Over one hundred and eighty thousand black men fought for the Union during America's Civil War. From infantrymen, to artillerist and cavalry soldiers, these soldiers combined to form one hundred and sixty-six Union regiments. On 29 October 1862 at Island Mound, Missouri, the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, an infantry regiment comprised mainly of blacks from Kansas and Missouri, became the first black regiment to experience combat during the Civil War. Their courage and outstanding performance in battle, as recorded, are unquestioned. What have been omitted from research thus far are their...

This book examines the use of artillery by the Union Army of the Cumberland during the Battle of Chickamauga on 19 and 20 September, 1863. The book methodology is an analysis of the terrain, technology, tactics, organization for combat, and leadership during the battle. This book shows that the Union did not employ artillery effectively due to poor organization for combat and failure of leaders to use the weapons systems in accordance with their strengths. The failure to plan for artillery use on 20 September directly led to weakness on the left flank, which the Confederates exploited. The...

While hundreds of volumes exist on the Gettysburg Campaign, most examine the battle's tactical framework and focus on the activities of brigades and regiments. However, of more interest to the serving military professional may be an analysis of the degree to which the Confederacy's design and execution exemplify attributes of what is now known as the operational art. This monograph provides just such a study. The importance of the operational level of war and its supporting art cannot be overstated. Only with a recognition of this level between those of strategy and tactics and a mastery of...

This book examines the Battle of Hampton Roads, 8 and 9 March 1862, the first battle of ironclads, to determine if it was a Revolution in Military Affairs. This book is an analysis of naval developments prior to March 1862, the battle, and the impact the battle had on the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy from 1862 to 1871. The battle signaled the end of the wooden warship era when the CSS Virginia destroyed two wooden warships on 8 March 1862. The USS Monitor influenced a change in naval design, which led the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy to build turreted warships, which culminated in the...

Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 irrevocably changed the European geopolitical framework. After 1935, Mussolini would come increasingly under Hitler's influence. Hitler would also begin to free Germany from the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and Anglo-French encirclement. Using 1935 as a point of departure, this book traces the development of the Italo-German coalition, its strategic interests, outlook, commonalities, and areas of contention. The advance of Italo-German interests during from 1935 to the beginning of the Second World War--an era characterized by the Great...

The German General Staff launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 assuming the eastern campaign would last only three months. However, within six months after the initiation of hostilities the Red Army blunted the Wehrmacht's attack outside the gates of Moscow, Operation Barbarossa had failed. Although a long standing and professional organization the German General Staff failed to achieve strategic success, despite significant success during the early stages of the campaign. Adolf Hitler's national goal of Russian extermination exceeded the German Army's capabilities. The war lasted nearly...

SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Jochen Peiper was one of Germany's most colorful military leaders of World War II with an audacious reputation. The name Peiper will always be linked to the Malmedy Massacre, the death of Belgian civilians and more than seventy American soldiers, but there is still a myth around Peiper. Why was a twenty-nine year old Waffen-SS officer chosen to lead the German spearhead unit during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944? Peiper was a special leader within the one of the most elite Waffen-SS divisions, the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler. Peiper was charismatic and...

Today's most talked about subject is "terrorism," described as the greatest threat to the peace-loving world and humanity. The world is busy with vigor to end this menace and to make the world a more peaceful and safer place. The current war against terrorism is being fought on military, political, social, economic, and educational fronts with the primary focus on the military element. Though terrorism is a threat for all societies as well as faiths, a proactive campaign to combat this menace by the West, in general, and United States of America, in particular, has created some...

There are literally hundreds of factions in various countries all over the world that support or have religious ideologies that are considered extreme. They are extreme because they conduct or sponsor violent acts and because they seek to undermine the legitimacy of a nation's government while instilling fear in the hearts and minds of the population. These factions or groups have often used a distorted view of religion to propagate their agenda. At the top of the agenda for some and one of the greatest concerns for America is transnational terrorism and those that use extremist religious...

The events of 11 September 2001 have thrust the United States to the forefront of the international struggle against terrorism. Terror is no longer a retail business; al-Qaeda has taken it to the wholesale level. In the past, as in the earlier history of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the purpose of terrorists was indeed to create fear, but also to achieve political aims of a limited nature. Even when they were at their most murderous, the IRA remained politicians, albeit criminal ones. They had their political objective, a united Ireland, and they had political constituencies to maintain,...