Monday, June 1 - AM Commons Duty, School, Faculty Meeting, Baseball Meeting
Tuesday, June 2 - AM Commons Duty, School, Screening of "The Road to 9/11"
Wednesday, June 3 - AM Commons Duty, School, Detention Duty, Extra Help, Somerset Patriots Game (?), Matt & Allie's 3rd Anniversary
Thursday, June 4 - School, Dinner with Stephanie and Steve
Friday, June 5 - School
Saturday, June 6 - SAT Proctoring at Ridge HS, P2P Service Project, Mom's Birthday
Sunday, June 7 - P2P Leader Meeting (11)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Schedule - 5/26-5/31
Tuesday, May 26 - AM Commons Duty, School, Articulation Meeting, Baseball Team Meeting
Wednesday, May 27 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball at Franklin, Varsity Baseball vs. Franklin at TD Bank Ballpark
Thursday, May 28 - School, Extra Help, Meeting with Hopewell Valley High School band staff (4:30)
Friday, May 29 - School, Baseball Uniform Collection and Team Meeting
Saturday, May 30
Sunday, May 31
Wednesday, May 27 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball at Franklin, Varsity Baseball vs. Franklin at TD Bank Ballpark
Thursday, May 28 - School, Extra Help, Meeting with Hopewell Valley High School band staff (4:30)
Friday, May 29 - School, Baseball Uniform Collection and Team Meeting
Saturday, May 30
Sunday, May 31
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Schedule - 5/18-5/25
Monday, May 18 - Delayed Opening for Students (State Testing), School, Baseball vs. Princeton, People to People Meeting
Tuesday, May 19 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball vs. Hillsborough
Wednesday, May 20 - AM Commons Duty, School, Extra Help, Baseball Practice, Ali's Spring Concert
Thursday, May 21 - School, Baseball vs. Immaculata
Friday, May 22 - School
Saturday, May 23 - Dentist (11:15), Yankees Game (?)
Sunday, May 24 - Memorial Day Festivities (?)
Monday, May 25 - No School (Memorial Day)
Tuesday, May 19 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball vs. Hillsborough
Wednesday, May 20 - AM Commons Duty, School, Extra Help, Baseball Practice, Ali's Spring Concert
Thursday, May 21 - School, Baseball vs. Immaculata
Friday, May 22 - School
Saturday, May 23 - Dentist (11:15), Yankees Game (?)
Sunday, May 24 - Memorial Day Festivities (?)
Monday, May 25 - No School (Memorial Day)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Chicago Pictures
Normandy Beach
Jungles of Vietnam
Outside the First Division Museum
World War I Trench
The First Division Museum
World War I Trench
The First Division Museum
Schedule - 5/11-5/17
Monday, May 11 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball vs. Franklin
Tuesday, May 12 - AM Commons Duty, School, Varsity baseball County Semifinals at Somerset Patriots stadium (4:00)
Wednesday, May 13 - AM Commons Duty, Extra Help, Baseball Practice, DCI's "The Countdown"
Thursday, May 14 - School, Baseball at Bridgewater
Friday, May 15 - School, Baseball vs. Somerville
Saturday, May 16 - Baseball at Hopewell Valley (11:00)
Tuesday, May 12 - AM Commons Duty, School, Varsity baseball County Semifinals at Somerset Patriots stadium (4:00)
Wednesday, May 13 - AM Commons Duty, Extra Help, Baseball Practice, DCI's "The Countdown"
Thursday, May 14 - School, Baseball at Bridgewater
Friday, May 15 - School, Baseball vs. Somerville
Saturday, May 16 - Baseball at Hopewell Valley (11:00)
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Gettysburg Agenda
From Thursday through Saturday evening, I will be in Gettysburg with the Nathanael Greene Liberty Fellowship. I believe I have Internet access at the hotel so I will try to update along the way.
Here is the agenda:
Day 1 - Thursday May 7
6:45 - Depart from Montgomery (NJ); Watch "Gettysburg" on the bus trip.
We did not leave Montgomery until after 7pm and, due to some traffic in PA, didn't get into the hotel until sometime around 11pm or so. My roommate (Erin Hodge from Watchung Hills High School) watched some Leno and then got some sleep.
Evening - Check in at America's Best Value Inn; After check in, discuss the film.
Day 2 - Friday May 8
7:30 - Breakfast at the hotel
8:15 - Board bus for Adams County Historical Society
8:30 - Tour Adams County Historical Society focusing on civilian life during the battle
We began our tour outside the Lutheran Seminary located near the first fighting on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg - July 1, 1863. The information presented was very interesting and informative. The Seminary was turned into a hospital during and after the battle, won by the Confederates, and after years of neglect became the home of the historical society in the 1950s.
Last week, during my limo ride from O'Hare Airport to the hotel, one of my car mates told us stories about her time as an intern at the Historical Society while she was getting her Master's degree in Applied History. She told us a story about finding unopened materials while researching because there are just boxes and boxes of artifacts waiting to be explored. In one such box, she found a letter with a tooth wrapped in it. During our tour of the building, this story was shared with us along with the follow-up that included tracking down the original owner of the tooth and his living descendents so the tooth could be buried (I think in Georgia) since his body was never located in one of the mass Confederate graves.
The most interesting thing shared with us was the original will of Dwight Eisenhower. In retirement, President Eisenhower moved to an estate in Adams County, which is why such a thing would be at this museum.
The building has been restored to look the way it did while in use as a seminary dorm, classroom, administrative office, and anything else needed in 1861 and each room was set up to depict a different thing - dorm life of the time, death practices of the era, a school room, etc. It was a really interesting, unique way to begin the tour.
10:00 - Load bus for David Wills House Tour
10:30 - Tour the David Wills House in downtown Gettysburg, which tells the story of a town recovering from the devastation of battle, and a war-worn president who came to dedicate a national cemetery.
The David Wills House provided a stark contrast to our first stop as it only opened a few months ago and, despite its location in a period building, has been completely modernized with lots of glass, plasma televisions, etc. I moved through the house pretty quickly looking at some of the displays. David Wills was a lawyer who the Pennsylvania governor tasked with making arrangements to set up a national cemetery following the battle. When President Lincoln came to town in November to dedicate the cemetery (and deliver his famous Gettysburg Address), the Wills' home was his hotel.
11:30 - Depart for Lincoln Train Tour
11:45 - Tour the Gettysburg Railroad Station
This was the station President Lincoln rode into in November 1961 for the dedication of the national cemetery. I found the station to be intriguing. In 1861 it represented the end of this particular line so it was larger and more prominent than other stations may have been at the time. The main room of the station had two entrances - one each for men and women. A wall partitioned the waiting area with men on one side set up with spitoons and free to speak as callously as desired and women and children on the other side behaving more appropriately. A spiral staircase up to a second floor and cupola no longer exists, but the guides shared stories of wounded men (like most buildings in Gettysburg, this one also became a hospital during the battle) going onto the roof to watch the action while recovering from wounds.
12:15 - Load bus for O'Rorke's Family Eatery and Spirits
12:30 - Lunch at O'Rorke's Family Eatery and Spirits
This was the first of a few stops at this restaurant and bar for the day. It became the common area for a beer during down time.
1:35 - Board bus to Shriver House Museum
1:45 - Tour Shriver House Museum
This cool house including a saloon in the basement and a ten-pin alley in an out building in the back for Mr. Shriver to make a living. He was called away to the war before ever opening those establishments though and died in battle in late 1863 or 1864. Mrs. Shriver and her two daughters fled the house as fighting neared only to wind up at a farm even closer to fighting that was being used as - you guessed it - a field hospital when she arrived. Mrs. Shriver and her daughters (both under 10 years of age) were pressed into service caring for Confederate soldiers wounded in battle. While away from their home, it was looted by Confederates after they used the attic area as a sniper post. The tour here was great and provided an interesting look into the civilian side of the battle.
3:00 - Free time to explore the town and shops
I went in and out of a few shops but did not make any purchases. We wound up having good weather in the low 70s with a little bit of cloud cover - a welcome change to the rain we had been having for over a week.
5:15 - Walk to Dobbin House Restaurant
5:30 - Dinner at Dobbin House
This was the same place Ali and I ate a few years ago when we visited Gettysburg. It is a neat stone building, originally opened as a tavern in 1776.
Evening - Free time to explore on your own while walking back to the hotel
I joined in with most of the group for a Gettysburg ghost tour. I joined in expecting little, but thought there could be some spookiness to the whole thing given the sheer number of people who died fighting in the area from July 1-3, 1863. Nope - it was ludicrous.
Our guide was so over-the-top dramatic that I could not take her seriously. Her stories were far-fetched and mostly unrelated to the battle itself anyway. At one point, as she tried to tell us her story about honeymooners feeling like "something" was holding them down in their hotel room, one of my colleagues burst out with his disbelief that anyone was honeymooning in Gettysburg. Other hard to follow lines and the fact our tour went from the backyard of a business to an alleyway behind the Dobbins House Restaurant to a little brook and back to the yard ruined the possibilities here. It was only $5 and we were entertained, although not in the way expected for a ghost tour.
Day 3 - Saturday May 9
7:30 - Breakfast at the hotel
8:00 - Board bus for Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center
8:15 - Tour cyclorama, film and museum experience - an immersive experience that places you in the middle of the action during Pickett's Charge, the climactic struggle durin gthe Battle of Gettysburg. Recently reopened after undergoing the largest conservation effort on the continent, the Cyclorama has been returned to its original splendor.
We began with a great film providing context for the battle of Gettysburg in the Visitor's Center. It really helped me understand the battle and how it fit into the larger Civil War. As this is one of my weaker areas of history since I don't teach it, the background was really helpful.
Next we visited the cyclorama. These were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s before the advent of moving pictures. An artist painted a huge (100 yards long) painting that is presented in a circle so you are surrounded by the scene. Where the painting touches the ground, real artificacts are used to make it seem even more realistic. The painting here is of a particular moment on Day 3 of the battle of Gettysburg. Narration of the battle with sound and light effects use the images in the painting to give a sense of being in the event. It was pretty cool.
9:30 - Explore the museum and bookstore
The new Visitor's Center museum has well developed displays. I spent a good hour going through and skipped over lots of interesting information and movies. I enjoyed the interactive displays where you can explore some aspect of the Civil War or Gettysburg in your own way. Again, this provided good context before we headed out to the battlefields themselves, which are mostly fields and monuments if you don't know what you are looking for.
10:45 - Depart for Gettysburg Battlefield Diorama
11:30 - Gettysburg Battlefield Diorama - Learn and visualize the battle as it is beautifully and dramatically narrated with light and sound effects. Over 800 square feet of model display! Roughtly 20,000 hand painted soldiers, horses, buildings, etc. Get a bird's eye view of the battle in its entirety!
This had the potential to be pretty cool, but some of us noticed some inaccuracies in the depiction of the area based on things we learned on Day 1, which hurt the credibility of the entire operation. Basically, we sat on bleachers around a miniature version of the town and surrounding area. A narrator talked us through the events of the battle while spotlights showed us the areas being discussed. It did provide a good way to visualize the different attacks and counter attacks, but the scale was wrong and missing details were hurtful to the overall effectiveness.
12:15 - Depart for Gettysburg Family Restaurant
12:30 - Lunch at Gettysburg Family Restaurant
1:45 - Load buses for battlefield tour
2:00 - Guided tour of Battlefield and National Cemetery with Prof. David Booz
Professor Booz is a former high school teacher and administrator who currently works in the Civil War Studies department at Gettysburg College. His knowledge and passion for the topic really came through over a long bus and walking tour of the battlefield. We didn't even get to the national cemetery, probably due to how in depth he went all along the way. Luckily, the evening before a few of us explored it on our own with the help of our resident colleague content expert so we didn't actually miss out on the area.
It is hard to summarize everything here, but we revisited sites and took a mostly chronological tour of the three days of the battle of Gettysburg. I learned the significance of the many monuments in the Park, which are used to show the furthest advances of their respective namesakes. I have a much better understanding of the geography of the battle, the use of the natural ridges for example, and the Union's fishhook defense set up that allowed a successful stand against the charging Confederates.
Hours of battle at Gettysburg led to casualties that exceed the entirety of the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. Casualties and deaths over 60,000 from three days of fighting are hard to even fathom. The fact that a town with a population of 2400 people saw 150,000 soldiers enter to fight doesn't even do enough to capture the fact that when the fighting was over those local residents were left to care for 25,000 injured soldiers who could not leave with their armies, and so many dead and dying humans and horses, that the stench could be smelled in cities 30 miles away.
The trip was a great way to get inside the events of this turning point of the Civil War and, therefore, of American history as a whole. It was great to get to know some of my colleagues better and share in their knowledge of the era. We had a lot of fun and learned useful things so it was certainly a successful trip overall.
6:00 - Depart for home; watch "Glory"
Here is the agenda:
Day 1 - Thursday May 7
6:45 - Depart from Montgomery (NJ); Watch "Gettysburg" on the bus trip.
We did not leave Montgomery until after 7pm and, due to some traffic in PA, didn't get into the hotel until sometime around 11pm or so. My roommate (Erin Hodge from Watchung Hills High School) watched some Leno and then got some sleep.
Evening - Check in at America's Best Value Inn; After check in, discuss the film.
Day 2 - Friday May 8
7:30 - Breakfast at the hotel
8:15 - Board bus for Adams County Historical Society
8:30 - Tour Adams County Historical Society focusing on civilian life during the battle
We began our tour outside the Lutheran Seminary located near the first fighting on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg - July 1, 1863. The information presented was very interesting and informative. The Seminary was turned into a hospital during and after the battle, won by the Confederates, and after years of neglect became the home of the historical society in the 1950s.
Last week, during my limo ride from O'Hare Airport to the hotel, one of my car mates told us stories about her time as an intern at the Historical Society while she was getting her Master's degree in Applied History. She told us a story about finding unopened materials while researching because there are just boxes and boxes of artifacts waiting to be explored. In one such box, she found a letter with a tooth wrapped in it. During our tour of the building, this story was shared with us along with the follow-up that included tracking down the original owner of the tooth and his living descendents so the tooth could be buried (I think in Georgia) since his body was never located in one of the mass Confederate graves.
The most interesting thing shared with us was the original will of Dwight Eisenhower. In retirement, President Eisenhower moved to an estate in Adams County, which is why such a thing would be at this museum.
The building has been restored to look the way it did while in use as a seminary dorm, classroom, administrative office, and anything else needed in 1861 and each room was set up to depict a different thing - dorm life of the time, death practices of the era, a school room, etc. It was a really interesting, unique way to begin the tour.
10:00 - Load bus for David Wills House Tour
10:30 - Tour the David Wills House in downtown Gettysburg, which tells the story of a town recovering from the devastation of battle, and a war-worn president who came to dedicate a national cemetery.
The David Wills House provided a stark contrast to our first stop as it only opened a few months ago and, despite its location in a period building, has been completely modernized with lots of glass, plasma televisions, etc. I moved through the house pretty quickly looking at some of the displays. David Wills was a lawyer who the Pennsylvania governor tasked with making arrangements to set up a national cemetery following the battle. When President Lincoln came to town in November to dedicate the cemetery (and deliver his famous Gettysburg Address), the Wills' home was his hotel.
11:30 - Depart for Lincoln Train Tour
11:45 - Tour the Gettysburg Railroad Station
This was the station President Lincoln rode into in November 1961 for the dedication of the national cemetery. I found the station to be intriguing. In 1861 it represented the end of this particular line so it was larger and more prominent than other stations may have been at the time. The main room of the station had two entrances - one each for men and women. A wall partitioned the waiting area with men on one side set up with spitoons and free to speak as callously as desired and women and children on the other side behaving more appropriately. A spiral staircase up to a second floor and cupola no longer exists, but the guides shared stories of wounded men (like most buildings in Gettysburg, this one also became a hospital during the battle) going onto the roof to watch the action while recovering from wounds.
12:15 - Load bus for O'Rorke's Family Eatery and Spirits
12:30 - Lunch at O'Rorke's Family Eatery and Spirits
This was the first of a few stops at this restaurant and bar for the day. It became the common area for a beer during down time.
1:35 - Board bus to Shriver House Museum
1:45 - Tour Shriver House Museum
This cool house including a saloon in the basement and a ten-pin alley in an out building in the back for Mr. Shriver to make a living. He was called away to the war before ever opening those establishments though and died in battle in late 1863 or 1864. Mrs. Shriver and her two daughters fled the house as fighting neared only to wind up at a farm even closer to fighting that was being used as - you guessed it - a field hospital when she arrived. Mrs. Shriver and her daughters (both under 10 years of age) were pressed into service caring for Confederate soldiers wounded in battle. While away from their home, it was looted by Confederates after they used the attic area as a sniper post. The tour here was great and provided an interesting look into the civilian side of the battle.
3:00 - Free time to explore the town and shops
I went in and out of a few shops but did not make any purchases. We wound up having good weather in the low 70s with a little bit of cloud cover - a welcome change to the rain we had been having for over a week.
5:15 - Walk to Dobbin House Restaurant
5:30 - Dinner at Dobbin House
This was the same place Ali and I ate a few years ago when we visited Gettysburg. It is a neat stone building, originally opened as a tavern in 1776.
Evening - Free time to explore on your own while walking back to the hotel
I joined in with most of the group for a Gettysburg ghost tour. I joined in expecting little, but thought there could be some spookiness to the whole thing given the sheer number of people who died fighting in the area from July 1-3, 1863. Nope - it was ludicrous.
Our guide was so over-the-top dramatic that I could not take her seriously. Her stories were far-fetched and mostly unrelated to the battle itself anyway. At one point, as she tried to tell us her story about honeymooners feeling like "something" was holding them down in their hotel room, one of my colleagues burst out with his disbelief that anyone was honeymooning in Gettysburg. Other hard to follow lines and the fact our tour went from the backyard of a business to an alleyway behind the Dobbins House Restaurant to a little brook and back to the yard ruined the possibilities here. It was only $5 and we were entertained, although not in the way expected for a ghost tour.
Day 3 - Saturday May 9
7:30 - Breakfast at the hotel
8:00 - Board bus for Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center
8:15 - Tour cyclorama, film and museum experience - an immersive experience that places you in the middle of the action during Pickett's Charge, the climactic struggle durin gthe Battle of Gettysburg. Recently reopened after undergoing the largest conservation effort on the continent, the Cyclorama has been returned to its original splendor.
We began with a great film providing context for the battle of Gettysburg in the Visitor's Center. It really helped me understand the battle and how it fit into the larger Civil War. As this is one of my weaker areas of history since I don't teach it, the background was really helpful.
Next we visited the cyclorama. These were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s before the advent of moving pictures. An artist painted a huge (100 yards long) painting that is presented in a circle so you are surrounded by the scene. Where the painting touches the ground, real artificacts are used to make it seem even more realistic. The painting here is of a particular moment on Day 3 of the battle of Gettysburg. Narration of the battle with sound and light effects use the images in the painting to give a sense of being in the event. It was pretty cool.
9:30 - Explore the museum and bookstore
The new Visitor's Center museum has well developed displays. I spent a good hour going through and skipped over lots of interesting information and movies. I enjoyed the interactive displays where you can explore some aspect of the Civil War or Gettysburg in your own way. Again, this provided good context before we headed out to the battlefields themselves, which are mostly fields and monuments if you don't know what you are looking for.
10:45 - Depart for Gettysburg Battlefield Diorama
11:30 - Gettysburg Battlefield Diorama - Learn and visualize the battle as it is beautifully and dramatically narrated with light and sound effects. Over 800 square feet of model display! Roughtly 20,000 hand painted soldiers, horses, buildings, etc. Get a bird's eye view of the battle in its entirety!
This had the potential to be pretty cool, but some of us noticed some inaccuracies in the depiction of the area based on things we learned on Day 1, which hurt the credibility of the entire operation. Basically, we sat on bleachers around a miniature version of the town and surrounding area. A narrator talked us through the events of the battle while spotlights showed us the areas being discussed. It did provide a good way to visualize the different attacks and counter attacks, but the scale was wrong and missing details were hurtful to the overall effectiveness.
12:15 - Depart for Gettysburg Family Restaurant
12:30 - Lunch at Gettysburg Family Restaurant
1:45 - Load buses for battlefield tour
2:00 - Guided tour of Battlefield and National Cemetery with Prof. David Booz
Professor Booz is a former high school teacher and administrator who currently works in the Civil War Studies department at Gettysburg College. His knowledge and passion for the topic really came through over a long bus and walking tour of the battlefield. We didn't even get to the national cemetery, probably due to how in depth he went all along the way. Luckily, the evening before a few of us explored it on our own with the help of our resident colleague content expert so we didn't actually miss out on the area.
It is hard to summarize everything here, but we revisited sites and took a mostly chronological tour of the three days of the battle of Gettysburg. I learned the significance of the many monuments in the Park, which are used to show the furthest advances of their respective namesakes. I have a much better understanding of the geography of the battle, the use of the natural ridges for example, and the Union's fishhook defense set up that allowed a successful stand against the charging Confederates.
Hours of battle at Gettysburg led to casualties that exceed the entirety of the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. Casualties and deaths over 60,000 from three days of fighting are hard to even fathom. The fact that a town with a population of 2400 people saw 150,000 soldiers enter to fight doesn't even do enough to capture the fact that when the fighting was over those local residents were left to care for 25,000 injured soldiers who could not leave with their armies, and so many dead and dying humans and horses, that the stench could be smelled in cities 30 miles away.
The trip was a great way to get inside the events of this turning point of the Civil War and, therefore, of American history as a whole. It was great to get to know some of my colleagues better and share in their knowledge of the era. We had a lot of fun and learned useful things so it was certainly a successful trip overall.
6:00 - Depart for home; watch "Glory"
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
The American Culture of War
11:30 The American Culture of War
Adrian Lewis, Professor of History and Director, Office of Professional Military Graduate Education, University of Kansas
Repercussions of war are different – instead of 30% of casualties being dead, now it is much smaller so many injured soldiers are coming home and need support in a variety of ways
Interagency cooperation is ideal for operations – ie. Department of Agriculture should play a role in Afghanistan instead of Army handling those duties
Change of communications – lower level officers are allowed to comment directly to the media due to better training rather than going through the slow chain of command
Distance between the people and the military has grown since Vietnam
The United States is not at war, the military is at war.
1% of Americans bear the burden of the war.
What does this say about the nation?
So consumed with current conflicts that military is unable to prepare for contingencies.
Support systems are overburdened and cannot keep up with the demand for their services.
Army = 535,000 soldiers, authorized to increase to 575,000 but unable to get enough recruits
Stop-loss program is still in effect
Problems
Currently do not have a strategic reserve of ground forces (Army & Navy); reserves are only Air Force and Navy
Removing deterrent forces from around the world to meet demands in the Middle East
US cannot implement its doctrine
US doctrine calls for 400,000 troops to respond to counterinsurgency in a place like Iraq, but only had 140,000 in place
US doctrine in Afghanistan cannot be employed b/c of size of military
Social issues
Suicides
Family break ups
Multiple tours is ruining social fabric
Some soldiers up to 5 tours of duty in Iraq
70-80% suffering from some degree of PTSD
US Army is active in 60+ countries
This is not a new problem – what did we do in the past?
Conscription/draft that led to military rising to the occasion
Demand is not increasing to call for the draft
1939 – 190,000 men in US Army
1945 – 6 million men in US Army ground forces
1950 – 500,000 men in US Army
No army in the history of the world had demobilized as quickly as the US after WWII
Draft instated
Korean War – 1.5 million men in US Army
Does this matter?
No South Korea without this response
Eve of Vietnam War – 850,000 men in US Army
Draft instated
1968 – 1.5 million men in US Army
Strategically and operationally stopped the Tet offensive
Vietnamization removed ground forces from the war
1973 – Draft ends
1975 – Vietnam collapsed and the war ends
Even of Persian Gulf War – 800,000 men in US Army
Following Persian Gulf War – 450,000 men in US Army
Removed light infantry divisions
Offered early retirements rather than RIFs
George W. Bush – planned to cut two of ten divisions but halted due to attack on 9/11
Why haven’t we gone back to our normal approach of using the draft to fight the nation’s wars?
Transformation from 1945-1973 of American people removing themselves from the conduct of the nation’s wars
Roles and missions changed immediately after WWII
US had not had a long history of maintaining large armies due to protected geographical location
As one of two superpowers and due to the lessons of interwar isolation, US recognizes need to remain on the world’s stage in a strong position
Replaced Britain and France on world’s stage due to their destruction in WWII
US occupied Japan and Germany after WWII
130 million people in US
Also responsible for the security of 100+ million people in Asia and Europe
How does a small military maintain security of a world empire such as this?
Belief that strategic bombing would the ultimate instrument of war
Army and Navy would be obsolete
Use of atomic bombs at end of war changed the beliefs of the role of ground forces
New war became deterrent and stockpiling of strategic nuclear weapons
Guided missiles, new jets
Science and technology can remove the carnage from war
Make war nice and clean
Korean war challenged this belief b/c warfare was more primitive than WWII
Air power not decisive
Ground forces protected Pusan Perimeter
Vietnam war
Air power through graduated response was never decisive
Ground forces fight on strategic defense, never using offensive maneuvers
Best potential outcome is not losing
More primitive than Korea or WWII
Rumsfeld’s vision of current wars
Advanced technology would win the war
Despite “shock and awe,” air superiority didn’t win a decisive victory
Counterinsurgency war demanded greater numbers of ground forces
Belief that concept of total war needs to go away due to reliance on nuclear weapons
Geography, weapons systems, forces engaged are limited from the top down
At the tactical level, there is nothing limited about war – the bullets still work, death is still final
Americans disapprove when it is put in smaller terms – if my son/daughter is in war, I want every tool of war employed
War upsets individualistic and materialistic nature of American life
Written about in the 1950s
Americans believe nothing should disrupt access to consumer lifestyle – oil, credit, goods
Professional, long-standing army
Eliminates American people from the conduct of war
Greater freedom of action
Most Americans ignore war willingly because it doesn’t affect them
Old trinity of war = military, civilian leadership, the people
Fragmentation of the United States
Some argue - national unity is now in question
Languages, enclaves
State = political instrument; nation = cultural entity with ties binding it together
Military = 1 cluster within the American state with different values than other Americans
Militarism
Def. 1 = Inculcation of military values and ethics into a people
Def. 2 = Expending resources beyond what is necessary for a necessary defense
Secretary Gates argues that it is time to transform from old military ideology to new military ideology
Services resist
Congress resists
American people resist
Industry resists
There needs to be a rethinking of the American Way of War.
Only method of modern war is engaging human beings and that cannot be done from the sea or the air.
Stop loss = backdoor draft
People are leaving military despite a desire to have military careers due to the extreme negative effects on family, social, health, etc.
Adrian Lewis, Professor of History and Director, Office of Professional Military Graduate Education, University of Kansas
Repercussions of war are different – instead of 30% of casualties being dead, now it is much smaller so many injured soldiers are coming home and need support in a variety of ways
Interagency cooperation is ideal for operations – ie. Department of Agriculture should play a role in Afghanistan instead of Army handling those duties
Change of communications – lower level officers are allowed to comment directly to the media due to better training rather than going through the slow chain of command
Distance between the people and the military has grown since Vietnam
The United States is not at war, the military is at war.
1% of Americans bear the burden of the war.
What does this say about the nation?
So consumed with current conflicts that military is unable to prepare for contingencies.
Support systems are overburdened and cannot keep up with the demand for their services.
Army = 535,000 soldiers, authorized to increase to 575,000 but unable to get enough recruits
Stop-loss program is still in effect
Problems
Currently do not have a strategic reserve of ground forces (Army & Navy); reserves are only Air Force and Navy
Removing deterrent forces from around the world to meet demands in the Middle East
US cannot implement its doctrine
US doctrine calls for 400,000 troops to respond to counterinsurgency in a place like Iraq, but only had 140,000 in place
US doctrine in Afghanistan cannot be employed b/c of size of military
Social issues
Suicides
Family break ups
Multiple tours is ruining social fabric
Some soldiers up to 5 tours of duty in Iraq
70-80% suffering from some degree of PTSD
US Army is active in 60+ countries
This is not a new problem – what did we do in the past?
Conscription/draft that led to military rising to the occasion
Demand is not increasing to call for the draft
1939 – 190,000 men in US Army
1945 – 6 million men in US Army ground forces
1950 – 500,000 men in US Army
No army in the history of the world had demobilized as quickly as the US after WWII
Draft instated
Korean War – 1.5 million men in US Army
Does this matter?
No South Korea without this response
Eve of Vietnam War – 850,000 men in US Army
Draft instated
1968 – 1.5 million men in US Army
Strategically and operationally stopped the Tet offensive
Vietnamization removed ground forces from the war
1973 – Draft ends
1975 – Vietnam collapsed and the war ends
Even of Persian Gulf War – 800,000 men in US Army
Following Persian Gulf War – 450,000 men in US Army
Removed light infantry divisions
Offered early retirements rather than RIFs
George W. Bush – planned to cut two of ten divisions but halted due to attack on 9/11
Why haven’t we gone back to our normal approach of using the draft to fight the nation’s wars?
Transformation from 1945-1973 of American people removing themselves from the conduct of the nation’s wars
Roles and missions changed immediately after WWII
US had not had a long history of maintaining large armies due to protected geographical location
As one of two superpowers and due to the lessons of interwar isolation, US recognizes need to remain on the world’s stage in a strong position
Replaced Britain and France on world’s stage due to their destruction in WWII
US occupied Japan and Germany after WWII
130 million people in US
Also responsible for the security of 100+ million people in Asia and Europe
How does a small military maintain security of a world empire such as this?
Belief that strategic bombing would the ultimate instrument of war
Army and Navy would be obsolete
Use of atomic bombs at end of war changed the beliefs of the role of ground forces
New war became deterrent and stockpiling of strategic nuclear weapons
Guided missiles, new jets
Science and technology can remove the carnage from war
Make war nice and clean
Korean war challenged this belief b/c warfare was more primitive than WWII
Air power not decisive
Ground forces protected Pusan Perimeter
Vietnam war
Air power through graduated response was never decisive
Ground forces fight on strategic defense, never using offensive maneuvers
Best potential outcome is not losing
More primitive than Korea or WWII
Rumsfeld’s vision of current wars
Advanced technology would win the war
Despite “shock and awe,” air superiority didn’t win a decisive victory
Counterinsurgency war demanded greater numbers of ground forces
Belief that concept of total war needs to go away due to reliance on nuclear weapons
Geography, weapons systems, forces engaged are limited from the top down
At the tactical level, there is nothing limited about war – the bullets still work, death is still final
Americans disapprove when it is put in smaller terms – if my son/daughter is in war, I want every tool of war employed
War upsets individualistic and materialistic nature of American life
Written about in the 1950s
Americans believe nothing should disrupt access to consumer lifestyle – oil, credit, goods
Professional, long-standing army
Eliminates American people from the conduct of war
Greater freedom of action
Most Americans ignore war willingly because it doesn’t affect them
Old trinity of war = military, civilian leadership, the people
Fragmentation of the United States
Some argue - national unity is now in question
Languages, enclaves
State = political instrument; nation = cultural entity with ties binding it together
Military = 1 cluster within the American state with different values than other Americans
Militarism
Def. 1 = Inculcation of military values and ethics into a people
Def. 2 = Expending resources beyond what is necessary for a necessary defense
Secretary Gates argues that it is time to transform from old military ideology to new military ideology
Services resist
Congress resists
American people resist
Industry resists
There needs to be a rethinking of the American Way of War.
Only method of modern war is engaging human beings and that cannot be done from the sea or the air.
Stop loss = backdoor draft
People are leaving military despite a desire to have military careers due to the extreme negative effects on family, social, health, etc.
The Global War on Terrorism
10:00 The Global War on Terrorism
Frank Hoffman, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
“The Long War”
9/11 – second deadliest day in American history (#1 was Antietam)
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Radicalized Muslims and encouraged empathy to Al Qaeda’s cause
Immediate, quick gains turned sour after the first 6 months
As insurgency grew, American counter approach was too slow to respond through 2003, 2004, and 2005
Iraq military is improving with US support
Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan
Remains a troubled area
Taliban once vanquished, now rising
Karzai’s government is diminished
Suicide terrorism on the rise
Al Qaeda now destabilizes larger neighbor, Pakistan
Political system seems completely inept
Where are we today?
Neither won nor over
Rapidly nearing the title “The Longest War”
Successes in both countries but no lasting political solution
Huge cost in political standing, lives, financial
Taxonomy to analyze failures in war
Inability to properly anticipate (future tense)
Thoughts about where the next enemy system will come from and how we will be prepared for them
Failure to learn (past tense)
Learn from own prior experiences and those experiences of others
Inability to adapt (present tense)
Responding to the moment of war quickly and effectively
Taxonomy applied to “The Long War”
Inability to properly anticipate
Developed military technology as the future of war
Did not anticipate non-state, strong-willed enemies
Driving ideas based on quick, efficient “shock-and-awe” style fighting
Wanted to see enemies much like the US using precision air strikes mostly
Successes in 1990-1 and 2003 against Saddam Hussein were due to the conventional nature of state-state warfare
All other conflicts in 1990s and 2000s were less successful due to non-state actors and unconventional warfare
The Army actively decided not to study the lessons of Vietnam due to their messy, ambiguous natures
Did not expect Al Qaeda’s resistance, ability to elude capture and move to Pakistan
Did not foresee costs of fighting war or paying for Iraq’s reconstruction
Did not recognize the importance of building a strong coalition before entering war
Did not anticipate the blowback in Muslim areas and elsewhere around the world
Did not appreciate the need to secure Iraq’s infrastructure
Problems with prisoner taking and interrogation process
Did not understand the implication of de-Baathification of Iraq
Inability to learn
Must put in time/effort to learn lessons from history rather than trial and error that results in deaths of soldiers
Army and Marines did not use Vietnam lessons to renew guiding doctrines
In 2003, most Army/Marine officers knew more about the American Civil War than insurgency
Best Practices
Big picture of dealing with insurgency – must deal with the population itself not just the “bad guy” in the enemy’s military
Need integrated civil-military operations in host nations
Need to move host government along with reforms
Need social-economic services, jobs, electricity, education, infrastructure
Integrated intelligence – need human sources, not just high technology
Special units for foreign internal defense – turn former counter-insurgents into supportive units
Need targeted military training for the actual situation including cultural training
Information operations – battle of narratives, not just physical combat; need to mainstream psychological operations instead of just using special operations to handle these sorts of things
Population control – secure the borders, keep out combatant support, take care of the people so they support the operation
Resource control – be in control of supply lines
Discriminate force – Lethal force applied carefully, as little as possible, success is not achieved by attrition; killing a lot of insurgents could actually lead to a loss of the war instead of victory
Inability to adapt
Adapting tests the system and the organization
Have to be able to recognize weaknesses and be willing to look for quick, effective solutions
National security machine at the political level has to recognize this issue
Resistance to leadership structural changes
Creation of counterinsurgency guide changes the overall way of American war dramatically
Have made changes
Headquarters style
Communication with leaders in Washington and allied leadership
Now using small groups at provincial level
Changes to educational systems
Changes to force structures with different skill sets (human intelligence, interrogators, translators, explosive ordinance disposal)
State Dept – created a group to plan for these types of events rather than just react to them
Nonmilitary personnel still not used for all necessary functions
Still struggle to adapt to irregular forms of warfare
Many unimplemented recommendations for improving National Security Council and State Department
Still no agency devoted to telling the American narrative around the world
Took too long to recognize that 2004-6 strategy was not working
Once this did happen (Gates replaced Rumsfeld)
Priorities changed
Way of war changed to population approach
“Surge Strategy”
Not as successful as we would like
Possibly came too late for the American people
Did get Iraqi war off the front page of the paper but still no political reconciliation
Catastrophic failure was avoided by painfully slow adaptation to diminishing results on the ground
Enduring Questions
What is the purpose of the fighting? It can’t be just to destroy the enemy.
How do we know if we are succeeding?
Is it a success that the US has not been attacked since 9/11 if our allies have been attacked?
How much in the area of individual rights are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect national interests?
How do we avoid fighting the last war?
Gaining a small, temporary victory from water-boarding for example can have longer problems with increasing hatred and anger in the Muslim community
Frank Hoffman, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
“The Long War”
9/11 – second deadliest day in American history (#1 was Antietam)
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Radicalized Muslims and encouraged empathy to Al Qaeda’s cause
Immediate, quick gains turned sour after the first 6 months
As insurgency grew, American counter approach was too slow to respond through 2003, 2004, and 2005
Iraq military is improving with US support
Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan
Remains a troubled area
Taliban once vanquished, now rising
Karzai’s government is diminished
Suicide terrorism on the rise
Al Qaeda now destabilizes larger neighbor, Pakistan
Political system seems completely inept
Where are we today?
Neither won nor over
Rapidly nearing the title “The Longest War”
Successes in both countries but no lasting political solution
Huge cost in political standing, lives, financial
Taxonomy to analyze failures in war
Inability to properly anticipate (future tense)
Thoughts about where the next enemy system will come from and how we will be prepared for them
Failure to learn (past tense)
Learn from own prior experiences and those experiences of others
Inability to adapt (present tense)
Responding to the moment of war quickly and effectively
Taxonomy applied to “The Long War”
Inability to properly anticipate
Developed military technology as the future of war
Did not anticipate non-state, strong-willed enemies
Driving ideas based on quick, efficient “shock-and-awe” style fighting
Wanted to see enemies much like the US using precision air strikes mostly
Successes in 1990-1 and 2003 against Saddam Hussein were due to the conventional nature of state-state warfare
All other conflicts in 1990s and 2000s were less successful due to non-state actors and unconventional warfare
The Army actively decided not to study the lessons of Vietnam due to their messy, ambiguous natures
Did not expect Al Qaeda’s resistance, ability to elude capture and move to Pakistan
Did not foresee costs of fighting war or paying for Iraq’s reconstruction
Did not recognize the importance of building a strong coalition before entering war
Did not anticipate the blowback in Muslim areas and elsewhere around the world
Did not appreciate the need to secure Iraq’s infrastructure
Problems with prisoner taking and interrogation process
Did not understand the implication of de-Baathification of Iraq
Inability to learn
Must put in time/effort to learn lessons from history rather than trial and error that results in deaths of soldiers
Army and Marines did not use Vietnam lessons to renew guiding doctrines
In 2003, most Army/Marine officers knew more about the American Civil War than insurgency
Best Practices
Big picture of dealing with insurgency – must deal with the population itself not just the “bad guy” in the enemy’s military
Need integrated civil-military operations in host nations
Need to move host government along with reforms
Need social-economic services, jobs, electricity, education, infrastructure
Integrated intelligence – need human sources, not just high technology
Special units for foreign internal defense – turn former counter-insurgents into supportive units
Need targeted military training for the actual situation including cultural training
Information operations – battle of narratives, not just physical combat; need to mainstream psychological operations instead of just using special operations to handle these sorts of things
Population control – secure the borders, keep out combatant support, take care of the people so they support the operation
Resource control – be in control of supply lines
Discriminate force – Lethal force applied carefully, as little as possible, success is not achieved by attrition; killing a lot of insurgents could actually lead to a loss of the war instead of victory
Inability to adapt
Adapting tests the system and the organization
Have to be able to recognize weaknesses and be willing to look for quick, effective solutions
National security machine at the political level has to recognize this issue
Resistance to leadership structural changes
Creation of counterinsurgency guide changes the overall way of American war dramatically
Have made changes
Headquarters style
Communication with leaders in Washington and allied leadership
Now using small groups at provincial level
Changes to educational systems
Changes to force structures with different skill sets (human intelligence, interrogators, translators, explosive ordinance disposal)
State Dept – created a group to plan for these types of events rather than just react to them
Nonmilitary personnel still not used for all necessary functions
Still struggle to adapt to irregular forms of warfare
Many unimplemented recommendations for improving National Security Council and State Department
Still no agency devoted to telling the American narrative around the world
Took too long to recognize that 2004-6 strategy was not working
Once this did happen (Gates replaced Rumsfeld)
Priorities changed
Way of war changed to population approach
“Surge Strategy”
Not as successful as we would like
Possibly came too late for the American people
Did get Iraqi war off the front page of the paper but still no political reconciliation
Catastrophic failure was avoided by painfully slow adaptation to diminishing results on the ground
Enduring Questions
What is the purpose of the fighting? It can’t be just to destroy the enemy.
How do we know if we are succeeding?
Is it a success that the US has not been attacked since 9/11 if our allies have been attacked?
How much in the area of individual rights are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect national interests?
How do we avoid fighting the last war?
Gaining a small, temporary victory from water-boarding for example can have longer problems with increasing hatred and anger in the Muslim community
Gulf War I
8:30 Gulf War I
LTG (Ret) Bernard Trainor, co-author of Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
First major military engagement of the US in the post-Cold War period
American Organizing Principles
30s – getting out of the Depression
40s – World War II – defeating Japan, Germany, Italy
50s-80s – Cold War – defeating Soviet Union
90s – Now what?
Becomes dealing with the Middle East
Fundamental Islam
Terrorism
Failed states
Insurgency
WMDs
Two major players
Iraq – Arab
Satellite of USSR under Saddam Hussein
USSR support falters so US steps in
Iran – Persian
Satellite of US under Shah of Iran
Ayatollah replaces Shah in revolution
Turn on US alliance so US moves to Iraq
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
Millions of casualties on both sides
Expensive war for Iraqis à serious debt, economic problems
War funded by loans from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Buildup to war in Kuwait
Kuwait pressed for repayment of war loans
Hussein believed he fought Persia on behalf of all Arabs
Hussein challenged the legitimacy of Kuwait’s government
Considered Kuwait the 14th Iraqi province
Challenged Kuwait with slant drilling (draining oil from Iraq beneath the surface)
Neighbors believe Hussein is mostly saber-rattling
Hussein calls American ambassador (April Glasby) to gauge international opinion
“We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait.”
Hussein takes this as a green light to move forward
Iraq begins to mass armies along border with Kuwait
US Response
Consider sending squadron and amphibious group to send a signal
Arab leaders suggest there is no issue to worry about
Mobilizing would be provocative
Hussein sees lack of response as a sign that the US is not going to act
August 1990
Invade Kuwait, take the capital and keep moving further into southern Kuwait
Use “Highway of Death” from Iraq into Kuwait
US becomes concerned quickly that Hussein is moving toward Saudi Arabia, which would threaten US oil supply
Hussein pulls troops back from Saudi border to avoid complete provocation of US forces
US sends Sec. of Defense (Dick Cheney) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Colin Powell) to Saudi Arabia to convince them to accept US troops
Big thing, difficult to accept by Saudi Arabia
US did have major air bases but were unoccupied
Agree to accept US forces due to the perceived threat of Iraq
Operation Desert Shield
Signal to Hussein that he best not move on Saudi Arabia
Building the Coalition
No desire to repeat failed attempt to stabilize government (like in Somalia)
Unpopular among American people
Decision makers = President George H. W. Bush, Secretary of State James Baker, National Security Advisor
Necessary to build coalition with foreign nations and within America before taking action
Strategy was to build foreign coalition first and use that to garner support at home
Plan worked à UN resolutions and pressure placed on Iraq before Bush approached Congress
Congressional approach to give president right to use military force = 52-47
Disagreement Among Leadership
Some believe US should not risk American lives in Kuwait; others think it is necessary to repel Hussein
Hussein’s Calculations
Hussein miscalculated the US
Huge American military based in Europe with no enemy left due to the end of the Cold War and reunification of Germany
Hussein believed US would be reluctant due to pulling out of Vietnam, Somalia, etc.
Iraqi army was battle hardened after 8+ year war with Iran
Changing Priorities
Mass of troops limited danger of an invasion of Saudi Arabia
New concern became the building of WMDs
2 confirmed sites in Iraq
Defeat of Hussein’s field armies in Kuwait would cause an internal coup and Hussein would be gone without necessitating US forces entering Iraq (which had not been approved by UN resolution)
US War Strategy
Hussein was massed near southeastern part of Kuwait
US plan was to cut off Iraqi army and destroy it
Attack from north and west to trap Iraqi military and cut off supply lines
Simultaneously – 9 black ops CIA groups would be targeting Shiite population to encourage an uprising
Target air defenses, economic infrastructure, political command before attacking field forces
Iraq War Strategy
Attack US if it comes
Use anti-aircraft and artillery to pummel invasion forces trapped in a killing zone area
Use regular army, preserve Republican Guard forces for later attacks
Did not plan well for overwhelming bombing that actually came
January 1991
Begin with air raids
Hussein has to stop the bleeding so sends a small group to absolute southeastern Kuwait/northeastern Saudi Arabia to start the war on his own terms
Successfully captures border town
Americans react with air power
Hussein believed he could use air defenses to protect his forces against this approach
Air powers overwhelmed Hussein’s forces decisively
Hussein sees that he could lose the war à changes strategy from defend in place to retreat into Iraq
US Attack
Marines attack into the gut of Iraqi field troops in southern Kuwait
Army attacks from behind the Iraqi lines in the west/north
Americans found that battle-hardened Iraqi field troops were smaller than expected, exhausted, and unmotivated
Very little fighting as Iraqis surrendered all along the line
Marines were moving so quickly that Schwarzkopf had to slow them down so they wouldn’t outrun the Army units meant to cut off the retreat
50% + Iraqi Republican Guard was able to escape back into Iraq with most of the regular army surrendering
Extraordinarily low US casualties (under 200)
Administration decided not to follow retreating troops into Iraq due to 1) no mandate from UN, 2) desire not to get caught up in a long war in Iraq
Ceasefire
“The 100 Hour War”
Utter confusion on the battlefield; Schwarzkopf had no idea where his units were
Decision to stop the war was done by civilian, political leadership based on political rationale, not military priorities
US caught retreating supporting soldiers along Highway of Hell à political leadership did not want public opinion to turn against the action
End of military operations
Shiite Uprising
Did rise up as US hoped
Iraq put down the revolt with attack helicopters and US stood by and did absolutely nothing
Conclusions
Miscalculations on both sides
UN forces went in to enforce sanctions agreed upon by ceasefire agreement
Found 19 WMD sites in 39 facilities
Tried to continue after the Persian Gulf War, but when it became clear that this would not be successful, Hussein closed down programs but kept all who worked at the facilities in the country so few outside Iraq knew this was all over
Even Hussein’s top leaders didn’t believe that the country had no WMDs when they met in December 2002
Hussein kept posturing b/c he saw Iran as a threat and needed to protect himself from an internal Shiite uprising/military coup
Capitalized on internal/external doubt to maintain his power base
Troops came home with very little combat experience
Hussein turned the read of the war to argue that the Iraqi army never allowed the Americans to cross the Euphrates onto Iraqi soil, handed out medals to soldiers
Kept Hussein with strong leadership position
End of WWI = Beginning of WWII; End of Persian Gulf War = Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Yellow ribbons, troops come marching home victoriously
Problems
Hussein didn’t fall
Hussein claimed victory
Shiite uprising was brutally put down
American troops in Saudi Arabia could be used as ammunition by Osama bin Laden that infidels were in the land of the holy mosques
LTG (Ret) Bernard Trainor, co-author of Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
First major military engagement of the US in the post-Cold War period
American Organizing Principles
30s – getting out of the Depression
40s – World War II – defeating Japan, Germany, Italy
50s-80s – Cold War – defeating Soviet Union
90s – Now what?
Becomes dealing with the Middle East
Fundamental Islam
Terrorism
Failed states
Insurgency
WMDs
Two major players
Iraq – Arab
Satellite of USSR under Saddam Hussein
USSR support falters so US steps in
Iran – Persian
Satellite of US under Shah of Iran
Ayatollah replaces Shah in revolution
Turn on US alliance so US moves to Iraq
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
Millions of casualties on both sides
Expensive war for Iraqis à serious debt, economic problems
War funded by loans from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Buildup to war in Kuwait
Kuwait pressed for repayment of war loans
Hussein believed he fought Persia on behalf of all Arabs
Hussein challenged the legitimacy of Kuwait’s government
Considered Kuwait the 14th Iraqi province
Challenged Kuwait with slant drilling (draining oil from Iraq beneath the surface)
Neighbors believe Hussein is mostly saber-rattling
Hussein calls American ambassador (April Glasby) to gauge international opinion
“We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait.”
Hussein takes this as a green light to move forward
Iraq begins to mass armies along border with Kuwait
US Response
Consider sending squadron and amphibious group to send a signal
Arab leaders suggest there is no issue to worry about
Mobilizing would be provocative
Hussein sees lack of response as a sign that the US is not going to act
August 1990
Invade Kuwait, take the capital and keep moving further into southern Kuwait
Use “Highway of Death” from Iraq into Kuwait
US becomes concerned quickly that Hussein is moving toward Saudi Arabia, which would threaten US oil supply
Hussein pulls troops back from Saudi border to avoid complete provocation of US forces
US sends Sec. of Defense (Dick Cheney) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Colin Powell) to Saudi Arabia to convince them to accept US troops
Big thing, difficult to accept by Saudi Arabia
US did have major air bases but were unoccupied
Agree to accept US forces due to the perceived threat of Iraq
Operation Desert Shield
Signal to Hussein that he best not move on Saudi Arabia
Building the Coalition
No desire to repeat failed attempt to stabilize government (like in Somalia)
Unpopular among American people
Decision makers = President George H. W. Bush, Secretary of State James Baker, National Security Advisor
Necessary to build coalition with foreign nations and within America before taking action
Strategy was to build foreign coalition first and use that to garner support at home
Plan worked à UN resolutions and pressure placed on Iraq before Bush approached Congress
Congressional approach to give president right to use military force = 52-47
Disagreement Among Leadership
Some believe US should not risk American lives in Kuwait; others think it is necessary to repel Hussein
Hussein’s Calculations
Hussein miscalculated the US
Huge American military based in Europe with no enemy left due to the end of the Cold War and reunification of Germany
Hussein believed US would be reluctant due to pulling out of Vietnam, Somalia, etc.
Iraqi army was battle hardened after 8+ year war with Iran
Changing Priorities
Mass of troops limited danger of an invasion of Saudi Arabia
New concern became the building of WMDs
2 confirmed sites in Iraq
Defeat of Hussein’s field armies in Kuwait would cause an internal coup and Hussein would be gone without necessitating US forces entering Iraq (which had not been approved by UN resolution)
US War Strategy
Hussein was massed near southeastern part of Kuwait
US plan was to cut off Iraqi army and destroy it
Attack from north and west to trap Iraqi military and cut off supply lines
Simultaneously – 9 black ops CIA groups would be targeting Shiite population to encourage an uprising
Target air defenses, economic infrastructure, political command before attacking field forces
Iraq War Strategy
Attack US if it comes
Use anti-aircraft and artillery to pummel invasion forces trapped in a killing zone area
Use regular army, preserve Republican Guard forces for later attacks
Did not plan well for overwhelming bombing that actually came
January 1991
Begin with air raids
Hussein has to stop the bleeding so sends a small group to absolute southeastern Kuwait/northeastern Saudi Arabia to start the war on his own terms
Successfully captures border town
Americans react with air power
Hussein believed he could use air defenses to protect his forces against this approach
Air powers overwhelmed Hussein’s forces decisively
Hussein sees that he could lose the war à changes strategy from defend in place to retreat into Iraq
US Attack
Marines attack into the gut of Iraqi field troops in southern Kuwait
Army attacks from behind the Iraqi lines in the west/north
Americans found that battle-hardened Iraqi field troops were smaller than expected, exhausted, and unmotivated
Very little fighting as Iraqis surrendered all along the line
Marines were moving so quickly that Schwarzkopf had to slow them down so they wouldn’t outrun the Army units meant to cut off the retreat
50% + Iraqi Republican Guard was able to escape back into Iraq with most of the regular army surrendering
Extraordinarily low US casualties (under 200)
Administration decided not to follow retreating troops into Iraq due to 1) no mandate from UN, 2) desire not to get caught up in a long war in Iraq
Ceasefire
“The 100 Hour War”
Utter confusion on the battlefield; Schwarzkopf had no idea where his units were
Decision to stop the war was done by civilian, political leadership based on political rationale, not military priorities
US caught retreating supporting soldiers along Highway of Hell à political leadership did not want public opinion to turn against the action
End of military operations
Shiite Uprising
Did rise up as US hoped
Iraq put down the revolt with attack helicopters and US stood by and did absolutely nothing
Conclusions
Miscalculations on both sides
UN forces went in to enforce sanctions agreed upon by ceasefire agreement
Found 19 WMD sites in 39 facilities
Tried to continue after the Persian Gulf War, but when it became clear that this would not be successful, Hussein closed down programs but kept all who worked at the facilities in the country so few outside Iraq knew this was all over
Even Hussein’s top leaders didn’t believe that the country had no WMDs when they met in December 2002
Hussein kept posturing b/c he saw Iran as a threat and needed to protect himself from an internal Shiite uprising/military coup
Capitalized on internal/external doubt to maintain his power base
Troops came home with very little combat experience
Hussein turned the read of the war to argue that the Iraqi army never allowed the Americans to cross the Euphrates onto Iraqi soil, handed out medals to soldiers
Kept Hussein with strong leadership position
End of WWI = Beginning of WWII; End of Persian Gulf War = Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Yellow ribbons, troops come marching home victoriously
Problems
Hussein didn’t fall
Hussein claimed victory
Shiite uprising was brutally put down
American troops in Saudi Arabia could be used as ammunition by Osama bin Laden that infidels were in the land of the holy mosques
Saturday Evening Notes
5:00 Tour of the Museum and Gardens
The First Division Museum turned out to be one of the best I have visited anywhere in the world primarily due to the beauty of the property (500 acres of parkland donated by a WWI veteran turned owner of the Chicago Tribune), the beauty of the museum itself, and its detail-oriented, realistic décor.
The museum works you through the First Division’s experiences in World War I, World War II, Vietnam and – briefly – the Persian Gulf War. This means you walk through a full scale World War I trench and bunker, sit inside a World War II Normandy landing craft while watching actual footage of the landing and storming of the beach, and struggle to make your way through the jungles of Southeast Asia.
This is a place that I need to come back to someday when I have time to actually see all the exhibits.
6:00 Reception and Dinner
My last FPRI conference including house wines with dinner, but this one featured an open, premium bar. I had a couple drinks while talking with the people at my table (randomly assigned). To my right was someone who I sat next to throughout the day, a professor at the University of Little Rock. Janeck is a native of Poland and we talked a lot about my upcoming trip to eastern Europe. To his right was the leader of the FPRI program, Alan Luxemborg and we talked a bit about my experience at the Living Without Freedom history institute a couple years ago in Philadelphia and the continued presence it has in my classroom. To my left was Tony Dalesio, a middle/high school teacher near Scranton, PA.
We had a great salad followed by a main course of steak, chicken, (lobster?) mashed potatoes and vegetables followed by a brownie dessert. A Bailey’s topped the meal off wonderfully.
7:30 Discussion on Teaching about War, plus brief presentation by a representative of the American Battle Monuments Commission
They decided to skip the discussion due to the length of the day’s programs, but we did have a brief presentation by a representative from the American Battle Monuments Commission. The speaker was advocating that we – and our students – visit American military cemeteries abroad and mentioned People to People as a key ally in exposing Americans to their existence. I visited the cemetery at Normandy a few summers ago and last summer I visited the Pacific cemetery near Pearl Harbor, also operated by the Commission even though it is in the United States.
I spoke briefly with the representative on the bus back to the hotel and then back at the hotel and I think he might have been hitting on me or something. The last thing he said to me was something about my room must have mirrors on the ceiling. Perhaps he just had a few too many at the open bar; I’m not sure what was going on exactly.
8:30 Bus leaves Catigny for hotel
There was a prom going on back at the hotel. I printed my boarding pass for tomorrow and caught up on some e-mail and news. It was exciting to see that the Montgomery varsity baseball team upset the #1 seed in the county tournament (Immaculata). Although I am not really associated with the varsity team, it is still a cool thing.
The First Division Museum turned out to be one of the best I have visited anywhere in the world primarily due to the beauty of the property (500 acres of parkland donated by a WWI veteran turned owner of the Chicago Tribune), the beauty of the museum itself, and its detail-oriented, realistic décor.
The museum works you through the First Division’s experiences in World War I, World War II, Vietnam and – briefly – the Persian Gulf War. This means you walk through a full scale World War I trench and bunker, sit inside a World War II Normandy landing craft while watching actual footage of the landing and storming of the beach, and struggle to make your way through the jungles of Southeast Asia.
This is a place that I need to come back to someday when I have time to actually see all the exhibits.
6:00 Reception and Dinner
My last FPRI conference including house wines with dinner, but this one featured an open, premium bar. I had a couple drinks while talking with the people at my table (randomly assigned). To my right was someone who I sat next to throughout the day, a professor at the University of Little Rock. Janeck is a native of Poland and we talked a lot about my upcoming trip to eastern Europe. To his right was the leader of the FPRI program, Alan Luxemborg and we talked a bit about my experience at the Living Without Freedom history institute a couple years ago in Philadelphia and the continued presence it has in my classroom. To my left was Tony Dalesio, a middle/high school teacher near Scranton, PA.
We had a great salad followed by a main course of steak, chicken, (lobster?) mashed potatoes and vegetables followed by a brownie dessert. A Bailey’s topped the meal off wonderfully.
7:30 Discussion on Teaching about War, plus brief presentation by a representative of the American Battle Monuments Commission
They decided to skip the discussion due to the length of the day’s programs, but we did have a brief presentation by a representative from the American Battle Monuments Commission. The speaker was advocating that we – and our students – visit American military cemeteries abroad and mentioned People to People as a key ally in exposing Americans to their existence. I visited the cemetery at Normandy a few summers ago and last summer I visited the Pacific cemetery near Pearl Harbor, also operated by the Commission even though it is in the United States.
I spoke briefly with the representative on the bus back to the hotel and then back at the hotel and I think he might have been hitting on me or something. The last thing he said to me was something about my room must have mirrors on the ceiling. Perhaps he just had a few too many at the open bar; I’m not sure what was going on exactly.
8:30 Bus leaves Catigny for hotel
There was a prom going on back at the hotel. I printed my boarding pass for tomorrow and caught up on some e-mail and news. It was exciting to see that the Montgomery varsity baseball team upset the #1 seed in the county tournament (Immaculata). Although I am not really associated with the varsity team, it is still a cool thing.
Vietnam
3:45 Vietnam
Ronald Spector, Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University
Longest war so far
Most controversial history of an American war
First clear loss of American war history
Several wars: air in North Vietnam, ground in South Vietnam, war at home, diplomacy of negotiations, pacification campaigns
Air war
Began in spring of 1965
Sustained, massive bombing campaigns
Believed North Vietnam would relent (didn’t work)
Believe South Vietnam morale would increase (worked)
Great worry that China would interfere if not careful
Bombing kept on increasing but some areas were spared: key cities, places near Chinese border
North Vietnam supplied by China/USSR especially in area of air defenses
Huge costs of war - $10 for every $1 of damage sustained based on Sec. of Defense McNamara’s analysis
Bombing did have some impact on communist North’s willingness to continue fighting in the South but decision-makers kept moving forward
China had promised North Vietnam it would intervene if US invaded the North and US knew this (although it was a secret at the time)
Pacification – win hearts and minds of rural population
Helped by NLF’s losses during Tet
Phoenix Program identify and neutralize Vietcong
Improved security in countryside by 1969
Defections by Soviets
By end of 1969, >70% lived in areas controlled by government compared to 40% in beginning of 1968
Mixed views of success of this movement still today
Personal impressions of Vietnam
No Vietnam story is ever completely true or completely false
3 million served in country; most only for 1 year
Most battles were short, small clashes that lasted minutes or hours
Short but costly before US could bring up support
Popular story of Vietnam
PTSD, male, jungle, constant, VC contact
Majority of GIs seldom (if ever) in contact with enemy
Most stationed at base camps with amenities
Majority Vietnam GIs were not on patrol/front lines but for those who were, it was as dangerous and catastrophic as other 20th century wars
Ronald Spector, Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University
Longest war so far
Most controversial history of an American war
First clear loss of American war history
Several wars: air in North Vietnam, ground in South Vietnam, war at home, diplomacy of negotiations, pacification campaigns
Air war
Began in spring of 1965
Sustained, massive bombing campaigns
Believed North Vietnam would relent (didn’t work)
Believe South Vietnam morale would increase (worked)
Great worry that China would interfere if not careful
Bombing kept on increasing but some areas were spared: key cities, places near Chinese border
North Vietnam supplied by China/USSR especially in area of air defenses
Huge costs of war - $10 for every $1 of damage sustained based on Sec. of Defense McNamara’s analysis
Bombing did have some impact on communist North’s willingness to continue fighting in the South but decision-makers kept moving forward
China had promised North Vietnam it would intervene if US invaded the North and US knew this (although it was a secret at the time)
Pacification – win hearts and minds of rural population
Helped by NLF’s losses during Tet
Phoenix Program identify and neutralize Vietcong
Improved security in countryside by 1969
Defections by Soviets
By end of 1969, >70% lived in areas controlled by government compared to 40% in beginning of 1968
Mixed views of success of this movement still today
Personal impressions of Vietnam
No Vietnam story is ever completely true or completely false
3 million served in country; most only for 1 year
Most battles were short, small clashes that lasted minutes or hours
Short but costly before US could bring up support
Popular story of Vietnam
PTSD, male, jungle, constant, VC contact
Majority of GIs seldom (if ever) in contact with enemy
Most stationed at base camps with amenities
Majority Vietnam GIs were not on patrol/front lines but for those who were, it was as dangerous and catastrophic as other 20th century wars
The Korean War
2:15 The Korean War
Allan Millett, Stephen E. Ambrose Professor of History, University of New Orleans, and Director of the UNO Eisenhower Center for American Studies, Author of Their War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning
Put the Koreans back in the Korean War
For the Koreans, the war was total
25% of families in South Korea have family in North Korea
10% population died; 80% casualties were noncombatants
Difference between American narrative (1950-3) and Korean narrative (1919-present)
Japan entered in 1880s b/c Koreans sought foreign support to diminish influence of China
1905/1910 – Japanese protectorate/annexation à 2 different, broad political movements
Kim Il Sung – communist, anti-Japanese, unified Asian communist movement (Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung)
Nationalists – terrorist, fascist concepts, relationship with Kuomintang or Synghman Rhee, Christian, western, potential tyrant
End of WWII, Korea basically became American due to Allied victory. Koreans were in need of liberation, but were technically Japanese due to being taken over
Partition between USSR/US for temporary occupation
Koreans wanted independence
1946 – shots exchanged between protestors, South Korean police, American troops
Break off relations w/USSR and turn problem over to UN to either unify nation, or hold elections - 1948
Members of Korean Constabulary were young (20s-30s) but most were experienced officers in Japanese military previously
Constabulary – Republic of Korea Army
Executed its own rebel members
1948-50 war within Korea with guerillas
1948 – ROK independent under Syngman Rhee; US began pulling out troops
June-September 1950
US/ROK pushed deep into Pusan Perimeter
September-November 1950
UN/US land at Inchon and push North to Yalu River
ROK Army took people off the front, gave them two weeks training and sent them into battle to replace killed soldiers
November 1950-January 1951
Chinese enter and push back over the 38th
January 1951-June 1953
Stalemate along 38th parallel
Nasty atrocities on both sides of the war
Chinese army had serious logistical problems
Many former nationalists fought and lost gladly so they could go to Formosa (Taiwan)
Conclusion reached that unification by force was impossible so in 1951 mission changed to preserve South Korea
Armistice agreements hold to present
Allan Millett, Stephen E. Ambrose Professor of History, University of New Orleans, and Director of the UNO Eisenhower Center for American Studies, Author of Their War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning
Put the Koreans back in the Korean War
For the Koreans, the war was total
25% of families in South Korea have family in North Korea
10% population died; 80% casualties were noncombatants
Difference between American narrative (1950-3) and Korean narrative (1919-present)
Japan entered in 1880s b/c Koreans sought foreign support to diminish influence of China
1905/1910 – Japanese protectorate/annexation à 2 different, broad political movements
Kim Il Sung – communist, anti-Japanese, unified Asian communist movement (Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung)
Nationalists – terrorist, fascist concepts, relationship with Kuomintang or Synghman Rhee, Christian, western, potential tyrant
End of WWII, Korea basically became American due to Allied victory. Koreans were in need of liberation, but were technically Japanese due to being taken over
Partition between USSR/US for temporary occupation
Koreans wanted independence
1946 – shots exchanged between protestors, South Korean police, American troops
Break off relations w/USSR and turn problem over to UN to either unify nation, or hold elections - 1948
Members of Korean Constabulary were young (20s-30s) but most were experienced officers in Japanese military previously
Constabulary – Republic of Korea Army
Executed its own rebel members
1948-50 war within Korea with guerillas
1948 – ROK independent under Syngman Rhee; US began pulling out troops
June-September 1950
US/ROK pushed deep into Pusan Perimeter
September-November 1950
UN/US land at Inchon and push North to Yalu River
ROK Army took people off the front, gave them two weeks training and sent them into battle to replace killed soldiers
November 1950-January 1951
Chinese enter and push back over the 38th
January 1951-June 1953
Stalemate along 38th parallel
Nasty atrocities on both sides of the war
Chinese army had serious logistical problems
Many former nationalists fought and lost gladly so they could go to Formosa (Taiwan)
Conclusion reached that unification by force was impossible so in 1951 mission changed to preserve South Korea
Armistice agreements hold to present
The U.S. Navy in World War II
12:45 The U.S. Navy in World War II
James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
Series of concentrated struggles/battles in the Pacific comparable to any of world history that creates a grand, epic narrative
Pearl Harbor
Conceived the inevitable need to fight Japan in Pacific
“the orange plans”
Assumed battleships would be used for a massive sea battle (envisioned by Alfred T. Mahan)
Battleships sunk by Japanese carriers b/c Navy misread the strategic situation
Bureaucracy could not put pieces together to fully predict where, when, how of Pearl Harbor
b/c carriers were out to sea, Japanese commanders decided not to launch a 3rd wave of attacks against PH, allowed rebuilding and reaction
created national morale/support and political will
Battle of Midway
Archetypal battle of US Navy lore
Cracked Japanese code and realized Japan was moving to attack at Midway
Failure of torpedo bombers completely, but dive bombers were successful b/c anti-aircraft was focused on low-flying torpedo bombers (luck and chance)
Chance of sick admiral led to change of naval strategy, which ended up protecting American carriers
Victory protected Pearl Harbor and, more importantly, California so plans could move forward to send troops to Europe
Pacific Strategy
Focus on Europe or Pacific?
FDR could not get broad domestic consensus to fight the war w/o dealing w/both fronts at once despite his preference to fight Germany.
Competition between service branches affects strategy plans; Navy – central Pacific, Army – southern Pacific, Air Force – need island bases to fight Japan
US ‘total war’ development allowed the US to proceed w/all 3 fronts in the Pacific
American way of war = mass and mobility and technological supremacy
Leyte Gulf = largest naval battle, destroyed most of Japanese fleet
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Huge losses but overwhelming mass would eventually prevail; necessitates courage and persistence
Nimitz = “uncommon virtue as common…”
Some damage to morale at home as people began to believe that invasion of Kyushu and Honshu would be even more catastrophic
Battle of the Atlantic
Vs. German u-boats but convoy system had held it at bay until Dec. 1941 when u-boats began attacking along the East coast
Navy attempted their own anti-Uboats strategy instead of learning from the British at first
Contrast between Atlantic & Pacific
Similarities: needed an event in each theater to get popular support; US used German u-boat strategy in Pacific against Japan; North African role = Guadalcanal role to get military prepared; Italy = Philippines; Normandy = Iwo Jima/Okinawa
Differences: escorts were the key in Atlantic while carriers were the key in Pacific; unilateral ally force in Pacific led by Navy while there were numerous countries fighting in the Atlantic
Then & Now
9/11 surprise attack due to intelligence failures & bureaucratic procedures getting in the way
Defense budget competition between services & w/in services
American way of war today is not mass/mobility and technology
American way of war today is counter-insurgency but there is debate w/in Navy about how to change (or not)
Description of surrender ceremony on Missouri
James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
Series of concentrated struggles/battles in the Pacific comparable to any of world history that creates a grand, epic narrative
Pearl Harbor
Conceived the inevitable need to fight Japan in Pacific
“the orange plans”
Assumed battleships would be used for a massive sea battle (envisioned by Alfred T. Mahan)
Battleships sunk by Japanese carriers b/c Navy misread the strategic situation
Bureaucracy could not put pieces together to fully predict where, when, how of Pearl Harbor
b/c carriers were out to sea, Japanese commanders decided not to launch a 3rd wave of attacks against PH, allowed rebuilding and reaction
created national morale/support and political will
Battle of Midway
Archetypal battle of US Navy lore
Cracked Japanese code and realized Japan was moving to attack at Midway
Failure of torpedo bombers completely, but dive bombers were successful b/c anti-aircraft was focused on low-flying torpedo bombers (luck and chance)
Chance of sick admiral led to change of naval strategy, which ended up protecting American carriers
Victory protected Pearl Harbor and, more importantly, California so plans could move forward to send troops to Europe
Pacific Strategy
Focus on Europe or Pacific?
FDR could not get broad domestic consensus to fight the war w/o dealing w/both fronts at once despite his preference to fight Germany.
Competition between service branches affects strategy plans; Navy – central Pacific, Army – southern Pacific, Air Force – need island bases to fight Japan
US ‘total war’ development allowed the US to proceed w/all 3 fronts in the Pacific
American way of war = mass and mobility and technological supremacy
Leyte Gulf = largest naval battle, destroyed most of Japanese fleet
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Huge losses but overwhelming mass would eventually prevail; necessitates courage and persistence
Nimitz = “uncommon virtue as common…”
Some damage to morale at home as people began to believe that invasion of Kyushu and Honshu would be even more catastrophic
Battle of the Atlantic
Vs. German u-boats but convoy system had held it at bay until Dec. 1941 when u-boats began attacking along the East coast
Navy attempted their own anti-Uboats strategy instead of learning from the British at first
Contrast between Atlantic & Pacific
Similarities: needed an event in each theater to get popular support; US used German u-boat strategy in Pacific against Japan; North African role = Guadalcanal role to get military prepared; Italy = Philippines; Normandy = Iwo Jima/Okinawa
Differences: escorts were the key in Atlantic while carriers were the key in Pacific; unilateral ally force in Pacific led by Navy while there were numerous countries fighting in the Atlantic
Then & Now
9/11 surprise attack due to intelligence failures & bureaucratic procedures getting in the way
Defense budget competition between services & w/in services
American way of war today is not mass/mobility and technology
American way of war today is counter-insurgency but there is debate w/in Navy about how to change (or not)
Description of surrender ceremony on Missouri
The U.S. Army in World War II
10:30 The U.S. Army in World War II
Rick Atkinson, author of The Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle
Rick Atkinson is an excellent storyteller who sounds sort of like Tom Brokaw (and even a hint of Jerry Seinfeld). He used amazing vocabulary, diction and composure and really grabbed my interest. His answers during Q&A were a little longer than my liking, but it was very interesting.
Ten things we should make sure students know about the Army in WWII:
The US Army was a puny weakling when the war began.
190,000 Ã 8.3 million soldiers
Extremely old officer corps
Completely unprepared to fight a war
Mentally unready for war
The war encumbered nearly all of America.
16 million served in war out of 130 million Americans
i. Today – 500,000 out of 300 million
Every American had an investment
Still completely outnumbered by Germans/Soviets
Needed to keep manpower at home for industrial output
2/3 in Europe 1/3 in Pacific (Army divisions)
Unable to rest soldiers b/c all were needed all the time
Replacement system kept army staffed unlike enemy armies – US army kept divisions running despite 100-200% casualty rates
The US Army did not win WWII by itself.
Truly global conflict
27 months of fighting before US got involved
60 nations on Allied side by the end of the war
Coalition politics were important – the best team wins
The US Army’s role in the liberation of Europe did not start at Normandy.
North Africa (British belief) Europe (American belief)
Germany first policy between Roosevelt and Churchill
North Africa – Vichy France was allowed to keep territory in Africa as long as they agreed to fight off invaders
Operation Torch – November 8, 1942
i. 1st fight is against Vichy France for 3 days
ii. Land Morocco, Algeria à push to Tunisia before stopped by Germans, Italians (stalemate)
iii. Same time British (Bernard Montgomery) coming from east (vs. Rommel)
iv. Capture ¼ million German/Italian soldiers
v. Move to Sicily & Italian campaign
The US Army, for some considerable time, was not very good.
Inferior to enemies’ equipment, commanders in beginnings
Sifts out competent/incompetent, physically fit/not so, lucky/unlucky
US develops systemic advantage in size, scale of industry, logistical command
The US Army of WWII comprised much more than just riflemen.
Include Army air forces
i. Firebombing, atomic bombs, “arsenal of democracy”
ii. 1941 – 3.5 million private autos; 139 for rest of war
iii. All industry turned to war materiel
iv. Support army within the larger army to service machinery and mobilize resources unlike other nations
The Army remained, from beginning of war to end of war, under civilian control.
President made decisions, not military commanders often contrary to military preferences
The US Army in WWII is among the greatest agents of social change in the 20th century.
Social change in the 20th century
Huge increase of blacks in Army escalated civil rights movement (Victory over enemies abroad, Victory over discrimination at home = Double V)
Tuskegee Airmen showed limitations in placing limits on black soldiers
Women drawn into national workplace
Democratization of army (all live and die side by side)
WWI is among the greatest stores of the 20th century and should be taught that way.
Narrative can help tell the stories of WWII
They died for you.
Core of the story is suffering
300,000 battle deaths, 100,000 other deaths
Tell the story of one
i. Ernie Pyle account of Wasco’s death and Wasco’s letter to his family
ii. December 1943
Q&A
“Greatest Generation” is a disservice and caricatures WWII veterans and minimizes contributions of other generations that built US
How do Americans deal with casualties of WWII when we don’t even want to deal with comparably low numbers today?
i. Role of national leadership
ii. Just cause, will prevail
iii. Who the war touches
Rick Atkinson, author of The Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle
Rick Atkinson is an excellent storyteller who sounds sort of like Tom Brokaw (and even a hint of Jerry Seinfeld). He used amazing vocabulary, diction and composure and really grabbed my interest. His answers during Q&A were a little longer than my liking, but it was very interesting.
Ten things we should make sure students know about the Army in WWII:
The US Army was a puny weakling when the war began.
190,000 Ã 8.3 million soldiers
Extremely old officer corps
Completely unprepared to fight a war
Mentally unready for war
The war encumbered nearly all of America.
16 million served in war out of 130 million Americans
i. Today – 500,000 out of 300 million
Every American had an investment
Still completely outnumbered by Germans/Soviets
Needed to keep manpower at home for industrial output
2/3 in Europe 1/3 in Pacific (Army divisions)
Unable to rest soldiers b/c all were needed all the time
Replacement system kept army staffed unlike enemy armies – US army kept divisions running despite 100-200% casualty rates
The US Army did not win WWII by itself.
Truly global conflict
27 months of fighting before US got involved
60 nations on Allied side by the end of the war
Coalition politics were important – the best team wins
The US Army’s role in the liberation of Europe did not start at Normandy.
North Africa (British belief) Europe (American belief)
Germany first policy between Roosevelt and Churchill
North Africa – Vichy France was allowed to keep territory in Africa as long as they agreed to fight off invaders
Operation Torch – November 8, 1942
i. 1st fight is against Vichy France for 3 days
ii. Land Morocco, Algeria à push to Tunisia before stopped by Germans, Italians (stalemate)
iii. Same time British (Bernard Montgomery) coming from east (vs. Rommel)
iv. Capture ¼ million German/Italian soldiers
v. Move to Sicily & Italian campaign
The US Army, for some considerable time, was not very good.
Inferior to enemies’ equipment, commanders in beginnings
Sifts out competent/incompetent, physically fit/not so, lucky/unlucky
US develops systemic advantage in size, scale of industry, logistical command
The US Army of WWII comprised much more than just riflemen.
Include Army air forces
i. Firebombing, atomic bombs, “arsenal of democracy”
ii. 1941 – 3.5 million private autos; 139 for rest of war
iii. All industry turned to war materiel
iv. Support army within the larger army to service machinery and mobilize resources unlike other nations
The Army remained, from beginning of war to end of war, under civilian control.
President made decisions, not military commanders often contrary to military preferences
The US Army in WWII is among the greatest agents of social change in the 20th century.
Social change in the 20th century
Huge increase of blacks in Army escalated civil rights movement (Victory over enemies abroad, Victory over discrimination at home = Double V)
Tuskegee Airmen showed limitations in placing limits on black soldiers
Women drawn into national workplace
Democratization of army (all live and die side by side)
WWI is among the greatest stores of the 20th century and should be taught that way.
Narrative can help tell the stories of WWII
They died for you.
Core of the story is suffering
300,000 battle deaths, 100,000 other deaths
Tell the story of one
i. Ernie Pyle account of Wasco’s death and Wasco’s letter to his family
ii. December 1943
Q&A
“Greatest Generation” is a disservice and caricatures WWII veterans and minimizes contributions of other generations that built US
How do Americans deal with casualties of WWII when we don’t even want to deal with comparably low numbers today?
i. Role of national leadership
ii. Just cause, will prevail
iii. Who the war touches
Gathering Storm: From World War I to World War II
9:00 Gathering Storm: From World War I to World War II
Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses
Myth: Treaty of Versailles caused WWII
Context is important to understand
Germany executed 6000 civilians in August 1914
Germany ignored treaties as war began
Many atrocities in WWI (even though they may pale in comparison to WWII atrocities)
No Allied troops on German territory when war ended
Allowed military to claim military strength despite being utterly dismantled
Versailles did not address the key problem: Germany’s strength
Could not give “easy peace” because civilians in France and Great Britain would not accept letting Germany off the hook
Emergence of Soviet Union contributed to instability in Europe
New states of eastern Europe carved from the pre-war empires
Unable to cooperate with each other or powers of the continent
After WWI, Germany only had 1 strong enemy (France) and even that nation was severely damaged psychologically
Britain needed Germany as a strong trading partner for a good, prosperous economy
1920s – anti-war literary movement underlined the impact of the brutal warfare of WWI
Attitude in Britain in the 1930s became – war could be avoided because all leaders could be reasonable and compassionate
Neville Chamberlain – sit down talk between democracies and dictatorships
Winston Churchill – Nazi Germany was a moral/strategic danger
US
Harley-Smoot Tariffs led to world depression
Political isolationism
France
Fear of Germany
Dependent on British, Russians, Poles, etc. for defense
Germany
Bitterness over losing the war immediately upon treaty
Storm of Steel represented German intellectual reaction to WWI while All Quiet on the Western Front was popular in Britain/US
Used disinformation about causes of WWI to convince its own people and even people elsewhere
1923 – French occupation of the Ruhr
1932-3 – Great Depression
Allowed Adolf Hitler to come to power (April 30, 1933)
“Conspiracy” – HBO movie about conferences by Nazis on how to rid Europe of Jews
Germans represented the center of all human advances
Aryans needed to expand in order to survive via enslavement of eastern Europe
Rearmament of Germany as soon as Hitler takes power
Need biggest military and it will be used to overturn European state system that had existed since 17th century
1933 – withdraws from League of Nations
1935 – created Luftwaffe
Others
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Spanish civil war
1938 – appeasement à occupation of Austria
1938 – Czech crisis (Sudetenland)
1938 – Munich Agreement led to destruction of Czechoslovakia by March 1939
Led to outrage in Britain, but Britain had not been well rearmed after WWI to protect eastern Europe
What would Soviet Union do?
Join Germany – pick up broken pieces of defeated western powers
Join Western powers – need to fight Germany
Nazi-Soviet Pact
August 1939
Poland’s fate was sealed (lose to Germany or USSR)
3 million Poles died in defense of territory
USSR followed agreement faithfully from beginning to end all the way until Germany invaded
Q&A
Weak League of Nations
Weak Weimar Republic
Instability/insecurity in Germany on right (SA) and left (communists)
Ending WWI – no full surrender by German high command; instead civilians signed armistice and were used as scapegoats
US Neutrality Acts after Europe/Asia already in chaos
Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses
Myth: Treaty of Versailles caused WWII
Context is important to understand
Germany executed 6000 civilians in August 1914
Germany ignored treaties as war began
Many atrocities in WWI (even though they may pale in comparison to WWII atrocities)
No Allied troops on German territory when war ended
Allowed military to claim military strength despite being utterly dismantled
Versailles did not address the key problem: Germany’s strength
Could not give “easy peace” because civilians in France and Great Britain would not accept letting Germany off the hook
Emergence of Soviet Union contributed to instability in Europe
New states of eastern Europe carved from the pre-war empires
Unable to cooperate with each other or powers of the continent
After WWI, Germany only had 1 strong enemy (France) and even that nation was severely damaged psychologically
Britain needed Germany as a strong trading partner for a good, prosperous economy
1920s – anti-war literary movement underlined the impact of the brutal warfare of WWI
Attitude in Britain in the 1930s became – war could be avoided because all leaders could be reasonable and compassionate
Neville Chamberlain – sit down talk between democracies and dictatorships
Winston Churchill – Nazi Germany was a moral/strategic danger
US
Harley-Smoot Tariffs led to world depression
Political isolationism
France
Fear of Germany
Dependent on British, Russians, Poles, etc. for defense
Germany
Bitterness over losing the war immediately upon treaty
Storm of Steel represented German intellectual reaction to WWI while All Quiet on the Western Front was popular in Britain/US
Used disinformation about causes of WWI to convince its own people and even people elsewhere
1923 – French occupation of the Ruhr
1932-3 – Great Depression
Allowed Adolf Hitler to come to power (April 30, 1933)
“Conspiracy” – HBO movie about conferences by Nazis on how to rid Europe of Jews
Germans represented the center of all human advances
Aryans needed to expand in order to survive via enslavement of eastern Europe
Rearmament of Germany as soon as Hitler takes power
Need biggest military and it will be used to overturn European state system that had existed since 17th century
1933 – withdraws from League of Nations
1935 – created Luftwaffe
Others
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Spanish civil war
1938 – appeasement à occupation of Austria
1938 – Czech crisis (Sudetenland)
1938 – Munich Agreement led to destruction of Czechoslovakia by March 1939
Led to outrage in Britain, but Britain had not been well rearmed after WWI to protect eastern Europe
What would Soviet Union do?
Join Germany – pick up broken pieces of defeated western powers
Join Western powers – need to fight Germany
Nazi-Soviet Pact
August 1939
Poland’s fate was sealed (lose to Germany or USSR)
3 million Poles died in defense of territory
USSR followed agreement faithfully from beginning to end all the way until Germany invaded
Q&A
Weak League of Nations
Weak Weimar Republic
Instability/insecurity in Germany on right (SA) and left (communists)
Ending WWI – no full surrender by German high command; instead civilians signed armistice and were used as scapegoats
US Neutrality Acts after Europe/Asia already in chaos
Schedule - 5/4-5/10
Monday, May 4 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball home vs. Moorestown (rained out)
Tuesday, May 5 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball home vs. Watchung Hills (rained out)
Wednesday, May 6 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball home vs. Franklin
Thursday, May 7 - School, Baseball home vs. North Hunterdon, Depart for trip to Gettysburg
Friday, May 8 - Gettysburg
Saturday, May 9 - Gettysburg, Return from Gettysburg
Sunday, May 10
Tuesday, May 5 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball home vs. Watchung Hills (rained out)
Wednesday, May 6 - AM Commons Duty, School, Baseball home vs. Franklin
Thursday, May 7 - School, Baseball home vs. North Hunterdon, Depart for trip to Gettysburg
Friday, May 8 - Gettysburg
Saturday, May 9 - Gettysburg, Return from Gettysburg
Sunday, May 10
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Chicago Day 1
May 1
3:30pm
I left school around 10:30 and headed back to Hillsborough to mail the first batch of our wedding invitations. Despite the always slow service at the Hillsborough post office, I was able to get everything done relatively quickly with time to stop home to pick up some snacks for the trip to Chicago.
I got on the road with about four hours to make the 1.5 hour trip. Rather than relax at home, I figured I’d just get to the airport early. I stopped at a Panera near Levittown, PA for lunch and some free Wi-Fi time and then continued on to Philadelphia International.
After getting through security, I jumped on a United kiosk and got myself onto the standby list for an earlier flight to Chicago. Unfortunately, rain in the Philly air delayed that flight. As I sit in the terminal bar typing this at 3:33, that “earlier” flight is delayed nearly two hours and my use of the United notification system let me know that my flight is delayed from 4:50 to 5:15 so far. Of course, this could be expanded even further, but hopefully things will clear up and we’ll get on our way.
10:15pm (Central Time)
We finally boarded around 5:30. I ended up having a burger and another beer at the bar while waiting for the flight. Thanks to a cool feature I found on United’s web site earlier today, I received phone call updates on my flight status while waiting. The phone calls were more up to date than the information being posted at the gate so this could come in handy if a flight is ever cancelled. It would provide me with a few minutes head start on rebooking possibly.
Upon boarding, we were informed that the plane suffered some damage to a cargo door on its flight into Philadelphia. As a result, we sat on the plane until 6:45 or so while this was being taken care of. I dozed off a little before we finally took off.
There were a few bumpy minutes, but we got into O’Hara a little after 8. I called the limo company that was picking me up and they were there within 5 minutes of calling (within 15 minutes of getting off the plane). I rode to the hotel with two other conference participants: Stephanie Parobek – 7th and 8th grade American history teacher at North Collins JS/HS outside Buffalo, NY and Julia Tutino – American History, Economics, and Sociology teacher at Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, PA (near Gettysburg).
We had a good 30-minute ride to the hotel where we wound up talking mostly about other programs we have been on and Gettysburg where Julia is from and I am going next weekend. Upon check-in, I was hoping to grab a drink and maybe a snack at the bar, but neither of them seemed all that interested so I took a shower, grabbed a granola bar and am now going to relax for a bit before bed. My assigned roommate has not checked in. His name is Vincent Newman and he is an 8th grade US History and 6th grade World History teacher from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
May 2, 2009 6:55am
My roommate arrived a little after 11 and we made the obligatory small talk followed by his odd, rambling about a variety of seemingly unrelated topics. He is an interesting person with strong opinions – nice enough – but not the sort of person I want to spend hours sitting and chatting with.
I got up this morning a little after six and had coffee in the room. The breakfast buffet in the hotel costs $11 if you just want bread and $15 if you want everything. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only in hotel or in walking distance option for food and breakfast is on our own. I guess it’ll be a granola bar for me.
3:30pm
I left school around 10:30 and headed back to Hillsborough to mail the first batch of our wedding invitations. Despite the always slow service at the Hillsborough post office, I was able to get everything done relatively quickly with time to stop home to pick up some snacks for the trip to Chicago.
I got on the road with about four hours to make the 1.5 hour trip. Rather than relax at home, I figured I’d just get to the airport early. I stopped at a Panera near Levittown, PA for lunch and some free Wi-Fi time and then continued on to Philadelphia International.
After getting through security, I jumped on a United kiosk and got myself onto the standby list for an earlier flight to Chicago. Unfortunately, rain in the Philly air delayed that flight. As I sit in the terminal bar typing this at 3:33, that “earlier” flight is delayed nearly two hours and my use of the United notification system let me know that my flight is delayed from 4:50 to 5:15 so far. Of course, this could be expanded even further, but hopefully things will clear up and we’ll get on our way.
10:15pm (Central Time)
We finally boarded around 5:30. I ended up having a burger and another beer at the bar while waiting for the flight. Thanks to a cool feature I found on United’s web site earlier today, I received phone call updates on my flight status while waiting. The phone calls were more up to date than the information being posted at the gate so this could come in handy if a flight is ever cancelled. It would provide me with a few minutes head start on rebooking possibly.
Upon boarding, we were informed that the plane suffered some damage to a cargo door on its flight into Philadelphia. As a result, we sat on the plane until 6:45 or so while this was being taken care of. I dozed off a little before we finally took off.
There were a few bumpy minutes, but we got into O’Hara a little after 8. I called the limo company that was picking me up and they were there within 5 minutes of calling (within 15 minutes of getting off the plane). I rode to the hotel with two other conference participants: Stephanie Parobek – 7th and 8th grade American history teacher at North Collins JS/HS outside Buffalo, NY and Julia Tutino – American History, Economics, and Sociology teacher at Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, PA (near Gettysburg).
We had a good 30-minute ride to the hotel where we wound up talking mostly about other programs we have been on and Gettysburg where Julia is from and I am going next weekend. Upon check-in, I was hoping to grab a drink and maybe a snack at the bar, but neither of them seemed all that interested so I took a shower, grabbed a granola bar and am now going to relax for a bit before bed. My assigned roommate has not checked in. His name is Vincent Newman and he is an 8th grade US History and 6th grade World History teacher from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
May 2, 2009 6:55am
My roommate arrived a little after 11 and we made the obligatory small talk followed by his odd, rambling about a variety of seemingly unrelated topics. He is an interesting person with strong opinions – nice enough – but not the sort of person I want to spend hours sitting and chatting with.
I got up this morning a little after six and had coffee in the room. The breakfast buffet in the hotel costs $11 if you just want bread and $15 if you want everything. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only in hotel or in walking distance option for food and breakfast is on our own. I guess it’ll be a granola bar for me.
Chicago Conference Schedule
WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICA’S WARS
PART 2: 1920-PRESENT
Sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Wachman Center
www.fpri.org
Cosponsored and Hosted by the Cantigny First Division Foundation
At the First Division Museum
1 S 151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL
www.firstdivisionmuseum.org
Overnight:
Wyndham Hotel Lisle, 3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL
May 2-3, 2009
Saturday
8:20 Bus from Hotel to Conference Site
8:50 Welcome Remarks
Paul Herbert, Executive Director, Cantigny First Division Foundation
Walter A. McDougall, Co-Chair, FPRI History Institute
9:00 Gathering Storm: From World War I to World War II
Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses
10:15 Break
10:30 The U.S. Army in World War II
Rick Atkinson, author of The Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle
12:00 Lunch
12:45 The U.S. Navy in World War II
James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
2:00 Break
2:15 The Korean War
Allan Millett, Stephen E. Ambrose Professor of History, University of New Orleans, and Director of the UNO Eisenhower Center for American Studies, Author of Their War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning
3:30 Break
3:45 Vietnam
Ronald Spector, Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University
5:00 Tour of the Museum and Gardens
6:00 Reception and Dinner
7:30 Discussion on Teaching about War, plus brief presentation by a representative of the American Battle Monuments Commission
8:30 Bus leaves Catigny for hotel
Sunday
7:45 Bus from Hotel to Conference Site
8:30 Gulf War I
LTG (Ret) Bernard Trainor, co-author of Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
9:45 Break
10:00 The Global War on Terrorism
Frank Hoffman, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
11:15 Break
11:30 The American Culture of War
Adrian Lewis, Professor of History and Director, Office of Professional Military Graduate Education, University of Kansas
12:45 Boxed lunch and transportation to Chicago O’Hare Airport
PART 2: 1920-PRESENT
Sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Wachman Center
www.fpri.org
Cosponsored and Hosted by the Cantigny First Division Foundation
At the First Division Museum
1 S 151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL
www.firstdivisionmuseum.org
Overnight:
Wyndham Hotel Lisle, 3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL
May 2-3, 2009
Saturday
8:20 Bus from Hotel to Conference Site
8:50 Welcome Remarks
Paul Herbert, Executive Director, Cantigny First Division Foundation
Walter A. McDougall, Co-Chair, FPRI History Institute
9:00 Gathering Storm: From World War I to World War II
Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses
10:15 Break
10:30 The U.S. Army in World War II
Rick Atkinson, author of The Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle
12:00 Lunch
12:45 The U.S. Navy in World War II
James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
2:00 Break
2:15 The Korean War
Allan Millett, Stephen E. Ambrose Professor of History, University of New Orleans, and Director of the UNO Eisenhower Center for American Studies, Author of Their War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning
3:30 Break
3:45 Vietnam
Ronald Spector, Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University
5:00 Tour of the Museum and Gardens
6:00 Reception and Dinner
7:30 Discussion on Teaching about War, plus brief presentation by a representative of the American Battle Monuments Commission
8:30 Bus leaves Catigny for hotel
Sunday
7:45 Bus from Hotel to Conference Site
8:30 Gulf War I
LTG (Ret) Bernard Trainor, co-author of Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
9:45 Break
10:00 The Global War on Terrorism
Frank Hoffman, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
11:15 Break
11:30 The American Culture of War
Adrian Lewis, Professor of History and Director, Office of Professional Military Graduate Education, University of Kansas
12:45 Boxed lunch and transportation to Chicago O’Hare Airport
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)