AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY

Maurice Matloff
General Editor
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, DC 1969


Contents

Foreword iii
OCMH Contributors ix
Preface v
Chapter Page
1. INTRODUCTION 1
    What Is Military History? 1
    Theory and Practice of War 4
    The American Military System 13
2. THE BEGINNINGS 18
    The European Heritage 18
    Eighteenth Century European Wafrare 21
    The Colonial Scene 26
    Colonial Militia 28
    The Colonies in teh World Conflict, 1689-1783 30
    The American Rifle 38
    The Colonial Heritage 39
3. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: FIRST PHASE 41
    The Outbreak 42
    Formation of the Continental Army 46
    he Invasion of Canada and the Fall of Boston 50
    The New Nation 52
    Evolution of the Continental Army 55
    The British Problem 58
    Of Strategy 61
    The British Offensive in 1776 62
    Trenton and Princeton 67
4. THE WINNING OF INDEPENDENCE, 1777-1783 70
    The Campaign of 1777 70
    Valley Forge 79
    First Fruits of the French Alliance 81
    The New Conditions of the War 84
    British Successes in the South 85
    Nadir of the American Cause 88
    Greene's Southern Campaign 90
    Yorktown: The Final Act 93
    The Summing Up: Reasons, lessons, and Meaning 98
5. 101
    The Question of a Peacetime Army 101
    Toward a More Perfect Union 105
    The Militia 108
    Military Realities in teh Federalist Period 109
    The Indian Expeditions 110
    The Perils of Neutrality 114
    The Quasi War With France 115
    Defense Under Jefferson 117
    The Army and Westward Expansion 118
    American Reaction to the Napoleonic Wars 120
6. 122
    Origins of the War 122
    The Opposing Forces 123
    The Strategic Pattern 126
    The First Campaigns 127
    The Second Year, 1813 130
    The Last Year of the War, 1814 140
    New Orleans: The Final Battle 144
7. 148
    Toward a Professional Army 148
    The War Hatchet Raised in Florida 151
    John C. Calhoun and the War Department 154
    Pioneering in the West 157
    The Second Seminole War 159
    Westeward Expansion and the Texas Issue 161
8. 163
    The Period of Watchful Waiting 163
    The Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma 164
    War Is Declared 166
    The Monterrey Campaign 168
    The Battle of Beuna Vista 171
    The Landing at Vera Cruz 174
    The Battle of Cerro Gordo 175
    Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec 176
    Occupation and Negotiation in Mexico City 178
    The Army on the New Frontier 179
    Increasing the Peacetime Army 180
    Weapons and Tactics on the Eve of the Civil War 181
9. 184
    Secession, Sumter, and Standing to Arms 184
    The Opponents 192
    Manassas (Bull Run) 196
    The Second Uprising in 1861 202
10. 209
    The Twin Rivers Campaign 209
    The Capture of Forst Henry and Donelson 211
    Confederate Counterattack at Shiloh 212
    Perryville to Stones River 215
    The Army of the Potomac Moves South 219
    Jackson's Valley Campaign 220
    The Peninsular Campaign: Fair Oaks 221
    The Seven Days' Battle 223
    Second Manassas 224
    Lee Invades Maryland 227
    Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation 229
    Fiasco at Fredericksburg 230
    West of the Mississippi 232
11. 236
    Confusion Over Clearing the Mississippi 236
    Grant's Campaign Against Vicksburg 237
    Hooker Crosses the Rappahannock 241
    Chancellorsville: Lee's Finest Battle 245
    Lee's Second Invasion of the North 246
    Gettysburg 249
    The Chickamauga Campaign 254
    Grant at Chattanooga 257
12. 262
    Strategy of Annihilation and Unity of Command 262
    Lee Cornered at Richmond 266
    Sherman's Great Wheel to the East 270
    Thomas Protects the Nashville Base 274
    Lee's Last 100 Days 275
    Dimensions of the War 278
13. 281
    Demobilization, Reorganization, and the French Threat in Mexico 281
    Reconstruction 283
    Domestic Disturbances 285
    The National Guard Movement 287
    Isolation and Professional Development 2
    Line and Staff 2
    Technical Development 2
    Civil Accomplishment 2
14. 300
    The Setting and the Challenge 300
    The Bozeman Trail 306
    The Southern Plains 308
    The Northwest 311
    The Southwest 313
    The Northern Plains 315
15. 319
    A New Manifest Destiny 319
    Trouble in Cuba 320
    Mobilizing for War 322
    Victory at Sea: Naval Operations in the Caribbean and Pacific 326
    Operations in the Caribbean 327
    The Battle of Santiago 332
    The Fall of Manila 335
    The Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1902 337
    The Boxer Uprising 339
16. TRANSITION AND CHANGE, 1902-1917 343
    Modernizing the Armed Forces 343
    Reorganization of the Army: Establishment of the General Staff 346
    Reorganization of the Army: The Regular Army and the Militia 350
    Caribbean Problems and Projects 352
    The Army on the Mexican Border 354
17. 358
    How War Came in Europe 358
    The Early Campaigns 359
    The Impact of the War on the United States 364
    The National Defense Act of 1916 366
    The War in 1916 368
    An End to Neutrality 369
    A Year of Crisis in Europe 370
    The United States Prepares for War 372
    Changes in the Army High Command 379
18. 381
    Training and Organizing U.S. Troops 381
    Pressure From French and British 383
    The German Offensive, March 1918 384
    Unity of Command 387
    The Lys Offensive, April 1918 388
    The Aisne Offensive, May 1918 389
    The German Offensive, June 1918 391
    A Growing American Force 391
    The Last German Offensive, July 1918 392
    Allied Counteroffensive 393
    A Separate American Army 394
    The Somme Offensive 396
    The St. Mihiel Offensive 396
    The Meuse-Argonne Offensive 398
    The German Surrender 403
19. 405
    Demobilization 405
    Immediate Duties 406
    Reorganization Under the National Defense Act of 1920 407
    Regular Army Strength and Support 409
    Civilian Components 411
    Domestic Employment 412
    National and Military Policy 414
    The Army Strengthened 415
    The Beginnings of World War II 417
    The Prewar Mobilization 418
    Toward War 420
20. WORLD WAR II: THE DEFENSIVE PHASE 423
    The Outbreak of War: Action and Reaction 423
    Fall of th22e Philippines 4
    Deploying American Military Strength 435
    Planning for a Cross-Channel Invasion 440
    Torch Replaces Sledgehammer-Roundup 443
    End of the Defensive Stage 444
21. GRAND STRATEGY AND THE WASHINGTON HIGH COMMAND 446
    Strategic Planning for Offensive Warfare: Midwar 446
    Completing54 the Strategic Patterns 4
    Expansion and Distribution of the Wartime Army 458
    Balancing Means and Ends 467
22. WORLD WAR II: THE WAR AGAINST GERMANY AND ITALY 473
    The North African Campaign, november 1942-May 1943 473
    The Tunisia Campaign 476
    The Sicily Campaign, July-August 1943 478
    The Surrender of Italy 480
    The Italian Campaign, September 1943-May 1945 480
    Cross-Channel Attack 483
    Build-up and Breakout 488
    Invasion of Southern France 490
    Pursuit to the Frontier 490
    The Ardennes Counteroffensive 493
    The Russian Campaigns 495
    The Final Offensive 495
    The Situation on V-E Day 497
23. WORLD WAR II: THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN 499
    Japan's Strategy 499
    Guadalcanal and Papua: The First Offensives 503
    Search for a Strategy 506
    Cartwheel: The Encirclement of Rabaul 509
    The Central Pacific Drive Begins 510
    Acceleration of the Pacific Drive 512
    The Decision To Invade Luzon 51
    The Philippines Campaign 516
    Iwo Jima and Okinawa 521
    The American Effort in China, Burma, and India 522
    The Japanese Surrender 525
    Retrospect 526
24. 529
    Demobilization 530
    Unification 531
    Occupation 533
    The Rise of a New Opponent 535
    The Trends of Military Policy 538
    The Army of 1950 540
    The Cold War Intensifies 542
25. 545
    The Decision for War 545
    South to the Naktong 548
    North to the Parallel 553
    North to the Yalu 555
    The New War 559
    The Static War 565
    The Aftermath 569
26. 572
    Massive Retaliation and the New Look 527
    The NATO Build-up 574
    Continental Defense 575
    The Missile Era 576
    Challenges and Responses 578
    The Miltary Budget 581
    Defense Reorganization 582
    The Dual Capability Army 583
    The Reserve Forces 588
27. 591
    The Changing Face of the Cold War 591
    Cuba and Berlin 593
    Detente in Europe 596
    The Growing Commitment in Underdeveloped Areas 598
    Trouble in the Caribbean 599
    Civil Rights and Civil Disturbances 600
    Secretary mcNamara and the New Management System 603
    Army Reorganization 606
    Tactical Readjustment for Flexible Response 608
    The Reserve Forces and the Draft 612
    Problems and Prospects 616
28. 619
    Role of the United States Through the Geneva Accords 619
    Early Growth of the Insurgency 622
    Limited Increase in U.S. Commitment 624
    Growing U.S. Commitment 628
    Logistical Build-up 629
    Early U.S. Operations 631
    The Nature of the War 633
    The Military Campaign 636
    The Pacification Program 639
    The Military Campaign in 1967 641
    The Tet Offensive--1968 643
    Invasions of Cambodia and Laos 645
649
   

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All illustrations are from Department of Defense files except the following: the picture on page 36 was obtained from the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the National Archives furnished the pictures on pages 145, 190, 191, 210, 226, 259, 278, 312, 314, 329, 356, 378, 394, 395, and 397.



Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey, HyperWar Foundation