The role of the Frontier scout in the US Army during the period of expansion to the West, was often far more important than that of the commanding officer himself. They possessed a priceless knowledge of the geography, people and characteristics of the great, unknown American hinterland and from the earliest days of exploration, the US Army depended on its scouts to guide them across the plains and through the mountains as they guarded the nation's frontier settlements. This book looks at these scouts, covering their organization, uniform, and weapons and includes details of many famous scouts such as 'Wild Bill' Hikock and 'Buffalo Bill' Cody.

Never did so large a proportion of the American population leave home for an extended period and produce such a detailed record of its experiences in the form of correspondence, diaries, and other papers as during the Civil War. Based on research in more than 1,200 wartime letters and diaries by more than 400 Confederate officers and enlisted men, this book offers a compelling social history of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during its final year, from May 1864 to April 1865.

Organized in a chronological framework, the book uses the words of the soldiers themselves to provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege--from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front, the debate over arming black men in the Confederacy, and the causes of Confederate defeat. Remarkably rich and detailed, "Lee's Miserables" offers a fresh look at one of the most-studied Civil War armies.

How did Russia develop a modern national identity, and what role did the military play? Joshua Sanborn examines tsarist and Soviet armies of the early twentieth century to show how military conscription helped to bind citizens and soldiers into a modern political community. The experience of total war, he shows, provided the means by which this multiethnic and multiclass community was constructed and tested. Drafting the Russian Nation is the first archivally based study of the relationship between military conscription and nation-building in a European country. Stressing the importance of violence to national political consciousness, it shows how national identity was formed and maintained through the organized practice of violence. The cultural dimensions of the "military body" are explored as well, especially in relation to the nationalization of masculinity. The process of nation-building set in motion by military reformers culminated in World War I, when ethnically diverse conscripts fought together in total war to preserve their national territory. In the ensuing Civil War, the army's effort was directed mainly toward killing the political opposition within the "nation." While these complex conflicts enabled the Bolsheviks to rise to power, the massive violence of war even more fundamentally constituted national political life. Not all minorities were easily assimilated. The attempt to conscript natives of Central Asia for military service in 1916 proved disastrous, for example. Jews; also identified as non-nationals, were conscripted but suffered intense discrimination within the armed forces because they were deemed to be inherently unreliable and potentially disloyal. Drafting the Russian Nation is rich with insights into the relation of war to national life. Students of war and society in the twentieth century will find much of interest in this provocative study.

To be a successful commander requires experience, character, tenacity and boldness: the ability to establish a good rapport with both your staff and your men is also vital. The real test comes in combat though, where a large proportion of luck is involved - the luck to be in the right place at the right time - and lasting reputations can be formed in a very brief and frenetic period. The key US commanders of World War II were subject to (and often gratuitously fostered) the projection of their 'characters', exploiting the growing power of the media. This title examines the careers, personalities and fortunes of the key US Army and Air Force commanders of World War II.

The war with Mexico was the one of the most decisive conflicts in American history. After smashing Mexico's armies the young republic bestrode the North American continent like a colossus with one leg anchored on the Atlantic seaboard and the other on the Pacific. It was a bitter, hard fought war that raged across Mexico through the northern deserts, the fever-ridden Gulf cities and the balmy haciendas of California. This book covers the full course of the war, ending with General Winfield Scott's march from the captured port of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, fighting all the way.

In World War II the Panzer spearheaded every major battle, compaign or battle from the invasions of Poland and France in the "Blitzkrieg", to the last great counter-offensive in the Ardennes. Germany's Panzer crews fought on every front and along the way had earned a formidable reputation for elan in the attack and steadfastness in defence. This book charts the recruitment, training, service conditions and combat experience of a typical World War II German tank crewman, serving on various fronts - from the scorching heat of the Western Desert to the frozen tundra of the Eastern Front. It features unpublished photographs which have come from two main sources - private collectors and Panzer veterans themselves.

The story of an authentic American hero; This acclaimed biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, Chamberlain went on to serve four terms as governor of his home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College. He wrote prolificaly about the war, including The Passing of the Armies, a classic account of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac.

In one of the very few balanced accounts of Texas's epic struggle for independence from Mexico, Albert Nofi provides a chronicle of the events and personalities of the war. He includes readable and accessible maps of military movements and a strategic and tactical analysis of each battle, supplemented with technical information about the weapons used, casulty data, orders of battle, finances, and the story of a little-known war at sea. Prominent personalities of the was are profiled in sidebars, and maps of military movements are included. Nofi also addresses the extraordinary number of myths that the Alamo has engendered and exposes the truth about a conflict that has taken on legendary proportions.

Since 1983 journalist Bill Berkeley has traveled through Africa's most troubled lands-Rwanda, Liberia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zaire-seeking out the tyrants and military leaders who orchestrate seemingly intractable wars. Shattering the myth that ancient tribal hatred lies at the heart of the continent's troubles, Berkeley instead holds accountable the "Big Men" who came to power during this period, describing the very rational methods behind their apparent madness. A New Republic Book

The last U.S. Army mules were formally mustered out of the service in December 1956, ending 125 years of military reliance on the virtues of this singular animal. Much less glamorous than the cavalryman's horse, the Army pack mule was a good deal more important: from the Mexican War through World War II, mules were an indispensable adjunct to army movement. The author has exhaustively researched the ubiquitous yet nearly invisible army mule. Through his work we learn a great deal about military procurement, transport, and supply, the bedrock on which military mobility rests.

Did the Vietnam War have to happen? And why couldn't it have ended earlier? These are among the questions that Robert McNamara and his collaborators ask in "Argument Without End," a book that will stand as a major contribution to what we know about the Vietnam War. Drawing on a series of meetings that brought together, for the first time ever, senior American and Vietnamese officials who had served during the war, the book looks at the many instances in which one side, or both, made crucial mistakes that led to the war and its duration. Using Vietnamese and Chinese documents, many never before made public, McNamara reveals both American and Vietnamese blunders, and points out ways in which such mistakes can be avoided in the future. He also shows conclusively that war could not be won militarily by the United States.McNamara's last book on Vietnam was one of the most controversial books ever published in this country. This book will reignite the passionate debate about the war, about McNamara, and about the lessons we can take away from the tragedy.

"Here we go, I said to myself as my system electrified with the familiar rush of adrenaline."

An elite unit armed to the teeth, the Mobile Guerrilla Force was America's only real guerrilla force in Vietnam. These men operated for weeks at a time--springing ambushes, destroying base camps, and gathering vital intelligence--in steamy, triple-canopied jungles ruled by the VC and NVA.

On July 18, 1967, Special Forces medic James Donahue and his platoon were on a mission, code-named Blackjack-34, to locate enemy units for the 1st Infantry to destroy. But instead a crack enemy battalion found them.

Now Donahue bears witness to the bloody events of that day and the exceptional grit and determination of his teammates. BLACKJACK-34 is a magnificent tribute to the warriors of Mobile Guerrilla Force--their courage, heroism, and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice.