New military history research: British imperial policing, Vikings in medieval England

From Armed Forces & Society, an abstract on a study comparing US small wars with British colonial wars and imperial policing

 British Second World War poster

*

From the Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, an abstract on a study of the acculturation of Scandinavian Vikings from the ninth and tenth centuries in England 

 Stonecross from St. Andrew's, Middleton, Ryedale, North Yorkshire. Late 9th/early 10th century Viking art

 

1904 - Famous Men of the Middle Ages - Danish Vikings invade England in the 870's

New military history research: Native Americans in Massachusetts, WWII Guam, Kenya conflict

From the American Indian Quarterly, an excerpt of an article on how Native American used Christianity to ally themselves with English colonists and protect against attacks and territorial loss in southeastern Massachusetts

 King Philip's War - Capture of Brookfield, Massachusetts

 *

From Asian Perspectives, an abstract on the archaeological study of caves on the island of Guam used by WWII Japanese stragglers who waged guerrilla warfare against the United States and a study of the application of Japanese Bushido in this situation

 Japanese Prisoner of War at Guam, with bowed head after hearing Emperor Hirohito make announcement of Japan's unconditional surrender - August 15, 1945

 *

From the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, an abstract on the disbursement of British development funding to Kenya during the Mau Mau conflict of the 1940s and 50s and its effect on the Kikuyu and Kamba peoples 

 The crew of Avro Lincoln SX984 49 Squadron RAF taken in Kenya in late 1954 or early 1955

New military history research: Celts, West New Guinea 1955, WWI Australia, Nigeria-Biafra War

From Bryn Mawr Classical Review, a full review of a book discussing whether the Celts migrated west to east or east to west in Europe

 "Bear us swiftly, Boat of Mananan, to the Garden of the Hesperides" The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland, by T. W. Rolleston, et al, Illustrated by Stephen Reid

 

 Gauls in view of Rome  by Evariste-Vital Luminais (Nantes, 1822 - Paris, 1896)

 *

From the Journal of Transatlantic Studies, an abstract discussing the way NATO helped support Portuguese colonial policies in West New Guinea in 1955

 *

From the Oral History Association of Australia Journal, an abstract on the study of the Cheer-Up Society of the First World War in South Australia

Australian World War I era propaganda cartoon by Norman Lindsay, between 1914 and 1918

 1915 - Cooee marchers from Gilgandra, WWI recruiting march, the first of the WW1 Snowball marches

*

 An abstract on a study done of the oral histories of disabled veterans of the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970

 Photo of General Benjamin Adekunle - a hero of the Nigerian Civil War

New military history research: 1972 Mozambique massacre, terrorism, the 1648 Siege of Colchester, WWI novels, Native American wars, the discovery of New Zealand

From Civil Wars, an abstract discussing a study of the Mozambique Wiriyamu Massacre of 1972

 *

An abstract of a historical study on domestic terrorism from 1985 to 2010 in democracies 

 *

In postmedieval, an abstract on the 1648 Siege of Colchester and desecration of a family tomb by parliamentarian soldiers

 *

In First World War Studies, an abstract on a study of German women’s fiction during WWI that addresses loss of loved ones shows an inconsistent approach of how the writers dealt with this issue

 

 Priest tending the wounded in a German hospital train. Picture by Felix Schwormstädt, German painter who created illustrations of the first world war for the German magazine "Illustrierte Zeitung". 

 *

In Settler Colonial Studies, an abstract on how the wars and conflicts between North American settlers and Native Americans shaped current US ideas about war 

 *

From the Journal of Archaeological Science, an abstract concerning the discovery of a shipwreck off New Zealand that provides indications of a previously unknown European journey of exploration or trade in the South Pacific area between Tasman’s 1642 voyage and Cook’s 1769 voyage

 Isaack Gilsemans, December 18, 1642 - "A view of the Murderers' Bay, as you are at anchor here in 15 fathom", a drawing by Abel Tasman's artist on the occasion of a skirmish between the Dutch explorers and Māori people at what is now called Golden Bay, New Zealand. This is the first European impression of Māori people.

Older military history research: Varangian guard and Byzantine era seige warfare

An article published in 1998 on the uses of the Varangian Guard

                        

13th century - The Battle of Stamford Bridge and the death of Harald Hardrada (wielding a battleaxe)

*

A short note and summary of a doctoral thesis on the strategy and tactics of siege warfare in  the early Byzantine period

Diagram of a trebuchet, from the Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIe au XVe siècle (1854–1868)

New military history research: The US Marine Corps in Vietnam

In The Small Wars Journal, a short article on the USMC Combined Action Program used during the Vietnam War.  The comments following the article are almost as instructive as the article itself on a few points.

 May 5, 1966 - Operation Georgia--Marines blow up bunkers and tunnels used by the Viet Cong

New military history research: US Civil War Camp Lawton, the Second Florida Union Cavalry

The winter 2013-14 issue of American Archaeology has an article providing an overview of the archaeology work being done at the US Civil War Confederate prison Camp Lawton.   

The infamous camp at Andersonville had become too crowded and diseased so the CSA built Camp Lawton in Georgia in 1864.  However, Atlanta fell soon after completion of the prison so only about 10,000 prisoners were transferred there for at most six weeks.  The camp was once the world’s largest prison but because of its short life and quick destruction, there’s not much to show for it.


However, recent excavations of the site have revealed a huge amount of information on the site and the Civil War in general.  Building foundations have been found.  Wall locations have been mapped and artifacts of the Confederate prison keepers and Union prisoners have been found and the work is ongoing.  Ground penetrating radar and magnetometer surveys are being done to locate other locations of interest within the site.  Archaeologists have even been able to distinguish between structures built by slaves and those built by prisoners based on various clues uncovered during their research. 


A fascinating article that should be read by anyone interested in the US Civil War or 19^th century warfare.

 Andersonville Prison, Ga., August 17, 1864--Southwest view of stockade showing the dead-line

 *

Here's an interesting article on a Union unit formed in Florida.  I didn't realize that during the Civil War, the federal government formed Union units in Florida but then again I never looked that deeply into it.  

Major General Daniel P Woodbury - Commandant of Key West and Tortugas during the US Civil War - He had Fort Myers taken to disrupt Confederate food logistics.

New military history research: WWII British colonial rule in Hong Kong

From the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, an abstract on the WWII Stanley Internment Camp in Hong Kong and discussions about British colonial rule following WWII

 

August-September 1945 - Emaciated internee, Miss Wendy Rossini, at Stanley Civil Internment Camp in Hong Kong, photographed after liberation in 1945 and showing the small quantity of rice and stew which served as rations for five people.

New military history research: Greek wars of independence in the 19th century and the Imperial cult in Cyprus

From the Historical Review, an article on the contribution of British economic expansion to the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s

 Painting of Antonis Oikonomou, hero of the Greek War of Independence, who started the revolution in the island of Ydra

N. Mitropoulos hoists the flag at Salona. Scene from the early stages of the Greek War of Independence by Louis Dupre

 *

An article on regime change in the Ionian state and the Kingdom of Greece in the 1850s and the tensions between the British and Ottoman Empires in this period

 1868 -Bashi-Bazouk Singing by Jean-Leon Gerome

 An Albanian soldier, called an Arnaut, is seated beside his hookah (water pipe), playing an oud (a lute-like instrument) accompanied by the cawing of a pet raven perched on its cage. Seated in the background are three Bashi-Bazouks, or members of the Ottoman Empire's irregular troops, who were noted for their ferocity. 

 The valiant revolutionary Yero Tsiamis of Chalkidiki - 1854. Publish in Greece of Macedonia during Ottoman rule

* 

An article discussing European merchant networks and the effects on these networks by such influences as Napoleon’s Continental System

* 

From the Bryn Mawr Classical Review, a review of a book dealing with the Imperial cult in Roman Cyprus and its arguments that the Roman emperors were not venerated above local Greek gods

New military history research: Ancient California violence, movies about WWI, the First Sino-Japanese War and the founding of Rome and Sri Lanka

Warscholar.org 

 

In the Journal of Anthropological, an abstract on a study of violence among the ancient to modern people of central California from 500 BC to AD 1899

 *

In the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, an abstract on a study of two films about WWI British Forces in the Middle East

 1918(?) - Portrait of Lieutenant W Hudson Fysh of 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, in front of his Nieuport Scout aircraft. While an observer with 1 Squadron in the Middle East during WWI, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross; after the war he was allowed to qualify as a pilot (the period during which this photograph was taken).

 *

In the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, an abstract on how two Chinese newspapers vied for readership during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)

 1894 - A battle scene during the Sino-Japanese War by artist Toyohara Chikanobu

1895 - Sino-Japanese War: Severe Battle of our army at Waihaiwei by artist Toshiaki 

 Korean soldiers and Chinese captives in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)

 *

An abstract comparing the foundation myths of Sri Lanka and Rome

New military history research: The Zimbabwe War of Liberation, South African military history and naval history

Warscholar.org

 

From the Small Wars Journal, an article on Zimbabwe’s War of Liberation and the use of propaganda and violence in that conflict

*

From the Scientia Militaria, a variety of military history articles with these three notable ones:

An article discussing the merits of some books on the South African Border War of 1966 to 1990

An article on the South African War, 1899-1902, and the use of black auxiliaries in that conflict

ca. 1899 - Remains of the armoured train ambushed by General Louis Botha's Commando near the Blaauw Kranz River, Natal, on 15 November 1899. The grave of four members of the Border Regiment killed in the attack can be seen in the left middle distance.

An article on the SAS Drackensburg, its construction, use, and its role in presenting South African naval capabilities to the world

New military history research: Ancient China, Chinese chariots, Italian chariots, English Civil War, Mongol Invasion, the Crusaders and the Portugal-Angola War

Chinese Archaeology provides an abstract of chariot and horse pit excavations in China, with the pits dating to the mid Warring-States Period of China (5^th – 3^rd centuries BC)

*

An abstract on bronze casting remains from the Western Zhou Dynasty in China (11^th-8^th centuries BCE) including castings for daggers and chariot items  

 Bronze Age Dagger, Eastern Zhou Dynasty - Warring States Period; Excavated at Xinzheng, Henan Province, 1971

Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

*

An abstract that discusses excavations of a prehistoric settlement in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China, revealing city walls and moats among other items

*

An abstract on excavations of Chinese Han Dynasty (3^rd century BC to 3^rd century AD) tombs including mention of chariot-and-horse pits and weaponry pits

Rubbing detail of chariots and horses in Stone Chamber 1 of the "Wu Family Shrines" in Shandong Province, China, dated to the 2nd C AD, made during the Eastern Han Dynasty

*

An abstract on excavations of the Wei Dynasty (4^th-6^th centuries AD) Palace City discussing palace wall structures

*

An abstract on research done to understand the construction of chariots in the Warring States Period of China

*

An abstract of a discussion of China in 4000 BCE and powerful cultural expansions at the time 

 *

A full review of a book on chariots and wheeled vehicles in Italy prior to the Roman Empire

*

A partial review of a book on England shortly after the 17^th century civil wars

*

In the Mediterranean Historical Review, an abstract discussing the effects of the 13^th century Mongol Invasions on the Aegean World

1358 - The Mongols in Hungary 1285. Hungary. Ink and paint on pergament. Széchényi National Library, Budapest, fol. 64 verso, Inv. no. Clmae 404 (the picture is of a 19th century reproduction). From the Chronicum Pictum in Hungary's National Library. The dismounted Mongols, with captured women, are on the left, the Hungarians, with one saved woman, on the right.

*

 

A partial review of a translation of a 13^th century treatise on how the Christian World could defeat the Saracens and retake the Holy Land

*

In the African Historical Review, a partial review of a book on the Portuguese War in Angola 1961-1974

1954/1956 - Example of a Lockheed P2V-5 (P-2E) used in Portugal's colonial wars in Africa

New military history research: German meat war, Japanese WWII naval pilot, colonial East Africa, WWII sunken ships, Australian prison hulks and a WWII Catalina flying boat report

In the European Review of History, an abstract on the 'meat war' of Germany in 1912, a food riot that occurred shortly before WWI.

*

An article from Penn History Review on British missionary activities in colonial East Africa.

*

An abstract from the AIMA Bulletin on the identification of the grave of a Japanese WWII Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 naval pilot and fighter ace Osamu Kudo in Australia.

Imperial Japanese Navy fighter ace Osamu Kudō, credited with destroying 7 enemy aircraft. This photo was taken in 1938 or 1939 while Kudō was serving on the aircraft carrier Kaga.

An A6M2 Model 21 Zero launches from the carrier Shokaku on October 26, 1942 during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands while deck crewmen cheer on the pilot, Lieutenant Hideki Shingo, Zero group leader.

*

An abstract on a recent search for sunken buried and buried prison hulks in Melbourne, Australia 

*

An abstract on Australian cooperation with other countries on managing sunken wrecks specifically US naval vessels USS Lexington, USS Sims and USS Neosho.

USS Lexington (CV-2), burning and sinking after her crew abandoned ship during the Battle of Coral Sea, 8 May 1942

USS Sims (DD-409) off the Kennebec River, Maine, during her builder's trials, 6 July 1939.  She is flying the flag of Bath Iron Works, her builder, at the foremast peak.  The Mark 37 main gun battery director has not yet been installed.

USS Neosho, navy oil tanker, cautiously backs away from her berth (right center) in a successful effort to escape the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. At left the battleship USS California lists after aerial blows. Other crippled warships and part of the hull of the capsized USS Oklahoma may be seen in the background. The Neosho was later sunk in the Coral Sea.

*

An abstract on the detailed report covering the 2008 discovery of one of the USN Patrol Wing-10 Catalina flying boats sunk during the first Japanese air raid in Darwin, Northern Territory, on 19 February 1942.

 The explosion of an oil storage tank and clouds of smoke from other tanks, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australia's mainland, at Darwin on February 19, 1942. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage.

New military history research: Ancient Tibetan microblades, Vietnam resistance to France and two person zero sum games

Geoarchaeology provides an abstract of current research into microblades found in the Zhongba archaeological site in southwestern Tibet

1938 - Tibet expedition, Ruine Jalung Podrang

Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 135-BB-160-12 / Beger, Bruno / CC-BY-SA

*

The Journal of Vietnamese Studies tells us about the life of a Vietnamese WWII era glamorous film star who had an extensive dossier kept on her by the French because of her resistance activities 

"The Allied Reoccupation of French Indo-china, 1945"
Japanese soldiers form a guard of honour at the quayside in Saigon as British warships come alongside to land troops of the occupation force.

 "A French Foreign Legionnaire in Indochina. In the background is a M24 Chaffee light tank."
Original description: A French Foreign Legionnaire goes to war along the dry rib of a rice paddy, during a recent sweep through communist-held areas in the Red River Delta, between Haiphong and Hanoi. Behind the Legionnaire is a U.S. gifted tank. Pix., ca. 1954.

*

And finally (less of history and more of operations) Naval Research Logistics discusses two-person zero-sum games and fire allocation in such a situation.

New military history research: China 6-7th Centuries and a 19th century shipwreck

Abstract of a study of 7th and 8th century Chinese Tang negative attitudes towards "barbarians" and how they were used to justify war

 1669 - The Twenty-Four Ministers of the T'ang Dynasty Emperor Taizong

*

Also, a partial review of a narrative of an 1829 French shipwreck off the coast of South Africa

Archaeology of the site of the 208 BC Battle of Baecula

The January 2014 issue of Archaeology has a fascinating article about the Roman-Carthaginian Battle of Baecula of 208 BC in Spain.  Two Spanish archaeologists found the site of the battle a few years ago through detective work and have over the course of several field sessions unearthed many artifacts relating to the battle. 

Their research has confirmed much of the strategy and tactics described by ancient historians Polybius and Livy.  The various spearheads, javelins, darts, good luck amulets and other items confirm the intensity and carnage of the battle.

More interesting still, the writings of Polybius and Livy have apparently not been measured against the archaeological record before.  The finds have confirmed much of what they described, including many small details. 

It is an article worth reading if you are interested in ancient archeology, Rome, Carthage, the Punic Wars or ancient warfare in general.

 Hasdrubal Barca, younger brother of Hannibal, and Carthaginian leader at the Batlle of Baecula

A paper written in 2009 on the find may be found here

 

Michael Imperioli served in WWII?

Not really but it sure looks a lot like him.

Received November 27, 1943 from the US Navy.
Navy Shore Patrol, Chicago, Illinois.
Two S.P. guards handling a drunken sailor.
(My guess is this was a staged photo)

Lost WWII bomber crew

This article covers an NPR interview with an author who studied the crash of a WWII bomber during the war and the search for the crew.

http://wfae.org/post/scientists-scuba-trip-sparks-search-vanished-wwii-plane

"Army Boots and Army Wings" Exhibit

Pearson Air Museum, Oregon
http://www.pearsonairmuseum.org/
"Army Boots and Army Wings"
WWI and WWII artifacts from Fort Vancouver
March 29, 2013 to about March 28, 2014
http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/mar/29/army-boots-and-army-wings-bookending-history/

3rd Century Roman-Persian battle in Syria

Research paper on the military tactics during a Syrian battle between Rome and Persia in the 3rd century

http://www.ajaonline.org/sites/default/files/1151_James.pdf

Research of interest February 18, 2013

Ancient Greek Coalition Warfare

Representations of Achilles

circa 560 BC, kneeling warrior, possibly Achilles waiting for Troilus

Rouen in World War II

 WACs at Rouen, France, May 26, 1945