Journal of Military History
Vol. 90, No. 2
April 2026
Articles
The 2026 George C. Marshall Lecture in Military History
“The Fate of the Day: Bringing Back the Dead 250 Years After the Revolution,” by Rick Atkinson, 281–92
“The Fate of the Day: Bringing Back the Dead 250 Years After the Revolution,” by Rick Atkinson, 281–92
“In Defense of a Kingdom: The 1855 Hawaiian Articles of War and Major Francis Funk,” by Neil B. Dukas, 293–314
In 1855, the Kingdom of Hawai‘i published “Articles of War” (Kanawai o na Puali Koa) as part of a comprehensive program of reforms initiated by the Hawaiian Islands’ commander in chief and the secretary of war to transform the nation’s military. Many factors contribute to a nation’s long-term security and stability, among them, military preparedness, especially when the other contributing factors are in a state of flux. Those who supported the promulgation of Hawai‘i’s Articles of War understood that their adoption would be a watershed moment, one that would help to ensure the country’s continued independence.
“Ferdinand Foch and the Operational Level of War, Part 2: Operational Art and Allied Victory,” by William Philpott, 315–38
This article evaluates Ferdinand Foch’s contemporary reflections on the Somme offensive that he directed. It explains how he came to understand that a high-tempo, front-wide operational system that combined cumulative attrition with lateral maneuver would be needed to destroy the enemy’s army. This reconceptualization of operational art, the second stage of a two-stage process by which modern operational warfare emerged on the Western Front, enabled Foch, when Allied generalissimo in 1918, to secure a swift, decisive victory in 1918’s climactic bataille générale.
“A Brotherhood of Unequals: The Experience of Benelux Volunteers in the Waffen-SS’s Transnational Project,” by Nina Janz, 339–69
This article examines the paradoxical experience of foreign volunteers from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg within the Waffen-SS, a formation that presented itself as a transnational, ideologically unified force during the Second World War. Through a comparative transnational lens, it analyzes recruitment strategies, training practices, and the personal motivations of volunteers, revealing deep tensions between propaganda and practice. Benelux recruits were courted as “Germanic brothers,” yet marginalized in command structures, linguistically segregated, and denied full equality. The article argues that the Waffen-SS’s pan-European project failed to transcend national identities or achieve ideological unity, instead producing a fractured and hierarchical military structure where inclusion remained conditional and fragile.
“‘Willing to Die Fighting for Our Rights:’ The Chronicle of the 34th Naval Construction Battalion,” by Frank A. Blazich Jr., 370–98
During World War II, the United States Navy permitted Blacks to serve outside of the messman branch, notably in the new Naval Construction Force, or Seabees. The 34th Naval Construction Battalion was the first Black Seabee unit and served twenty-one months in the Pacific. Discriminatory policies of the navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks drove the Black Seabees to work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Black press to seek redress. The battalion staged a hunger strike that brought the discrimination to the attention of the highest levels of navy leadership. Rather than disband the unit, the Navy implemented changes to address the issues.
“Demobilization, Disintegration, and Mutiny: The U.S. Army and Washington’s China Policy, September 1945 to February 1946,” by Andrew Buchanan and Ruth Lawlor, 399–428
This article combines a political and social history of the post–World War II demobilization of the U.S. military with a diplomatic and military history of the crisis in China in the months following the surrender of Japan. In this light, it examines the broader political consequences of the worldwide GI rebellion, showing how the rapid demobilization”—described by President Truman as a “disintegration”—constrained policymakers’ options as civil war flared in China. This remarkably understudied conjuncture, which left Washington with very limited military options at a critical moment in the consolidation of its postwar hegemony, illuminates key aspects of the ragged endings of World War II in Asia and the early development of the Cold War.
“Rethinking Command in Iraq: George Casey and Multi-National Forces-Iraq, 2004–2007,” by Darrell Fawley III, 429–52
In the narrative of the Iraq War, General George Casey has taken on the role of a conventional, inflexible commander who turned away from counterinsurgency and pushed hard to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. The situation was bad when he handed command to General David Petraeus, who oversaw a dramatic turnaround. New evidence has emerged that warrants a re-evaluation of Casey’s approach to Iraq, though; it demonstrates that Casey may have been the chief driver of improved counterinsurgency understanding in the U.S. military prior to the publication of FM3-24, Counterinsurgency, and that Casey established conditions from which his successor benefited.
Book Reviews:
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender, by James Romm, reviewed by Nicholas D. Cross, 453–54
Scipio Africanus: The First Imperator, by Dexter Hoyos, reviewed by Arthur M. Eckstein, 455–46
Zouave Theaters: Transnational Military Fashion and Performance, by Carol E. Harrison and Thomas J. Brown, reviewed by Heather Akou, 457–58
A Precarious Balance: Firearms, Race, and Community in North Carolina, 1715–1865, by Antwain K. Hunter, reviewed by Tracy L. Barnett, 458–60
War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution, by Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin, reviewed by Travis C. Perusich, 460–61
From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War, by John R. Maass, reviewed by Christian Sloan, 462–63
Sylvanus Thayer: A Biography, by James William Kershner, edited by Jon C. Malinowski, reviewed by Daniel J. Kovacs, 463–65
The War on Illahee: Genocide, Complicity, and Cover-Ups in the Pioneer Northwest, by Marc James Carpenter, reviewed by Ryan W. Booth, 465–66
Russian Military Thought: The Evolution of Strategy since the Crimean War, by Gudrun Persson, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 467–68
Faith of the Fathers: The Comprehensive History of Catholic Chaplains in the Civil War, by Robert J. Miller, reviewed by John M. Hinck, 469–70
Gettysburg, by Adam I. P. Smith, reviewed by Brian Matthew Jordan, 470–72
A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, Volume II: From the Crater’s Aftermath to the Battle of Burgess Mill, by A. Wilson Greene, reviewed by James J. Broomall, 472–74
The Lost Cause and the Great War: Progressive Reform and Patriotism in the American South, by Robert E. Hunt, reviewed by David Marthy, 474–76
Onward: The King’s Own Calgary Regiment in Peace and War, 1910–1960, by Patrick H. Brennan, reviewed by John J. (Joe) Parkinson, 476–77
Ring of Fire: A New History of the World at War: 1914, by Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst, reviewed by Daniel Kovacs, 477–79
Frontline Surgeon: New Zealand Medical Pioneer Douglas Jolly, by Mark Derby, reviewed by Srijita C. Pal, 479–80
Uncivil Guard: Policing, Military Culture, and the Coming of the Spanish Civil War, by Foster Chamberlin, reviewed by Nil Santiáñez, 480–82
Making Antifascist War: The International Brigades’ Transnational Encounters with Civil War Spain, 1936–1939, by Adrian Pole, reviewed by David A. Messenger, 482–84
The Maginot Line: A New History, by Kevin Passmore, reviewed by Cameron Zinsou, 484–86
The Impossible Bomb: The Hidden History of British Scientists and the Race to Create an Atomic Weapon, by Gareth Williams, reviewed by Oliver Barton, 486–87
Opening the Gates of Hell: Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941, by Richard Hargreaves, reviewed by Robert Kirchubel, 488–89
Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War, by Roger Moorhouse, reviewed by Joel I. Holwitt, 489–91
Cold Combat: Mountain Warfare in Italy and the Battle of San Pietro, 1943, by James Jay Carafano, reviewed by Arnold Blumberg, 491–92
Hero City: Leningrad 1943-44, by Prit Buttar, reviewed by Rob Citino, 493–94
Kill—Do Not Release: Censored Marine Corps Stories from World War II, by Douglass K. Daniel, reviewed by Rod Andrew Jr., 494–95
Warriors in Washington: Henry Stimson, the US Army, and the Politics of American Power in World War II, by Grant H. Golub, reviewed by Samuel Watson, 496–97
Mythos Stuka. Neue Forschungsergebnisse zur Junkers Ju 87, by Christoph Bergs, Roman Töppel, and Jens Wehner, reviewed by Klaus Schmider, 497–98
Victory ’45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders, by James Holland and Al Murray, reviewed by Kyle A. Applegate, 499–500
The Marines’ Fight for Survival: War, Politics, and Institutional Crisis, 1945–1952, by Rod Andrew Jr, reviewed by Karl Rubis, 500–2
Faith and Fear: America’s Relationship with War since 1945, by Gregory A. Daddis, reviewed by Milorad Lazic, 502–4
Churchill Cold War Warrior: Winston Churchill and the Iron Curtain, by Anthony Tucker–Jones, reviewed by Jim Tucci, 504–6
Inchon, by S. P. MacKenzie, reviewed Zachary Matusheski, 506–8
A War of Their Own. FULRO: The Other National Liberation Front, Vietnam 1955–75, by William H. Chickering, reviewed by Heather Marie Stur, 508–9
Alliances & Armor: Communist Diplomacy and Armored Warfare during the War in Vietnam, by Jim Pomeroy, reviewed by John L. Tran, 510–11
The Province of All Mankind: How Outer Space Became American Foreign Policy, by Stephen Buono, reviewed by David Fitzgerald, 511–13
Advice and Support: The Middle Years, January 1964–June 1965, by Andrew J. Birtle, reviewed by Bruce Zellers, 513–15
Spying on Muslims in Colonial Mozambique, 1964–74, by Sandra Araújo, reviewed by Zachary Kagan Guthrie, 515–16
When Presidents Fight the Last War: The Oval Office, Sunk Costs, and Wartime Decision-Making since Vietnam, by Bryan N. Groves, reviewed by Matthew A. Frakes, 516–18
GSG 9: From Munich to Mogadishu. The Birth of Germany’s Counterterrorism Force, by Martin Herzog, reviewed by William R. Patterson, 518–20
The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo, by Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja, reviewed by John M. Hinck, 520–21
Dogwood: A National Guard Unit’s War in Iraq, by Andrew Wiest, reviewed by Barry M. Stentiford, 522–23
Blue Helmet: My Year as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan, by Edward H. Carpenter, reviewed by John Yuhas, 523–25
Brutal Catalyst: What Ukraine’s Cities Tell Us about Recovery from War, by Russell W. Glenn, reviewed by Jeff Hawn, 525–27
War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips, by Matthew Ford, reviewed by John Arquilla, 527–28
AI, Automation, and War: The Rise of a Military-Tech Complex, by Anthony King, reviewed by Mark R. Wilson, 529–30
Reconceptualizing War, by Ben Zweibelson, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 530–31
BOOKS RECEIVED: 532–33
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 534–41
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender, by James Romm, reviewed by Nicholas D. Cross, 453–54
Scipio Africanus: The First Imperator, by Dexter Hoyos, reviewed by Arthur M. Eckstein, 455–46
Zouave Theaters: Transnational Military Fashion and Performance, by Carol E. Harrison and Thomas J. Brown, reviewed by Heather Akou, 457–58
A Precarious Balance: Firearms, Race, and Community in North Carolina, 1715–1865, by Antwain K. Hunter, reviewed by Tracy L. Barnett, 458–60
War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution, by Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin, reviewed by Travis C. Perusich, 460–61
From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War, by John R. Maass, reviewed by Christian Sloan, 462–63
Sylvanus Thayer: A Biography, by James William Kershner, edited by Jon C. Malinowski, reviewed by Daniel J. Kovacs, 463–65
The War on Illahee: Genocide, Complicity, and Cover-Ups in the Pioneer Northwest, by Marc James Carpenter, reviewed by Ryan W. Booth, 465–66
Russian Military Thought: The Evolution of Strategy since the Crimean War, by Gudrun Persson, reviewed by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, 467–68
Faith of the Fathers: The Comprehensive History of Catholic Chaplains in the Civil War, by Robert J. Miller, reviewed by John M. Hinck, 469–70
Gettysburg, by Adam I. P. Smith, reviewed by Brian Matthew Jordan, 470–72
A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, Volume II: From the Crater’s Aftermath to the Battle of Burgess Mill, by A. Wilson Greene, reviewed by James J. Broomall, 472–74
The Lost Cause and the Great War: Progressive Reform and Patriotism in the American South, by Robert E. Hunt, reviewed by David Marthy, 474–76
Onward: The King’s Own Calgary Regiment in Peace and War, 1910–1960, by Patrick H. Brennan, reviewed by John J. (Joe) Parkinson, 476–77
Ring of Fire: A New History of the World at War: 1914, by Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst, reviewed by Daniel Kovacs, 477–79
Frontline Surgeon: New Zealand Medical Pioneer Douglas Jolly, by Mark Derby, reviewed by Srijita C. Pal, 479–80
Uncivil Guard: Policing, Military Culture, and the Coming of the Spanish Civil War, by Foster Chamberlin, reviewed by Nil Santiáñez, 480–82
Making Antifascist War: The International Brigades’ Transnational Encounters with Civil War Spain, 1936–1939, by Adrian Pole, reviewed by David A. Messenger, 482–84
The Maginot Line: A New History, by Kevin Passmore, reviewed by Cameron Zinsou, 484–86
The Impossible Bomb: The Hidden History of British Scientists and the Race to Create an Atomic Weapon, by Gareth Williams, reviewed by Oliver Barton, 486–87
Opening the Gates of Hell: Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941, by Richard Hargreaves, reviewed by Robert Kirchubel, 488–89
Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War, by Roger Moorhouse, reviewed by Joel I. Holwitt, 489–91
Cold Combat: Mountain Warfare in Italy and the Battle of San Pietro, 1943, by James Jay Carafano, reviewed by Arnold Blumberg, 491–92
Hero City: Leningrad 1943-44, by Prit Buttar, reviewed by Rob Citino, 493–94
Kill—Do Not Release: Censored Marine Corps Stories from World War II, by Douglass K. Daniel, reviewed by Rod Andrew Jr., 494–95
Warriors in Washington: Henry Stimson, the US Army, and the Politics of American Power in World War II, by Grant H. Golub, reviewed by Samuel Watson, 496–97
Mythos Stuka. Neue Forschungsergebnisse zur Junkers Ju 87, by Christoph Bergs, Roman Töppel, and Jens Wehner, reviewed by Klaus Schmider, 497–98
Victory ’45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders, by James Holland and Al Murray, reviewed by Kyle A. Applegate, 499–500
The Marines’ Fight for Survival: War, Politics, and Institutional Crisis, 1945–1952, by Rod Andrew Jr, reviewed by Karl Rubis, 500–2
Faith and Fear: America’s Relationship with War since 1945, by Gregory A. Daddis, reviewed by Milorad Lazic, 502–4
Churchill Cold War Warrior: Winston Churchill and the Iron Curtain, by Anthony Tucker–Jones, reviewed by Jim Tucci, 504–6
Inchon, by S. P. MacKenzie, reviewed Zachary Matusheski, 506–8
A War of Their Own. FULRO: The Other National Liberation Front, Vietnam 1955–75, by William H. Chickering, reviewed by Heather Marie Stur, 508–9
Alliances & Armor: Communist Diplomacy and Armored Warfare during the War in Vietnam, by Jim Pomeroy, reviewed by John L. Tran, 510–11
The Province of All Mankind: How Outer Space Became American Foreign Policy, by Stephen Buono, reviewed by David Fitzgerald, 511–13
Advice and Support: The Middle Years, January 1964–June 1965, by Andrew J. Birtle, reviewed by Bruce Zellers, 513–15
Spying on Muslims in Colonial Mozambique, 1964–74, by Sandra Araújo, reviewed by Zachary Kagan Guthrie, 515–16
When Presidents Fight the Last War: The Oval Office, Sunk Costs, and Wartime Decision-Making since Vietnam, by Bryan N. Groves, reviewed by Matthew A. Frakes, 516–18
GSG 9: From Munich to Mogadishu. The Birth of Germany’s Counterterrorism Force, by Martin Herzog, reviewed by William R. Patterson, 518–20
The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo, by Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja, reviewed by John M. Hinck, 520–21
Dogwood: A National Guard Unit’s War in Iraq, by Andrew Wiest, reviewed by Barry M. Stentiford, 522–23
Blue Helmet: My Year as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan, by Edward H. Carpenter, reviewed by John Yuhas, 523–25
Brutal Catalyst: What Ukraine’s Cities Tell Us about Recovery from War, by Russell W. Glenn, reviewed by Jeff Hawn, 525–27
War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips, by Matthew Ford, reviewed by John Arquilla, 527–28
AI, Automation, and War: The Rise of a Military-Tech Complex, by Anthony King, reviewed by Mark R. Wilson, 529–30
Reconceptualizing War, by Ben Zweibelson, reviewed by Fred L. Borch, 530–31
BOOKS RECEIVED: 532–33
RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES: 534–41
