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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment
Most observers who follow nuclear history agree on one major aspect
regarding Israel's famous policy of nuclear ambiguity; mainly that
it is an exception. More specifically, it is largely accepted that
the 1969 Nixon-Meir understanding, which formally established
Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity and transformed it from an
undeclared Israeli strategy into a long-lasting undisclosed
bilateral agreement, was in fact a singularity, aimed at allowing
Washington to turn a blind eye to the existence of an Israeli
arsenal. According to conventional wisdom, this nuclear bargain was
a foreign policy exception on behalf of Washington, an exception
which reflected a relationship growing closer and warmer between
the superpower leading the free world and its small Cold War
associate. Contrary to the orthodox narrative, this research
demonstrates that this was not the case. The 1969 bargain was not,
in fact, an exception, but rather the first of three Cold War era
deals on nuclear tests brokered by Washington with its Cold War
associates, the other two being Pakistan and South Africa. These
two deals are not well known and until now were discussed and
explored in the literature in a very limited fashion. Bargaining on
Nuclear Tests places the role of nuclear tests by American
associates, as well as Washington's attempts to prevent and delay
them, at the heart of a new nuclear history narrative.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, field artillery was a
small, separate, unsupported branch of the U.S. Army. By the end of
World War I, it had become the 'King of Battle,' a critical
component of American military might. Million-Dollar Barrage tracks
this transformation. Offering a detailed account of how American
artillery crews trained, changed, adapted, and fought between 1907
and 1923, Justin G. Prince tells the story of the development of
modern American field artillery - a tale stretching from the period
when field artillery became an independent organization to when it
became an equal branch of the U.S. Army. The field artillery
entered the Great War as a relatively new branch. It separated from
the Coast Artillery in 1907 and established a dedicated training
school, the School of Fire at Fort Sill, in 1911. Prince describes
the challenges this presented as issues of doctrine, technology,
weapons development, and combat training intersected with the
problems of a peacetime army with no good industrial base. His
account, which draws on a wealth of sources, ranges from debates
about U.S. artillery practices relative to those of Europe, to
discussions of the training, equipping, and performance of the
field artillery branch during the war. Prince follows the field
artillery from its plunge into combat in April 1917 as an
unprepared organization to its emergence that November as an
effective fighting force, with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive proving
the pivotal point in the branch's fortunes. Million-Dollar Barrage
provides an unprecedented analysis of the ascendance of field
artillery as a key factor in the nation's military dominance.
This book details the evolution of General George Marshall's
relationship with the atomic bomb-including the Manhattan Project
and the use of atomic weapons on Japan-as it emerged as the
ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The atomic bomb is not only
the most powerful weapon ever used in the history of warfare: it is
also the most significant in terms of its long-term impact on U.S.
military power and policy, and as the reason behind the conflict
that raged for four decades without actually happening-the Cold
War. General George C. Marshall played an instrumental role in the
development and use of the atomic bomb in World War II as well as
in issues involving nuclear weapons in the post-World War II
period. This book tells the story of Marshall's experience with the
atomic bomb from his early skepticism of its effectiveness as a
weapon, to his oversight of its development and deployment against
Japan in World War II, to his recognition of the bomb as a weapon
of such dire consequence that it should never be used again.
Intended for a general audience as well as scholars with specific
knowledge about the subject matter, this book presents a cohesive
account of General Marshall's involvement with nuclear weapons and
atomic power as Army chief of staff during World War II and as
secretary of state and secretary of defense in the early years of
the Cold War. Marshall's involvement with the use of nuclear
weapons is set in the context of the Allies' efforts to force Japan
to surrender and the initiation of the Cold War. Readers will gain
insight into Marshall's quest for obtaining a Japanese surrender;
his views on the use of the atomic bomb on Japan versus the use of
conventional weapons, including fire bombing or poison gas; his
interactions with Roosevelt and Truman on nuclear issues; and
Marshall's diplomatic skillfulness in dealing with the issues
surrounding the control and use of nuclear weapons as secretary of
state and secretary of defense in the post-World War II era. These
included consideration of the use of the atomic bomb during the
Berlin crisis and the Korean war. Presents a clear and concise
narrative of Marshall's interactions with nuclear weapons, from his
appointment to President Roosevelt's advisory committee in 1941 to
his tenure as President Truman's secretary of defense in 1950
Documents Marshall's role in pulling together the financial,
material, and human resources required for the Manhattan Project as
well as his collaboration with Secretary of War Henry Stimson and
Manhattan Project leader General Leslie Groves to produce the
atomic bomb Derives an accurate account of Marshall's involvement
with nuclear weapons through official documents, his
correspondence, the opinions of his peers, and personal interviews
he granted later in his life
The famous Tante Ju in its legendary transport role over a variety
of war fronts.
This is a study of how the information age in modern warfare
coexists with the persistent appeal of nuclear weapons and its
impact on crisis management. In today's information age, the
coexistence of nuclear weapons with advanced conventional weapons
and information-based concepts of warfare is a military
contradiction. Nuclear deterrence was initially predicated on
geopolitical, military, and technical assumptions. These were based
on Cold War politics, rational deterrence theory, the concept of
mutual vulnerability, and the fact that information and technology
diffusion were limited. Today, however, far from being obsolete,
nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction have not only
survived, but have become weapons for states that face security
threats, including perceived threats of nuclear blackmail, or
expectation of conflicts. This study focuses on this unplanned
coexistence of two distinct arts of war, including the possibility
that states like the U.S. may be held hostage to nuclear blackmail
by "outlier" regimes or terrorists, such as North Korea. It shows
that restricting nuclear proliferation should still be on the
agenda of policymakers, and calls for a revitalized global
non-proliferation regime. This unique survey by a leading expert
will appeal to anyone interested in arms control, nuclear
proliferation, and defense policy.
This book presents a detailed look at the design and development of
the legendary MiG-21, including its powerplant, armament, upgrades,
and variants. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was the standard
fighter/interceptor aircraft of the Warsaw Pact and it stood up to
its western counterparts for decades. This single-engine,
supersonic jet fighter entered service in 1959, and in addition to
the Soviet Union, almost every eastern European military operated
the Mach 2 fighter, including East Germany (which flew more than
500 aircraft of this type), Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and
others. With approximately 11,000 of all types built, the MiG-21
has been produced in greater numbers than almost any other combat
aircraft in history, and has also seen combat with such countries
as Vietnam, China, Syria, Iraq, Angola, and others.
Allied Fighters 1939-45 offers an highly-illustrated guide to
Allied fighter aircraft that fought in Europe during World War II.
Featuring all the main models flown by the Allied air forces from
1939 to 1945, the book offers a wealth of detail, including unit
markings, organization, numbers of aircraft flown by campaign and
exhaustive specifications for each model. The book is arranged
first by country and then chronologically by campaign so that every
aspect of the air war in Europe is covered. The guide features
fighters from throughout World War II, including early models, such
as the Morane Saulnier MS.406C.1, Hawker Hurricane Mk I and Fokker
D XXI, and the most advanced fighters of the period, such as the
Lavochkin La-7, P-51K Mustang and Gloster Meteor Mk I.The book also
covers aircraft that were used for air-to-air combat (Supermarine
Spitfire), ground attack (P-47 Thunderbolt), bomber escort (P-51B
Mustang), night defence (Bristol Beaufighter) and photographic
reconnaissance (P-38 Lightning). Packed with more than 200 profiles
and dozens of archive photographs of every major Allied fighter
aircraft, Allied Fighters 1939-45 is a core reference volume for
modellers and World War II aviation enthusiasts.
This Meticulously researched book unearths a sixty year secret. As
the Japanese swept south towards Australia in late 1941, they
carried chemical weapons, already used with deadly effect in China.
Forced to counter the chemical warfare threat, Australia covertly
imported 1,000,000 chemical weapons - including 16 types of mustard
gas - and hid them in tunnels and other sites around the country.
This book tells the story of the importation, storage and 'live
trials' of the deadly weapons. It reveals details of the chemical
warfare agents themselves, Australia's retaliatory plans, the
involvement of the USA, the lack of training of the weapons
handlers and, finally, the dangerous disposal of the volatile
agents. Most of all, this is the story of the men who lived with
the deadly weapons on a daily basis, handling them constantly
despite the immense risks and suffering as a consequence. They were
the Chemical Warfare Armourers and almost every armourer suffered
physically and often mentally from the effects of the weapons and
the terrible burden of maintaining secrecy. This remarkable book
contains over 300 photographs - many taken surreptitiously - that
illustrate all too starkly the conditions and the danger to which
these men were exposed. This is an unprecedented visual history.
This book is published in association with the Army History Unit
and is a volume in the Australian Army History Collection.
Ulrich Krotz's Flying Tiger takes a relatively obscure episode-the
joint Franco-German production of a state-of-the-art and very
expensive military helicopter, the Tiger Helicopter (used in the
James Bond film Goldeneye, incidentally)-to make a groundbreaking
theoretical contribution to international relations scholarship.
The rivalry between Germany and France in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries is of course well known. It was directly or
indirectly responsible for four cataclysmic wars, and until
relatively recently, the idea that these two states could become
close partners seemed implausible. Yet following World War II and
the birth of the European Union, they became the closest of allies.
In fact, they collaborated for three decades on the most
sophisticated weapon that the EU has produced: the Tiger. How did
this occur, and what does this happy albeit unforeseen outcome tell
us about how interstate relations really work? Through the lens of
the Tiger, Krotz draws from two theoretical approaches-social
constructivism and historical institutionalism-to reframe our
understanding of how international relationships evolve.
International relations scholars have always focused on relations
between states, yet have failed to think in any sustained way about
how interstate relationships both remold domestic realities and
derive from them. How does a relationship between states impact
upon a state internally? And how do the internal institutional
dynamics of a state limit such relationships? While International
Relations scholars have touched on these issues, until now no one
has provided a sustained, finely grained, and historically informed
analysis that explains how international relations socially
constructs domestic realities and how in turn domestic politics and
institutions structure interstate relationships. Krotz's account of
how the Tiger project was funded and how the device was built
perfectly illustrates his theoretical claims about the dialectical
relationship of 'high' interstate politics and 'low' domestic
politics. Two famous rivals completely reshaped their relationship
through a complicated, decades-long process in which the nuts and
bolts of domestic politics-approvals for state funding as well as
laws regarding corporations and technology transfer, for
instance-were instrumental in creating a new reality.
An in-depth history of the time when airpower became the great
equalizer, changing military strategy forever and bringing
once-safe targets in reach. Military Aircraft, 1919-1945: An
Illustrated History of Their Impact covers a crucial era in modern
warfare technology. Ranging from the development of airpower
doctrines in the aftermath of World War I to the aircraft and
missions that put those doctrines into action during World War II,
it provides an expert summing-up of the decades when the use of
aircraft in battle came of age. In chapters covering both the
history of air power and specific types of aircraft (fighters,
bombers, reconnaissance and auxiliary planes), Military Aircraft,
1919-1945 introduces key theorists and designers, describes
important changes in technology and production, and recreates
spectacular episodes from Pearl Harbor to the London Blitz to the
Enola Gay. Readers will see the dramatic impact of the first
generation of modern military aircraft on land and sea. They will
also see how the expansion of war to the skies brought economic
opportunity to some home fronts, and looming terror and devastation
to others. Comparative charts of aircraft production of the major
powers during the interwar years and the Second World War
Approximately 80 photographs and tables of the most important
aircraft of the era, organized by type and by country
The book examines Bernard Brodie's strategic and philosophical
response to the nuclear age, embedding his work within the
classical theories of Carl von Clausewitz. Bernard Brodie
(1910-1978) was a leading 20th century theorist and philosopher of
war. A key architect of American nuclear strategy, Brodie was one
of the first civilian defense intellectuals to cross over into the
military world. "State of Doom" explores Brodie's evolution as a
theorist and his response to the technological innovations that
transformed warfare from WWII to the Vietnam War. It situates his
theoretical development within the classical theories of Carl von
Clausewitz (1780-1831), as Brodie came to be known as "America's
Clausewitz." While his first influential works focused on naval
strategy, his most lasting impact came within the field of nuclear
strategic thinking. Brodie helped conceptualize America's strategy
of deterrence, later taking into account America's loss of nuclear
monopoly, thermonuclear weapons, and intercontinental missiles.
This in-depth exploration of Brodie's strategic and philosophical
response to the nuclear age and of his effort to reconcile
Clausewitz's theories to the new challenges of the nuclear era will
make this book a must read to anyone in strategic studies,
international relations, and philosophy of war.
The book reflects the author's experience across more than forty
years in assessing and forming policy about nuclear weapons, mostly
at senior levels close to the centre both of British governmental
decision-making and of NATO's development of plans and deployments,
with much interaction also with comparable levels of United States
activity in the Pentagon and the State department. Part I of the
book seeks to distill, from this exceptional background of
practical experience, basic conceptual ways of understanding the
revolution brought about by nuclear weapons. It also surveys NATO's
progressive development of thinking about nuclear deterrence, and
then discusses the deep moral dilemmas posed - for all possible
standpoints - by the existence of such weapons. Part II considers
the risks and costs of nuclear-weapon possession, including
proliferation dangers, and looks at both successful and
unsuccessful ideas about how to manage them. Part III illustrates
specific issues by reviewing the history and current policies of
one long-established possessor, the United Kingdom, and two more
recent ones, India and Pakistan. Part IV turns to the future,
examines the goal of eventually abolishing all nuclear armouries,
and then discusses the practical agenda, short of such a goal,
which governments can usefully tackle in reducing the risks of
proliferation and other dangers while not surrendering prematurely
the war-prevention benefits which nuclear weapons have brought
since 1945.
This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the
Changing Character of War.
This title presents new research highlighting the invention of new
weaponry and its front-line combat use. No army went to war in 1914
ready to conduct trench warfare operations. All the armies of the
First World War discovered that prolonged trench warfare required
new types of munitions alongside the conventional howitzers,
large-calibre guns and explosive shells. This volume examines how
the British went about inventing and manufacturing new weaponry
such as hand grenades, rifle grenades and trench mortars when no
body of knowledge about trench warfare munitions existed. It also
examines how tactics were developed for these new munitions. Based
on new research, this is the first book to discuss the complexity
of invention and manufacture of novel weapons such as the Mills
grenade and the Stokes mortar, and to consider the relationship
between technical design and operational tactics on the ground. In
so doing the book presents a different model of the trench warfare
conducted by the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front,
and also provides a blueprint to understanding the relationship
between technology and tactics applicable to all types of weapons
and warfare. "Continuum Studies in Military History" offers
up-to-date, scholarly accounts of war and military history.
Unrestricted by period or geography, the series aims to provide
free-standing works that are attuned to conceptual and
historiographical developments in the field while being based on
original scholarship.
When America declared war on Germany in 1917, the United States had
only 200,000 men under arms, a twentieth of the German army's
strength, and its planes were no match for the Luftwaffe. Less than
a century later, the United States today has by far the world's
largest military budget and provides over 40% of the world's
armaments. In American Arsenal Patrick Coffey examines America's
military transformation from an isolationist state to a world
superpower with a defense budget over $600 billion. Focusing on
sixteen specific developments, Coffey illustrates the unplanned,
often haphazard nature of this transformation, which has been
driven by political, military, technological, and commercial
interests. Beginning with Thomas Edison's work on submarine
technology, American Arsenal moves from World War I to the present
conflicts in the Middle East, covering topics from chemical
weapons, strategic bombing, and the nuclear standoff with the
Soviet Union, to "smart" bombs, hand-held anti-aircraft missiles,
and the Predator and other drone aircrafts. Coffey traces the story
of each advance in weaponry from drawing board to battlefield, and
includes fascinating portraits the men who invented and deployed
them-Robert Oppenheimer, head of the Manhattan Project; Curtis
LeMay, who sent the Enola Gray to drop the atom bomb on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki; Herman Kahn, nuclear strategist and model for Stanley
Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove; Abraham Karem, inventor of the Predator
and many others. Coffey also examines the increasingly detached
nature of modern American warfare-the ultimate goal is to remove
soldiers from the battlefield entirely-which limits casualties
(211,454 in Vietnam and only 1,231 in the Gulf War) but also
lessens the political and psychological costs of going to war.
Examining the backstories of every major American weapons
development, American Arsenal is essential reading for anyone
interested in the ongoing evolution of the U.S. defense program.
Over the last 30 years, Special Forces have become a key component
of the world's armed forces, often employing unconventional tactics
as part of airborne operations, counterinsurgency,
counterterrorism, hostage rescue, covert ops and intelligence
gathering. To carry out their role effectively, specific vehicles
have been developed for these elite units. Organized by type, the
book explores a wide range of vehicles, from the light utility
vehicles through mine-resistant protected vehicles (MRAP) to mini
bikes and quad bikes. Discover the Pinzgauer High-Mobility
All-Terrain Vehicle, a high clearance, all-wheel drive transporter
used by Delta Force and the New Zealand SAS; the fast, light Arquus
Scarab, a protected vehicle that can turn both the front and rear
wheels simultaneously, allowing it to move sideways like a crab;
the MRZR, used by the U.S. Marines for fast forward deployment and
off-road reconnaissance; the Toyota Hilux pick-up, which due to its
simplicity and rugged durability, has proved its worth in conflicts
from South America to Central Asia; and the Christini AWD
motorcycle, used by U.S. Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Illustrated
with more than 100 photographs and artworks, Special Forces Land
Vehicles provides a detailed guide to the specialist vehicles used
by elite soldiers in the modern era.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs), often referred to as
"battlefield," "sub-strategic," or "non-strategic" nuclear weapons,
usually have a plutonium core and are typically distinct from
strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, they warrant a separate
consideration in the realm of nuclear security. The yield of such
weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons
and may range from the relatively low 0.1 kiloton to a few
kilotons. Pakistan's quest to acquire tactical nuclear weapons has
added a dangerous dimension to the already precarious strategic
equation in South Asia. The security discourse in the subcontinent
revolves around the perennial apprehension of a conventional or
sub-conventional conflict triggering a chain reaction, eventually
paving the way for a potential nuclear crisis haunting peace and
stability in the region. Pakistan believes that the successful
testing of the 60-km nuclear-capable short-range missile Hatf-9
(Nasr) "adds deterrence value to Pakistan's strategic weapons
development programme at shorter ranges." In paradox, the fact
remains that this step has further lowered Pakistan's nuclear
threshold through the likely use of TNWs. The introduction of TNWs
into the tactical battle area further exacerbates credibility of
their control. Pakistan has not formally declared a nuclear
doctrine, but it is well known that nuclear weapons are its first
line of defence. The use of TNWs in the India-Pakistan case will
alter the strategic scenario completely as Pakistan would threaten
India with the use of TNWs in the event of New Delhi responding
against Islamabad with a conventional strike in reaction to a
26/11-style terrorist attack. Pakistan forgets that given its
offensive strategic posture and continuing involvement in terror
strikes in India, it is New Delhi which is confronted with the
problem of developing a strategy to counter Pakistan's
"first-strike" and proxy war in the light of its declared
"no-first-use" policy. This edited volume attempts to address and
decipher complex issues, including aspects such as China's WMD
collaboration with Pakistan, nuclear command and control dynamics
within Pakistan, overall rationale and implications of TNWs, safety
and security of nuclear weapons, scenarios for nuclear usage,
India's potential response options and, more specifically, the
technical aspects of the Nasr delivery system.
This book begins with the analysis of America's post-war
intelligence operations, propaganda campaigns, and strategic
psychological warfare in Japan. Banking on nuclear safety myths,
Japan promoted an aggressive policy of locating and building
nuclear power plants in depopulated areas suffering from a
significant decline of local industries and economies. The
Fukushima nuclear disaster substantiated that U.S. propaganda
programs left a long lasting legacy in Japan and beyond and created
the fertile ground for the future nuclear disaster. The book
reveals Japan's tripartite organization of the dominating state,
media-monopoly, and nuclear-plant oligarchy advancing nuclear
proliferation. It details America's unprecedented pro-nuclear
propaganda campaigns; Japan's secret ambitions to develop its own
nuclear bombs; U.S. dumping of reprocessed plutonium on Japan; and
the joint U.S.-Nippon propaganda campaigns for "safe" nuclear-power
and the current "safe-nuclear particles" myths. The study shows how
the bankruptcy of the central state has led to increased burdens on
the population in post-nuclear tsunami era, and the ensuing
dangerous ionization of the population now reaching into the
future.
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