History Commons^™

Leaders On The Ground: Command Influence On War Crimes In The Armies Of France And The United States, Hayward Hood

All Theses

Utilizing torture during the Battle of Algiers, the My Lai Massacre, and torture at Abu Ghraib as specific case studies, this thesis contends that negligence or dereliction of duty by the brigade, battalion, and company commanders were the primary factors. Additional factors included commanders stressing rapid results, and external stressors in the soldiers’ immediate environment. War crimes are defined as violations of the 1907 Hague Convention which was supported by the 1949 Geneva Protocols, and negligence is defined in the legal sense.

Contrary to the existing narrative, this thesis contends that lower-level commanders did more to create the conditions required …

Leaders On The Ground: Command Influence On War Crimes In The Armies Of France And The United States, Hayward Hood

All Theses

Utilizing torture during the Battle of Algiers, the My Lai Massacre, and torture at Abu Ghraib as specific case studies, this thesis contends that negligence or dereliction of duty by the brigade, battalion, and company commanders were the primary factors. Additional factors included commanders stressing rapid results, and external stressors in the soldiers’ immediate environment. War crimes are defined as violations of the 1907 Hague Convention which was supported by the 1949 Geneva Protocols, and negligence is defined in the legal sense.1 Contrary to the existing narrative, this thesis contends that lower-level commanders did more to create the conditions required …

A Subtle Discrimination: Segregation And The Selective Service Act Of 1917-1918 In Abbeville County, South Carolina, Harris M. Bailey Jr.

All Theses

The focus of this study examines how the South Carolina Abbeville County Draft Board (ACDB) implemented the provisions of the Selective Service Act of 1917 and its ancillary legislation to register and select men for induction into military service for World War I. The primary question is whether the ACDB, with no clear directions from the United States War Department, interpret and apply the Act’s provisions in a discriminatory manner against African Americans. This study will show that the Abbeville County Draft Board manipulated the provisions of the Selective Service Act to discriminate against both African American and Euro-American registrants. …

After Thirty Years: The Falklands War Of 1982, Katelyn Tietzen

All Theses

By law, the British government seals all cabinet and other important government documents until after thirty years passes. In 2012, the 'thirty-year rule' expired for all documents pertaining to the Falklands War of 1982. There is already an enormous amount of material written about the war but these released documents provide new insight. Lasting only one hundred days, the war was kicked off when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, or known in Argentina as las Malvinas, on 2 April 1982. Located in the very South Atlantic and four hundred miles east of Argentina, the British launched their largest naval task …

Through Crimson Tides: Tarawa's Effect On Military Tactics And Public Perception Of War, Josh Hudak

All Theses

This study is on the battle of Tarawa, and how the battle altered military doctrine in amphibious warfare tactics and public perception of war. Tarawa was the first battle of its kind being the first amphibious assault against a fortified objective utilizing joint land, sea, and aerial attacks. It was also the first battle that was filmed from its beginning to its end and shown uncensored to the American public. This study will examine the historiography of the Battle for Tarawa, an overview of the fighting, and the aftermath of the battle. It will also examine the public's reaction to …

Behind The Shield-Wall: The Experience Of Combat In Late Anglo-Saxon England, Jordan Poss

All Theses

Most studies of the Anglo-Saxon military examine its structural ties to economic and social structures, rarely investigating Anglo-Saxon battle itself. This paper asks the question 'What was it like to have been in battle with the Anglo-Saxon army?' After introducing the topic in a study of the 991 Battle of Maldon and describing the development of the Anglo-Saxon military system between the fifth and eleventh centuries, this paper relies on case studies of the most thoroughly-documented Anglo-Saxon battles, those of 1066--Fulford Gate, Stamford Bridge, and Hastings--to reconstruct the conditions of Anglo-Saxon combat and their effects on the men who fought …

Failure, Success And Lessons Learned: The Legacy Of The Algerian War And Its Influence On Counterinsurgency Doctrine, Zack Rish

All Theses

The 2003 American invasion of Iraq resulted in a violent insurgency that American forces were initially unable to counter. The United States military was shocked by its failure and was forced to consider what it had done wrong. Once the U.S. military looked into its past it was forced to admit it had wrongly ignored counterinsurgency. To correct this, it assigned many of its officers, along with other military experts, to create a new, updated doctrine that incorporated the lessons of Iraq and other recent, relevant historical precedent.
Perhaps surprisingly to some, the United States military interpreted that the Algerian …

Here There Be Dragons: The Korean War And American Military Response In The Cold War, Amanda Sweeney

All Theses

Starting in June 1950, the Korean War marked the beginning of a new era of warfare. The first limited war to take place in the nuclear age amid increasing Cold War tensions, Korea raised numerous questions of how the U.S. would interact with the Soviet Union in the new international climate. In this climate, both sides strove to maintain the world's balance of power. Small shifts in that balance, such as in Korea, assumed great importance, forcing the U.S. to act in areas not previously considered vital.
Despite the need for a firm response, U.S. actions in Korea were tempered …