New military history research: Spanish Civil War, US Civil War, British doctrine, the looting of WWII Germany and the Spanish Flu in WWI

The January 2014 issue of War in History presents studies of five interesting topics. 

One study relates to the Republican Popular Army of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939.   The author maintains that political commissars created by the Republican government helped to support mobilization of military forces in a very politicized environment.

 

1936, Spanish Civil War - Republican Troops on the Aragon Front

 

The next study asserts that since the US Civil War, that war and every American war since has generated a real or perceived drug problem among Americans.  

The third study addresses the development of military doctrine in Britain between the World Wars.  The author asserts that the British Army, Air Force and Navy shifted doctrine and established a common military language and formed a joint strategic structure.
 

The fourth study documents how extensively American GIs looted Germany after their breakthrough there and discusses how the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force dealt with it.  The author points out that many GIs felt Germans deserved such treatment and that the soldiers deserved to have the items they took.

Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Officer James Rorimer supervises U.S. soldiers recovering looted paintings from Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany during World War II

The final study explores the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the various claims made about its origin.  The author discusses the social effects of the flu and the way it was spread and discussed in the time.  The author believes that the flu emerged in China in the winter of 1917-1918 and spread across many populations because of the ongoing war.