Military History Commons^™

Americans And The Dragon: Lessons In Coalition Warfighting From The Boxer Uprising, Mitchell G. Klingenberg

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

©2023 Mitchell G. Klingenberg

Drawing from archival materials at the US Army Heritage and Education Center and the United States Military Academy at West Point, numerous published primary sources, and a range of secondary sources, this monograph offers an overview of the China Relief Expedition from June 1900 to the moment of liberation in August. Its considerations range from the geopolitical to the strategic and down to the tactical levels of war. US forces partnered alongside the combined naval and land forces of multiple nations, thus constituting the first contingency, expeditionary, and multinational coalition in American military history. In the …

A Southern People: The Choctaw Nation From Removal Through The Civil War, Josh Phillips

History Theses and Dissertations

While scholars have begun in recent years to give more attention to the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi region (including the Indian Territory), few have attempted to provide nuanced and comprehensive explanations for the actions of native peoples who took part in the conflict. While the pre-removal era of Choctaw history has received copious attention, the thirty years between removal and the Civil War have received only sparse examination. Historians who have written about this period have typically either gone into very little detail about why the Choctaws sided with the Confederacy or they have identified only one or two …

The Railsplitter And The Pathfinder: The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And John C. Frémont, Kourtney Yantis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study serves as an analysis of the connections between Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and John Charles Frémont as a Civil War general. Lincoln’s position within history is solid, unlike that of John C. Frémont. The thesis will elevate Frémont to a higher status as a historical figure by arguing that the emancipation edict that he issued for Missouri in August of 1861 would influence Abraham Lincoln’s preliminary emancipation proclamation of September 1862, even though Lincoln repealed Frémont’s decree. In biographies of each man, their interactions are merely a small part of the stories of their …

The Students’ Army Training Corps In Virginia, R. Matthew Luther

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) is an overlooked part of the United States’ military training system during World War I. In early 1918, the War Department realized that they would need more military officers due to the rapid expansion of the Army for the war, the high expected casualty rate of officers, and the planned spring 1919 offensive. To help fix this problem, the Committee on Education and Special Training, a subsidiary of the War Department, created the SATC. College campuses served as training locations and male students enrolled at the schools received military training in addition to their …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Analyzing The Relationship Between Aid Agencies And The Union Army In Civil War Arkansas From 1862 To 1865, Kimberly Green

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

This thesis examines the administration of Arkansas’s contraband camps. The Union Army originally failed Black refugees in their quest for freedom as it was unprepared for the large number of African Americans seeking protection and guidance from the army. Arkansas historians have analyzed the effect the war had on the state as a whole and the operation of the Freedmen’s Bureau, but none of these works detail the various agencies that worked with federal authorities. This thesis follows the Western Sanitary Commission and the American Missionary Association as they assisted the federal government by providing supplies and forming partnerships with …

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 …

An Exhibition Of Women's United States Air Force Uniforms, Michelle Robinson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The new Women in the Air Force exhibit under development at the Hill Aerospace Museum, located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is long overdue. The exhibit is set to replace the existing display in order to more accurately and comprehensively represent women’s continuing legacy of service to our nation. The uniforms in the Hill Aerospace Museum collection constitute the focal point of the new exhibit. Material culture methodologies form the foundation of this exhibit work; seeking to provide greater understanding of women’s military experience and history through the analysis of their uniforms. This approach therefore utilizes uniforms, the museum’s …

Your Country Needs You (And Also Your Resources) Britain And Her Colonies During And Shortly After Ww2, Anthony-Noel Cepe

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

No conflict has shaped the modern world more thoroughly than the Second World War. However, the retelling of this era, whether through mass media or more scholarly works such as books and journal articles, is one seen through a white, Eurocentric lens. This is strange; as the name implies, the Second World War was a truly global conflict, involving not only the major world powers at the time, but also their subjects. Great Britain was no exception; far from the popular image of it standing alone in the face of Nazi tyranny, the island nation drew vast amounts of men …

A Pelican's Journey To Flight: A Louisiana National Guardsman, The Development Of The United States Army Air Service, And The Human Cost Of Military Innovation, James H. Smith

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

George E. Dicks deployed to the Mexican Punitive Expedition and World War I with the Louisiana National Guard. He recorded his experience in writing and photography, which reside in the Jackson Barracks Military Museum in Chalmette, Louisiana. His memorabilia reflect an officer’s perspective on early military aviation and parallel to the United States military’s experimentation with aviation. Through experimentation, Dicks became an aerial observer in World War I.

This thesis explores George E. Dicks’ memorabilia and how it both represents the development of the American Air Service and the human cost of military aviation with photographic evidence. By representing aviation’s …

Negotiating National Identity: A Study Of Nationalist Rhetoric During The British Voluntary Recruiting Movement, 1914-1916, Emily Cloys

Master's Theses

Within weeks of the outbreak of World War I, the British Army faced a critical demand for more soldiers to replenish its casualties and to compete with the mass conscript armies of the Central Powers. Hesitant to break from its tradition of non-conscription, the British government relied on a period of voluntary recruitment from 1914 to 1916, resulting in the enlistment of nearly 2.5 million soldiers.

This thesis examines the period of British voluntary recruitment during World War I by exploring how conceptions of British national identity served as a technique of persuasion and as a catalyst for individual enlistment. …

From Hellfighters To Tuskegee Airmen, Austin Teague

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The First and Second World Wars were enormous facilitators for drawing people from all over to enlist. Nowhere was this more the case than in the United States after it entered the war in 1916, and later in 1941. Although a vast majority of those who joined were white, a smaller percentage were African Americans. Due to the racial relations of the time, they were separated into their own black only regiments. The 369th Infantry Regiment would come to be known as the Harlem Hellfighters and were sanctioned to work in the French Army. The 99th Pursuit Squadron, also known …

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 …

The Gray Area: Sexuality And Gender In Wartime Reevaluated, Natalie Pendergraft

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

These three works, two academic papers and one screenplay, challenge traditional notions of gender and sexuality during wartime. Queer Vietnam service members did not all experience oppression, all the time, but rather carved out a space for themselves amongst their peers. Female nurses in the early cold war could keep their careers in the medical field due to its unique gendered history despite demobilization efforts across the country in different industries. Finally, through the medium of historical fiction, a Civil War soldier’s fears and desires are questioned as he experiences the phenomenon of the Angel’s Glow, a blue light that …

Wives, Warriors, And Womanhood: A Study Of Women’S War Roles, Megan Lee

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Since starting the War, Diplomacy, and Society program, my interests have included a focus on the soldier’s experience in war, women’s changing roles in war, and the study of war journalism, ranging from World War II, the Cold War, to the Vietnam War. This thesis project is a culmination of these themes.

The first article examines the crucial nature of a soldier’s connection to the Home Front by analyzing a collection of letters between a soldier and his fiancé during World War II. Filled with declarations of love and occasional expressions of insecurity, these letters reveal the importance of a …

"Don't Be Afraid, Just Take It Easy": Genocide And Destruction In Bosnia, Thomas Sarsfield

Undergraduate Research Symposium

During the twilight hours of the Cold War, Yugoslavia was thrown into a full-blown political and economic crisis that resulted in its dissolution. Long-simmering ethnic tensions boiled over as former Yugoslav republics began declaring independence. After its secession from Yugoslavia in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina rapidly descended into a brutal war between Bosnian Muslim, Croat, and Serb ethnic groups. Serb troops engaged in widespread atrocities against Bosnian Muslims and Croats including mass murder, rape, and forced expulsion, which collectively amount to genocide. While UN peacekeepers were dispatched to establish safety zones in Bosnia and Herzegovina, their efforts were stymied by …

Nazi Policies Towards Slavs: Origins, Implementation, And Contradictions., Jesse Mulherin

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Over the course of WW2, Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe faced exterminatory policies at the hands of the occupying Nazi forces. These policies included forced starvation, mass deportations, large scale executions, and slave labor. In many regards, these policies were not sudden inventions on the part of the Nazis, but rather policies with roots in German history. Moreover, in practice, Nazi policies towards Slavic peoples were often wildly inconsistent and contradictory.

Jefferson Barracks Post Theater: A Place For People To Gather, John Granicke

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Jefferson Barracks Military Post had a rich and extensive history during its 120 years as an active military installation. The Post Theater was just one aspect of everyday life at Jefferson Barracks. This project is part of a collection of historic research blogs about Jefferson Barracks done in collaboration with St. Louis County Parks. The blogs will soon be available to view on the Jefferson Barracks County Park website.

The story of the Jefferson Barracks Post Theater begins with the Old Post Theater, which was built during World War I. From 1933 to 1944, four more post theaters were …

Georgia, Lesley Brian Bargo

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

The Vietnam War cast a massive shadow, both home and abroad. Relationships, morality, and humanity hang in the balance.

The Analysis Of Wartime Rape Using Postmodern Feminism In The Conflicts Of Sierra Leone 1991, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992, Darfur 2003, Allyssa Chua

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The practice of wartime rape has occurred from the ancient times until the present with the United Nations reporting about 2,542 confirmed cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2020. Estimates tend to be significantly higher, with UNICEF estimating 250,000 rape cases in Sierra Leone’s civil war. Women and girls are disproportionately and deliberately targeted compared to men and boys in sexual violence. This paper uses a postmodern feminist framework in analyzing wartime rape. It contends that the phallocentrism allows rape to become a language of masculine dominance.

The History Of Women At The Columbus Air Force Base: Is It A Blessing Or A Curse To Be The First?, Emma H. Potter

Merge

No abstract provided.

Heilbronn Im Jahr 1945: Warum Hier, Alexander Keuerleber

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Die Stadt Heilbronn, im Südwesten Deutschlands, war und ist ein wichtiger Kreuzungspunkt im südlichen deutschen Raum. Dort kreuzen sich wichtige Handelswege: per Schiff, per Auto, per Zug und zu Fuß. Infolge der Handelswege wurde Heilbronn schnell eine einflussreiche Stadt und Drehpunkt im Land. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg führte das zu Konflikt und Bombardierungen. Wie viele andere deutsche Großstädte kam es 1944 in Heilbronn zu verheerenden Bombenangriffen und dann im April 1945 zu einem neuntägigen Kampf. Dieser Kampf war wichtig, weil er einer der brutalsten Kämpfe der Amerikaner in Deutschland war, und weil es auch der allerletzte große Kampfeinsatz für amerikanische Truppen …

Perkins, John Casey, 1918-2010 (Mss 753), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 753. Reports of the operations of the U.S. Army, Third Infantry Division in Italy, Sicily, France and Germany during World War II. Includes reports relating to the service of Lieutenant Colonel John C. Perkins of Bowling Green, Kentucky in the Third Signal Company. Also includes memoranda of surrender written by Nazi SS officer Otto Skorzeny, taken into custody by Perkins in Austria in May 1945 (Click on "Additional Files" below for scans).

The 2023 Society For Military History Annual Meeting, Micah Wright

Title III Professional Development Reports

Financed by Title III funds, I attended the Society for Military History (SMH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. The conference took place from March 23-25 2023. The Society for Military History was established in 1933 and is the preeminent professional organization for military historians in the United States. The SMH is devoted to stimulating and advancing the study of military history and counts more than 2,700 members from academia and the armed forces.

During the conference, I presented an original research paper entitled “A Soldier Can Owe Allegiance to but One Flag: Political Polarization and Military Service in Puerto …

Undergraduate, 3rd Place: Little Choice In The Matter For Comfort Women: Tales Of Little Hope And Survival During The Second World War, Dayden Gardner

2023 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

During the Second World War, Japan was an imperialistic powerhouse that took over most of Southeast and South Asia during the war. In this time of conflict, Japan committed atrocities that are still being questioned to this day. One of their lesser-known war crimes was the enactment of so-called comfort stations during this war. These stations provided Japanese military men with sex from women, dubbing them “comfort women.” These stations were established widely throughout the Japanese empire after the events of the Nanking Massacre to prevent rapes of women in captured territories and to protect their soldiers from venereal disease.1 …

Graduate, 1st Place: World War I War Front And Home Front: The Correspondence That Brought Them Together, Michelle Thole

2023 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

The First World War was the first time American soldiers had participated in a war at a distance from home that did not easily facilitate home furloughs. Although the United States and Europe are physically separated by more than 3,500 miles, the relative distance between American World War I soldiers on the war front and their families on the home front was minor; the correspondence between them mitigated the physical and cognitive distance.

Historians of the First World War have explored soldiers’ contact with their families while in training camps and the US military’s intentional cultivation of a balance between …

Res Historica, Volume 2, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2023 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 Helen Smith. Cover art for this volume by Helen Smith.

“The Same Service As Our Soldiers”: Metropolitan-Colonial Military Discourse In New France, 1754-60, James E. Lemons

Student Publications

The Seven Years’ War represented a new chapter in American military history, introducing European cultures of warfare to the North American continent for the first time in generations. This led to significant intermixture, dialogue, and debate between Indian, colonial, and metropolitan military men, especially within the context of New France. While some historians have located the debate between Canadian and metropolitan French military cultures as an attempt by the metropolitans to impose their own ways forcibly onto the existing landscape, this paper contends that both sides were remarkably willing to alter their manners of fighting and adapt in a syncretic …

The Camden Burial Project, Part I: Background And Preliminary Results, James B. Legg

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Pillage As The Political Economy Of The Kurdish Anfal Genocide, Kaziwa Salih

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Scholars are critical of how economists overlook “the questions of genocide,” and of how legislatures have not paid adequate attention to the subject of looting, except in the case of the Armenian genocide. This article, informed by interdisciplinary perspectives, uses government documents, data, and semi-structured interviews to discuss the overlooked triangle of looting, economics, and the Anfal genocide of the Kurds in Iraq. The study refuses to limit itself only to the eight stages of the Anfal genocide that started in 1988, and instead offers data on its preliminary phases which occurred earlier in the 1980s. It then discusses the …