STQ16 Survey

Pre-Gunpowder

A1. The Two Thousand Year March: the Roman Army from Republic through Empire to Byzantium. The Roman army had an incredibly successful record, starting with the rise of the Republic (509 BC) through the Empire (27 BC), beyond the Fall (AD 476) to the final stand at Constantinople (AD 1453). This STQ will cover the reasons for the efficiency of the Roman military: the citizens-based military of the Republic; the professional force of the Empire; and the various developments of the Byzantine era. Each chapter will cover a different era, with an analysis of military organization, formations and tactics from legions to cataphracts. There will also be a new look at Roman logistics, intelligence operations and what today would be considered information operations, plus great Roman leaders (Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius, Belisarius and Alexios Komnenos); enemies (Hannibal, Vercingetorix, Attila the Hun, Alp Arslan); and the big battles (Cannae, Alesia, Campus Mauriacus, Manzikert). Joseph Miranda

A2. The Fall of Rome: A New Look. One of the most momentous events in history is the Fall of Rome, usually slated as occurring in the year AD 476. But what exactly happened? Why did the same Roman state which stood for a thousand years collapse in the face of a series of incursions from over the Rhine and Danube? This will look at a wide range of factors. The first is military, the state of the Roman army in the 5th century AD which was potentially a very effective force with an expanded cavalry army. The political structure of the Empire will be examined with the division between east and west, the stratification into a military caste system, and the increasing deals with invaders who were given their own kingdoms within the borders of the empire. Also, great leaders like Stilicho and Aetius, and even emperors such as Honorius (often blamed for the disasters of the early 5th century) and Zeno whose Eastern Empire survived the collapse in the West. Joseph Miranda

A3. Byzantium: A Military History of the Thousand Year Empire. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West in AD 476, a Roman power remained in the East, referred to by later historians as the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire during its opening centuries proved to be a military powerhouse, reconquering much of the West in 6th century, only to find itself engaged in a seemingly endless war with Islamic states to the east, mass migrations from the north, and attacks from rising powers in the West. This STQ will examine the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire, from the great days of Justinian and Belisarius through the warrior Emperors such as Leo the Isaurian to the era of the Crusades, and then the final centuries of decline, with the epic last stand at Constantinople in 1453. Among other things, the STQ will look at the Byzantine use of treachery as an instrument of warfare, and the rise of the dreaded cataphract cavalry. Also to be examined is the impact of the Byzantines on the rise of European military power. Joseph Miranda

A4. Charles Martel. Charles Martel was one of the most important military and political leaders in Western Europe between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Holy Roman Empire. During his time as Mayor of the Palace for the Frankish kingdoms, in a series of skillful military campaigns, he reestablished the Realm of the Franks from Bavaria through what is now France to the Atlantic coast. He also checked the expansion of the Muslim Moors into Western Europe. Charles managed to centralize control of the realm into his and his successors’ hands. His accomplishments established a strong military and political structure that he passed on to his descendants, including his grandson, Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. Yet, outside of his famous victory at Tours, Charles is a rather obscure figure to the general public. His life and achievements very much overshadowed by those of his famous grandson.

This work will examine how Charles, through his politico-military acumen, rose from illegitimate and disinherited son of the powerful statesmen, Pepin of Herstal, to the de-facto ruler of the Franks. Patrick Baker

A5. Six Ancient Battles That Changed History. This would provide analyses of a half-dozen crucial battles from the earliest era of military history. The emphasis would be on explaining the strategies that brought together the opposing armies at those particular times and places, their tactics and weaponry, the course of the fighting, and the immediate and longer-term effects the outcomes had on subsequent history. The battles would be: Uruk (2271 BC, Akkad vs. Sumer); Megiddo (1457 BC, Egypt vs. Canaan); Ten Kings (Aryans vs. Bharatas, 14th Century BC); Kadesh (1274 BC, Egypt vs. Hittites); Defeat of the Six Armies of the West (957 BC, Zhou Chinese vs. Chu Chinese) and Marathon (490 BC, Athens vs. Persia). Ty Bomba

Gunpowder

B1. English Civil War. The English Civil War was three separate spasms of conflict between factions supporting royal and Parliamentary supremacy in England. Additional short wars involved every part of the British Isles during the period 1639–1652, with ramifications in Europe and England’s burgeoning colonies in America. The wars occurred late in the Pike & Shot period of European warfare. By this time every army had adopted the Swedish model of small, maneuverable blocks of infantry and cavalry trained for the all out charge. This book will discuss the evolution of fighting styles prior to the wars, then examine the development of English armies through the period, culminating in the Parliamentary New Model Army. Christopher Perello

B2. Frederick the Great. The campaigns of King Frederick II were more than the zenith of 18th century warfare, they were a watershed in the history of Europe. They inaugurated a new pattern of military thinking—of total war for limited objectives—that would endure until 1916. The article would, on a chronological basis, describe Frederick’s military operations and battles of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), and the Seven Years War (1756–63). By the King’s death in 1786 Prussia had doubled its size and was overtaking Austria for leadership of the German speaking lands of Central Europe. The issue would include the military operations of Frederick during the period covered as well as, briefly, the King’s political and diplomatic motivations. Sidebars would provide portraits of the major military leaders of the contending powers in the conflicts, and the composition of the major armies (Prussia, Austria, Russia, France, England) which fought, along with tactics and weapons. Arnold Blumberg

B3. Forgotten Indian War: Seminole Wars. If asked what were the costliest Indian wars fought by America, most people would offer the Sioux Wars, or perhaps the Apache Wars, and they’d be mistaken. The most expensive Indian wars were the three Seminole Wars fought in Florida. The Second Seminole War alone lasted 7 years from 1835 to 1842, cost about 30 million dollars (more than the entire federal budget for just one of those years) and left some 1,500 soldiers and at least 1,400 warriors dead. This does not count the unknown number of non-combatants slaughtered on both sides. Yet, if the conflict is even mentioned his history books it is usually dealt with in one or two paragraphs. This in-depth look at this conflict will analyze the campaigns, outcomes, and effects. Patrick Baker

B4. Alternative Civil Wars. The start of the Civil War after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 now appears to be inevitable, but with only minor changes in the historical record it might have occurred after any election starting with that of 1852. This book will present three alternative starting points: 1852, 1856, and 1864. Each will be introduced by the string of events needed to touch off the conflict, then analyzed according to its likely course and outcome. Population and manpower calculations will be based on the set of states likely to secede. Campaigning will change over time due to the rapid expansion of railroads during the decade, opening up new regions to large armies but making their potential axes of advance more obvious. Battles will change as well, as the US Army adopted rifled muskets and true cavalry regiments during the 1850s. Christopher Perello

B5. Grant’s Overland Campaign, May-June, 1864. The Union Army of the Potomac’s hard fought campaign from the tangled forest of the wilderness just south of the Rapidan River to the James River in the spring and summer of 1864 was the climactic struggle in Virginia during the American Civil War. Hard fought military operations such as the Wilderness (May 5–6), Spotsylvania (May 7–12), the North Anna (May 13–25), and Cold Harbor (May 26–3) traced the bloody path that would ultimately lead Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to defend the Confederate capital of Richmond, thus forfeiting the advantage of maneuver which was vital if it was to counter the Army of the Potomac’s superiority in numbers and material. The issue would detail the major battles of Grant’s overland campaign. Orders of battle, tactics, and weapons would be included to show the reader how the armies of the American Civil War fought. The major Union and Rebel leaders involved in the campaign will be profiled with observations of their abilities and shortcomings. Arnold Blumberg

World Wars

C1. World War I: A Year-By-Year Strategic Analysis. Each of the yearly chapters would begin with a short recap of the strategic moves actually made by both sides during 1914–18. That would be followed by in depth analyses of the alternatives that were considered at the time and that have been debated ever since. You can’t understand why the belligerents did what they did until you understand the strategies they rejected. The central question being: given only what they knew then, could they have done better? Ty Bomba

C2. Wars of the Interwar Era: Prelude to World War II. The end of World War I in November 1918 did not see an end to the fighting as conflicts spread worldwide: the Russian Civil War and Bolshevik-Polish War, German Freikorps operations in Silesia and the Baltic States, the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War, the Japanese seizure of Manchuria, and much more. This STQ will cover these conflicts to include conventional, partisan and psychological warfare, and show how they created the path towards the strategies and tactics of World War II. Plus a look at interwar military planning such as the rise of the German Reichswehr, Soviet deep operations, and the US Rainbow war plans. Joseph Miranda

C3. Sealion: Lost Opportunity or Disaster Averted? Hitler’s Germany had achieved an unimaginably rapid victory over France in the spring of 1940 to gain complete domination of western Europe. Britain alone held out, secure—or so it seemed—behind the moat of the English Channel. German planners had already made preliminary studies for an invasion of the island, but these were more in the nature of contingency plans than serious operational proposals. That changed in July when Hitler called for an invasion—Operation Sealion—to be carried out that fall. This book will examine the inception, planning, preparations, and likelihood of success. The invasion will also be placed in the larger context of the war, to include the possibility the invasion was a bluff, either to push Britain to the negotiating table or distract the Soviet Union, plus proposed alternatives for defeating Britain such as the aero-naval blockade of Britain and Grand Admiral Raeder’s Mediterranean strategy. Christopher Perello

C4. What If Campaigns of World War II: Strategic Game Changers. What would have happened had the Germans launched their Sealion invasion of Britain in late 1940? What would have happened had the Axis invaded Malta in 1942? What would have happened if the Allies had invaded France in 1943? What if the Japanese had invaded Australia? This will examine various planned but never executed offensives of World War II, with each chapter covering a different campaign. There will be extensive analysis of the planning processes of each high command and the reasons for the strategic choices which were eventually made. Joseph Miranda

C5. Sicily 1943. The Anglo-American operational victory in Sicily during the summer of 1943 represented a significant step forward for Allied fortunes in the European Theatre of Operations in World War II. Yet, the decision to invade Sicily as part of the Allied grand strategy, and the resultant strategy and tactics employed by the British and Americans have been debated to the present day. Many German and Italian soldiers managed to get away with much of their equipment to live and fight another day in one of the most successful evacuations in modern military history. Jon Cecil

Cold War and Modern

D1. The 20 Best War Movies: Truths & Lies. The Internet Movie Database, better known as imdb.com maintains a list of the “20 best war movies of all time” based on those films’ awards and award nominations, their popularity and financial success, and their cinematic greatness from the creative-artistic perspective. Those films are, in order from top to bottom: Apocalypse Now, Schindler’s List, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, Patton, Platoon, Das Boot, Paths of Glory, Braveheart, The Great Escape, The Pianist, Letters from Iwo Jima, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Deer Hunter, Inglorious Basterds, The Dirty Dozen, From Here to Eternity, Stalag 17, Sergeant York, The Longest Day, The Thin Red Line, Hacksaw Ridge, and the Hurt Locker. This study would examine each of them from a purely military history and strategic-to-tactical analysis perspective in order to tell what they got right and what they got wrong. Ty Bomba

D2. The First Vietnam War. From 1946 to 1954, the French fought a long and ultimately doomed war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the end, they went down to defeat at Dien Bien Phu, but there are many lessons to be learned. The STQ will begin with the historical background of the French colonization of Indochina, the Japanese occupation of World War II and the rise of Ho Chi Minh, and then go into the course of the war. Special sections on French paratroopers and special forces, Viet Minh propaganda, and plans for US intervention. Also sections on alternative strategies for both sides, including what if the French had not committed themselves to fighting the final battle at Dien Bien Phu. Joseph Miranda

D3. Brushfire Wars 1946-90: Covert Campaigns of the Cold War. Throughout the Cold War, numerous small wars were fought which often proved decisive in the wider global struggle. This STQ will look at campaigns such as the Congo Crisis, Laotian civil war (to include US support for anti-communist forces), the Rhodesian Bush War, the Sandinista offensives in Nicaragua, the South African-Cuban campaign in Angola, the US intervention into Panama, and many more. It will include US doctrine and tactics for fighting what were termed “Brushfire Wars” as well as covert operations. There will be an extensive analysis for how their lessons can be applied to today’s conflicts in the arc of instability. Joseph Miranda

D4. October War: Big Battles in the Middle East. Some of the biggest tank battles of the 20th century occurred during the 1973 October War, where an Egyptian-Syrian alliance took on the Israelis. The Arab forces performed much better than they did in the previous 1967 war, and the STQ will look at the reasons why. It also will look at how the Israelis adopted new tactics to deal with the threats on the Sinai and Golan fronts. There are a number of lessons from the war, including the impact of precision guided weaponry and electronic warfare…all of which would influence the development of US AirLand Battle doctrine. There is also the bigger picture, with the 1973 seen as part of the wider Cold War. Special topics will include the US airlift of arms to Israel, and the possibility of the October War leading to a superpower confrontation. Frank Chadwick

D5. Wargaming and War: Predicting the Next Conflict. An examination of how wargames predicted the outcomes of various wars. Topics will include the rise of wargaming from ancient times to 21st century, the US Navy wargames of the 1920s and 1930s which led to the development of the successful War Plan Orange, Soviet wargames for a conflict with the Third Reich, the Japanese Midway wargame, operations analysis and postwar gaming for the Pentagon, the Vietnam SIGMA games, and Millennium Challenge and other games involving the Persian Gulf conflicts. There will be a section showing how wargames are designed and utilized. Profiles will include game theory greats such as nuclear strategist Herman Kahn and the rise of civilian sector wargaming. Joseph Miranda