Member Article: Tet Offensive
by Tim Wolf
Throughout history there have been many final attempts at ending or winning a
war by the opposing force. These attempts have often come by the end of the
campaign and most are a last ditch effort at a victory that is unattainable. The
Tet Offensive of 1968 is one of these attacks.
Member Article: The Battle of Lundy's Lane
by Birrion Sondahl
The Battle of Lundy's Lane was fought on July 25, 1814 between the British army
of General Sir Gordon Drummond and the American army of Major General Jacob S.
Brown. After their recent victory at the Battle of Chippewa (July 5, 1814), the
American army was advancing north towards Queenston.
Member Article: Indiscreet Message
Intercepted: The Fall of Paris, 1814
by Eric Niderost
On Sunday, January 23, 1814, some 700 officers of the Parisian National Guard
assembled in the Salle des Marechaux of the Tuileries Palace. The Salle
des Marechaux was cavernous, it’s two-story walls echoing with the
booted footfalls of the officers.[1]
Member Article: George Kennan: The Flip Side of Containment
by Bruce L. Brager
In March 1946, American diplomat George Kennan, serving in Moscow, received a
telegram from the State Department asking why the Soviet Union refused to join
the World Bank and the International Monetary fund. Keenan's 8,000-word
response, so long it was broken up and sent as five telegrams, laid the
groundwork for what became known as "containment."
 Book Review: Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
Reviewed by Caleb John Klinger
In the wake of the American Revolution, an infant nation seeks to make a name
for itself upon the world stage. But the United States lacks a navy sufficient
to defend itself, let alone venture beyond its own waters. Politicians must
decide whether to protect America itself by building a strong but costly navy or
relying on permanent and less costly fixed fortifications that will leave
America secure on land but vulnerable on the high seas. Ian Toll’s[1] epic
narrative, Six Frigates, shows how America solved the navy dilemma.
 Book Review: Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy
Reviewed by Bruce L. Brager
Democratization is a very hard proposition to argue against.
Can one really argue that people in other countries should not be given the same basic and fundamental
freedoms so prized in the United States? Our fundamental freedoms have given us the most successful
economy in the world. (Economic freedom has actually been found to be the deciding factor in successful
economic development, though political freedom is never a drag on economic development.)
Member Article: Small Battle, Big Implications:
Japan Lost the Upper Hand When it Lost New Guinea
by Rob Dean
The Southwest Pacific proved to be Japan's undoing in World War II because the
Imperial Army overreached, stretching its manpower and its supply lines too
far. But beyond issues of men and equipment, the Imperial Army's failure
exposed fundamental weaknesses in military doctrine.
Member Article: Unconventional Warfare during the Civil War - John S. Mosby's campaign for the Shenandoah
by Kryn Miner
Since man picked up a weapon against his fellow being, he has always looked for
a way to defeat his opponent in a more efficient and lethal way. It is our
nature to seek out and exploit the weaknesses of our opponent thus maximizing
our gain verses our risk. It's this thinking that brought about the evolution
of unconventional warfare, or "Special Operations," and the men that mastered
its effective use.
Member Article: Harris Class APA's
by Tom Wade
Military history often overlooks the contributions of those whose efforts are
vital to winning, but don't garner the headlines. World War II could not have
been won without the logistics tail, transporting and supplying the tip of the
spear with everything needed to win. The Harris or 535' Class of Attack
Transports were one of the contributors that have been largely in the
background when the histories of the great campaigns were first written.
Member Article: The Aerial Defense of the Netherlands East Indies
by Michael Gough
Japan and the United States emerged as world powers at the beginning of the
20th Century, and soon challenged European Powers' dominance in Asia and the
Pacific. Japan's challenge was aimed at displacing European powers and
inserting itself as a colonial master.
Member Article: Sun Tzu and the Overland Campaign of 1864
by Richard Podruchny
This particular work looks at comparing the Overland Campaign of 1864 against
Sun Tzu's six strategic principles that were extracted from the, "Art of War"
by Mark McNeilly through his work, "Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare." The
six principles that will be used are; win all without fighting, avoid strength,
attack weakness, deception and foreknowledge, speed and preparation, and
shaping the enemy.[1]
Member Article: Shifting Strategies: Military Theory in the American Civil War
by Daniel T. Rean
In four years of civil war stretching from the deserts of New Mexico to the
valleys of Vermont, more than 620,000 Americans died. Many of those soldiers
were victims of violent combat, shot by rifles or pistols, run through by
bayonets, or blown apart by cannon fire.[1] However, many of those soldiers
were also victims of a combat style that combined nineteenth century technology
and weapons with eighteenth century tactics.
Member Article: Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen
by Rob Dean
The master story of the Battle of the Bulge is the German breakthrough that
created the bulge in American lines and the U.S. fight to restore the original
line. Not well known is the story of the U.S. infantry that held the northern
flank. If not for the stand by three rifle companies, the bulge may have become
a break. This study focuses on the defense of Hofen through the first-hand
accounts of 12 soldiers who fought there, the combat reports of units in the
field, the analyses of two infantry officers, and the detailed account of the
battalion commander.
Member Article: The Western Way of "Peace," General Douglas MacArthur as Army Chief of Staff, 1931-1935
by Bob Seals
This order, given to the Army Chief of Staff, by the Secretary of War, on a
sweltering July afternoon, was one, if not the, most difficult orders ever
given to United States Army troops in it's 230 plus years of existence.
Civilian authorities had lost control after three police officers and two
demonstrators had been killed and wounded. Prescribing the use of force against
American civilians, in the nation's capital city, was fraught with danger and
dire political repercussions, to say the least.
 Book Review: Roll-Call to Destiny: The Soldier's Eye View of Civil
War Battle
Reviewed by Patrick R. Jennings
In his previous work American Civil War historian Brent Nosworthy has labored
to tell the story of the fighting man, both Federal and Confederate, not by
discussing battles but by reviewing their experiences. Indeed, so impressive
was his voluminous work The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and
Combat Experience of the Civil War, that one might think his most
recent book, Roll-Call to Destiny: The Soldier's Eye View of Civil War Battle
would be a closer inspection of combat experiences based on a wealth of
research experience gained in Bloody Crucible thus providing a welcome
contribution to the scholarly investigation of one of America's most intensely
studied conflicts.
Member Article: American Forces in WWII
by Tom Wade
The entry of the United States into World War II was marked by constant
setbacks spanning the Western Pacific beginning December 7, 1941 and into early
1942. After being defeated and pushed back for six months, the U.S. military
machine began to turn out victories that would push back every advancement of
the Axis powers and in 45 months lead to their total defeat.
Member Article: Shadow Warriors - Submarine Special Operations in World War Two
by Daniel T. Rean
The submarine's ability to penetrate a hostile area independently, covertly and
for a long duration, provides a unique tactical advantage. Submarines operating
undetected near the enemy's coastline provide a complete picture of the
undersea, surface and near shore military conditions, including enemy force
dispositions and preparations.
Book Review: Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
Reviewed by Bryan J. Dickerson
Six Frigates is Ian Toll's first book. Prior to writing this book,
Toll had had an extensive career serving as a financial analyst with the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a political aide to Senator Paul Sarbanes
and New York Lieutenant Governor Stan Lundine. It may seem odd for someone with
Toll's political and financial resume to be writing about naval history but a
deeper look into his background reveals a bachelors degree in history from
Georgetown University and a personal passion for naval literature.
Member Article: Bear River Massacre
by Lonny L. Grout
Along U.S. Highway 91, in the Southeast corner of Idaho, twenty miles from the
Idaho/Utah border is the site of the Bear River Massacre. The site is one of
the best kept military history secrets in America. On the 29th of January,
1863, during the American Civil War occurred one of the greatest massacres of
Native Americans by U.S. troops in American history.[1]
Special Feature: Reflections on Iran
I flew from North America, non-stop (14hrs) with the national airline of the
United Arab Emirates (Etihad Airways), landing in Abu Dhabi. In itself, the
flight could be seen as a preparation for the Islamic middle-east. In flight,
for example, a flat panel screen offered a constantly changing indication of
where Mecca was in relation to the aircraft.
Member Article: The Success of Napoleon
by Richard Podruchny
On the European continent, no one would have imagined that the rise of the
"Little Corsican" would have perpetuated a conquest that would involve the
entire European continent. This article will take a look at how and why
Napoleon Bonaparte was as successful on the battlefield as he was. We will also
see how Napoleon efficiently utilized the weapons and technology on hand that
would formulate his strategy and tactics, which would result in his domination
of Western Europe.
 Book Review: Nixon's Vietnam War
Reviewed by John Rincon
In Jeffrey Kimball's highly acclaimed 1998 book entitled, Nixon's Vietnam War,
the author looks to set the record straight defining "Richard Nixon's critical
role" in shaping United States policy in Vietnam from 1969 through the signing
if the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973. The book has a small section
reserved for a review of Nixon's political career and the development of his
staunch anti-communist agendas. For the most however the book deals with the
years of the Nixon Presidency and how he, along with Henry Kissinger endeavored
to bring "peace with honor," for the United States and end the war in Southeast
Asia.
Member Article: Battle of Surigao Strait
by Walter S. Zapotoczny
In late 1944, the Second World War in the Pacific was going badly for Japan.
The American military was determined to retake the Philippines. The U.S.
Pacific fleet had moved to the Mariana Islands in support of General
MacArthur's army, which had landed on the south-west coast of Leyte in October.
The U.S. 7th Fleet, commanded by Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, was near the
Surigao Strait off Leyte.
Member Article: Castro in Africa: Cuba's Operation Carlotta, 1975
by Russ Stayanoff
On December 2, 2005, Cuba's aging Fidel Castro addressed his nation's armed
forces in his last personally delivered Revolutionary Armed Forces Day speech
in Havana. The speech commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Cuban army's
Angolan intervention.[1] The speech was the archetypal "Castronic" socialist
diatribe long-time Fidel watchers had come to expect.
Member Article: Panzer Brigades
by Ruud Bruyns
The destruction of Army Group Centre in June 1944 and the collapse of the
Western Front following the Allied invasion of France in the same month caused
a major drain of German manpower and materiel. Within two months dozens of
divisions were wiped from the German Order of Battle by the sweeping Russian
offensives in Byelorussia and Ukraine, or bled white in the war of attrition in
the Normandy countryside. During the summer of 1944 the German army was beaten
both in Russia and in Western Europe and fell back in full retreat.
Member Article: Adolf Eichmann
by Bruce L. Brager
Adolf Eichmann was tried in Israel in 1961 for crimes committed during World
War Two. Eichmann, former Obersturmbannfuhrer (lieutenant colonel) in the Nazi
German Schutzstaffen (better known as the SS) was accused of playing a major
role in the Holocaust, the systematic murder of 6,000,000 European Jews. The
Holocaust was the Third Reich's "final solution" to first rid Europe and then
rid the world of what it considered the "problem" of the Jewish people.
Member Article: The Battle of Great Bridge; A New Beginning for the Old Dominion
by Richard Podruchny
The Battle of Great Bridge, often referred to as the Second Battle of Bunker's
Hill, should stand out as one the defining moments of the American
Revolutionary War. Although this battle does not match the amount of troops or
casualties found in other engagements, nevertheless, its overall impact can no
longer be ignored. What elevates this particular battle is that numerous slaves
fought alongside the British in exchange for freedom, which openly contradicts
those Colonists preaching liberty, who owned slaves themselves.
Member Article: The Emergence of Seapower in the Yuan Dynasty
by John J. Trombetta and Steven C. Ippolito
John Keegan views the Mongolian war-making polity[1] as a fusion of the "horse
and human ruthlessness[.]" The great khans, Chinggis, Ogodei, Mongke, and
Khublai Khan, gathered the martial energies of the steppe nomad in the quest
for Empire, and released them like so many dogs of war upon Asia, Europe,
China, Korea, the Middle East of Persians and Arabs, and Japan. Results were
startling: extraordinary political changes that reworked the map of the
thirteenth century Asia, and a transformation of war in the Asian steppe
"making it for the first time," in the view of Keegan, "'a thing in
itself.'"[2]
 Book Review: AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War
Reviewed by Allen Parfitt
Kalashnikov! The name conjures images: a hooded Palestinian making his way
through the alleys of Gaza City; a line of Russian infantrymen moving
cautiously through an Afghan poppy field; an African boy with a weapon as big
as he is; a bearded Nicaraguan with his AK-47 lifted high in triumph. "AK-47"
by Larry Kahaner tells us the story of this remarkable weapon from its
conception in the mind of a Russian veteran during World War II to its present
status as the personal weapon of choice throughout much of the world and the
AK-47's emergence as a cultural icon. Although Mikhail Kalashnikov declined to
interviewed for the book, Kahaner drew on a wealth of source material,
including Kalashnikov's autobiography, which apparently has not been translated
into English, to give us a complete picture of the man and his famous gun.
 Book Review: Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II
Reviewed by Russ Stayanoff
There are very few books written, and even fewer read, that will motivate or so
move a reader to go to unusual lengths to want to know or try and understand who
the protagonist of the story really was; who he must have been. This is just
such a book, and this is no ordinary story. First, and foremost, it is a
true personal account of one of thousands of American young men from a typical
all-American small town of the 1940's, who had everything going for him, a
bright future before him, sports, a steady girl, maybe even college. But the war
in Europe and Pearl Harbor interrupted that future for Tennesseean Howard
Goodner and the many like him.
 Book Review: Green Beret in Vietnam, 1957-73
Reviewed by Bob Seals
At various times throughout the history of warfare, certain units have captured
the imagination of the society from which they sprang, witness the 300 Spartans
at Thermopylae, the Medieval Knight on horseback, Napoleon's Old Guard, the
Light Brigade at Balaklava, or the Flying Tigers during the Second World War.
Such notable organizations have, in effect, transcended warfare and passed into
popular lore, often celebrated in song, story and verse. In more modern times,
the U.S. Army Special Forces, more commonly know as the "Green Berets,"
accomplished this feat during the Vietnam War.
 Book Review: The First Way of War: American War Making on the
Frontier, 1607-1814
Reviewed by Russ Stayanoff
When Professor Russell Weigley wrote The American Way of War, he
concentrated his monumental study on large and small recognizable military
formations and focused on those recognizable conventional formations that
operated along established rules of war. He opined that Americans developed
their own unique war fighting strategies evolving from various European
precedents. These precedents also included distinguishing between combatants
and non-combatants.
Member Article: Frederick the Great's Masterpiece: The Battle of Leuthen
by Birrion Sondahl
Frederick the Great has been described as the embodiment of "the utmost in
military achievement that was possible in Europe in the conditions prevailing
before the French revolution." [1] Of all of his battles, none shows
Frederick's military abilities more than the Battle of Leuthen (December 5,
1757). His leadership before and throughout the battle show his capabilities as
a military commander. The Battle of Leuthen can truly be considered to be
Frederick's masterpiece.
Member Article: Nutmeggers on Antietam Creek:
Major Generals Joseph K. F. Mansfield, John Sedgwick, and Connecticut Regiments
in the Maryland Campaign. 2 September through 20 September 1862
by Larry Freiheit
This paper will present the activities of four Connecticut regiments during the
Antietam Campaign as well as participation of two prominent Connecticut
generals, Maj. Gen. Joseph King Fenno Mansfield and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick.
Mansfield was mortally wounded during the Battle of Antietam while Sedgwick was
seriously wounded. To help understand these two regular Union army veterans,
their non-military lives and their military careers before the Civil War will be
summarized. To help set the stage, an overview of the Antietam Campaign
including events leading up to it will be presented first, followed by details
about the regiments, and finally, the two generals.
 Book Review: To Destroy A City:
Strategic Bombing and its Human Consequences in World War II
Reviewed by Brian Grafton
There are any number of excellent books about the bomber offensives of World
War II, ranging from the Len Deighton's Bomber, a 1970 novel recommended to me
by a Bomber Command veteran as the closest he ever came to reliving his raids
over Germany, to Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt's Bomber Command War
Diaries (1985), which summarizes each day of Bomber Command's war against
Germany and Italy, complete with losses, effectiveness, and periodic
assessments of planes destroyed and damage inflicted. Nonetheless, Hermann
Knell's To Destroy a City should be singled out as an outstanding and important
volume about the World War II bombing campaigns. Mr Knell was nineteen when the
war came to him with a vengeance. He was exempt from service in the armed
forces on medical grounds, and living in a relatively small, historical town
called Würzburg, with a population of just over 100,000.
 Book Review: Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third
Reich
Reviewed by Russ Stayanoff
The author Omer Bartov, is the John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of
European History at Brown University. He has authored numerous books on
Germany, France, the Holocaust, and representations of war and genocide—which
include Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich (1992);
Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity (2000); and
(with Phyllis Mack) In God's Name: Genocide and Religion in the Twentieth
Century (2001). Dr. Bartov's book, Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and
War in the Third Reich includes a comprehensive bibliography and a
very useful index with thorough cross-referencing. The author extensively
footnotes the four thematically related chapters and assembles the endnotes by
pages rather than by chapters. Omer Bartov is an accomplished author and
respected intellectual and draws on the scholarship from a variety of
accomplished intellectuals and academics worldwide as well as from wide-ranging
written sources.
Member Article: Was Nathan Bedford Forrest the Best Confederate Cavalry Leader in the West?
by Larry Freiheit
Had the Civil War not occurred when it did allowing Nathan Bedford Forrest to
serve as a cavalry officer, we very likely would not be studying or even reading
about him today. Of course the same could be said about Ulysses S. Grant and
many other notable Civil War commanders. What separates Forrest from other
successful general officers are his accomplishments despite his almost total
lack of education or military background and his impoverished upbringing. His
rise from private to lieutenant general was clearly earned, not gained through
political influence or social standing. His military success are due to
virtually every element which made up this man, but more importantly, how he
conducted his martial career given his physical, mental and spiritual makeup is
what arguably made him the best Confederate cavalry general during the war.
Member Article: George Washington and James Monroe - Military, Political, and Diplomatic
Relations 1776-1799
by Steven Ippolito
The American Way of War: A History of United States Military History and
Policy, by military historian Russell F. Weigley,[1] discusses both art and
war. In a nineteenth century representation of a famous military operation of
the American Revolution, Dr. Weigley references the dramatic instance in which
George Washington and his troops have disembarked from McKonkey’s Ferry in New
Jersey, on a nocturnal riverine journey to attack the Hessian[2] allies of the
British, at Trenton, on Christmas Day, 1776. Completed in 1851, by Emanuel
Leutze,[3] Washington Crossing the Delaware, places Washington at the
head of a boat,[4] defiant against the frost of a winter night[5] as he leads
the Continental Army across the Delaware.[6]
Member Article: Mao and Giap On Guerrilla Warfare
by Florian Waitl
Guerrilla Warfare is a method of war that can be traced back as far as the 3rd
century B.C. when Fabius Maximus utilized this form of warfare against
Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War. Ever since then, the phenomenon
of Guerrilla Warfare or Guerra de guerrillas has surfaced again and
again throughout history when low intensity confrontation is the only tool that
can be utilized against an unpopular foreign regime or modern army which is
more powerful on the conventional battle field. According to Robert Taber
(2002), "Guerrilla Warfare is a politico-military quasi science- part
Marxist-Leninist social theory, part tactical innovation- that is changing the
power relationships of the post- World War II era, and in the process is
destroying the verities of the Western general staffs whose professional
concern it is, and increasingly will be, to understand and to combat it" (p.
2).
Member Article: Stephen Douglas and Applied Popular Sovereignty
by Bruce L. Brager
At noon, December 5, 1853, the first session of the 33rd Congress opened. Very
few senators had over six years seniority. "Unlike the men they displaced,
whose national perspective had been born of long service, the new senators were
more inclined to follow their own personal and sectional dictates."[1] The same day the session began, Senator Augustus Caeser Dodge, of Iowa,
introduced a bill authorizing the formal organization of a territorial
government for Nebraska.
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