Embedded in a push and pull between two different parties, the citizens and peasants of South Vietnam found themselves left with a choice: stand and defend their own government, or join the revolutionary movement of the Vietcong. Although both sides claim that they were winning the war and fighting for the people, speculation has to be cast on which one really was. In Jeffery Race’s book, War Comes to Long An, Race makes an argument for the Vietcong that is hard to refuse.…
While many scholars attempted to theorize war in human history, only few were credited for constructing consistent theories on which people could base and further their understanding of war and warfare. Those include Greek Thucydides, Chinese Sun Tzu, and Indian Kautilya all three from 3-4th century BC; Prussian Carl von Clausewitz and Swiss Antoine-Henry Jomini both from 19th century. All of those prominent theorist had a lot to offer and therefore had great influence on our thinking in war, warfare, and strategy. However, Clausewitz’s theory offers more insight if one carefully and purposely studied the “paradoxical trinity” identified in his…
deserve to receive this unbearable loss? It makes others wonder is it worth all of the suffering in this war? How many of our brothers and sisters have to pass before we realize the true negatives of the war? Close relatives and friends of these fallen soldiers may be so hurt from such a horrific loss that they are never able to fully recover. Making not only the dead soldiers victim, but also the family and friends of the soldier. Some of the victims close friends and family may never fully recover from a loss of this magnitude. Making it harder yet on the family creating not only an emotional problem but it physical problem due to depression and other side effects. For those lucky enough to return to their families, their recovery is…
Tim O’Brein is an author who often writes about war themed stories. He tries to make people feel and think about war, he himself was a war veteran. He served two years in the Vietnam War, the same war the Private First Class Paul Berlin is fighting in in the story. He makes points about how war can change a person, how war can scar your memories, and about how it can effect everybody.…
Looking back to American history, some cringe with regret at events that were catastrophic and villainous. While in some instances we overwhelmed with pride for the right decisions our ancestors chose. But it is events like the US - mexican war that brings us the realization that in order for America to be the great nation it is, the war was a necessary act. Amy Greenberg’s A Wicked War captures the lives of five important people that left their legacy in American history.…
Military theory spans centuries of conflict all across the world. As such, military theorists have written in a variety of military climates, varying from the absence of gun powder to the presence of nuclear weapons. However, some military theories are transcendent. Some elements of Sun Tzu and Clausewitz are eternally wise. While their similarities may become universal truths, their differences are equally worthy of study because, it is in the differences where choices are made. Sun Tzu and Clausewitz agreed that war is chaos, military action is a tool for diplomatic goals and, as such, the results of warfare are not final. Their differences lie in how they advocate for waging war. The style and preparations for war contrast. This is where…
In this chapter, Walzer discusses the cruelty of war and whether there can be any justification for such cruelty. He begins by distinguishing between the justice of war (jus ad bellum) and the justice in war (jus in bello). "War is always judged twice, first with reference to the reasons states have for fighting, secondly with reference to the means they adopt." (p.21).…
In the journal article critique “The Presence of the Present: Hijacking ‘Hijacking ‘The Good War’?” the authors, V. William Balthrop, Carole Blair, and Neil Michel, critique the WWII Memorial, which was opened up to the public in 2004. They state clearly in their thesis that “[They] contend that the Memorial’s rhetoric affirms contemporary U.S. imperialism under the revered sign of World War II, ‘speaking’ more about the present than about the past. [They] argue that this interpretation forwards important issues for memory studies, about assessing the ethical and political legitimacy of particular renditions of the past in the present”(Balthrop, Blari, Michel…
SUBJECT: “The Western Way of War” by Geoffrey Parker, in The Cambridge History of Warfare . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005, 1-11.…
Compare and contrast the experiences of the men who wrote these two accounts about World War II.…
Niall Ferguson argues throughout The War of the World that “the twentieth century was the most violent global century in history, due to economic volatility, ethnic conflict, and empires in conflict”. Ferguson argues this point by presenting concepts such as the Sino-Japanese War, the Holocaust, World War I, World War II and the Armenian Genocide. However, as Ferguson presents these ideas to argue his view, he does so in a manner that portrays him as a revisionist.…
What justifies war? Who justifies it? Why as human beings do we feel the need to fight, harm, and kill others to achieve certain goals? These questions have been pertinent to our society since the beginning of time and continue to challenge us to better understand the human psyche, and code of ethics that give Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines credence to kill in the name of the United States of America. These ethics of war lay the foundation for that code of understanding and righteousness for when it is justifiable to pull the trigger and take the life of another, or commit an act of war.…
Walzer established the belief of Just War as a tradition theory; where, even the good guys are not allowed to do just anything that is necessary to win. Even they must fight honorably,…
The lives of textile workers in the Lowell Mills, not unlike most of the lives of mostly everyone else in America at the time, had many challenges. Textile workers were usually single women from age 10 to mid 40’s. The women would be sent to work at the mills to earn a little extra money for their family. Workers had to work very hard for the amount of money they were paid (anywhere from $2 to $6 per week). A textile worker would often begin work before day break and end long after sunset. This eventually hurt the health of many workers. However, the workers would rarely rebel against issue like this one.…
Between the years of 1914 and 1918, the world was filled with chaos and bloodshed. This time period is known as World War I. World War I was a battle between the Allies and the Central Powers, both of whom had a strong sense of nationalistic pride. For a number of reasons, the nations on each side resented the other, and desired to win the war in order to gain certain advantages. However, what was initially thought to be a brief quarrel heightened into total warfare. Every nation experienced immense losses, but despite this fact, a safe, peaceful compromise failed to obtained. Consequently, the decision to stop fighting only increased the tension, setting the stage for catastrophic future conflicts. Due to the extreme brutality of modern warfare,…