Browsing by Subject "Military History"
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Item Clipping the Eagle's Wings: The Limiting of the Korean Air War, 1950-1953(2013-03-21) Horky, Roger KarlPurpose: This work examines the transition in aerial warfare that took place during the Korean War (1950-1953). Before the conflict, air power was conceived of primarily an instrument of unlimited, or total, warfare. Yet Korea, and all subsequent air wars, have been limited. The transitional nature of the Korean air war has not yet been adequately explored by historians. Methods: The story of this shift is presented in two parts, the first examining the doctrines of the United States Air Force (USAF) immediately before the Korean War, the second comparing them to the USAF?s actual campaigns in Korea. This focus on the USAF reflects both its status as the principal air service in Korea and its influence on the theories and doctrines of all air arms in the post-World War Two era. The USAF?s planning immediately before the Korean War focused on its role in a possible total war between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was thus unprepared and ill-equipped for the limited war in Korea and had to improvise its operations there. Findings: The inability of the USAF to conduct an unlimited war in Korea frustrated many Americans, who could not understand the political considerations that limited the conflict, seeing only that the USAF, the world?s most powerful air arm, was prevented from using all of its resources. While the resulting controversy contributed to a change of administration in the United States, it had less of an effect on the USAF. After the Korean War ended, its leadership continued to focus on unlimited war, dismissing the conflict as an aberration from which little about the operation of aircraft in war could be learned. Conclusions: The failure to recognize the lessons of the Korean War has had serious consequences. There have been no total wars since 1945; every air war of the past sixty years has been limited. Limited warfare is defined by restrictions on air power. The USAF and other air arms were slow to adapt to the changing conditions. The Korean War was a more significant event in the history of aerial warfare than is generally appreciated.Item Down the Lines: US Army Communications in Europe, 1942-45(2017-07-05) Hutzell, Eric; Dancy, Jeremiah R.The incredible complexity of the Second World War continues to fire the imagination of the public and historians, alike. However, historians have largely ignored the immense importance of communications within the respective campaigns. This thesis will begin to redress this oversight by showing the role of military communications within the United States Army in Europe during World War II. In the wake of the war, the United States Army’s Center of Military History commissioned a large series of histories detailing the conduct of the US Army during the war. Interestingly, there were three entire books devoted to the Technical Services; specifically, the Signal Corps. In the decades after, the Center of Military History has continued to provide examination of the signal services, with a branch history of the Signal Corps published in 1994. Despite this profound endorsement, the academic community has not seen fit to give this subject its due diligence. Modern histories of World War II make very little mention of the difficulties of communication, if any mention is made at all. Even amateur efforts have been spotty and sometimes slipshod. Using a variety of modern texts, period works, and primary research at the National Archives, this thesis will use a narrowing lens approach to showing the multifaceted dimensions of military communications. From lessons learned in the Pacific and the Mediterranean, the organization and implementation of cohesive communications allowed command and control to function. By the commencement of Operation Cobra in July of 1944, the US Army had the most complete and flexible communications organization on the planet. The success of this organization can be seen most clearly during the German Winter Offensive of 1944-45, known as the Battle of the Bulge, when despite the rapid penetration of Allied battle-lines, at no time was communications cutoff between Northern and Southern forces.