Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/24683302-03801001
Bastian Matteo Scianna
The conflict between Italy and Ethiopia in 1935–36 has been framed as a prelude to the Second World War and as a watershed towards ‘Total War’. One perspective has so far been neglected: the assessments of foreign military observers. This article examines American, British, German, and Austrian views on the operations and thereby also analyses the mindset of European officers at the time. The core argument emerging from these reports is that the war was perceived as a rather ‘normal’ colonial conflict. Neither the use of gas, nor the employment of aircraft against civilians was seen as a taboo or created significant outrage among the military observers. Instead, they lauded the Italians’ steady logistical efforts and employment of artillery and airpower to overcome nature and the enemy’s resistance.
{"title":"A Prelude to Total War? The Abyssinian War (1935–36) in the Eyes of Foreign Military Observers","authors":"Bastian Matteo Scianna","doi":"10.1163/24683302-03801001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24683302-03801001","url":null,"abstract":"The conflict between Italy and Ethiopia in 1935–36 has been framed as a prelude to the Second World War and as a watershed towards ‘Total War’. One perspective has so far been neglected: the assessments of foreign military observers. This article examines American, British, German, and Austrian views on the operations and thereby also analyses the mindset of European officers at the time. The core argument emerging from these reports is that the war was perceived as a rather ‘normal’ colonial conflict. Neither the use of gas, nor the employment of aircraft against civilians was seen as a taboo or created significant outrage among the military observers. Instead, they lauded the Italians’ steady logistical efforts and employment of artillery and airpower to overcome nature and the enemy’s resistance.","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/24683302-03801001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41414906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/24683302-03801004
Bria Smith
This article argues that the new war thesis has promulgated at least two dogmas that permeate present day military ethical discourse. First, since the early 20th century, civilian casualties have gradually come to represent an increasing percentage of the overall casualties in warfare. The second dogma is that there has been an increase in ‘risk-transfer war’, which assumes that governments are more willing to risk the lives of noncombatants than the lives of their soldiers. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate why these empirical claims are problematic. First, we do not yet have the kind of reliable data that would allow us to make accurate claims about trends in civilian casualties. And secondly, a cursory glance at the history of warfare provides us with numerous examples of risk transfer.
{"title":"Two Dogmas of the New War Thesis","authors":"Bria Smith","doi":"10.1163/24683302-03801004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24683302-03801004","url":null,"abstract":"This article argues that the new war thesis has promulgated at least two dogmas that permeate present day military ethical discourse. First, since the early 20th century, civilian casualties have gradually come to represent an increasing percentage of the overall casualties in warfare. The second dogma is that there has been an increase in ‘risk-transfer war’, which assumes that governments are more willing to risk the lives of noncombatants than the lives of their soldiers. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate why these empirical claims are problematic. First, we do not yet have the kind of reliable data that would allow us to make accurate claims about trends in civilian casualties. And secondly, a cursory glance at the history of warfare provides us with numerous examples of risk transfer.","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/24683302-03801004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43840975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/24683302-03801007
{"title":"Table of Contents","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/24683302-03801007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24683302-03801007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/24683302-03801007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41935573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/22115757-03401002
{"title":"Bibliographical Records","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/22115757-03401002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22115757-03401002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22115757-03401002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44118454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/24683302-03801002
Evert Kleynhans
The Italian declaration of war in June 1940 placed the British possessions in East Africa under threat of invasion from the neighbouring Italian colonies. In July 1940, the Italians launched limited offensives towards the frontiers of Kenya and the Sudan, and completely overran British Somaliland by August. By November 1940 the First South African Division (1st sa Div) deployed to the Northern Frontier District (nfd) of Kenya, ready to launch offensive operations into Southern Abyssinia against the Mega-Moyale complex. The South African belief in mobile warfare found expression in the ensuing operation, where Maj Gen George E. Brink, the Division’s commander, essentially manoeuvred to fight during the offensive operations. This article critically discusses the objectives allotted to Brink for his offensive operations in Southern Abyssinia. The objectives allocated to the Division are measured against the overall successes of the South African operations in the south of Abyssinia during 1941.
{"title":"The South African Offensive Operations in Southern Abyssinia, 1940–1941","authors":"Evert Kleynhans","doi":"10.1163/24683302-03801002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24683302-03801002","url":null,"abstract":"The Italian declaration of war in June 1940 placed the British possessions in East Africa under threat of invasion from the neighbouring Italian colonies. In July 1940, the Italians launched limited offensives towards the frontiers of Kenya and the Sudan, and completely overran British Somaliland by August. By November 1940 the First South African Division (1st\u0000sa Div) deployed to the Northern Frontier District (nfd) of Kenya, ready to launch offensive operations into Southern Abyssinia against the Mega-Moyale complex. The South African belief in mobile warfare found expression in the ensuing operation, where Maj Gen George E. Brink, the Division’s commander, essentially manoeuvred to fight during the offensive operations. This article critically discusses the objectives allotted to Brink for his offensive operations in Southern Abyssinia. The objectives allocated to the Division are measured against the overall successes of the South African operations in the south of Abyssinia during 1941.","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/24683302-03801002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47750638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-06-11DOI: 10.1163/24683302-03801005
J. Honig
{"title":"France 1940: Defending the Republic, written by Nord, Philip","authors":"J. Honig","doi":"10.1163/24683302-03801005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24683302-03801005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40173,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Military History and Historiography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/24683302-03801005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41552531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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