America's First Battles, 1776-1965Charles E. Heller, William A. Stofft This volume, a collection of eleven original essays by many of the foremost U.S. military historians, focuses on the transition of the Army from parade ground to battleground in each of nine wars the United States has fought. Through careful analysis of organization, training, and tactical doctrine, each essay seeks to explain the strengths and weaknesses evidenced by the outcome of the first significant engagement or campaign of the war. The concluding essay sets out to synthesize the findings and to discover whether or not American first battles manifest a characteristic "rhythm." America's First Battles provides a novel and intellectually challenging view of how America has prepared for war and how operations and tactics have changed over time. The thrust of the book, the emphasis on operational history, is at the forefront of scholarly activity in military history. This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. |
Contents
Long Island 27 August 1776 | 1 |
The Battle of Queenston Heights 13 October 1812 | 33 |
Palo Alto | 57 |
First Bull Run 19 July 1861 | 81 |
July 1861 | 90 |
San Juan Hill and El Caney 12 July 1898 | 109 |
Cantigny 2831 May 1918 | 149 |
September15 November 1942 | 205 |
Kasserine Pass 30 January22 February 1943 | 226 |
Delay | 266 |
July 1950 | 292 |
The 1st Cavalry and the Ia Drang Valley | 300 |
First Battles in Retrospect | 327 |
Notes | 353 |
About the Editors and Contributors | 404 |
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1st Armored Division 1st Battalion 1st Cavalry 1st Division 24th Division 28th Infantry 32d Division 3d Battalion action advance Allied American Armored Division assault attack Australian Battalion batteries battle Battle of Cantigny Brig brigade British Bull Run Buna Caney Cantigny casualties combat command Company Confederate Corps defensive doctrine Duane Eichelberger El Caney enemy fighting fire flank forces French front German headquarters Ia Drang Ibid Infantry Division infantry regiments Japanese Johnston July jungle Kasserine Pass Long Island MacArthur machine guns maneuvers Mexican MGCAR 98 miles Military History militia mobility mortars moved North Korean North Vietnamese offensive officers operations organization Pershing platoon position reinforcements Report rifle River road Santiago Campaign Sbeitla Sbiba Shafter Smith soldiers Spanish staff tactical Taejon tanks Task Force Smith Tebessa troops U.S. Army United States Army victory Vietnam volunteers warfare Washington weapons William Duane York