps records were being shifted among archival facilities. The Tentative Manual for Defense of Advanced Bases represented the culmination of decades of doctrinal thinking in the Marine Corps about the defense of island bases against enemy amphibious, naval, and aerial assaults. The passages excerpted in this research note demonstrate that the far-sighted marines correctly conceived of effective ways to defend American bases on Wake Island, Midway, Guadalcanal, and other islands in the Pacific War.
Reviews:
Azar Gat, War in Human Civilization, reviewed by Ralph Hitchens, 908-910.
Ralph D. Sawyer, The Dao of Deception: Unorthodox Warfare in Historic and Modern China, reviewed by David A. Graff, 910-912.
R. Malcolm Errington, Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius, reviewed by Lawrence A. Tritle, 912-913.
John A. Wagner, Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War, reviewed by Clifford J. Rogers, 913-914.
David Farr, Henry Ireton and the English Revolution, reviewed by Charles Carlton, 914.
Lance E. Davis and Stanley L. Engerman, Naval Blockades in Peace and War: An Economic History Since 1750, reviewed by Eric W. Osborne, 915.
Fintan O'Toole, White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America, reviewed by Greg O'Brien, 916-917.
Kate Teltscher, The High Road to China: George Bogle, the Panchen Lama, and the First British Expedition to Tibet, reviewed by Rob Johnson, 917-918.
John Resch and Walter Sargent, editors, War and Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization and Home Fronts, reviewed by Caroline Cox, 918-919.
Alfred A. Cave, Prophets of the Great Spirit: Native American Revitalization Movements in Eastern North America, reviewed by Mark A. Nicholas, 919-920.
David A. Bell, The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It, reviewed by Owen Connelly, 920-921.
Rory Muir et al., Inside Wellington's Peninsular Army, 1808-1814, reviewed by Frank Garosi, 921.
Joel H. Silbey, Storm over Texas: The Annexation Controversy and the Road to Civil War, reviewed by Joseph G. Dawson, III, 923.
Donald L. Canney, Africa Squadron: The U.S. Navy and the Slave Trade, 1842-1861, reviewed by Eugene S. Van Sickle, 924-925.
Ira Dye, Uriah Levy: Reformer of the Antebellum Navy, reviewed by Kevin J. Weddle, 925-926.
C. Douglas Kroll, "Friends in Peace and War": The Russian Navy's Landmark Visit to Civil War San Francisco, reviewed by Harold D. Langley, 926-927.
Richard G. Hardorff, Washita Memories: Eyewitness Views of Custer's Attack on Black Kettle's Village, reviewed by James T. Carroll, 927-928.
Daniel R. Beaver, Modernizing the American War Department: Change and Continuity in a Turbulent Era, 1885-1920, reviewed by Graham A. Cosmas, 928-930.
John Lawrence Tone, War and Genocide in Cuba, 1895-1898, reviewed by David F. Trask, 930-931.
William C. Fuller, Jr., The Foe Within: Fantasies of Treason and the End of Imperial Russia, reviewed by Jack R. Dukes, 932-933.
Eric W. Osborne, The Battle of Heligoland Bight, reviewed by Paul G. Halpern, 933-934.
Helen B. McCartney, Citizen Soldiers: The Liverpool Territorials in the First World War, reviewed by Stephen M. Miller, 935-936.
Elizabeth M. Campbell, translator, Georg von Trapp, To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander, reviewed by Donald Stoker, 936-937.
Charles Townshend, Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion, reviewed by John Cunningham, 937-938.
John Grainger, The Battle for Palestine, 1917, reviewed by Matthew Hughes, 938-940.
Donald Smythe, Pershing: General of the Armies, reviewed by Edward M. Coffman, 940-941.
William N. Still, Jr., Crisis at Sea: The United States Navy in European Waters in World War I, reviewed by Suzanne Geissler, 941-942.
Robert H. Ferrell, America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918, reviewed by Mitchell Yockelson, 942-943.
Mark Levitch, Panthéon de la Guerre: Reconfiguring a Panorama of the Great War, reviewed by Leonard V. Smith, 943-944.
David Stone, Fighting for the Fatherland: The Story of the German Soldier from 1648 to the Present Day, reviewed by Robert M. Citino, 945-946.
Vincent Joly, Le Soudan français de 1939 à 1945: Une colonie dans la guerre, reviewed by Ruth Ginio, 946-947.
Ruth Ginio, French Colonialism Unmasked: The Vichy Years in French West Africa, reviewed by Tony Chafer, 947-948.
Deborah Ann Schmitt, The Bechuanaland Pioneers and Gunners, reviewed by Ashley Jackson, 948-950.
Evan Mawdsley, Thunder in The East: The Nazi-Soviet War, 1941-1945, reviewed by Marcus Faulkner, 950-951.
Hal Vaughan, FDR's 12 Apostles: The Spies Who Paved the Way for the Invasion of North Africa, reviewed by Douglas Porch, 951-952.
Robert L. Beir with Brian Josepher, Roosevelt and the Holocaust: A Rooseveltian Examines the Policies and Remembers the Times, reviewed by David A. Messenger, 952-954.
William Stevenson, Spymistress: The Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II, reviewed by Rita Kramer, 954-955.
Thomas M. Leonard and John F. Bratzel, editors, Latin America during World War II, reviewed by Bradley Lynn Coleman, 955-957.
Thomas E. Crew, Combat Loaded: Across the Pacific on the USS Tate, reviewed by Mark W. Johnson, 957-959.
Kevin C. Holzimmer, General Walter Krueger: Unsung Hero of the Pacific War, reviewed by George Eaton, 959-960.
Gerhard L. Weinberg, Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders, reviewed by Jeff Demers, 960-962.
Lovern "Jerry" Nauss, Troubleshooting All the Way: A Memoir of the 1st Signal Company and Combat Telephone Communications in the 1st Infantry Division, 1944-1945, reviewed by Rebecca Robbins Raines, 962-963.
Marshall DeBruhl, Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden, reviewed by Kenneth P. Werrell, 963-965.
Barrett Tillman, LeMay: A Biography, reviewed by Dik Daso, 965-966.
Denise J. Youngblood, Russian War Films: On the Cinema Front, 1914-2005, reviewed by Elena Shulman, 967-968.
Michael S. Sweeney, The Military and the Press: An Uneasy Truce, reviewed by Robert L. Bateman, 968-969.
Benjamin P. Greene, Eisenhower, Science Advice, and the Nuclear Test-Ban Debate, 1945-1963, reviewed by Campbell Craig, 970-971.
Jeffrey Williams, Far from Home: A Memoir of a 20th Century Soldier, reviewed by Marc Milner, 971-972.
Irene and Alan Taylor, editors, The War Diaries: An Anthology of Daily Wartime Diary Entries Throughout History, reviewed by Victor P. Corona, 972-974.
Alex Vernon, Arms and the Self: War, the Military, and Autobiographical Writing, reviewed by Alex Danchev, 974-975.
Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, Khrushchev's Cold War: The Inside Story of an American Adversary, reviewed by Paul Wanke, 975-976.
Andrew J. Birtle, U.S. Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations Doctrine 1942-1976, reviewed by John P. Cann, 976-977.
James H. Willbanks, The Tet Offensive: A Concise History, reviewed by Larry K. Burke, 977-979.
Natalie Kimbrough, Equality or Discrimination?: African Americans in the U.S. Military During the Vietnam War, reviewed by Jason R. Kirby, 979-980.
Lewis Taylor, Shining Path: Guerrilla War in Peru's Northern Highlands, 1980-1997, reviewed by Brian Loveman, 980-982.
Jeremy Black, A Military History of Britain from 1775 to the Present, reviewed by Ian F. W. Beckett, 982-983.
William C. Martel, Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Military Policy, reviewed by Jeremy Black, 983-984.
Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, reviewed by Stephen A. Bourque, 984-985.
Kevin M. Woods with Michael R. Pease et al., The Iraqi Perspectives Report: Saddam's Senior Leadership on Operation Iraqi Freedom from the Official U.S. Joint Forces Command Report; Gregory Fontenot, E. J. Degen, and David Tohn, On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, reviewed by Benjamin F. Tuck, 985-986.
Sean M. Maloney, Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan, reviewed by Lester W. Grau, 986-987.
Film Review:
The Tokyo Trial. Donjing shenpan (China) DVD Format. A Shanghai Film Group release of a Beijing Xianming Yinghua Culture & Media Co. production. Reviewed by Michael F. Noone, Jr., 988-989.
Other:
BOOKS RECEIVED, 990-1000.
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES, 1002-1006.
DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS IN MILITARY HISTORY, 1007-1023.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, 1024.
