Confused Heap of Facts

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance are back with LTC Andy Whitford, PhD, of DDE to discuss British army leadership in the early twentieth century. They trace the early career of General Nevil Macready through the Boer War and the Tonypandy Riots of 1910-1911. They detail how he managed to use military force effectively to keep peace in his various postings in Egypt, South Africa, and Wales. Finally, LTC Whitford offers some insights into lessons that may be learned from Macready’s career and approach. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance talk with Dr. Mark Gerges, Napoleonist, about Napoleonic-era cavalry in the Peninsular War. They begin by describing the conflict and the characteristics of the operating environment. They explore Napoleonic cavalry in general, particularly British and French. They detail how British cavalry fought in the conflict, and how Wellington managed his forces in Iberia. Finally, they explain how the lessons from the conflict are still relevant. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel is on the road at the 2024 meeting of the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His first discussion is with Dr. Julia Osman, Associate Professor of History at Mississippi State University, about early modern French soldiers. They examine misconceptions of soldiers of the period, particularly about their literacy and agency, and explore exciting new research avenues in the field. His second discussion is with Dr. Alexander Burns, Assistant Professor of History at Franciscan University of Steubenville, about various approaches to history. They explore historical reenactment, experimental archaeology, wargaming, and video gaming as methods of learning and teaching history. They examine which have the most value alongside traditional academic history, and they opine on the pitfalls inherent in some. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel, with Dr. Bill Nance, talks to LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, of DJIMO about the life and career of Winfield Scott. They discuss the early American army and Scott’s place in it as a leading intellectual. They then detail his role in the Mexican-American War from its beginnings to his triumph in Mexico City. They explore how Scott was a joint-minded commander, able to work equally well across branches, services, and domains of warfare. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel sits down with Dr. John Hosler, DMH medievalist, to discuss the Crusades and Crusading. They examine the terminology and interrogate what constitutes a “Crusade.” They discuss the people who went Crusading and their motivations. They interrogate the time range in which Crusades took place. Finally, they opine on the utility of such discussions. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Amanda Nagel about race relations in the US Army between the Civil War and World War 2. They discuss the participation of Black soldiers in Reconstruction and how many transitioned to being Buffalo Soldiers in the American West. They detail the issues those soldiers faced, both within the Army and in wider American society of the time. They trace race relations through the Spanish-American War in 1898. Finally, they explore how the Progressive Era did and did not improve race relations, culminating in the 1906 Brownsville Affair. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talk international law with Dr. Mark Hull. He examines the effects of World War 2, especially the Nuremberg Trials, on the development of international law. He discusses how international law and its implementation languished in the late twentieth century before picking up again in the 1990s. He explains how enforcement evolved after the end of the Cold War and how it might continue in the future. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance discuss French politics before and during World War 2 with Dr. Cameron Zinsou. They analyze the impact of World War 1 on France and how it shaped the French military going in to the next war. They outline the politics of the Third Republic and explain why they were so fractious. They detail how politics changed (and didn’t change) during the war. Finally, they conclude with an analysis of how those politics continued after the war. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel, with Dr. Bill Nance, discusses the career of General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell before and during World War II with DMH China expert Dr. Geoff Babb. They explore Stilwell’s early career in the slim interwar-years Army and how it uniquely qualified him for service in East Asia. They detail how this resulted in an important civil-military position in China that culminated in his appointment as Chief of Staff to the Nationalist army. Finally, they examine how personality quirks undermined Stilwell’s mission and ultimately cost him his position. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance meet with special guest LTC Andy Whitford, PhD, of the Department of Distance Education, about Britain during the Vietnam era. He outlines the difficulties of post-war and post-colonial Britain and how they influenced politics. He discusses Britain's efforts at mediation throughout the US-Vietnam conflict. He concludes by examining the British efforts to help refugees from the conflict. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talks with special guest LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, of the Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations, about the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. They discuss the background of the conflict, particularly coming out of the 1967 Six-Day War. They detail why the 1973 War was such a surprise for Israel and how the Arab Coalition, particularly Egypt, achieved that. They explore how the Israelis and Egyptians responded to the initial combat in the Sinai and around the Suez. Finally, they opine on the importance and influence of the war. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance interview each other about a key element of modern militaries: professionalism. Dr. Abel discusses what constituted professionalism and merit in early-modern France, especially in the transition from the noble Old Regime to the French Revolution and Napoleonic armies. Dr. Nance explores how that changed in the American Army from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries, especially as realized in America's largest war in World War 2. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, discusses urban warfare with the dean of the subject, Dr. Lou DiMarco. They discover the unique nature of urban warfare and what challenges it poses to militaries. They trace the origins of urban warfare through the ancient, medieval, and early-modern eras, as technologies and techniques changed. They explore how ideas of warfare changed, leading to changes in urban warfare, as technology also pushed war into cities towards the modern era. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. John Kuehn about the naval theorist Alfred Mahan. He explains Mahan's background and why he chose the Navy over his father's Army. He traces Mahan's career during the middle of the nineteenth century, correcting several errors that have entered the historical record about it. He then details Mahan's theories and how they interacted with his history and those of his contemporaries, like Teddy Roosevelt. Finally, he summarizes Mahan's influence. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Martin Clemis about pacification efforts during the conflicts in Vietnam in the mid-twentieth century. He explains how the US got involved in the region and how the conflicts originated. He details various methods of pacification, and challenges to them, by US and US-allied organizations. Finally, he examines why they ultimately failed. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Benjamin Schneider about efforts to limit war via law between the US Civil War and the mid-twentieth century. They discuss historical antecedents and why the mid-nineteenth-century wars inspired a push for formal laws of war. They trace those efforts through World War II and conclude by examining the efforts to redress war crimes in that conflict. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance and Dr. John Hosler to nerd out about a controversial topic in historiography: periodization.  They discuss why periodization is important, how it can be done, and what issues accompany it.  They also illustrate some of the pitfalls of periodization, including whose stories it might prejudice. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Bill Nance, joined by Dr. Jonathan Abel, talk to Dr. Dave Cotter about the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Dr. Cotter outlines his role in the invasion, working in one of the logistics units that enabled it. He explains the difficulties of operating in the theater and what workarounds he and his team developed. Dr. Nance discusses the invasion from his perspective, at its front lines, and how Dr. Cotter's role enabled his actions.  "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance sit down with special guest Dr. Mike Bonura of DJIMO to discuss the French influences on the US Army from its earliest years to the US Civil War. He outlines how the French were the paradigm army of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and what immediate and long-term influences that had on US Army theory and practice.  "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance to discuss the deep roots of the Asia-Pacific theater(s) of World War 2 with Dr. John Kuehn. Dr. Kuehn analyzes the growing conflict around the turn of the nineteenth century between Japan and its neighbors China and Russia, then how that led to animosity with the United States. He details the roles each country with interests in the Pacific, including the aforementioned and many European powers, played in the strategic environment of the pre-war period. Finally, he discusses at length how important China was in the conflict that was perhaps inevitable. "History is only a confused heap of facts." - Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMH DMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill Nance Artwork: Daniel O. Neal Music: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band