Military History Commons^™

From Zombie To Martyr: The Short Military Service Of Private Hector Sylvestre, Paul Marsden

Canadian Military History

This article outlines the brief military service of Private Hector Sylvestre, a young Franco-Ontarien paratrooper executed by the SS. His career began as a conscript in the Active Army, serving nine months prior to enlisting in the Canadian Active Service Force. From this point forward he made a series of fateful decisions, which ultimately led to his death as a member of the French Resistance. His path from Zombie to “martyr” is unique for a Canadian soldier during the Second World War.

The Vernon Military Camp And The Imperial Training Archipelago, 1939-45, Megan Hamilton

Canadian Military History

The Vernon Military Camp was one of the many interwoven institutions that fed trained soldiers into the vast armies of the British Empire in the Second World War. Beginning the war as a barren hill that lacked modern equipment, it was eventually developed into a professional training centre that both served and benefitted from national, Imperial and Allied war efforts. Taking a ground-level view of Canadian Army training and inter-theatre learning, this article argues that army training camps, even those in the periphery, played a vital role in strengthening Imperial and Allied interoperability by facilitating knowledge transfer away from active …

Georgia And Russia: A Tenuous Relationship, Ani Rostomyan

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In 1801, the Tsar of Russia signed a decree in order to incorporate Georgia into the Russian empire. The decree was very unpopular among the Georgians and caused much unrest. After 1905, Joseph Stalin, a Georgian, became a revolutionary in the country and eventually lead the Soviet Union. In 1922, the Soviet Union forced Georgia to be a part of a Socialist Republic with its surrounding countries, upending the local population and disrupting historic boundary lines. Despite many religious and cultural similarities, Russia’s rule was deemed erratic and domineering. Unfortunately, being ruled under Communism caused the country to become extremely …

A Cryptid For Catholics And Communists: The Asuang As An Apparatus For Socio-Political Control In The History Of The Philippines, Alexandra Eckhart

Honors Projects

This essay explores the utilization of folklore beliefs in psychological warfare through a comparative analysis of General Edward Geary Lansdale's tactics during the Hukbalahap insurgency at the beginning of the Cold War and the historical exploitation of the asuang myth by Spanish Catholic missionaries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While both instances involved leveraging local superstitions to influence behavior, their motivations and approaches diverged significantly. Unlike the missionaries, Lansdale's actions stemmed from a strategic imperative to combat communism rather than a sense of racial superiority or religious domination. Drawing parallels between Lansdale's methods and centuries-old patterns of oppression, this …

Bureaus Of Ungentlemanly Warfare: Comparing The Roles Of Women In The Special Operations Executive And The Office Of Strategic Services During World War Ii, Adaline Nolley

Senior Honors Theses

In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Special Operations Executive. The SOE was one of the first government agencies to recruit female spies. In 1941, United States President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned the Office of Strategic Services, which also employed women. The organizations approached the concept of female agents differently. The OSS maintained female staff in domestic offices, but employed foreign women as agents. The SOE recruited women to go abroad, as they were less suspicious than men in occupied territories. The study of female staff in the OSS and the SOE allow historians to understand roles of women …

Secrets, Soviets, And Sverdlovsk: Critiques Of The Biological Weapons Convention And Biosecurity In The 1970s And 1980s, Morgan Kelley

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The Biological Weapons Convention, initially ratified in 1975, banned the production and stockpiling of biological weapons; however, it has faced considerable modern criticism for being unenforceable and not strong enough to ensure states' compliance. These modern critiques are based on the knowledge that the Soviet Union was in violation of the Convention, which was not confirmed until 1989. By analyzing the reactions to the Biological Weapons Convention by scholars and scientists, American intelligence officials, and American news media, it becomes clear that concerns about the Convention did exist prior to 1989, even when for many it was not certain that …

Res Historica, Volume 3, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2024 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Johnathan Sorce, and Samuel Sanders.

Searching Govinfo.Gov/, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) database provides access to information legal, legislative, and regulatory information produced on multiple subjects by the U.S. Government. Content includes congressional bills, congressional committee hearings and prints (studies), reports on legislation, the text of laws, regulations, and executive orders and multiple U.S. Government information resources covering subjects from accounting to zoology.

"In The Footsteps Of Hercules": The Influence Of Classical Antiquity On Eighteenth-Century Militaries, Scott Madere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines the pervasive influence of ancient Roman and Greek figures, historical events, literature, and military methods on the leaders and practitioners of eighteenth-century warfare. Rulers, generals, military theorists, and officers frequently consulted classical histories and literature for solutions to the common military problems of the period – tactical, operational, and strategic – showing remarkable faith in ancient military methods despite their growing dependence on gunpowder weaponry and related technologies. This dissertation examines why this was the case and concludes that classical antiquity not only maintained the credibility of its wisdom in the context of modern warfare, but also …

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2024 issue of Parameters. Readers will note a few differences in the formatting for this issue: we are now using endnotes instead of footnotes to facilitate switching from pdf to html via Adobe's Liquid App; also, readers will be able to click on each endnote number to view the full endnote and then switch back to the text to resume reading. Please drop us a note to let us know how you like the changes. More are coming!

Strategy As Problem-Solving, Andrew Carr

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article proposes a new definition of strategy as problem-solving that challenges the focus on goals and assumptions of order within many post–Cold War approaches to strategy. It argues that the military needs strategy to diagnose the complex problems of the twenty-first century before they can be solved. Inspired by practitioners such as Andrew Marshall and George F. Kennan, this new definition clarifies what strategists do and offers a logic for distinguishing the use of the term strategy. Practitioners will also find problem-solving tools and pedagogies they can adopt today.

Parameters Spring 2024, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

China's Use Of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower In Asia, Sheena Chestnut Greitens

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and influence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response.

International Law, Self-Defense, And The Israel-Hamas Conflict, Eric A. Heinze

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears …

Us-Taiwan Relations And The Future Of The Liberal Order, Christina Lai

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Strengthening ties with Taiwan is the best chance the United States has to preserve the liberal international order in Asia and improve its security relative to China. This study offers a normative perspective on how Taiwan can contribute to US-led international institutions and the Asian regional order and reduce conflict risk. It concludes with recommendations for the United States and its partners to integrate Taiwan into multilateral institutions in Asia.

Rethinking The Relevance Of Self-Deterrence, Jeffrey H. Michaels

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Self-deterrence is critically understudied in deterrence theory. Similarly, deterrence practitioners prefer to focus on adversaries’ threats rather than seeking to account for the full scope of fears influencing the decision calculus of policymakers. Through historical case studies, this article identifies where self-deterrence has occurred, highlights the benefits of incorporating the concept in future strategic planning and intelligence assessments, and recommends that policymakers, strategists, and analysts acknowledge self-deterrence as an important factor when preparing for future wars.

The Octofoil, January/February/March 2024, Ninth Infantry Division Association

The Octofoil

The Octofoil is the offical publication of the Ninth Infantry Division Association, Inc., an organization formed by the officers and men of the 9th Infantry Division in order to perpetuate the memory of fallen comrades, preserve the esprit de corps of the Division, promote peace and serve as an information bureau about the 9th Infantry Division. The Association is made up of 9th Infantry veterans from WWII and Vietnam, spouses, widows and lineal descendants.

Authors’ Response To Review Of "Untold: Northeastern Ontario’S Military Past. Volume One And Two", Dieter K. Buse, Graeme S. Mount

Canadian Military History

Letter to the Editor

Authors’ Response to Review of Untold: Northeastern Ontario’s Military Past. Volume One, 1662 - World War I and Volume Two, World War II - Peacekeeping.

0884: Terry Lowry 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion Collection, 1927-2017, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion was activated at Camp Gordon, Georgia, on June 10, 1942. Following intensive training, the unit was shipped overseas for duty and spent the next 508 consecutive days in combat during World War II. First stationed in North Africa, the 83rd participated in campaigns in Sicily, Italy, southern France, and Germany, and occupied Austria after the German surrender.

The collection was compiled by historian and author Terry Lowry, whose father served in the unit, and who was appointed official historian of the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion. Lowry’s book on the unit, Bastard Battalion, was published in …

Erwin Rommel: Noble Knight Of Germany Or Nazi Knave?, Jake Schultz

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This poster seeks to explore the historical memory of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and his legacy today in commemoration in modern Germany.