Containing the histories (from 1945 to the present) of the nuclear strategies of NATO, Britain and France, and of the defence preferences of the FRG (West Germany), this book shows how strategies were functions of a perceived Soviet threat and an American 'nuclear guarantee'. There were three options for West Europeans: a compromise with differing American needs in NATO, pursued by Britain and the FRG; national nuclear forces, developed by Britain and France; and projects for an independent European nuclear force.

Why did the British win the Anglo-Boer War? Although there is truth in the simple statement that they were much stronger than the Boers, it does not explain everything. Therefore, the main focus of this book is to analyse the most important strategic and operational decisions made on both sides, and to measure them according to accepted modern military theory. It is shown that both the British and Boer war efforts were very haphazard at the beginning, but that both learnt as the war went on. In the end, the British got the Boers in a vice from which they could not escape.

Japanese war orphans left behind in Manchuria at the end of World War II are forgotten victims of the war. These 5,000 children were trapped in the strained postwar Sino-Japanese relationship, grew up in China, were bullied as "little Japanese demons," and then were persecuted as "Japanese spies" during the Cultural Revolution. They experienced every imaginable human atrocity: they were shot or stabbed with bayonets, witnessed group rape, massacres, and mass suicide, became displaced persons in an enemy country, and lost their identities. They endured what the American soldiers and the Guantanamo Bay Prison inmates combined encountered--near fatal injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, interrogations, and torture. Upon delayed repatriation four decades later, they were despised as "Chinese" in their homeland. This original book demonstrates that they are another group of victims of Japanese militarism, in addition to the Chinese and Korean "comfort women" and forced laborers. The orphan issue is an integral part of the Japanese government's war responsibility.

"This hard-hitting critique of US policy toward Latin America includes a historical sketch of US relations with individual countries. Black argues persuasively that the US has been the major oppponent of needed reforms in Latin American countries and the major proponent of predatory military establishments. The unwavering US goal, she believes, has been preservation of the established US empire in Latin America, but she cites differing strategies to attain this goal used by conservatives (President Reagan) and liberals (President Carter). She sees a weakening of US hegemony, however, as pressures for reform become irresistable. . . . This book should be read by all who view US policy toward Latin America as benevolent." Choice

My War Gone By, I Miss It So is a uniquely powerful piece of writing, unparalleled in the genre. Ex-infantry officer Anthony Loyd arrived in the Balkans hoping to become a war correspondent. He wanted to see `a real war', and in Bosnia he found one. The cruelty and chaos of the conflict both appalled and embraced him - the adrenaline lure of the action perhaps the loudest siren call of all. In the midst of the daily life-and-death struggle among the Serbs, Croatians and Bosnian Muslims he was inspired by the extraordinary human fortitude he discovered. But returning home, empty and craving adrenaline, he faced his own frailties until he could bear it no longer.

A young American enlists and begins his life in the Army with pink-cheeked optimism. The realities of combat and imprisonment during World War II test his will to survive. Written for his children and grandchildren with both rawness and humor, this journey to a labor camp in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia conveys both despair and hope.

Civilian control of the military is one of the cornerstones on which America is built, extending back even before the founding of the nation. In this volume, Byler examines the development of civil-military relations from the end of the Civil War until the start of the First World War, looking at what happened and why. During this period, an initially small, poorly funded, and often unpopular military continued its traditional subordination to civilian authority despite the dissatisfaction of many of its leaders. This volume explores why this was the case. It then demonstrates that even after the military achieved victory over Spain and began to rule overseas colonial possessions, giving it new prestige and influence, the experience of the previous decades ensured that the traditional principle of civilian control remained strong. Significant tensions developed between civilian and military leaders as the small and poorly-funded military was sent on missions in the Reconstruction South and the Indian West, into overseas wars against the Spanish and the Filipino nationalists, and on interventions in the Caribbean and Central America. Nonetheless, officers continued to obey civilian authorities because of a developing professional ethos that emphasized the tradition of subordination to civilian leaders and the disengagement of the military from politics. Even as the military gained the size, strength, and prestige to challenge civilian control, it did not do so directly. Instead, it became adept at working within civilian institutions, forming alliances with leaders inside and outside government to shape the policies it wanted.

War in the 18th century war was a complex operation, including popular as well as conventional conflict, between Europeans and with non-Europeans. These conflicts influenced European intellectuals and contributed to the complexity of Enlightenment thought. While Enlightenment writers regarded war as the greatest evil confronting mankind, they had little hope that it could be eliminated; thus, peace proposals of the day were joined by more realistic discussion of the means by which war might be limited or rendered more humane. In this book, the author considers the influence of ideas and values on the actions of Enlightenment military personnel and how the rational spirit of the time influenced military thought, producing a military enlightenment that applied rational analysis to military tactics and to the composition of armies. In the late Enlightenment, military writers explored the psychological foundations of war as a means of stimulating a new military spirit among the troops. The Enlightenment was, however, not the only cultural influence upon war during this century. Religion, the traditional values of the ancien regime, and local values all contributed to the culture of force. When Europeans engaged in military encounters with peoples in other parts of the globe, cultural interchange inevitably occurred as well. Further, there is a revolutionary element that one must consider when defining the military culture. The result of all these factors was a creative tension in 18th century warfare and an extraordinarily complex military culture.

A gripping account of the Soviet victories of 1944.

The year 1944 was the turning point of World War Two, and nowhere was this more evident than on the Eastern Front. For three years, following the onslaught of the German Army during Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Red Army had retreated and then eventually held, fighting to a stalemate while the Germans occupied and ravaged large parts of the Soviet Union and its republics. Finally, following the breaking of the German siege of Leningrad in January 1944, Stalin and his generals were able to consider striking back. In June, they launched Operation Bagration, during which more than two million Red Army soldiers began an offensive, pushing west. The results were almost immediate and devastating. Within three weeks, Army Group Centre, the core of the German Army, had lost 28 of its 32 divisions. The ending had begun.

Drawing on new sources-some previously untranslated-including accounts from ordinary soldiers and witnesses, Jonathan Dimbleby chronicles this decisive year in what was arguably the most crucial front in the war against Nazi Germany, a front extending 1200 miles. He covers the military, political, and diplomatic aspects in his trademark accessible and evocative style, illuminating the major conflicts as well as the roles played by deception, Partisan fighting, and the war within a war in Ukraine.

Endgame 1944 reveals how the Soviet victories enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post-war settlement, laying the foundations for the Cold War.

Towards the end of 1943 and during all of 1944 the war on all Fronts was relentlessly and violently building to a dangerous and complex climax Although the Allies had massively invaded Europe in the early summer of 1944, we didn't see German capitulation for almost a year and even then only after the Russians, renewed from their awful Battle of Stalingrad, were rolling west into the very heartland of Germany, taking Berlin block by block, building by building. With equal ferocity the Allies had rolled east. Eisenhower was poised fifty miles west at the Elbe River. April 30th, Hitler killed himself. Two days later Berlin capitulated. American losses in "Europe" totaled 170,000. The German end came fast. Although the World celebrated Victory in Europe on May 5th Germans had been surrendering in big numbers through late April and early May. By May 15th Allies had imprisoned five million German military personnel. Some of the best news I heard was the surrender of 153 German submarines. The foe in the Pacific would prove as implacable. In contrast to the land war in Europe, for us the war in the Pacific had always been a sea war with island invasions and battles taking place over great distances. A few months after Pearl Harbor the author went to war in the Engineering Department of a shipyard in Los Angeles Harbor and enjoyed a brief but rigorous engineering apprenticeship.earning an "Industrial Deferment," which required draft board renewal every six months. In late summer of 1943 the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy accepted him but with a "string attached." Unlike the other three Federal academies, this Academy required a six-month "tour of duty" at sea, preceded by ninety days of "Basic Training," wartime or peacetime.

"The editors. . . whose work also appears, have presented us with a valuable resource for years to come."
--"Peace News"

"The strength of "The Women and War Reader" lies in its both interdisciplinary and geographically diverse approach. It confronts the devastating impact of wartime violence and militarized societies on women."
--"Iris"

War affects women in profoundly different ways than men. Women play many roles during wartime: they are "gendered" as mothers, as soldiers, as munitions makers, as caretakers, as sex workers. How is it that womanhood in the context of war may mean, for one woman, tearfully sending her son off to war, and for another, engaging in civil disobedience against the state? Why do we think of war as "men's business" when women are more likely to be killed in war and to become war refugees than men?

The Women and War Reader brings together the work of the foremost scholars on women and war to address questions of ethnicity, citizenship, women's agency, policy making, women and the war complex, peacemaking, and aspects of motherhood. Moving beyond simplistic gender dichotomies, the volume leaves behind outdated arguments about militarist men and pacifist women while still recognizing that there are patterns of difference in men's and women's relationships to war.

The Women and War Reader challenges essentialist, class-based, and ethnocentric analysis. A comprehensive volume covering such regions as the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Nicaragua, Chiapas, South Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and India, it will provide a much-needed resource. The volume includes the work of over 35 contributors, including Cynthia Enloe, Sara Ruddick, V. Spike Peterson, Betty Reardon, April Carter, Leila J. Rupp, Harriet Hyman Alonso, Francine D'Amico, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, and Carolyn Nordstrom.

"This book began in an argument between friends surprised to find themselves on opposite sides of the debate about whether the United States and the United Kingdom should invade Iraq in 2003. Situated on opposite sides of the Atlantic, in different churches, and on different sides of the just war/pacifist fence, we exchanged long emails that rehearsed on a small scale the great national and international debates that were taking place around us. We discovered the common ground we shared, as well as some predictable and some surprising points of difference...When the initial hostilities ended, our conversation continued, and we felt the urgency of contributing to a wider Christian debate about whether and when war could be justified." (From the Preface). So began a dynamic collaboration that developed into a civil but provocative debate over matters of war and peace that is "Faith and Force". From the ancient battles between Greek city-states to the Crusades to the World Wars of the twentieth-century to the present-day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Middle East, aggressors and defenders alike have claimed the mantle of righteousness and termed their actions just. But can the carnage of war ever be morally grounded? And if so, how? These are the questions that David L. Clough, a Methodist proponent of pacifism, and Brian Stiltner, a Catholic theologian and just war adherent, have vowed to answer - together. With one voice, Clough and Stiltner outline and clarify issues of humanitarian intervention, weapons proliferation, and preventative war against rogue states. Their writing is grounded in Christian tradition and provides a fresh and illuminating account of the complexities and nuances of the pacifist and just war positions. In each chapter Clough and Stiltner engage in debate on the issues, demonstrating a respectful exchange of ideas absent in much contemporary political discourse - whether on television or in the classroom. The result is a well-reasoned, challenging repartee that searches for common ground within the Christian tradition and on behalf of the faithful promotion of justice - yet one that also recognizes genuine differences that cannot be bridged easily. Intended for a broad audience, "Faith and Force" is the perfect foil to the shrill screeching that surrounds partisan perspectives on military power and its use. To help with using the book in a classroom context, the authors have provided Questions for Reflection and Discussion for each chapter. You can download these questions in PDF format from our associated website.

This study contributes to the debate on whether defense spending encourages or hinders economic growth. The effect of politics on economic growth in developing societies is assessed, with a focus on the Middle East. The study is the first to add conflict variables to the production function defense-growth model and test them empirically across countries and regions, and provide robust empirical evidence on the differential effects of interstate and intrastate conflicts on economic growth. The study provides compelling empirical evidence and guidelines to policy decision makers on how to allocate the resources of their states and adopt policies that promote political economic development. The study urges Third World leaders to improve levels of freedom, democracy, and openness of their political systems because the results confirm that political factors are at least as important as economic factors in promoting economic growth. Furthermore, the results attest that the reallocation of resources from military to the civilian sector is the sine qua non to improve the performance of developing countries' economies.