Military History

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  Striking Back: Combat in Korea, March-April 1951

  This is the second book in a three-volume series about the Korean War, examining the fighting that occurred during the late winter and early spring of the war's first year. By the beginning of March, UN forces shifted strategic focus from defense to offense. In April, the combination of stabilized fronts and the enemy's failed attacks made conditions ideal for launching combat offensives. The brutal nature and strategic significance of these campaigns is described in the book, which includes analysis of their profound influence on the remainder of the war. The book provides detailed battle narratives based on eyewitness accounts ...Read More

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  Consumed by War: European Conflict in the 20th Century

  Europe endured such incessant political discord throughout the twentieth century that some historians refer to the period’s conflicts as the Long War. During the Balkan wars of 1912–1913, regional fighting in southeastern Europe ignited conflict across the continent that continued through both world wars and the Cold War.

  In Consumed by War: European Conflict in the 20th Century, Richard C. Hall illuminates the complex diplomatic and military struggles of a region whose instability, rooted in a nineteenth-century nationalistic fervor, provided a catalyst for the political events that ensued. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 to the incarceration ...Read More

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  Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field Officers of the Bluegrass State

  Perhaps more than any other citizens of the nation, Kentuckians held conflicted loyalties during the American Civil War. As a border state, Kentucky was largely pro-slavery but had an economy tied as much to the North as to the South. State government officials tried to keep Kentucky neutral, hoping to play a lead role in compromise efforts between the Union and the Confederacy, but that stance failed to satisfy supporters of both sides, all of whom considered the state’s backing crucial to victory.

  President Abraham Lincoln is reported to have once remarked, “I hope to have God on my side, ...Read More

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  The Line: Combat in Korea, January-February 1951

  Many combat veterans refuse to discuss their experiences on the line. With the passage of time and the unreliability of memory, it becomes difficult to understand the true nature of war. In The Line: Combat in Korea, January–February 1951, retired Army colonel William T. Bowers uses firsthand, eyewitness accounts of the Korean War to offer readers an intimate look at the heroism and horror of the battlefront. These interviews of soldiers on the ground are particularly telling because they were conducted by Army historians immediately following combat. Known as the “forgotten war,” the action in Korea lasted from June 1950 ...Read More

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  General William E. DePuy: Preparing the Army for Modern War

  Considered one of most influential U.S. military officers of the twentieth century, William E. DePuy (1919–1992) developed the education and training program that regenerated the U.S. Army after the Vietnam War. This book draws from sources such as transcripts and letters in DePuy's personal papers, interviews with those who knew him best, and secondary literature to trace DePuy's life—from child to decorated officer to commander of Training and Doctrine Command.

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  The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell

  What essential leadership lessons do we learn by distilling the actions and ideas of great military commanders such as George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Colin Powell? That is the fundamental question underlying The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell. The book illustrates that great leaders become great through conscious effort—a commitment not only to develop vital skills but also to surmount personal shortcomings. Harry S. Laver, Jeffrey J. Matthews, and the other contributing authors identify nine core characteristics of highly effective leadership, such as integrity, determination, vision, and charisma, and nine significant figures in ...Read More

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  Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges and the First U.S. Army

  During World War II, U.S. Army generals often maintained diaries of their activities and the day-to-day operations of their command. These diaries have proven to be invaluable historical resources for World War II scholars and enthusiasts alike. Until now, one of the most historically significant of these diaries, the one kept by General Courtney H. Hodges of the First U.S. Army, has not been widely available to the public. Maintained by two of Hodges' aides, Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr., this military journal offers a firsthand account detailing the actions, decisions, and daily activities of ...Read More

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  Urban Guerrilla Warfare

  Guerrilla insurgencies continue to rage across the globe, fueled by ethnic and religious conflict and the easy availability of weapons. At the same time, urban population centers in both industrialized and developing nations attract ever-increasing numbers of people, outstripping rural growth rates worldwide. As a consequence of this population shift from the countryside to the cities, guerrilla conflict in urban areas, similar to the violent response to U.S. occupation in Iraq, will become more frequent. This book traces the diverse origins of urban conflicts and identifies similarities and differences in the methods of counterinsurgent forces. In this wide-ranging and richly ...Read More

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  Replacing France: The Origins of American Intervention in Vietnam

  Using recently released archival materials from the United States and Europe, this book explains how and why the United States came to assume control as the dominant Western power in Vietnam during the 1950s. Acting on their conviction that American methods had a better chance of building a stable, noncommunist South Vietnamese nation, Eisenhower administration officials systematically ejected French military, economic, political, bureaucratic, and cultural institutions from Vietnam. This book examines diplomatic maneuvers in Paris, Washington, London, and Saigon to detail how Western alliance members sought to transform South Vietnam into a modern, Westernized, and democratic ally, but ultimately failed ...Read More

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  Through Mobility We Conquer: The Mechanization of U.S. Cavalry

  The U.S. Cavalry, which began in the nineteenth century as little more than a mounted reconnaissance and harrying force, underwent intense growing pains with the rapid technological developments of the twentieth century. From its tentative beginnings during World War I, the eventual conversion of the traditional horse cavalry to a mechanized branch is arguably one of the greatest military transformations in history. This book recounts the evolution and development of the U.S. Army's modern mechanized cavalry and the doctrine necessary to use it effectively. It also explores the debates over how best to use cavalry and how these discussions evolved ...Read More