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The Futility Of Force And The Preservation Of Power: British Strategic Failure In America, 1780-83, Daniel T. Canfield

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Afghanistan: Strategy And War Termination, Christopher Tuck

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Internet, New Media, And The Evolution Of Insurgency, Steven Metz

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Coin Is Dead—Long Live Transformation, Cora Ford, Patrick Rose, Howard Body

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Editor's Shelf, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Off The Press, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Prevention Of Victory: How The U.S. Government Crippled Support For The Iraq War, Jacob M. Petrarca

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

A history of how the beginning stages of the War in Iraq were handled so poorly, from its misleading onset to the ill-fated concept of De-Ba'athification and the horrors at Abu-Ghraib and how the subsequent public out lash led to the impossibility for a positive outcome.

Civil War And Globalization: The Effect Of Colonialism On Political Globalization, Luke O. Feltz

Celebration

The purpose of this paper to determine why civil war onset reduces political globalization in former British colonies. Through linear regression and logistic regression analyses, I test the affect of civil war onset and the presence of civil war on political globalization, controlling for former British colonies, French colonies, and other factors. More important, however, is the history behind British colonialism. Through setting up a unique institutional system and maintaining ties to its former colonies, the British have created an atmosphere conducive to international political engagement after the onset of civil war. This study shows that while civil war onset …

Buffalo, New York’S Citizen Soldiers: Personal Histories Of Combat, Trauma, And Returning Home After The Second World War, Drew H. Lewandowski

History Theses

Buffalo, New York’s Citizen Soldiers: Personal Histories of Combat, Trauma, and Returning Home after the Second World War

This thesis focuses on interviews from nine World War Two veterans who are from Buffalo, New York and the immediate surrounding areas. Included are three infantry men from the European theatre, including one paratrooper. Three who served in the Pacific theatre, including one medical officer, a medic, and one man served in the occupation of Japan. The remaining three served in the Air Corps in Europe, one pilot, one bombardier, and one fighter pilot.

Through extensive interviews, both written and filmed, this …

The First World War Between Memory And History: A Conference Retrospective, Christopher Schultz, Jonathan Weier

Canadian Military History

Long after the guns of the First World War went silent on 11 November 1918, the war continues to spark debate. The many points of contention were on full display at the “From Memory to History” conference, hosted by Western University in London, Ontario, over three days in November 2011. Scholars and enthusiasts from around the world gathered to share, debate, and ultimately demonstrate that the war’s many legacies are still open to interpretation, even as the centenary of the war’s outbreak approaches. Perhaps the most crucial lesson learned is that both memory and history are malleable concepts, prone to …

S.L.A. Marshall And The Ratio Of Fire: History, Interpretation, And The Canadian Experience, Robert Engen

Canadian Military History

The famous “ratio of fire” data proposed by S.L.A. Marshall claims that no more than 15-20 percent of soldiers fired their weapons in combat. This article examines whether or not historians can treat Marshall’s ratio of fire data as veracious, and if so what interpretations one can assign to the phenomenon of combat non-participation. The article contends that based upon the Canadian experience it is premature to universalize Marshall’s findings beyond his specific historical subjects, and that studies of human behaviour in war need to look beyond the ratio of fire data as a paradigm for understanding the conduct of …

Crossing The Canal: Combined Arms Operations At The Canal Du Nord, Sept–Oct 1918, David Borys

Canadian Military History

The crossing of the Canal du Nord stands as one of the most impressive Canadian tactical operations of the First World War. Incorporating a risky battle plan, emphasizing combined arms operations and utilizing the recently re-organized Canadian Engineers, the battle stands as benchmark for the evolution of 20th century combat. Although sustaining high casualties, the Canadian Corps overcame one of the strongest German defensive positions along the Westner Front in an operation that foreshadowed the mobile, combined arms doctrine of the Second World War.

“A Useful Accessory To The Infantry, But Nothing More”: Tanks At The Battle Of Flers-Courcelette, September 1916, Andrew Mcewen

Canadian Military History

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette is chiefly remembered as the combat introduction of tanks. The prevailing historiography maligns their performance as a lacklustre debut of a weapon which held so much promise for offensive warfare. However, unit war diaries and individual accounts of the battle suggest that the tank assaults of 15 September 1916 were far from total failures. This paper thus re-examines the role of tanks in the battle from the perspective of Canadian, British and New Zealand infantry. It finds that, rather than disappointing Allied combatants, the tanks largely lived up to their intended role of infantry support.

Making The Department Of National Defence Work In The 1970s: The Deputy Minister And The Cds Remember, J.L. Granatstein

Canadian Military History

In the aftermath of unification, the Canadian Forces were struggling to deal with the changes that overtook them, not least the Trudeau government’s relative indifference to the military, the impact of bilingualism, and massive reorganization. General Jacques Dextraze, who became chief of the defence staff in 1972, and Sylvain Cloutier, the deputy minister in the Department of National Defence from 1971 to 1975, played key roles in managing the changes. Interviews conducted by J.L. Granatstein in 1988 indicate where they agreed—and disagreed—and tell us much about the characters of these two key figures.

Brigadier J.K. Lawson And Command Of “C” Force At Hong Kong, Tyler Wentzell

Canadian Military History

Brigadier J.K. Lawson, the commander of the Canadian contingent at the Battle of Hong Kong, has been the subject of only a few statements in any work concerning the battle. These statements, as false and misleading as they are, have been referenced many times and are generally taken as fact. This article seeks to rectify this affair by providing a biographical profile of Lawson based on archival data and interviews with his family. Contrary to other accounts, Lawson was a professional soldier with substantial education and experience in his craft and he was extremely well–suited to his appointment to command …

“When You’Re A Long, Long Way From Home”: The Establishment Of Canadian-Only Social Clubs For Cef Soldiers In London, 1915–1919, Sarah Cozzi

Canadian Military History

This article examines the off–duty activities of Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) soldiers in Britain during the First World War. For many CEF soldiers abroad, Britain became their “home away from home,” with London serving as their main leave–time destination. Although thousands of CEF soldiers visited the English capital, Canadian federal and military authorities maintained a hands–off approach to the off–duty lives of the men. Fearing for the men’s well–being, Canadian philanthropist, Lady Julia Drummond, established the Canadian–only King George and Queen Mary Maple Leaf Club. Founded upon middle– and upper–class moral standards the Maple Leaf Club emphasizes the role of …

“Canada’S Roll Of Honour”: Controversy Over Casualty Notification And Publication During The Second World War, Timothy Balzer

Canadian Military History

During the Second World War, the Canadian Army’s announcement of casualties to next–of–kin and the press often caused controversy. Even though the army tried to notify the family and public as quickly as possible, it could not always do so. Unofficial communications with the family, procedural failures, and more frequently press and censorship errors, cause occasional mistakes in casualty reporting. Moreover, the interests of Canada’s allies often prevented the timely publication of casualty names and figures, as in the aftermath of the Dieppe Raid, Sicily campaign and Normandy landings. These delays were often for alleged security reasons, sometimes with questionable …

No Easy Thing: Senior Command In The Canadian Army, 1939–1945, Randall Wakelam

Canadian Military History

There is relatively little Canadian military history which looks specifically at the questions and themes surrounding senior command (commanders of large formations of troops—normally generals or lieutenant–generals). Current interpretations call for a trilogy of abilities: the ability to defend national interests in the highest military (and often political) circles; the ability to organize and manage forces both before and during combat; and the ability to lead both directly and indirectly those who have to implement the plans. Were Canadians then, and are historians today, right to apply this multiple standard? This article looks at the three officers who commanded First …

Destroying Hitler’S Berghof: The Bomber Command Raid Of 25 April 1945, Oliver Haller

Canadian Military History

This paper examines the Royal Air Force raid on Adolf Hitler’s Berghof on the Obersalzberg in April 1945. Arthur Harris, the head of Bomber Command, wanted to emphasize the air power’s decisive role in the defeat of Nazism. However, Winston Churchill and Bernard Montgomery, among others, questioned the usefulness of destroying Berchtesgaden so late in the war. Unlike traditional explanations that focus on post–Dresden guilt, this article contends that British politicians grew increasingly concerned with the economic state of postwar Germany and the potential costs of the upcoming occupation. The continuation of area bombing at this late stage of the …

Analysis Of 75 Mm Sherman Tank Casualties Suffered Between 6th June And 10th July 1944: Report No. 12

Canadian Military History

Long before the war it was evident that science would have much to contribute to the development of military equipment, and it was no surprise that research found such wide applications to the technically difficult but fundamentally amenable problems of Radar, Anti-aircraft and Fragmentation, to name only a few. These problems offered great possibilities to the well-established methods of the physical sciences. By contrast, the complexities of military tactics proved for a long time intractable, since even the smallest battle is a bewildering compound of variables, and new methods had therefore to be worked out before there could be any …

“Black, White And Grey”: Wartime Arguments For And Against The Strategic Bomber Offensive, David Ian Hall

Canadian Military History

The strategic bomber offensive against Nazi Germany has attracted more than its fair share of attention, most of which has been highly critical, both on moral as well as pragmatic grounds. Scholarly articles and books, in addition to a much larger number of sensationalized popular accounts, have appeared at a steady rate since the end of the war.¹ More recently, journalists and television producers—capitalising on the fiftieth anniversary commemorations of the Second World War—have taken an interest in this controversial yet highly marketable and therefore profitable subject. Partly revisionist, and deliberately emotive, their “factions” (part fact and part dramatic …

Prisoners Of War As Library Users, Jean Langdon-Ford

Canadian Military History

One does not usually associate libraries and study classes with amenities provided for internees in Prisoner of War camps in the First World War. It was surprising then for me, as Librarian/Archivist of the Canadian War Museum, to find evidence in our Library/Archives of well-organized libraries in the First World War internment camps in Germany. My introduction to POW library users in this war came about as I was undertaking a preliminary inventory of the rich resources of the Canadian War Museum (CWM) Archives. In the CWM Archives are two files related to libraries in POW camps in Germany. One …

The Attack On Boulogne, Roger Rowley

Canadian Military History

Account by Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Rowley, OC, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders given to Historical Officer, 21 September 1944.

The Mobile Striking Force And Continental Defence, 1948–1955, Sean M. Maloney

Canadian Military History

The need to project land force power within the confines of the northern portion of the North American continent may appear, at first glance, ridiculous in today’s world. In the early years of the Cold War, both Canada and the United States gave credibility to a land supported air threat to North America and took steps to meet such a contingency. The Canadian response was to configure the small, almost token, active Canadian Army into an airtransportable formation called the Mobile Striking Force (MSF). Some have suggested that the creation of the MSF and its operations in the 1948–1955 period …

Operational Manoeuvre Group: Operation Sohil Laram Ii, Kandahar Province, February 2008, Sean M. Maloney

Canadian Military History

In February 2008 Regional Battle Group (South) in Afghanistan, based on The 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles supported by Canadian “enablers” and working with Afghan national security forces, conducted a mission known as Operation SOHIL LARAM II in the Maywand district of Kandahar province. A weak NATO presence coupled with a corrupt police force had allowed the Taliban to turn Maywand into a safe haven. Following the dismissal of the police force, Op SOHIL LARAM II was successful in disrupting Taliban operations, reasserting government authority and regaining the confidence of the local population. In addition, the disruption of Taliban …

From Mother Country To Far Away Relative: The Canadian-British Military Relationship From 1945, J.L. Granatstein

Canadian Military History

Historically, Canada has looked to Great Britain for its military culture. During the First and Second World War, the Canadian army was virtually interchangeable with the British army. However, the decline of the British military power starting in 1940 increasingly caused Canada to gravitate towards her neighbour to the south.

A Canadian Conscript Goes To War—August 1918: Old Myths Re-Examined, Patrick Dennis

Canadian Military History

No abstract provided.

“The Pow Will Safely Return!”: Second World War Allied And German Propoganda, Amber Lloydlangston, Tracy Lo

Canadian Military History

During the Second World War, both the Allied and Axis governments expended significant resources in the production and dissemination of propoganda. Directed at their own people, the propoganda of these governments fostered correct thinking, feelings, attitudes, and behaviours. Directed at military personnel of enemy nations as part of psychological warfare operations, this propoganda was far more subversive. Its goal was to undermine the efficiency and coherence of enemy forces and, ultimately, to weaken their will to fight. Among the different media harnessed to achieve this end, aerial leaflets hold a unique place in the history of psychological warfare operations. Their …

Toward A Transnational History Of World War I, Michael S. Neiberg

Canadian Military History

Michael S. Neiberg delivered the keynote address at the 19th Military History Colloquium, held at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, 1–3 May 2008. This is the text of his address.

A Force Of Reason: Canada, Central America, And The Grupo De Observadores De La Naciones Unidas Para Centro America, Andrew B. Godefroy

Canadian Military History

Though the Cold War never led to open hostilities between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers did engage in a seemingly endless series of wars by proxy in their struggle for dominance over international affairs. One of the major arenas was Central America, where regional politics influenced by ideologies led to decades of internal and external strife. Yet a glimmer of hope for peace emerged in the early 1980s even though acrimonious relations persisted between the US and USSR. Central and South American governments, with the encouragement of more distant nations, began a process …