History Commons^™

The Night Of The Long Knives: Reconsidered, Edward G. Gunning Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

The "Night of the Long Knives"—June 30, 1934, and the murderous days that followed is one of the more fascinating episodes in the history of the Third Reich. A year after taking power, multiple circles of influence challenged Nazi control. The National Socialists perceived enemies everywhere. At times the internal challenges were as significant as the external.

Much of the conflict centered on a myriad of perspectives on the nature and direction of the Nazi revolution. For Hitler, the revolution was complete, at least for now. His real revolution was a racial one, whose full dimensions only became manifest later. …

A Land Of Poets And Warriors: The Connection Between Warrior Culture And Bardic Culture In Medieval Wales C. 1066-1283, Sarah Lynn Alderson

Dissertations and Theses

Wales in the Middle Ages was a region both divided by war and united by culture. Frequent raids from the Hiberno-Irish, Scandinavians, and Flemish threatened Wales from the outside, while the kings within the borders of Wales fought for supremacy. During the late eleventh century, William the Conqueror made his way to the Welsh border in an attempt to secure his fledging kingdom. Under the premise of protecting his borders, William established the first March of Wales on the eastern border of Wales in 1087. This started the slow process of Anglo-Norman expansion and colonization into Wales.

The Welsh maintained …

Thietmar Of Merseburg's Views On Clerical Warfare, Benjamin Joseph Wand

Dissertations and Theses

The tenth-century German bishop was more than just a spiritual leader, he was also a territorial lord with secular power. These bishops also lived in an environment where violence was sometimes a way of life. His culture contained a social dynamic that saw violence as a tool for defending and maintaining honor and as a mechanism for dispute resolution. Therefore, some bishops behaved violently, either to defend their diocese from threats or to serve their own political intrigues. In some instances bishops were said to be more skilled in warfare than secular lords. However, while some clergy participated in warfare …

Truth And Memory In Two Works By Marguerite Duras, Rachel Deborah Hunter

Dissertations and Theses

Published in 1985, Marguerite Duras' La Douleur is a collection of six autobiographical and semi-autobiographical short stories written during and just after the German Occupation. Echoing the French national sentiment of the 1970s and 1980s, these stories examine Duras' own capacity for good and evil, for forgetting, repressing, and remembering. The first of these narratives, the eponymous "La douleur," is the only story in the collection to take the form of a diary, and it is this narrative, along with a posthumously published earlier draft of the same text, that will be the focus of this thesis. In both versions, …

Essex Under Cromwell: Security And Local Governance In The Interregnum, James Robert Mcconnell

Dissertations and Theses

In 1655, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell's Council of State commissioned a group of army officers for the purpose of "securing the peace of the commonwealth." Under the authority of the Instrument of Government, a written constitution not sanctioned by Parliament, the Council sent army major-generals into the counties to raise new horse militias and to support them financially with a tax on Royalists which the army officers would also collect. In counties such as Essex--the focus of this study--the major-generals were assisted in their work by small groups of commissioners, mostly local men "well-affected" to the Interregnum government. In addition …

Oregon Soldiers And The Portland Press In The Philippine Wars Of 1898 And 1899 : How Oregonians Defined The Race Of Filipinos And The Mission Of America, Sean F. Mcenroe

Dissertations and Theses

Oregon volunteer soldiers fought two wars in the Philippines from 1898 to 1899, one against the Spanish colonial government (from May to August 1898), and one against the Philippine insurgency (beginning in February of 1899). This thesis examines the connections between Oregonians' racial characterization of Filipinos and their beliefs about the wars' purposes and moral characteristics. The source material is drawn from the personal papers of Oregon volunteer soldiers and from the Portland Oregonian.

China's Policies Toward The Soviet Union And The United States Before And In The Korean War, Ji Bao Yan

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis deals with China's policy making toward both the Soviet Union and the United States in late 1949 and early 1950 and how they made the decision to enter the conflict, by making use of recently declassified Chinese sources and available American sources.

The Collapse Of The German Army In The East In The Summer Of 1944 (Volume 2), Stephen Ariel Veal

Dissertations and Theses

The collapse of the German Army in the East in the Summer of 1944 is analyzed and determined to be the result of the following specific factors: German intelligence failures; German defensive doctrine; loss of German air superiority; Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union; German mobile reserves committed in the West; Soviet numerical superiority; and Soviet offensive doctrine and tactics. The collapse of Army Group Center, the destruction of the XIII Army Corps, and the collapse of Army Group South Ukraine in Romania during the Summer of 1944 are examined in detail. The significance of the collapse of the German …

The Collapse Of The German Army In The East In The Summer Of 1944 (Volume 1), Stephen Ariel Veal

Dissertations and Theses

The collapse of the German Army in the East in the Summer of 1944 is analyzed and determined to be the result of the following specific factors: German intelligence failures; German defensive doctrine; loss of German air superiority; Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union; German mobile reserves committed in the West; Soviet numerical superiority; and Soviet offensive doctrine and tactics. The collapse of Army Group Center, the destruction of the XIII Army Corps, and the collapse of Army Group South Ukraine in Romania during the Summer of 1944 are examined in detail. The significance of the collapse of the German …

The European Neutrals In World War Ii, Jerrold Michael Packard

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis begins with a short section on the nature of neutrality in Europe in the 1930s, and briefly introduces the political circumstances of the six nations that remained neutral throughout the war. The primary subject of the paper deals with the relationship between the belligerents and the neutral states, especially the extent to which military strength and preparedness was responsible for the latter maintaining their neutrality.

The American Naval Nightmare: Defending The Western Pacific, 1898-1922, Carlos R. Rivera

Dissertations and Theses

The subject of this work is the strategic problems faced by the United States Navy in the Western Pacific following the acquisition of the Philippine Islands as a result of the Spanish-American War. Using primary materials from the National Archives, Naval War College, and Library of Congress Manuscript Division, some of which have only recently been declassified, the rarely publicized 'Works of the United States Navy in regards to strategic planning and national interests are detailed. Secondary accounts, along with contemporary periodical literature, supplement the previously classified documents.

Spies In America : German Espionage In The United States, 1935-1945, Joan Irene Miller

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis addresses the topic of German espionage in the United States between 1935 and 1945. It examines what the expectations were for Germany's spies in America, their activities, and the success or failure of their operations. In addition, the reaction of the American public to these spies is also studied, as well as the response to what was perceived as a threat to the United States from Nazi Germany.

The American Efforts To Modernize The Egyptian Army Under Khedive Ismail, Robin Joy Love Buxton

Dissertations and Theses

From 1869 to 1878 approximately fifty American military officers were invited to Egypt by Khedive Ismail for the purpose of modernizing the Egyptian army. During that time the American officers led by General Charles P. Stone designed a staff system for the Egyptian army and they established a series of technical schools not only for the staff officers but for the rank and file as well. In addition to the reorganization, the American officers led exploratory expeditions into central Africa, they refortified the Egyptian coastline and they built roads and lighthouses. In conjunction with their expeditions, the officers produced numerous …

The Defense System In Libya During The I-Vi Centuries A.D., Ramadan A. Geddeda

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis will examine the significance of the defense system that was a result of the Libyan wars against the Romans, Byzantines, and the Vandals. For economic and strategic reasons these nations were involved in long and bitter wars which lasted over six centuries. The policy of the long distance military expeditions, which was the main instrument of the Romans in subduing the natives in the early Empire, had failed to achieve its goals. Thus, the alternative was to erect a network of roads and forts in strategic spots such as water points, commanding hills, along the caravan routes and …

International Law, German Submarines And American Policy, Janet Marilyn Manson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a survey of the available material on the submarine issue during 1914-1917 as a factor in German-American relations which contributed to the American declaration of war in April 1917. No other scholarly work is devoted solely to the submarine issue during this period. The purpose of this thesis is to focus on the submarine as an international legal issue. German-American relations were strained during 1914-1917, because of the different interpretations of international law regarding the submarine. And this thesis was written in order to test the existing historical interpretations of the submarine issue as a focal point …

The Background And Development Of The 1871 Korean-American Incident: A Case Study In Cultural Conflict, Robert Ray Swartout Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

This study is an attempt to combine the disciplines of Asian history and United States diplomatic history in analyzing the 1871 Korean-American Incident. The Incident revolves around the Low-Rodgers expedition to Korea, and the subsequent breakdown of peaceful negotiations into a military clash of arms.

To describe the Incident as merely another example of American "imperialism,'' or as a result of narrow-minded Korean isolationism, is to oversimplify its causes and miss the larger implications that can be learned from it. A basic premise of this paper is that the 1871 Incident is an example of East-West cultural conflict. As such, …

French-Indian Relations (1672-1701) : An Economic, Political And Military Study, James Duncan Biggs

Dissertations and Theses

This paper concentrates on the political, economic, and military policies of New France (French Canada) towards the Indian tribes inhabiting and bordering New France during the period 1672-1701. It was a period of intensive exploration coupled with the fur trade, principally beaver, both of which activities spurred France to compel its “province” of New France to make alliances with the Indians and to block penetration of the French-claimed area by the English colonists to the south (New York and New England) and to the north (Hudson’s Bay area).

Any research must be concerned with many interacting and conflicting factors: the …