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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Want to know more about American military history? U.S. Military History For Dummies presents concise and revealing accounts of all of the nation's armed conflicts from the French and Indian War to Iraq. It explains how the U.S. military is organized and how its branches operate, both independently and together. This straightforward guide examines the causes for each of America's wars and reveals how these conflicts have shaped the nation's borders, society, politics, culture, and future. You'll meet heroes, cowards, patriots, and traitors; relive great battles; and get a taste of what combat is really like, as you discover: * How the French/Indian war sowed the seeds of the Revolutionary War * Why America's battle for independence didn't end at Yorktown * Early U.S. wars against Indians, tax cheats, and pirates * The War of 1812: guaranteeing U.S. sovereignty * "Manifest Destiny" wars that stretched America from sea to shining sea * Why the American Civil War could not be avoided * The Spanish American War and the U.S. as an emerging global power * Why World War I failed to "make the world safe for democracy" * How World War II changed America's role in the world * Korea and Vietnam: hot wars during the Cold War Featuring important insights on technological, political, and social changes that transformed the way America fights its wars U.S. Military History For Dummies is your key to understanding the evolution of the most powerful military force in history.
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U.S. Military History for Dummies®
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book is Organized
Part I: The Nitty-Gritty of U.S. Military History
Part II: Born in War
Part III: Forged in War
Part IV: Going Global: The World Wars
Part V: Bearing Any Burden: The Cold War and the Unpaid Peace Dividend
Part VI: The Part of Tens
normals Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: The Nitty-Gritty of U.S. Military History
Chapter 1: Why This Stuff Is Important
Shaping a Country through War
Reaping the sociological and political rewards of war
Reaping the innovations of war
Seeing the Value of Understanding the Past
Listening to American Military Historians Tell the Story
Reporting tomorrow’s history today
Working the military history beat
Chapter 2: Why America Goes to War and Who We Fight
Why Do We Fight?
When words fail: Politics
Economics: The root of all evil
Territory: Really major land grabs
The thinking person’s reason: Ideology
Who Do We Fight?
Continental enemies: Battling on our turf
Overseas enemies: Fighting on foreign soil
Ideological enemies: Standing up for what we believe
Chapter 3: Meeting the Players
Leading the Charge
Keeping tabs on the generals: Politicians
Setting policies for the forces: Generals
Doing the Grunt Work
Who are these people called soldiers?
Ranking the soldiers
Supporting the front line
Fighting on the front line
Living on the Home Front
Politicking in the homeland
Keeping the home fires burning
Chapter 4: Lining Up the Armed Services
The Army
You’re in the Army now
Armies within the Army
The Navy
Important roles through history
The big Navy
Navy SEALs: Elite units
The Marine Corps
What it takes to be a Marine
From obscurity to prestige
The Coast Guard
The Air Force
High-flying airmen and aces
Air Force outfits (No, not their shirts and shoes)
A formidable opponent through history
Chapter 5: The Changing Experience of Warfare
Shifting Battlefields
The changing landscape of war
Fighting on the water
Covering from the air
Evolving Ever Deadlier Weaponry
Guns on the ground
Weaponry at sea
Flying into war
Improving Combat Medical Care
Why American Soldiers Endure Combat
Love of country
Love of comrades
Hatred for the enemy
Peer pressure
Part II: Born in War
Chapter 6: When the English Were Our Friends: Battling the Indians and the French
The First Fur Flies, 1754–1757
Washington surrenders
Braddock’s traditional tactics fail
Montcalm marches on
The Brits Regroup, 1758–1763
Going on the offensive
The French surrender
What the War Meant to Americans
Security and growing independence
Expansion beyond the Appalachians
Unwelcome supervision from London
Chapter 7: So You Want to Start a Revolution: The War for Independence
Taxing Independence to Pay War Debt
The Sugar Act goes sour
The Stamp Act of 1765 gets licked
The Townshend Duties incite a tea party
The Coercive Acts are intolerable
Fighting for Freedom from Taxation
Spilling blood at Lexington and Concord
Declaring independence: Enough is enough
From Bunker Hill to Saratoga, 1775–1777
Bunker Hill: Who really won?
New York: A Continental rout
Trenton and Princeton: Jersey goes to Washington
Philadelphia and Saratoga: A devastating loss, a resounding victory
Refocusing on the South, 1778–1783
Yorktown: Cornwallis gets queasy
Muddling to the end
The People of the Revolution
Patriots from all walks of life
Loyalists (Or Tories) kept the faith
Women backed boycotts, patriot ideals
African Americans fought on both sides
What Did It All Mean? How Historians View the Revolution
Covered in glory — the first historians
>It was all about economics — the determinists
The Revolution was conservative — the Neo-Whigs
No, it was radical and ideological — the debate today
Chapter 8: War and Peace: Battling Indians, Old Friends, Tax Delinquents, and Pirates
New Americans versus Native Americans
Rising tension with Indian tribes
Little battles with big consequences
New Americans versus the Government
Shays says nay to taxes
The Whiskey Rebellion
New Americans versus French “Friends”
Pirates of the Mediterranean
Pirate pasha demands payment
Jefferson sends in a coalition navy
An intriguing victory in Tripoli
Chapter 9: We Have Met the Enemy: The War of 1812
Overture to the War of 1812
Britain or France — pick a side!
Don’t try to impress us: Problems at sea
Passing useless laws to punish Britain
Madison declares war
The Main Movement: The Battles
The American offensive, 1812–1813
The British counteroffensive, 1814–1815
The Finale: The Treaty of Ghent
Part III: Forged in War
Chapter 10: To the Halls of Montezuma: Fighting Mexico
Clashing Over Expansion
The Republic of Texas emerges
Polk’s plan to expand
Annexing Texas and flirting with war
Trying diplomacy, then baiting for war
Favoring the eventual loser
Gen. Zachary Taylor’s Campaign
Battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
The siege of Fort Brown
Invading northern Mexico
Seizing the Southwest
Invading New Mexico
Bearing down on California
Gen. Winfield Scott’s Incredible Campaign
Invading at Veracruz
Battling at Cerro Gordo
On to Mexico City
The End of the War
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The war’s legacies
Chapter 11: The Civil War
Deepening Roots of Conflict
Arguing over the fruits of the Mexican-American War
Testing popular sovereignty
Visiting Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Raiding Harper’s Ferry
Electing Abraham Lincoln
The Most Important Battles, 1861–1862
The Battle of Bull Run
Invading the York peninsula
Another battle at Bull Run
Surprise at Shiloh
Bloodshed at Antietam
A Violent Year, 1863
Fighting the war at sea
Lee’s great win at Chancellorsville
Crushing Lee at Gettysburg
A surrender at Vicksburg
Finishing the War, 1864–1865
Bleeding in the East
Ravaging the South
The end at Appomattox
Experiencing the Civilian Side of the Civil War
Diverging economies
Resisting the draft
Rousing political rabble
Dancing around the race issue
What Did It All Mean?
Chapter 12: The “Indian Wars”: The Army Secures the Frontier
Clashing Cultures
Native American Tribes of the West
The Sioux
The Nez Perce
The Apaches
Expanding Relentlessly Westward
Developing reservations
Maintaining security
Policing with Warfare
Paying a stiff price for impulsiveness: Little Bighorn, 1876
The Battle of Big Hole, 1877
The end at Wounded Knee, 1890
Chapter 13: “Remember the Maine!” Fighting Spain and the Filipinos
Pressing for War
Quarreling over Cuba
Firing up public opinion
Sinking the Maine
Declaring war
The Caribbean Campaign
Invading Cuba
Hickory, dickory, landing at Daiquiri
Taking the hills of Santiago
Checkmate at Santiago
Grabbing Puerto Rico
The Philippines
Smashing the Spanish fleet
Getting rid of the Spanish
Ending the war and making a fateful decision
The Philippine-American War
The conventional war in 1899
The insurgency
Widening the war and provoking opposition at home
The fighting dies down
Really serious consequences
Part IV: Going Global: The World Wars
Chapter 14: Over There: The First World War
My Alliance Can Beat Up Your Alliance
The reasons for war
The strategies for war
The exploits of war
Reacting to German Sea Tactics, the U.S. Declares War
Fighting to support our allies
Fighting for free trade
Fighting for democracy and a better life
Fighting against tyranny
Wilson sums up America’s goals for the war
Preparing the Home Front for War
Drafting men for war
Expanding the federal government
Gaining from the war
Hiring women to do “man’s work”
Setting aside differences
Opposing the war
Joining the Fray in Phases
Clearing the seas of German submarines
Increasing the American presence in Europe
Engaging the enemy on the ground
The Imperfect Armistice
Chapter 15: The Looming Crisis: World War II before American Involvement
Reacting to Unrest, Fascism Emerges
Mussolini rises to power
Hitler slithers up the career ladder
Itching for War, Germany Rearms and Expands
The infamous Munich Agreement
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Bringing the Axis to Bear, War Breaks Out
Overrunning Poland
The German conquest of Europe
Hitler invades the Soviet Union
Fighting an undeclared war in the Atlantic
Brewing Trouble in Asia and the Pacific
Japan starts its own war by invading China
The U.S. drifts steadily toward war
Failed negotiations
Chapter 16: The Greatest War: World War II
Bringing the War Home: Pearl Harbor
Early Battles in the Pacific
The Philippines
Coral Sea and Midway
New Guinea
Guadalcanal
Turning Attention to Europe
The Atlantic lifeline
Hitler’s misstep in Stalingrad
Invading North Africa
Taking Control of the War in Europe, 1943–1944
Invading “the soft underbelly”: Sicily and Italy
A great moment in history: The D-Day invasion at Normandy
Liberating France
Gambling in Holland
Kaput! The End for Hitler and His Cronies
The Battle of the Bulge
Invading Germany
Island Hopping in the Pacific
Invading the Marianas
Returning to the Philippines
A Horrible Climax: The Close of the War
Destruction from above and at sea
The atomic end of the war
Life on the Home Front
Mobilizing for war
Changing the face of society
Part V: Bearing Any Burden: The Cold War and the Unpaid Peace Dividend
Chapter 17: Toying with Nuclear Armageddon: The Cold War Years
Igniting the Cold War: The 1940s
Trying tough love with the Soviets
Keeping the dominoes from falling in Greece
Marshalling a new plan to help Europe rebuild
Flying aid to locked-in West Berlin
Facing off with opposing alliances
Expanding the Cold War Globally: The 1950s and 1960s
Taking a “New Look” with Ike
Filling the SAC with nukes
Going to the brink: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Calming the Cold War with Détente: The 1970s
Globetrotting with Nixon
Limiting nukes with SALT
Invading Afghanistan deflates détente
Watching Communism Crumble: The 1980s and 1990s
Rebuilding the military — a martial renaissance
Hostile armies in Europe
Fighting proxy wars
Ending the Cold War
Chapter 18: Hot War in Asia: The Korean War
Conspiring for Conquest in Korea
Contrasting Koreas
Slicing into the South
Getting U.S. and UN Political Ducks in a Row
Stemming the tide of Communism
Calling on the UN
Implementing NSC-68
Clashing with the Titans
Holding the Pusan Perimeter
Calling on MacArthur
Invading at Inchon
Crossing the line: The 38th parallel
Thinking wrong about China
Changing the face of the war
Gaining and losing ground
Replacing a rebellious MacArthur
Stalemate and Armistice
Enduring on the main line of resistance
Ending the war: Eisenhower finishes what Truman began
Lasting Legacies and Entrenched Contrasts
Chapter 19: The Very Long War: Vietnam
Conflicting Agendas Churn into War
Growing nationalism lifts Ho Chi Minh
Annoying the French and drawing in the U.S.
Dividing Vietnam
Creating the Viet Cong insurgency
South Vietnam’s army falters
Torpedoing the U.S. in the Tonkin Gulf
Raising U.S. Stakes through Escalation
Bombing backfires
Using attrition as a tactic
Growing opposition at home
Contrasting experiences for grunts
Kicking off the new year with the Tet Offensive of 1968
Losing politically after winning militarily
Winding down the war
Floundering at the peace talks
Reinventing a strategy to secure South Vietnam
Stepping over the line into Cambodia
Ending with a bitter aftertaste
Viewing the Vietnam War Three Ways
Making a tragic mistake — the liberal realists
Seeing America as the real villain — the New Left
Losing a noble war that politicians screwed up — conservative revisionists
Chapter 20: A War with Allies: The Persian Gulf War
Operation Desert Shield
Putting together a broad anti-Saddam coalition
Reviewing the military buildup — Iraq versus the coalition
Winning political support at home
Diplomacy comes up short
Operation Desert Storm
Pounding Saddam from the air
Gen. Schwarzkopf’s secret plan
Launching the ground war
Bush calls off the dogs
Saddam loses Kuwait and half of his army, but he stays in power
The Uneasy Aftermath
The happy homecoming — parades and plaudits
The unhappy legacy — unfinished business with Saddam
Chapter 21: The Long War Ahead: Terrorism, Afghanistan, and Iraq
A New War against an Old Enemy
Sleeping through terrorism’s rise
Pushing the snooze button — more Islamic terrorism in the 1990s
Jarring awake to an ominous reality
Invading Afghanistan
Taking down the Taliban
Striking with Operation Anaconda
A new Afghanistan government and a counterinsurgency struggle
Resuming the fight with Saddam: The Iraq War
The controversial decision for war
“On to Baghdad!” The invasion of Iraq
A long, grim struggle: The counterinsurgency phase
Struggling for security
Chapter 22: The Ten Best Generals in U.S. Military History
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Dwight Eisenhower (1890–1969)
James Gavin (1907–1990)
Thomas Jackson (1824–1863)
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870)
George Marshall (1880–1959)
George Patton (1885–1945)
Matthew Ridgway (1895–1993)
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (1934–)
Winfield Scott (1786–1866)
George Washington (1732–1799)
Chapter 23: The Ten Worst Generals in U.S. Military History
Braxton Bragg (1817–1876)
Ambrose Burnside (1824–1881)
Mark Clark (1896–1984)
Lloyd Fredendall (1883–1963)
John Lucas (1890–1949)
George McClellan (1826–1885)
William Rupertus (1889–1945)
Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839)
William Westmoreland (1914–2005)
James Wilkinson (1757–1825)
Chapter 24: The Ten Best Movies on U.S. Military History
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
2. Black Hawk Down (2001)
3. Glory (1989)
4. Platoon (1986)
5. Hamburger Hill (1987)
6. A Midnight Clear (1992)
7. Memphis Belle (1990)
8. Dances with Wolves (1990)
9. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
10. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
by John C. McManus, PhD
U.S. Military History For Dummies®
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Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Author
John C. McManus, PhD, is an associate professor of U.S. military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He teaches courses on the Civil War, World War II, Vietnam, Americans in combat, and the broad sweep of American military history. A prolific lecturer on military history, he has received numerous awards for outstanding teaching.
He has written several books on the American military experience, including The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II; The Americans at D-Day; and, most recently, Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible. He is a member of the editorial advisory board at World War II magazine and has served as an historical expert for numerous battlefield tours.
He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife, Nancy.
Dedication
To the soldiers, sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and airmen who made this history.
To my students, whose insatiable curiosity about U.S. military history inspires me to keep learning more about it.
Author’s Acknowledgments
My first word of thanks goes to Kurt Piehler, my colleague at the University of Tennessee, for laying the foundation for this project and making it possible. David Fugate and Ted Chichak, my literary agents, gave the project definition and purpose. I greatly appreciate their tireless work in making this book happen.
I am very grateful to editors Mike Baker and Stephen Clark, both of whom did an outstanding job. Their collective insight, wisdom, and passion for military history strengthened this book immeasurably. I appreciate the sharp eye of copy editor Vicki Adang, who improved my prose in myriad ways.
I would like to thank my colleagues in the Department of History and Political Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology, especially Larry Gragg and Russ Buhite, two of the finest historians in existence.
My final and most heartfelt word of thanks goes to my family for their love and support. My parents, Michael and Mary Jane; my brother, Mike; my sister, Nancy; my brother-in-law, John; my nieces, Erin and Kelly; and my nephew, Michael, are with me always. My wife, Nancy, love of my life, is the brightest light of them all. She has made all of my dreams come true. Thank you!
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Introduction
American military history is fascinating. Like any high drama, it has everything you can want in a story. It has tragedy. It has inspiring and not-so-inspiring leaders. It has heroes and villains. It has blood, sweat, and tears, but also humor, comradeship, and revelry. More than anything, American military history is about the ordinary American in extraordinary circumstances.
Perhaps that’s why it’s such a popular topic. Go to any average bookstore, and you’ll see that books on military topics usually comprise anywhere from one-third to one-half of the history section. Go to the video store, and you can’t help but notice the huge quantities of war movies and combat video games that clutter the shelves. Military stories sell, even if they’re inaccurate or poorly told, as so many are.
Military history, though, is much more than just another entertaining diversion. It’s the story of this country’s past, present, and future. Anyone who wants to understand the first thing about American history, and even American society today, must know military history.
From the earliest days of the American colonies to our own time, warfare and the armed forces have had a major impact on everything that has happened. In colonial times, European settlers fought Native Americans for land. In later years, Americans did the same. Indians fought just as hard to hang on to their land, sometimes against whites, other times against other Native Americans. Americans earned their independence as a result of two wars with imperial Great Britain. Major disagreements about slavery, race, federal power, states’ rights, and economics led to a ruinous war between northerners and southerners that marked the country forever. Generations later, America’s participation in World War II transformed the country more than any other event, before or since. All these wars, like most, accelerated the pace of change.
Military history isn’t just about wars, though. It’s about average Americans and their lives. Who served in the armed forces and why? How closely do America’s military forces reflect our society? Why do American soldiers risk their lives in combat? Do major American problems, such as drugs, racism, sexism, and corruption, carry over into military life?
Military historians debate these issues and so many others. They argue about everything from Robert E. Lee’s decisions at the Battle of Gettysburg to the Army’s treatment of female soldiers in the 1970s. They debate everything from the reasons for American victory in the Revolution to the reasons for American defeat in Vietnam.
In these troubled, warlike times, nearly everyone has an opinion about some aspect of American military history. If you’re one of those people, then reading this book will let you know which of your opinions carry some weight and which may need some revising. The book also may provide you with some ammo to use in a debate over nearly any aspect of American military history.
About This Book
I teach U.S. military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Each year, when I get a new set of introductory students, their main complaint is that history is boring. To them, history is nothing more than a remote series of names, dates, and facts to be memorized for the test and then discarded. I actually don’t blame them for feeling that way because that’s how history is often taught and written. Well, the first thing I assure them — and you — is that history is not just names, dates, and facts. It is the story of people and the challenges of their times. History is about why and how, not what and when. The study of history is all about bringing people of the past to life. It’s also about understanding what their experiences can teach us about ourselves and our own challenges. When I present history to my students that way, you’d be amazed at the transformation in their interest level. They actually start enjoying it.
History is for everybody, not just a few scholars in some little elitist club. This book is written from an inclusive perspective. Each chapter explains unfamiliar terms, breaks up complicated information into easily understandable groupings, and avoids arcane jargon. The other great thing about the book is that you don’t have to read it chronologically, from the front cover to the back cover. You can start anywhere you want, skipping what doesn’t interest you and concentrating on what does. Maybe you’re only interested in the post–World War II period or the Civil War or the 18th century, or maybe you’re into every aspect of American military history. No matter what your interests, you’ll find something you like in this book. And I promise there won’t be a test!
Conventions Used in This Book
I use the following conventions in this book to help you navigate your way:
I italicize all new words and terms that are defined.
I boldface keywords or the main parts of bulleted items.
I use monofont for all Web addresses.
Throughout the text, I sometimes refer to Native Americans as Indians.
What Not to Read
Although I cover the highlights of U.S. military history in this book, I just can’t resist sharing some additional facts and anecdotes that enhance the story. I’ve put these interesting but nonessential tidbits in sidebars. You can skip the sidebars — shaded boxes that appear here and there — if you’d like.
Foolish Assumptions
The literature on American military history is enormous and growing each year. No one can possibly keep up with all of it. U.S. Military History For Dummies is designed for the reader who wants to be informed but without getting overwhelmed by the details. I don’t claim to provide a description of every incident, battle, issue, or personality in American military history. The topic is way too large for that.
Because you picked up this book, I assume you’re interested in a quick-hitting, lively, accurate overview of U.S. military history, and you probably fall into one of the following categories:
You want a general overview of U.S. military history that answers the questions of who, what, where, why, when, and how.
You want a compact reference guide to major subjects in American military history.
You’re interested in discovering how the military and warfare have shaped American life, society, politics, economics, and culture.
You want to brush up on the topic without having to plow through scholarly minutiae, military-buff Web sites, or incomprehensible military terms.
How This Book is Organized
I have organized this book into six major topical and chronological parts, each of which covers important aspects of American military history.
Part I: The Nitty-Gritty of U.S. Military History
This part gives you an overview of why military history is very important, why Americans fight wars, who we fight, and how all of this has affected the country’s history. It introduces you to the key players in American military history, from politicians to generals to the warriors themselves. This part also explains the purpose, traditions, and unique missions of each of the armed services. Plus, it discusses what happens when those services actually get into combat as well as why American soldiers risk their lives in battle.
Part II: Born in War
Warfare created the United States. This part explains how a colonial war against the French and their Native American allies created the conditions that led to the American Revolution. It examines the important battles of the Revolution and how that defining event affected Americans, and explains why the American revolutionaries won. These chapters also discuss the many challenges the new nation faced, from dealing with Indians to Barbary pirates and another conflict with Great Britain.
Part III: Forged in War
With independence secured, the United States began to expand westward, all the way to the Pacific coast. This part examines a territorial war that the United States fought with Mexico and explains how this helped lead to the Civil War. It relates the main causes of the Civil War, chronicles the important battles, and shows how deeply the war affected nearly every American. The fighting and dying didn’t end with the Civil War. After the war, the United States continued its relentless expansion west and, in so doing, battled with several proud Native American tribes. Finally, this part concludes with America’s first real overseas war, a morally charged, brief tilt with Spain that led to the establishment of a small American empire in the Philippines.
Part IV: Going Global: The World Wars
This part examines the first half of the 20th century, when the United States became a leading world power. The Great War, or World War I, raged in Europe, and initially, the United States was inclined to stay out of it. But by 1917, the Americans willingly joined the war, and this part explains exactly how that happened, as well as what the war was like for Americans. The war’s greatest tragedy is that it created the conditions for a much worse war, fought between 1939 and 1945, that we generally call World War II. One chapter examines the causes of that war and explains how the United States eventually got involved. Then, the next chapter describes the crucial battles of that colossal war, the horrible realities of combat, and the many ways that the war profoundly changed the United States forever.
Part V: Bearing Any Burden: The Cold War and the Unpaid Peace Dividend
This part covers the violent half century that followed World War II. The Cold War led the United States into two major wars on the Asian continent. In Korea, the United States joined with a coalition of other nations to keep Communist North Korea from conquering non-Communist South Korea. A decade later, the U.S. again sought to protect and secure a non-Communist ally, South Vietnam, against its Communist enemies in North Vietnam and an insurgency called the Viet Cong. This war was one of the longest, least popular, and least successful in which Americans fought. This part also covers the key Cold War events, from the American Marshall Plan for European recovery to the Cuban Missile Crisis, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The final three chapters look at American involvement in the Middle East, from 1990 through the present, including protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
This is often the most fascinating part of any For Dummies book. The Part of Tens gives me an opportunity to relate important information that doesn’t quite fit into the flow of the book. The chapters contain top-ten lists on the best and worst generals in American military history and the best movies ever made on the topic. Each list is designed to provoke some thought, some debate, and perhaps inspire you to do more reading on the subject (maybe to create your own lists!).
normals Used in This Book
Sometimes you may need some quick help in finding what’s important. The normals designate passages about four subjects. These little pictures next to the text are easy to find and identify. Here’s what each one represents:
This normal identifies military strategy used by U.S. commanders or their enemies to achieve their overall objectives. Often a commander’s strategy is equivalent to his battle plan.
This normal gives you an interesting bit of historical information that adds to your knowledge and understanding of American military history.
This normal points out especially important information that you need to keep in mind as subsequent events unfold.
This normal gives you special details about the realities of the military experience. It provides a “you are there” sense of what battles were really like for the soldiers.
Where to Go from Here
This book is about war, politics, and combat throughout American history. It’s designed for you to skip around, reading whatever interests you the most. If you’re mainly interested in the early period of U.S. military history, then head over to Part II. If World War II is your thing, then you can jump ahead to those chapters. Perhaps you want to know more about the war on terror. If so, look at the later chapters of Part V. Or maybe you just want some quick information on how the military works and what combat is like. In that case, Part I is where you should start. If you just want intriguing and provocative tidbits on U.S. military history, the Part of Tens is the place to go. However, if you want to know it all, then start with the first chapter and read the book in order. Any way you choose to go, you can find plenty of information to fill in the gaps. Basically, it’s your book, so read it — and enjoy it — however you want.
Part I
The Nitty-Gritty of U.S. Military History
In this part . . .
Before you can understand all the wars Americans have fought, you need to understand the military’s background and the people who serve our country. In this part, you see why wars and the armed forces have been such an important part of the United States’ history. You find out who has done the fighting and what it’s really like. You even get a quick overview on what each of the services does and what makes each of them unique.
Chapter 1
Why This Stuff Is Important
In This Chapter
Shaping the nation through war
Seeing how wars of the past affect you today
Meeting the storytellers of history
The U.S. military doesn’t exist, as some people argue, “to kill people and break things.” Quite simply, it exists to provide security for the American people. Sometimes that does indeed mean killing people and breaking things. Other times, it means precisely the opposite. In World War II, the armed forces, in order to protect America, had to destroy the enemy’s armed forces in conventional combat. However, during the Cold War, the military’s primary focus was to prevent a catastrophic World War III by maintaining peace rather than making war.
Basically, U.S. military history is the story of how we’ve maintained our security and how we can continue to do so in the future. That means military history actually affects your life.
Security is the basic necessity of life. Without security, nothing works. Security is sort of like your health. If you don’t have your health, you’re in deep trouble. If you do, then it’s easy to take it for granted. Imagine, for just a moment, if your life were devoid of security. For the purpose of self-defense, your home would be a bunker, with no creature comforts, not even electricity or indoor plumbing because those things are the product of stable communities and foresighted engineering. With no police, firefighters, or soldiers, your main focus would be to protect your family from predators. There would be no supermarkets, no Starbucks, no local mall, and (gasp!) no bookstores. Instead, your existence would be governed by the law of the jungle. Not a pretty picture, is it? Sadly, conditions similar to these exist in far too much of the world.
But Americans are fortunate. We enjoy relatively peaceful, stable lives that come from our collective security as a country. We live in safe homes, drive on regulated, fairly well-maintained roads, shop at secure businesses, and work in safe, peaceful jobs. In truth, none of these blessings can exist without — you guessed it — security. And, for America, that security comes from the armed forces, which are made up of individual Americans.
One of the most fascinating aspects of U.S. military history is that it’s largely the story of ordinary Americans in extraordinary circumstances. Perhaps that’s why most of us are so moved by it. Plus, if you know military history, you know American history, because they’re closely intertwined. You also begin to understand where security — our most basic necessity — actually comes from.
The purpose of this chapter, then, is to explain what U.S. military history is, how profoundly it has affected our country’s development, and why it’s important to your life.
Shaping a Country through War
Americans like to think of themselves as peace-loving people. To some extent, the characterization fits. Most Americans tend to think of war as unusual and quite undesirable, something to be avoided if at all possible. To them, peace is the norm, war is the aberration. Security is a given. Violence and chaos are only frightful exceptions to an otherwise orderly existence. Throughout American history, only a minority of Americans have ever fought in combat. All of this is obviously a good thing.
However, there is no question that war is a central theme in American history. War created this country, shaped it, and propelled it into world-power status. It is literally impossible to study American history without studying war. By my count — and this is a conservative estimate — Americans have fought and died in well over 100 wars since colonial times. Those wars ranged in size from small skirmishes against Native American tribes to World War II, the largest conflict of all time. Like it or not, American history is really something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde duality between the peaceful and warlike sides of America. For this reason, military issues relate to almost every aspect of the American story. And this story that loops from the past into the present touches you in more ways than you may be aware.
Reaping the sociological and political rewards of war
Military conflict has decided a large number of major issues in U.S. history. That’s the essential paradox of America. A country founded on notions of representative government, peaceful compromise, tolerance, and universal human rights nonetheless resolved many of its conflicts through violence. Here’s a brief list that demonstrates the momentous effect of wars on the development of the United States as a nation:
The Revolutionary War (see Chapters 6 and 7) created an independent American republic. The War of 1812 (see Chapter 9) solidified that independence and gave Americans permanent control of the Mississippi River. This led to massive economic growth.
Wars against Native Americans (see Chapters 8 and 12) led to the precipitous decline of Indian cultures in this country. Those wars also expanded the United States across the continent, creating a coast-to-coast nation built around the Constitution.
A war with Mexico (see Chapter 10), fought in 1846 and 1847, won control of the entire Southwest for the United States.
The Civil War (see Chapter 11) destroyed slavery, propelled race to the forefront as a thorny American issue, and guaranteed that the United States would develop as a free-market, capitalist, multiethnic republic.
The Spanish-American War (see Chapter 13) led to colonial commitments for America overseas.
World War I (see Chapter 14) created widespread disillusionment with the idea of war itself. It also furthered the idea that Americans should remain aloof from world affairs. This notion, known as isolationism, still exists in American political thought.
World War II (see Chapter 16) turned the United States into a world-leading power of immense proportions. It also sparked major changes in race relations, gender roles, economic growth, political norms, and lifestyles.
The Vietnam War (see Chapter 19) proved the limits of American power. It caused many Americans to question the country’s basic morality. The war also spawned massive social protest movements, the ripples of which we still feel today.
Remember that those are just a few examples, among many. Nor do they even take into account the military’s considerable peacetime impact on the American people throughout the span of U.S. history. The main point I’m conveying is that modern America is, to a great extent, the product of its martial past.
Reaping the innovations of war
Many things you encounter in your daily life eventually relate to military history or security. Indeed, I would venture to say that nearly every product you use is dependent, in some way, upon military security. Here are just a few examples:
Automobiles: Every American automaker during World War II converted from the production of civilian cars to vehicles with a military purpose, such as tanks, trucks, planes, and jeeps. The Jeep and the Hummer originally were exclusively military vehicles. Also, civilian cars are, of course, dependent on oil-based petroleum for fuel. The United States has fought wars in the oil-rich Middle East and maintains a major military presence there to safeguard the world’s oil supply.
Cotton: This crop is, obviously, useful for making comfortable clothes. In the early 19th century, the South’s economic system was heavily dependent upon slave-based cotton production for foreign markets. This led to the growth of a slavery-centered economy, political system, and culture in the South that ultimately clashed with the North’s industrial, free-market economy, helping lead to the Civil War. The impact of the Civil War’s outcome has continued into the present with civil rights being extended to all ethnic groups. And those cotton khakis you love originated from military uniforms.
Penicillin: This was the wonder drug of the mid-20th century. Penicillin was so effective in fighting infections that it led to a dramatic rise in the production of antibiotics. What does penicillin have to do with U.S. military history, you may ask? The drug was developed during World War II for American military forces. The war also led to other major advances in medicine, including improved prosthetic limbs, reconstructive plastic surgery, better psychiatric care, and a slew of new surgical techniques that doctors still employ.
Detroit: The city started as a French trading post. British soldiers and American militiamen captured it from the French during the French and Indian War. Later, the British and their Native American allies took the city from the Americans in the War of 1812. The Americans subsequently took it back. It’s been part of the U.S. ever since and was a driving force (pun intended) in automobile manufacturing in the U.S. And without Detroit as part of the U.S., would we have ever had the Motown sound?
Insecticide: During the Vietnam War and in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, American soldiers were issued bottles of insecticide to ward off mosquitoes, ants, leeches, and other tropical insects. Vietnam-era soldiers greatly prized their bottles of “bug juice” in the country’s insect-ridden environment. Today, with the threat of bird flu and other mosquito-borne diseases, bug repellent is just as important. It’s also nice to have along on picnics!
Kid Rock: What, you may ask, can this pop normal anti-hero possibly have to do with the military? Kid Rock travels overseas to play free concerts for American troops, as do other entertainers such as Jay Leno, Gary Sinise, and Toby Keith. The greatest troop entertainer of all time was Bob Hope, who traveled tens of thousands of miles over the course of many decades to brighten the morale of Americans in uniform. Chances are, your favorite singer or actor may entertain the troops, at military bases here in the U.S. or overseas.
Seeing the Value of Understanding the Past
You may be tempted to say, “Well, that’s interesting, but it’s all in the past. Why is this stuff important to me now?” It’s a good question, and it requires an equally good answer that I think can be summed up in a passage George Orwell wrote more than 50 years ago. “We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” This was true in Orwell’s time, and it’s certainly true now. Basically, it amounts to this: Without security, you have nothing; without an effective military, you have no security; without military history, you have no knowledge of what you must do to ensure your security.
History is not just about the past. It’s about the present and the future, too. You’ve probably heard the old cliché that “those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” This statement is trite and even a little condescending, but sometimes it’s actually true. Take, for example, the mistakes of American national security policymakers in the last half century. Since World War II, most American leaders have relied upon technology, air power, and sea power to fight America’s wars, at the expense of ground power. Yet, most of our modern wars have actually been fought and won on the ground. As a result, Americans have usually been ill-prepared for the wars they fought, from World War II through now. The waste in American blood and treasure has been nearly incalculable. So, yes, it’s a very good idea to learn from the past and apply it to the future.
We live in troubled, bloody times, and this is nothing new. The sad lesson of history is that human beings make war on one another. This has been true in most every culture, in every time period, and it’s certainly true today. Closing your eyes and wishing away humanity’s warlike tendencies won’t make them extinct. The stark reality is that your security and mine are dependent upon those who serve in the United States armed forces. They are the “rough” men — and now women — standing ready to do violence against anyone meaning to harm us.
Make no mistake. The United States has plenty of enemies who readily kill Americans when given half a chance to do so (see Chapter 2). It doesn’t matter whether you are a liberal Democrat, a conservative Republican, or anything in between. If you are an American, you are a target for a variety of enemies. Who keeps those enemies at bay so that we can enjoy secure, healthy lives? Those who serve in the U.S. military. They serve all over the world, on long deployments, in combat zones, far away from their families. They know the ache of loneliness and homesickness. They routinely risk their lives for us. In some cases, they lose their health or their lives in the line of duty. The least we can do is know what makes them tick. (Chapter 3 takes a look at who fights on our behalf, and Chapter 5 explains what they face in war zones.) If you know military history, you begin to comprehend those who ensure your security and how they accomplish that mission. What can be more important than that?
Listening to American Military Historians Tell the Story
History is the true story of real people told by other people (historians) who happened to come along later in time. All good historians are storytellers. Military historians tell stories about soldiers in uniform, the conflicts they fight, and the ways in which humanity is affected by military issues. American military historians have a lot to talk about, from the story of colonial militiamen to the 21st-century, all-volunteer armed forces and everything in between. The American military past is so enormous that an army of historians (pun intended) could study it for decades and not even come close to covering everything important. But we do our best!
Reporting tomorrow’s history today
One good way to appreciate the vastness of American military history is to pick up a copy of today’s paper, keeping in mind that today’s news stories are tomorrow’s history. Take note of every story that has some sort of military angle or topic, from the latest Army Corps of Engineers river project to reports of battles. Chances are you’ve located a fair number of military-oriented stories in your paper. For each one of those military stories, several others didn’t get published. That’s a lot of stories, right? Now multiply all of those stories by the full length of recorded American history, roughly 150,000 days. That gives you a sense of the enormity of U.S. military history and the challenge historians face in telling that aspect of the American story. So those historians tend to concentrate on what they feel is most important. They also focus on topics that are well recorded because they must have good sources to do their work.
Working the military history beat
American military historians work in a variety of places. Some, like me, are academics who teach at the higher-education level. Many work for the armed forces as official historians or as professors in service-run professional schools. Others work for the National Park Service as battlefield guides, rangers, and consultants. Quite a few work in the popular sector as analysts, authors, military magazine editors, historians for battlefield tour companies, memorabilia collectors, or as producers, writers, and hosts of movies and TV shows that cover military topics. Almost all American military historians sub-specialize. This means they develop expertise in one, or several, aspects of American military history. Here are just a few examples:
Tom Fleming, although he has published books on nearly every time period in American military history, is best known for his excellent work on the American Revolution.
Gary Gallagher and James McPherson are known as Civil War historians.
Brian Linn is the foremost authority on the Philippine-American War.
D’Ann Campbell is a leader in the field of American women and the military.
Stephen Ambrose earned a reputation as the foremost chronicler of the American GI in World War II.
Samuel Eliot Morison wrote the history of the United States Navy like no one else, before or since.
Joseph Glatthaar is a pioneer in the study of African Americans in the military.
Allan Millett is a leading authority on the history of the United States Marine Corps and also the Korean War.
So, as you can see, American military historians cover a wide variety of topics, practically everything from battles of the 19th century to the ways in which American education was affected by the growth of military bases.
U.S. military historians may study all sorts of different subjects, but most fit into one of two categories.
Traditionalists tend to focus on generals, senior leaders, and the narration of great battles. They describe strategy, tactics, and the influence of powerful individuals on the outcome of history. This is generally known as a “top-down” approach to history.
The other category, more prevalent from the 1960s onward, is known as the “new” military history. This is a somewhat silly, vague term that refers to a “bottom-up” approach that is roughly akin to social history. In other words, these socio-military historians are primarily interested in the impact military history had on ordinary individuals, whether common soldiers or civilians. They approach military history by asking “What was it actually like?” Thus, for instance, some of these “new” military historians write battle histories from the perspective of those who did the actual fighting, often relating the horrible realities of combat.
You may be wondering which kind of historian I am. Definitely the latter. Generals are important, but in the end, U.S. military history is made by the average American in uniform and the everyday civilian on the home front.
Chapter 2
Why America Goes to War and Who We Fight
In This Chapter
Explaining the reasons the nation does battle
Identifying enemies
Since the 18th century, Americans have fought a variety of enemies. For the first 100 years of U.S. history, the country fought almost entirely against continental enemies, such as Native Americans, Mexicans, and colonial Europeans, normally for territory or national sovereignty. That changed at the turn of the 20th century, when the United States squared off in conflicts with overseas enemies such as Spain and Germany. By the middle of the 20th century and thereafter, Americans began to lock horns with ideological enemies such as Nazis, Communists, and Islamic radicals.
In this chapter, I examine the major reasons why the United States fights wars. I also give you a nice sense of the various enemies Americans have faced in combat. Overall, the chapter tells you everything you need to know about the why and the who in relation to American wars.
Why Do We Fight?
In the early 19th century, Karl von Clausewitz, a Prussian general and military strategist, summed up, in one sentence, the most famous explanation for war’s existence. “It is clear that war is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means.” Is that really true? Actually, sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t.
Throughout U.S. history, Americans have gone to war for a variety of reasons, ranging from political to economic to ideological, with a heavy emphasis on the latter. American wars have seldom been the result of dispassionate political calculation. This is because Americans tend to value individual human life because the country, after all, was founded on the idea of individual civil liberties. Obviously war destroys many of those individual lives. So, typically, Americans only support wars that appear to have some higher moral purpose than mere political maneuverings or economic gain. Of course, hard-core economic interests and power politics have sometimes been the real underlying reasons for our wars, leading to postwar disillusionment among many Americans, especially those who did the fighting.
The question of why we go to war provokes strenuous debate among American military historians. Some see our wars as the result of economic imperialism. They say that the United States always fights to expand its economic influence and enhance its own prosperity. Others argue that the United States has fought to spread its ideas and culture around the world. Other historians believe that self-defense and preoccupation with the security of the Western Hemisphere are the primary motivations for American wars. Thus, different historians often advance a variety of explanations for the same war.
The beauty of history is that there isn’t always a 100 percent correct answer to every question. Sometimes, historical understanding comes from absorbing several possible explanations and deciding for yourself which makes the most sense. So, in this section, I relate several such explanations for American wars, with plenty of examples to explain what I mean.
When words fail: Politics
Our friend Clausewitz would, of course, champion a political explanation. He would say that Americans go to war when they find it necessary to advance their political agenda with violence, rather than peaceful persuasion. Sometimes this has been true. Political disagreements have indeed flared into outright warfare numerous times in American history:
The American Revolution resulted from years of angry political debate between colonists and Great Britain. In fact, if you read the Declaration of Independence, you see that much of it is a listing of political grievances against King George III rather than a manifesto of great ideals. (Read about the United States’ quest for independence in Chapter 7.)
In the years leading up to the War of 1812, the United States attempted to resolve its differences with Great Britain by passing embargo laws to restrict American trade with Britain. When those laws failed to bring about the necessary political change in London that the Americans wanted, they declared war on Britain (Chapter 9 hits the highlights).
A controversial election actually led to the Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln, an antislavery northerner, won the presidency in 1860, many southern slave states seceded from the Union rather than submit to his political authority. This secession, in turn, led to a terrible war that pitted the free-soil, free-labor, industrial, pro-Union political philosophy of the North against the proslavery, states’ rights politics prevalent in the South (see Chapter 11 for more details).
The United States entered World War I, in part, to support fellow democracies Britain and France. (Chapter 14 outlines the first World War.)
Economics: The root of all evil
Some historians argue that economics is the driving force behind all wars. They have a good point. From the ancient world until now, kingdoms, empires, nations, and interest groups have often fought for economic gain. In that sense, the United States is no different, even though American policymakers usually deny their economic motivations for war.
In reality, economics has been a major factor in nearly every American war, from the days when colonial Americans thirsted for control of French North American fur-trading routes to our own times when Americans demand open access to Middle Eastern oil. Time and time again in American history, U.S. soldiers have fought to protect the economic interests of their country:
During the French and Indian War, many American militiamen fought in hopes of inheriting control of French fur-trading businesses (see Chapter 6).
Some historians argue that the patriots of the American Revolution were primarily motivated by the economic advantages of separation from England (see Chapter 7).
During the War of 1812, the main sticking point between the United States and Great Britain was the fact that the United States wanted to engage in free overseas trade without British harassment. When the Royal Navy continued to interfere with American trade in Europe, Americans opted for war (see Chapter 9).
Economics was a major cause of the Civil War. The North’s industrial, free-market, free-labor entrepreneurial economy clashed with the South’s agricultural, plantation, slave-based economic system (see Chapter 11).
From colonial times onward, economics was a major component of every American conflict with Indians because Americans often coveted resources they found on Indian land (see Chapters 8 and 12). For instance, the famous Battle of Little Bighorn in the summer of 1876 happened, in part, because American settlers discovered gold on Sioux Indian land.
American desire to expand economically overseas and win access to foreign markets helped lead to the Spanish-American War (see Chapter 13).
During World War I, American industrialists and bankers had an enormous stake in the Allied cause. Most historians believe this was a major reason why the U.S. entered the war on the Allied side. (Chapter 14 covers other reasons why the U.S. fought in World War I.)
The U.S. fought in World War II, in part, to protect its overseas markets in Asia and Europe. (Chapter 15 explains the factors that led to World War II.)
Economic historians argue that the Cold War resulted from America’s desire to protect worldwide market capitalism against Communist encroachment (see Chapter 17). This led Americans into wars in such distant places as Korea and Vietnam (see Chapters 18 and 19).
In 1990–1991, when Iraq took over Kuwait, the United States and a coalition of allies reacted with military force, not just to free Kuwait, but to protect the free flow of oil at market prices (see Chapter 20). Some commentators and historians claim that the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 to gain control of that country’s oil resources (see Chapter 21).
Territory: Really major land grabs
Before the 20th century, the American desire to acquire territory caused several wars. From colonial times through the late 1890s, Americans were constantly on the move, expanding their influence, usually to the west. The American nation steadily grew from a seaboard collection of 13 original states to a bicoastal, continental colossus. To a great extent, this happened because of war.
Here’s a good rule of thumb to keep in mind. From 1914 onward, Americans never fought a war to acquire territory. Before that time, they rarely fought a war in which they didn’t win territory.
Here are several examples of wars Americans fought over territory:
One of the main reasons for the French and Indian War in the 1750s was because Americans were moving west from the 13 seaboard British colonies, encroaching on French land (see Chapter 6).
During the Revolutionary War, many patriots fought because they expected to gain land at the expense of Loyalists and pro-British Indian tribes (see Chapter 7).
In 1803, the U.S. government bought substantial amounts of North American land from France in the Louisiana Purchase. Several years later, in the War of 1812, the U.S. fought to keep the British from encroaching on the Louisiana Purchase (see Chapter 9).
Many times in the 19th century, Americans fought Indian tribes for their land (see Chapters 8 and 12).
The best example of a territorial conflict is the Mexican-American War. This war originated from a disagreement between the two countries over a common border. The American president, James K. Polk, wanted to expand to the southwest, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Much of that territory was under the loose control of Mexico, though. Polk attempted to purchase the land. When Mexico refused to sell, war soon followed. (Get more details in Chapter 10.)
As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States acquired Spain’s former colonies in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines (see Chapter 13).
The Four Freedoms
