Digital Commons Network^™

Book Review: The Origins Of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines The Fates Of Great Powers, Zachery Tyson Brown

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.

Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers, Krepinevich asks: How do states gain advantages in military competition during periods of disruptive change? How are developmental technologies best incorporated into legacy military structures? Or are entirely new structures necessary?

From The Mothers’ Movement To Cradlr: An Interaction Design For Refugee Children, Jing Zhou

IASDR Conference Series

This paper presents the rationale, implementation, social and cultural influences, and historical background of Cradlr, a human-centered digital network concept designed to rescue and keep displaced children connected with their families, resources, and heritage on a global scale. The seed of Cradlr was sown in 2018 when I launched the Jiang Jian project, which sheds light upon the Mothers’ Movement in China, which rescued and educated 30,000 refugee children during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Inspired by the Mothers’ Movement and European countries during World War II, such as the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) in UK, Cradlr goes beyond the realm …

Dogma: How A Convenient Narrative Led To The Holocaust, Morgan Rynn Schroeder

History: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

I developed this research paper as a result of my study abroad experience in Germany in June of 2023. In this paper I weave a combination of personal experience, primary sources, and works by historians to explain how Nazi ideology developed into genocide. I also emphasize the importance of how history is remembered in the form of monuments and museums.

Volksdrogen: The Third Reich Powered By Methamphetamine, Madison Isenberg

Senior Projects

Leading up to and during the Second World War, the Nazified German Government wanted to perpetuate the belief that due to their exceptional strength spread through various forms of propaganda the “Aryan Race” was undefeatable. Unfortunately, this testament, and the propaganda that supported it, is still used by some to substantiate their claims that the Nazis devised the “master race”. The source of their strength has remained largely unresearched, so what was the factor that allowed the German home and war front to possess large amounts of energy to aid in their fight against the Allied forces? Initially, from whisperings …

Research & Debate—Historical Parallels In Command: Nelson And Spruance, Robert C. Rubel

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Western Hemispheric Security And The U.S.: Japanese Peruvian Wartime Incarceration During World War Ii, Matti Izora Ibrahim, Segâh Teki̇n

Faculty Publications - Teaching and Educational Leadership

Following the participation of the United States of America (U.S.A.) in World War II in 1941, the U.S. incarcerated 120.000 Japanese Americans during the war under the pretense of “military necessity”. At the same time, with the claim of guaranteeing the security of the Western Hemisphere, the U.S.A. coerced Latin American countries to deport thousands of their Japanese descendent citizens and place them in the custody of the U.S.A. among them, Peruvian Japanese citizens were kidnapped, taken to the U.S.A., and incarcerated indefinitely. This paper focuses on the incarceration of the Japanese Peruvians in the camps and their lives during …

Torn Between The “Creeds Of The Devil”: The German-Finnish Co-Belligerency In World War Ii, Stephanie Megan Wright

Masters Theses

In an article for the Sunday Chronicle in June 1937, Winston Churchill described Nazism and Communism as “the creeds of the devil.” Caught between these two ideologies that “are at each other’s throats,” Finland attempted to remain a sovereign nation. This would prove to be virtually impossible after the November 1939 Soviet invasion of Finland. While Joseph Stalin and his advisors “expected [a] triumphal parade,” the dogged resistance of the Finnish Army and people “turned [that parade] into a bloody three-month war.” Furnished in the crucible of conflict, battling for their very existence as a nation, the Winter War united …

Innovation, Flexibility, And Adaptation: Keys To Patton’S Information Dominance, Spencer L. French

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

In 1944, Third US Army created a cohesive and flexible system for managing information and denying it to the enemy that aligned operational concepts with technological capabilities. The organization’s success in the European Theater highlights its effective combined arms integration. An examination of the historical record shows the creative design of the Signal Intelligence and Army Information Services enabled Third Army to deliver information effects consistently and provides a useful model for considering the dynamics at play in fielding new and experimental multidomain effects formations.

Parameters Summer 2023, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

From Mascot To Marine: The Long Walk To The American Military Dog Program, Elisabeth Jana Phillips

Masters Theses

In World War II, the military dog became synonymous with patriotism and the fight for a free world. In the absence of a military dog program at the beginning of World War II, the United States was the exception amongst Western powers. The establishment of an official military dog program in the United States during World War II was a critical and inevitable step in the development of the country’s military. Through the creative collaboration of civilians and military personnel, the K9 Corps and Dogs for Defense organization produced trained military dogs that had immediate positive impacts on the battlefield …

Flexibility Is Key: Managing Rubber’S Elastic Sourcing Demands, Alexander Kennedy

Honors Projects

A contemporary study of how tire manufacturers are responding to supply chain challenges resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine by comparing them to actions taken during World War II. Supply chain management principles are applied within the context of the tire and rubber industry to provide recommendations for dealing with supply disruptions in future conflicts.

Time To Face The Music: Shostakovich’S 7th Symphony And The Siege Of Leningrad, Muhanna Al Lawati

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

It was in his music that Shostakovich expressed his thoughts and feelings about the radically evolving political landscape of the 20^th century. Bolshevism and Stalin’s subsequent inheritance of the USSR promulgated a refashion of the arts, forcing Shostakovich to be an instrument of the state in order to avoid being a victim. It was during Hitler’s Siege of Leningrad where Shostakovich, ironically, did not feel like a victim, but the custodian of a powerful weapon that dared to defy forces beyond his comprehension. In response to Hitler’s Bolshevik crusade, Shostakovich would launch an ideological crusade of his own, composed …

The Experiences Of African Americans In World War Ii And How They Were Affected Compared To People Of European Descent, Lane Gooding

Masters Theses

The service of African Americans in the United States Army during World War II shaped their perceptions regarding fighting for the same country but with different experiences than their comrades in arms of European descent due to the exposure to racism within their own forces and the harsh realities of warfare. The struggles of African Americans in the army were evident from the start of the United States’ involvement in the war and continued to pose problems even as some soldiers were able to earn the respect of both comrades of European descent and civilians back home. African Americans who …

Man & Machine: A Narrative Of The Relationship Between World War Ii Fighter Advancement And Pilot Skill, Brian Burnett Ii

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

From 1938 until the end of World War II, the Curtiss P-40 fighter participated in the European, North Africa, and Pacific theaters of war. An aircraft’s success depends primarily upon the pilot’s expertise. Without skilled pilots, technology alone cannot win a war. Technological innovation still plays a crucial role in the success of a nation’s air force. Relative to technological developments, how impactful is a pilot’s skill on a fighter plane’s performance? My thesis structure is a deep look into each pilot’s experience and how victory was achieved with a plane that most military writings say is inferior. I investigate …

Art, Propaganda, And Truth, Melissa Dinsman

Publications and Research

This essay explores how British and American writers and theorists in the first half of the twentieth century thought about art, propaganda, and truth. Focusing largely on literature written during the First and the Second World Wars, this essay shows that very few authors defined their art as propaganda or truth and instead used words like “political,” “resistance,” “information,” and “anti-fascist” to describe their wartime writing. However, while authors might have eschewed the term propaganda, that does not mean that they avoided producing it. As this essay illustrates, what many authors wrote would now be considered “propaganda.” Moreover, even if …

The Wehrmacht Experience In World War Ii, Tyler Masterson

Theses and Dissertations

German soldiers who were in the Wehrmacht during World War II faced many different experiences from the beginning of the war when it seemed they were in control to later parts of the war were they were being driven back by the Allies. Along with the different experiences from different times of the war, they also faced different experiences when it came to what front they were fighting on. Fronts and theaters that stretch from North Africa and the Mediterranean Campaign to Eastern Europe and Russia to Western Europe. When it comes to the troops that were fighting in the …

Carlton J. H. Hayes: Historian, Professor, And America's Forgotten Ambassador, Adam Prescott Manuel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes was born in Afton, New York, in 1882. His father was the town physician, and his mother was a music teacher. From his parents, he gained a love and appreciation for learning. Upon entering Columbia University at eighteen, young Carlton J.H. Hayes quickly found a niche in history. He was mentored for success by such historical titans as William R. Shepherd, Charles A. Beard, and James Harvey Robinson. Hayes quickly became a strong supporter of the New History School, and his A Political and Social History of Modern Europe is a prime example of that ideology. …

Fire And Fury: The German Tiger Battalions On The Eastern And Western Fronts, 1942-1945, Daniel L. Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

After finding their tanks outclassed in terms of firepower and armor in 1941, Germany opted to design and field a tank that could defeat any enemy tank on the battlefield while remaining nearly impervious to enemy anti-tank rounds. The Tiger I and II were more than capable of serving in this role, but by the time of their introduction, Germany was on the verge of fighting a defensive war that would require large numbers of tanks that could rapidly relocate across a vast front line. The Tiger tank family has been the subject of hundreds, if not thousands, of publications, …

“We Fought For The Right Reasons And God Was On Our Side”: Combat, Faith, And Perseverance During The 28th Infantry Division's Engagement At The Battle Of The Bulge, Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In December 1944, Hitler’s Germany was besieged on every front. Germany was working on super weapons and needed to buy some time to fight off the Red Army and the Allies. Until his super weapons could turn the tide, Hitler opted for a major counteroffensive in the west to split the Allies. Hitler would launch his last military reserves in a desperate gamble aimed at driving to the port of Antwerp through Luxembourg and Belgium. Such a blow, Hitler believed, would wreck the Allied Coalition. One of the divisions facing the main German offensive was the American 28th Infantry Division, …

“Good War” On The Cool Medium: The Cold War's Influence On The Portrayal Of World War Ii On American Television, Michael A. Losasso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a cultural history of the Cold War’s influence on the portrayal of World War II on American television. In it, I chronicle the production, reception, and presentation of the war of three prominent American-produced documentary series from three periods of the Cold War – Victory at Sea (1952-1953), The Twentieth Century (1957-1966), and The Unknown War (1978). The dissertation posits that from the 1940s-1960s, the television portrayal of World War II was an embodiment of the values- that the United Sates was “fighting” for through a “triumphalist” narrative of a “just war” which recast the role of …

What Was Nimitz Thinking?, Jonathan B. Parshall

Naval War College Review

New sources of information reveal that in the run-up to the crucial Pacific War Battle of Midway, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was willing to fight a potential five enemy carriers with two of his own, if Yorktown could not be repaired in time. Why would Nimitz accept those odds, and what likely would have been the outcome had such a battle taken place?

Tomorrow’S Wars And The Media, Alexander G. Lovelace

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Distilling lessons from the author’s book, The Media Offensive: How the Press and Public Opinion Shaped Allied Strategy during World War II, this article provides applicable suggestions for the US military today. As in World War II, the press is both a weapon and a possible vulnerability in modern warfare. Consequently, this article offers practical suggestions for how the press can be used by public affairs officers, commanders, and policymakers to achieve victory in coming conflicts.

20,000 Feet Between: The Experiential Disparities Of Precision Bombing In Austrian Bomb Victims And American Bombardiers, 1945, Emily E. Hanish

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

From November 1944 until May 1945, the 57^th Bomb Wing executed the “Battle of the Brenner” to incapacitate the German war machine. As a result of five campaign missions from March – April 1945, the USAAF not only decimated the village of Matrei am Brenner and Trautson Castle, but also killed dozens of civilians. Recent archaeological excavations at Medieval Trautson Castle prompted serious questions about the USAAF’s bombardment strategies and ethics, especially regarding precision bombing. By analyzing these bombing missions, this thesis will delineate the “Battle of the Brenner” within the evolution of the USAAF’s bombardment doctrine in order …

Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, And Spies Banded Together In World War Ii Europe, Edward Salo, Kathy Peiss

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

How Carriers Fought: Carrier Operations In World War Ii, Richard Norton, Lars Celander

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Innovation, Interrupted—Next-Generation Surface-Combatant Design, David H. Lewis

Naval War College Review

Three ships designed in the 1930s that fought in the Pacific theater during the early months of America’s involvement in World War II represent three different ship design approaches that continue to create dissonance in the U.S. Navy’s current ship-design processes. The Navy must transition to a next-generation surface-combatant-design process to accommodate the future warfighting environment.

Contested Deployment, Bert B. Tussing, John Eric Powell, Benjamin C. Leitzel

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

As indicated in the 2018 National Defense Strategy and evolving Multi-Domain Operations doctrine, the assumption the homeland will provide a secure space for mobilization and deployment is no longer valid. This integrated research project goes beyond affirming this assumption and contributes to efforts to mitigate the concerns a contested deployment entails.

Following the introductory chapter, Chapter 2, “Army Deployments in a Contested Homeland: A Framework for Protection,” explores how current coordination and cooperation mechanisms between the DoD and state and local government may need realignment, with civil authorities preparing themselves to support military mobilization. Chapter 3, “Strategic Seaports and National …

Popular Culture And World War Ii Propaganda, Baillie Victoria Catherine Bryan

Masters Theses

Popular culture in relation to World War II has been explored by various scholars over the years. They have deeply examined how radio, film, and other forms of media helped the war effort along and how Hollywood became engaged in the war effort, but there has been a lack of in-depth analysis of the major themes across the mediums. This thesis will examine how film, radio, cartoons, and comic books came together to become a powerful tool of propaganda and public information for the American home front and military. It is an in-depth examination of the major themes that were …

American Fury: Catholic Responses To Spanish Anticlericalism (1936-1939), Paul Sanders Linker Jr.

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the roles, ideologies, attitudes, and arguments of American Catholics in debates over the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939. Although the war only lasted between these years, these debates carried over into WWII as Spain’s neutrality came into question. Specifically, the focus is on how American Catholics grappled with historically unprecedented Spanish anticlericalism, the direct murder of roughly 7000 Catholic clergy and persecution of many more by Spanish Republicans, and why this anticlericalism drove most Catholics into a form of unapologetic pro-Francoism. This research is conducted by careful analysis of both mainstream and Catholic newspapers/journals. Mainstream pro-Republican press …