Military History | Government Book Talk

Pearl Harbor at 75 & Three Pacific Battles That Shaped WWII

December 6, 2016

Battleship USS Arizona on fire and sinking (Image source: archives.gov)

Moments before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the United States was ‘suddenly and deliberately attacked.’ Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers launched a surprise assault on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The swift, devastating volley on the U.S. naval base killed 2,403 Americans. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “a date which will live in infamy” proclamation, America had finally joined WWII.

That momentous week of loss and defiance took place seventy-five years ago. After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. fought Imperial Japanese forces for a superior hold in Pacific waters. On the list of the 10 greatest battles of that front, you will find Midway, Coral Sea, and the Philippine Sea. GPO makes available a U.S. Naval War College study, Major-Fleet Versus-Fleet Operations in the Pacific War, 1941-1945, that takes a look at those three major naval operations.

Japanese planning in the Pacific War, according to author and naval historian Dr. Milan Vego, was unnecessarily complicated and focused too closely on offensive maneuvers. Nonetheless, Japan was hell-bent on defeating the U.S. Pacific fleet.

425px-sinking_of_carrier_shoho_during_battle_of_coral_sea_1942

Sinking of Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea, 1942

American military intelligence, and eventually the entire fleet, prevailed. The book’s primary-source archival material points to the timely concentration of U.S. forces at the appropriate place and at the appropriate time. The U.S. dominated the resultant Coral Sea, Midway/Aleutians, and the Philippine Sea battles—victories that presented a big sea change in the Pacific theater.

The author provides a detailed, well-supported sketch of three major battle areas that decisively shaped WWII. Maps, strategic context, and action analysis provide an authoritative, insightful resource for naval professionals. Major-Fleet Versus-Fleet Operations in the Pacific War identifies universal, tactical lessons of interest for today’s U.S. Navy and, of course, military history buffs.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Defense, Military History, Naval War College, U.S. Navy, World War II | Tagged: Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor anniversary, Pearl Harbor attack, wwii | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

U.S. Army Nurse Corps: “Courage to Care”

October 12, 2016

Military and women’s history intersect in many ways. For more than two centuries, thousands of qualified women have served America in the Army Nurse Corps in particular. Each military branch has their own nursing corps. GPO makes available U.S. Army Center of Military History’s “Highlights in the History of the Army Nurses Corps.”

This booklet chronicles the contributions of women nurses throughout the development of the Army Nurse Corps. Their story begins during the American Revolution when General George Washington asked Congress for nurses “to attend the sick.” In the decades that followed, whenever the military establishment expanded or contracted, medical services followed suit.

The Spanish-American War was a turning point for military nurses. Although not commissioned as a regular part of the Army, more than 1,500 female civilian nurses volunteered to care for the wounded. Shortly thereafter, in 1901, the female Nurse Corps became permanent under the Army Reorganization Act.

Poster encouraging women to join the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. Interested citizens could apply at Red Cross recruiting stations.

If there ever was a time when the Army Nurse Corps was an indispensable part of the American military establishment, it was during WWII. Several pages of the book are devoted to this period. At one point the number of active duty nurses swelled to 57,000. Sixty-six were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese in the Philippines. Many landed in North Africa on the day of 1942 invasion. Others arrived just days after the 1944 Normandy beach landing. Tragically, by the war’s end, 215 Army nurses died while serving.

Be it on base battlefield hospitals in WWII France, in MASH units on the front lines of the Korean War, or among a 6,000 strong crew during Vietnam, Army nurses helped to save tens of thousands of lives. Numbers may have waned in peacetime but standards in training and care never did.

U.S. Army Nurse 1st Lt. Arnelle Lewis takes a Guatemalan boy’s temperature during a medical readiness training exercise in Santa Cruz Balanya, Guatemala, on March 10, 2007. Lewis is a registered nurse attached to the U.S. Virgin Islands Army National Guard.

Today, the Army Nurse Corps is made up entirely of registered nurses. Army nurses are deployed all over the world in support of humanitarian and anti-terrorism missions. According to the Corps’ official creed, members continue to have the “courage to care, courage to connect, and courage to change.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

2 Comments | Center of Military History, Department of Defense, Military History, U.S. Army | Tagged: Army Center of Military History, Army Nurse Corps, army nurses, nurse corps, nurses | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

National Aviation Day

August 18, 2016

August 19^th is National Aviation Day, a yearly observance to celebrate the history and development of aviation. Another fun fact: the day is also Orville Wright’s birthday!

GPO makes available a wide range of Federal Government publications about flight.

First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane

Twelve seconds in the air turned into over 100 years of aviation progress. In December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright stuck their first—and the world’s first—successful flight in a heavier-than-air, mechanically controlled machine. The sibling inventors behind the defining technology of the last century are the subject of this National Park Service handbook. In his forward, astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn defers to the duo as the “first astronauts. Their initial short flight opened our quest to reach beyond the world we know. They were the first test pilots.” A foolhardy flying machine became a phenomena of human achievement. The Wright Brothers made their home above the world and consequently changed the world.

Logbook of the Signal Corps No. 1: The United States Army’s First Airplane (eBook)

Indeed the Wright Bros. invention changed the world. And changed the U.S. Army. This book tells the story of a self-taught aviator and his Wright flyer responsible for the launch of military airpower. In 1909, the U.S. Army Signal Corps paid $30,000 to Orville and Wilbur for a custom-made aircraft designated “Signal Corps No. 1.” A plucky young lieutenant with no prior flying experience was elected its sole operator. “Take plenty of spare parts,” a commanding officer told 1st Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois, “and teach yourself to fly.” Through industrious trial and error and long-distance guidance from the Wright Brothers, Foulois learned to fly the Army’s very first airplane. Read this book and then go visit the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in DC. There you will find the original Signal Corps No. 1, a beautifully restored piece of Army aviation history.

The Combat Edge

This quarterly publication of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command features articles and stories about flight safety. As aviation technology evolves to enhance combat capability, so must risk mitigation. Thus, ACC’s safety magazine looks to “foster a culture where Airmen strive for zero mishaps.” Developing this sort of discipline keeps safety standards high so that top guns can continue to “Aim High … Fly-Fight-Win.”

The Air Almanac for the Year 2016 (eBook)

For millennia, navigators have been using the stars to chart their course. Aircraft rely on similar celestial navigation. The Air Almanac contains astronomical data produced by The U.S. Naval Observatory in collaboration Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office in the U.K. Published annually since 1941, this cosmic directory tabulates statistics at 10-minute intervals to a precision of 1 arcminute. Predictions include Greenwich hour angles; lunar rise and set times; sky diagrams for each month; charts for moon visibility and star positions; and sunrise, sunset, and twilight tables.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Aviation, Department of Defense, ebooks, Innovation, Military History, Naval Observatory, U.S. Air Force | Tagged: aviation, aviation day, aviation history, aviation week, National Aviation Day, National Aviation Week | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Explore Soldier Experiences through Army History: The Professional Bulletin Celebration of 100th issue release!

August 9, 2016

Army History: The Professional Bulletin releases its 100th issue in Summer 2016!

Army History chronicles the history and heritage of the United States Army, and explores the lives and times of those who served.

This issue opens with a synopsis; followed by a briefing about the U.S. Army’s Historical Program Enterprise, which addresses the need for a forward, collaborative approach to meet the soldier’s needs, while deepening the connection to the American public and the US Army.

NewsNotes section features new title releases from the Army, Center of Military History Combat Studies Institute. It also covers a new interactive exhibit with videos located at the U.S. Army Women’s Museum in Fort Lee, VA, which is the only museum dedicated to Army women in the world. The exhibit tells the story of the significant contributions of female soldiers’ engagement, cultural support, and provincial reconstruction teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first article in this issue uncovers the rich history of the underground caves and cities where American soldiers from the 101st National Guard Infantry, 26th Division spent many days and nights with the French training for war. Many of the soldiers from this platoon carved etchings in the limestone walls of the caves in order to share the soldier’s story. Many also included their signatures in these caves, marking their footprint on both the war and the cave. In the article, modern-day military historians piece together the story and historical value of these artifacts that position World War I history from the American soldiers’ perspective. This editorial piece brings a unique perspective to World War I history.

This second featured piece promotes Australian strategic military operations within World War II. The intent and purpose of this article is to investigate the history of the Defense Central Camouflage Command (DCC) and its leaders, and to analyze their success or failures from the perspective of civil-military relations. This commentary explores the teaching to soldiers of techniques to camouflage their installations, including water, gas, and oil facilities.

In this issue, you will also find a Book Reviews section related to military history books published by other entities. A majority of the books covered in this issue have been published by academic/scholarly publishers, external to the U.S. military.

The issue ends with a Footnote from Bryan J. Hockensmith, honoring this 100th issue and thirty-three years of this published journal. He reflects on Army History- Past, Present and Future and how this periodical continues primary source military history education to meet worldwide scholarly standards.

Congratulations to the staff at CMH for the 100th published issue of Army History: The Professional Bulletin! This print issue and subscription will meet the military history education needs of US Army soldiers, defense education programs, DODEA and public school history and global studies assignments, ROTC student programs, military academies, military science majors, historians and political scientists. The team at CMH brings an interesting perspective to communicate understanding of America’s military history to their readers.

Grab a cup of coffee and begin reading today!

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order by Phone: You may also order print editions by calling our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: This week’s blog contributor is Maureen Whelan, Senior Marketing Team Leader for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office in Washington, DC. Maureen oversees print and digital content dissemination strategy and manages third party free and paid content distribution through platforms and vendors, such as Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble.com, Google Play eBookstore, Ebscohost databases, Overdrive, and more.

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Department of Defense, Military History, U.S. Army, World War I, World War II | Tagged: army, Army Center of Military History, army history, Center of Military History, military magazine, The Professional Bulletin of Army History, U.S. Army Center of Military History | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

The Expedition to Capture Pancho Villa

July 21, 2016

In March 1916, Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa and his band of hundreds of Villistas mounted a cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico. A U.S. military squadron repelled the invasion of American territory. Further retaliatory steps were taken immediately. President Woodrow Wilson sent Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing and about 10,000 men on the mission to capture Villa.

The U.S. campaign to apprehend Villa and defend the border is the subject of “The Mexican Expedition, 1916–1917,” a new publication from the U.S. Army’s Center of Military History.

The Mexican Expedition, 1916–1917

Author Julie Irene Prieto argues that while Villa’s raid on Columbus was a failure, “it constituted a startling political and strategic victory for the rebel leader.” He had begun to chip away at Mexican president Venustiano Carranza’s pro-U.S. regime. Meanwhile, Pershing’s forces moved into the Chihuahua region, dead set on dismantling the rebel general’s army. Over the course of several months, dozens of minor skirmishes played out across Northern Mexico.

Pancho Villa, military leader of rebel forces during the Mexican Revolution and considered a bandit by Americans in the wake of the raid on Columbus, New Mexico (Library of Congress)

There are several reasons why this operation is so notable. Northern Mexico’s punishing terrain and diplomatic hostility tested the mettle of Pershing and “proved his worth as a field commander.” As for the cavalrymen, Prieto writes that they “employed skills and strategies developed…on frontier campaigns…and in warfare against irregular, guerrilla forces.” The author continues, “This was to be one of the last operations to employ these methods of warfare and one of the first to rely extensively on trucks. It also provided a testing ground for another new technology—the airplane.” Furthermore, such valuable experience in new technologies provided battle-ready conditioning prior to U.S. entry into World War I the following year.

Soldiers of the 16th Infantry around a campfire at San Gerónimo, Mexico, May 1916 (Library of Congress)

Carranza viewed the U.S. intervention as a violation of Mexican sovereignty. Official Mexican troops charged with beating back Villa’s guerrillas in Chihuahua eventually clashed with U.S. troops. This presented a very real threat of war between the U.S. and Mexico. President Wilson called a National Guard unit to the Mexican border. Their teeth-bearing exercise sent a stern warning to President Carranza, who ordered his men to back down. U.S.-Mexico diplomatic relations carried on despite the near-showdown but suffered over the long-term because of it.

Did Pershing’s so-called Punitive Expedition successfully capture or kill Pancho Villa? You’ll just have to read The Mexican Expedition, 1916–1917 to find out.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Military History, U.S. Army | Tagged: Mexican Expedition, Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa, The Mexican Expedition | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

The Civil War’s Almost Forgotten Theater

June 22, 2016

Although the American Civil War took place over 150 years ago, there is STILL plenty to learn about the bloodiest war in U.S. history. One particularly under-discussed chapter involves the vast Trans-Mississippi West. Where exactly is that, you ask? The Trans-Mississippi West refers to all major military operations west of the Mississippi River but excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean.

GPO makes available a U.S. Army Center of Military History short study, authored by Jeffery S. Prushankin, fittingly titled “The Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.”

The Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater

The long and costly struggle between industrial North and agricultural South, “half slave and half free,” spilled into lands west of the Mississippi. The region witnessed approximately 130 battles stretching from New Mexico to New Orleans and Fort Brown to Fort Leavenworth. It saw small-scale military actions at Wilson’s Creek, Prairie Grove, and Galveston, among others. Although “often neglected in history books,” argues Prushankin, “the Trans-Mississippi Theater played an important role in the Civil War.”

The theater presented the Union with strategic terrain for projecting its military power. President Abraham Lincoln considered it a campaign to control arable (and gold-filled) land, pacify Western denizens, and eliminate a possible Confederate stronghold. He knew such a primitive frontier would be hard-won. Over the course of the war, his War Department marshalled some 200,000 Union soldiers to the hardscrabble landscapes of New Mexico, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Trans-Mississippi Theater 1861-1865

The book devotes several pages to the Red River expedition, a.k.a. the struggle for Louisiana and Texas, which took place in the spring of 1864. The Federal campaign through the Red River Valley intended to open up a Union path for a Texas invasion. But commanding officer Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks bungled almost every maneuver and eventually retreated his 30,000 troops in humiliation. Although the initiative did cause a “disruption of Confederate designs,” it didn’t do much to sway the war’s outcome.

The Red River Expedition, Louisiana and Texas, 1864. (Library of Congress)

That Union debacle eventually gave way to Price’s Raid. Three gory, inconclusive years and Lincoln’s looming reelection sent Southern leaders into a panic. They believed that to save their cause, they would have to re-capture Missouri for the Confederacy. During the fall of 1864, Confederate cavalry raided Missouri and Kansas. Long story short, Union troops delivered a decisive blow. Price’s ineffectual raid effectively ended major combat operations in the Trans-Mississippi.

Much of Civil War history remains focused on events east of the Mississippi. Ultimately, the Trans-Mississippi closedown was not a “winner, winner, chicken dinner” pivot for the Union. Perhaps it will remain a forgettable theatre in an unforgettable war. But the Trans-Mississippi did allow the North to prove itself a better organized, better led army. And that certainly was a leading factor in the Union’s overall victory.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Civil War, Military History, U.S. Army | Tagged: American Civil War, American Civil War History, Civil War, Civil War Battles, civil war campaigns, military history, Trans-Mississippi Theater, U.S. Army Center of Military History | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Military Transportation: “Nothing Happens Until Something Moves”

May 13, 2016

There’s a lot happening in terms of transportation this month. May 16-22 is National Transportation Week, an opportunity to celebrate the community of transportation professionals who keep our country moving. In addition, the third Friday of May is National Defense Transportation Day. And throughout 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

Transportation infrastructure is quite literally the foundation of our country. Interstate highway trucks and freight trains get people and products where they need to go. Across bridges, along rail lines, and through tunnels, transport mobility is a part of life. And it’s also critical for modern Army readiness. In fact, there is a little known unit specializing in rapid troop and cargo delivery to distant theaters. It’s called the U.S. Army Transportation Corps.

Spearhead of Logistics: A History of the United States Army Transportation Corps

This U.S. Army Center of Military History text chronicles over 200 years of U.S. military transportation. The “need to organize, control, equip, and man transportation resources” became evident during the Revolutionary War. Borrowing from the organized transport network of the merchant class, the Continental Congress authorized a Quartermaster General to contribute logistical support—mostly in the form of horses and river boats—to Revolutionary forces. Since then, every war, expeditionary operation, and worldwide commitment has been supported by what eventually became the Transportation Corps of today.

Corps history is in step with the timeline of transportation growth. Steamboats in the Mexican War. Locomotives in the Civil War. Wagons in the Spanish-American War. Transport from this era “was the prototype of that required for a modern war in the Industrial Revolution.” Army transportation matured dramatically with wartime demands. Troop movement in both world wars required considerable coordination. Motor vehicles were first employed in World War I when “truck convoys [carried] supplies from the ports to the forward areas.” Horsepower was officially out and “animal power would never again be a major consideration for the U.S. Army.”

Forty men and eight horses. U.S. troops on their way to the trenches, 1918. Excerpt from publication.

When the world once again charged into a world war, the U.S. military expanded its transport mission. As it was “the first time U.S. troops were deployed throughout the world,” all ground and water transportation reorganized under one agency, the Transportation Corps. The newly formalized unit brought military might to bear in the beachhead landing on Normandy, campaign into the heart of Nazi Germany, MacArthur’s assaults in the Pacific theater, and the Berlin Airlift.

With continued speed and efficiency, the Transportation Corps sustained a massive combat force in Desert Storm. In a seven-month period, Corps officers participated in the “largest battlefield movement ever recorded for the time allotted.” Sea port and airlift operations and movement of “combat force[s] into attack positions…was one of the most significant achievements in the history of the Transportation Corps.”

The Transportation Corps has embraced new technology and provided orderly service to the mission of defense. Without Army transport, personnel, equipment, and supplies would be immobilized. The book ends with an Albert Einstein quote that perfectly describes the Corps: “nothing happens until something moves.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS MILITARY HISTORY PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Department of Defense, Military History, U.S. Army | Tagged: military transportation, National Defense Transportation Day, National Transportation Week, Transportation Corps, transportation day, Transportation Week, U.S. Army Transportation Corps | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Government Book Talk

Pearl Harbor at 75 & Three Pacific Battles That Shaped WWII

U.S. Army Nurse Corps: “Courage to Care”

National Aviation Day

Explore Soldier Experiences through Army History: The Professional Bulletin Celebration of 100th issue release!

The Expedition to Capture Pancho Villa

The Civil War’s Almost Forgotten Theater

Military Transportation: “Nothing Happens Until Something Moves”

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