Arms and the Man: Military History Essays in Honor of Dennis Showalter

285 Pages·2011·3.15 MB·English

by  Michael S. Neiberg

Arms and the Man
History of Warfare
Editors
Kelly DeVries
Loyola College Maryland
John France
University of Wales Swansea
Michael S. Neiberg
University of Southern Mississippi
Frederick Schneid
High Point University North Carolina
VOLUME 68
Arms and the Man
Military History Essays in
Honor of Dennis Showalter
Edited by
Michael S. Neiberg
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
Cover illustration: Finnish soldiers with Panzerfausts at the battle of Tali-Ihantala on the
Karelian Isthmus, 30 June 1944. Photo: SA 155340.
With kind permission of Th e Finnish Defense Forces, Photographic Centre.
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arms and the man : military history essays in honor of Dennis Showalter / edited by Michael
S. Neiberg.
p. cm. -- (History of warfare ; v. 68)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-20668-7 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Military history. 2. Military art and
science--History. I. Neiberg, Michael S. II. Showalter, Dennis E. III. Title. IV. Series.
D25.5.A77 2011
355.009--dc22
2011007831
ISSN 1385-7827
ISBN 978 90 04 20668 7
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by
Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.
CONTENTS
List of Contributors .................................................................................vii
Introduction ...............................................................................................1
Michael S. Neiberg
Loving the German War Machine: America’s Infatuation
with Blitzkrieg, Warfi ghters, and Militarism ......................................5
William J. Astore
‘Clash of the Titans’: Law vs Security in World War II Britain .............31
Mary Kathryn Barbier
Military Cultures, Military Histories and the Current
Emergency ...........................................................................................63
Jeremy Black
Manstein, the Battle of Kharkov, and the Limits of Command ............83
Robert M. Citino
Th e Question of Medieval Military Professionalism ............................113
Kelly DeVries
Modern Soldier in a Busby: August von Mackensen,
1914–1916 .........................................................................................131
Richard L. DiNardo
Winning and Losing: France on the Marne and on the Meuse ...........169
Robert A. Doughty
Th e Forgotten Campaign: Alsace-Lorraine August 1914 ....................193
Holger H. Herwig
“Total War, Total Nonsense” or “Th e Military Historian’s
Fetish” ................................................................................................215
Eugenia C. Kiesling
vi contents
England’s “Descent” on France and the Origins of Blue-water
Strategy ..............................................................................................243
Robert McJimsey
Conclusion .............................................................................................259
Dennis Showalter
List of Books by Dennis Showalter .......................................................267
Select Bibliography ..................................................................................269
Index .........................................................................................................273
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
William J. Astore
Professor of History, Pennsylvania College of Technology
Mary Kathryn Barbier
Associate Professor of History, Mississippi State University
Jeremy Black
Professor of History, University of Exeter
Robert M. Citino
Military History Center, University of North Texas
Kelly DeVries
Loyola University Maryland and Honorary Historical Consultant,
Royal Armouries
Richard L. DiNardo
USMC Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia
Robert A. Doughty
U.S. Military Academy (Retired)
Holger H. Herwig
Canada Research Chair in Military and Strategic Studies, University
of Calgary, Canada
Robert McJimsey
Professor of History, Colorado College, 1968–2004.
Eugenia C. Kiesling
Professor of History, United States Military Academy, West Point
viii list of contributors
Michael S. Neiberg
Harold K. Johnson Professor of Military History, United States Army
War College
Dennis E. Showalter
Professor of History, Colorado College
INTRODUCTION
Michael S. Neiberg
I had the great pleasure of sharing a city, if not a department, with
Dennis Showalter for eight years. Dennis was by then a legendary visit-
ing professor and frequent guest lecturer at the United States Air Force
Academy, my fi rst job out of graduate school. Dennis had also served
in similar positions at West Point and the United States Marine Corps
University. In 1998, when I showed up in Colorado Springs, Dennis
had just returned to his home department at Colorado College. Over
those eight years, I benefi ted from his friendship, his advice, and his
library. It is an honor for me to able to present this festschrift to him as
a humble token of my thanks for all that he did to help me become the
scholar I am.
I knew Dennis by reputation, of course, long before I came to
Colorado. I had read virtually everything he had written and admired
the logical, careful way Dennis had of analyzing diffi cult problems. His
Tannenberg: Clash of Empires and Railroads and Rifl es had become
must reads for anyone who wanted to understand warfare in the 19th
and 20th centuries. As I was to learn, however, Dennis’s interests ranged
well beyond military history, including a deep love of baseball (our
friendship has survived not only political disagreements, but his attach-
ment to the New York Yankees as well), country music, and even the
television program Buff y the Vampire Slayer, at a conference on which
Dennis once presented a paper.
At our fi rst meeting, a chance encounter in the hallway, Dennis
asked me what I was working on. I told him that my dissertation was
revised and about to be sent to Harvard University Press for considera-
tion. Dennis off ered to read it and I scurried back to my offi ce to get the
manuscript like a young undergraduate eager to show the professor
that I belonged in his class. Dennis had the manuscript back to me
within a few days with thoughtful commentary and suggestions. He
also attached a copy of the letter he had written to the press urging
them to publish the book. I soon came to depend on this kind of energy,
encouragement, and criticism from Dennis, who never shied away
from telling me where he thought I was wrong, but always at the same
time brought out the best in what I could write.