Timothy Johnston
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199604036
- eISBN:
- 9780191731600
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199604036.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War threw the USSR into the Grand Alliance with capitalist Britain and America. The wartime diplomatic identity of the USSR stressed the heavy burden borne by the ...
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The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War threw the USSR into the Grand Alliance with capitalist Britain and America. The wartime diplomatic identity of the USSR stressed the heavy burden borne by the Soviet Union and the Allies’ failure to launch a Second Front. The USSR repositioned itself as a moral and military leader of the anti-Hitler alliance. The most successful rumour of the war years was that the Allies were extracting concessions from the Soviet Union in return for military support. The success of these rumours tells us little about supporters or resisters of the government: they were spread by Baltic nationalists and loyal Stalinists. Instead they reveal the widespread mistrust of the Allies that was a product of the failure of the official press to explain the absence of the Second Front as well as pre-existing ideas about British perfidy and capitalist encirclement.Less
The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War threw the USSR into the Grand Alliance with capitalist Britain and America. The wartime diplomatic identity of the USSR stressed the heavy burden borne by the Soviet Union and the Allies’ failure to launch a Second Front. The USSR repositioned itself as a moral and military leader of the anti-Hitler alliance. The most successful rumour of the war years was that the Allies were extracting concessions from the Soviet Union in return for military support. The success of these rumours tells us little about supporters or resisters of the government: they were spread by Baltic nationalists and loyal Stalinists. Instead they reveal the widespread mistrust of the Allies that was a product of the failure of the official press to explain the absence of the Second Front as well as pre-existing ideas about British perfidy and capitalist encirclement.
Phillip S. Meilinger
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780813178899
- eISBN:
- 9780813178905
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813178899.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
In these provocative essays, military historian Phillip Meilinger explores timeless issues. Beginning with an iconoclastic look at the ideas of Carl von Clausewitz, Meilinger sees an unfortunate ...
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In these provocative essays, military historian Phillip Meilinger explores timeless issues. Beginning with an iconoclastic look at the ideas of Carl von Clausewitz, Meilinger sees an unfortunate influence due to an emphasis on bloody battle, combined with a Euro-centric worldview. Moreover, Clausewitz’s dictum that war is an extension of policy actually says very little to guide modern world leaders. Other essays examine the nature of war in the twenty-first century, principles of war, the meaning of decisive victory, the importance of second front operations, the influence of time in battle, and a look at the first major amphibious and joint campaign of World War II in Norway. He also notes the crucial role played by service culture, and his controversial look at the American military tradition reveals that the US military has played a major role in politics throughout our history. An essay on unity of command in the Pacific during World War II reveals interservice rivalry and conflicting strategic views. Strategic bombing in World War II depended on new analytical tools, such as intelligence gathering. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey examined the results of those bombing campaigns in depth. The United States now engages in wars of choice and requires an international mandate to intervene to restore peace or destroy a terrorist group. We must therefore limit risk and cost, especially to the civilian populace. This leads to a new paradigm emphasizing the use of airpower, special operations forces, intelligence gathering and dissemination systems, and indigenous ground forces.Less
In these provocative essays, military historian Phillip Meilinger explores timeless issues. Beginning with an iconoclastic look at the ideas of Carl von Clausewitz, Meilinger sees an unfortunate influence due to an emphasis on bloody battle, combined with a Euro-centric worldview. Moreover, Clausewitz’s dictum that war is an extension of policy actually says very little to guide modern world leaders. Other essays examine the nature of war in the twenty-first century, principles of war, the meaning of decisive victory, the importance of second front operations, the influence of time in battle, and a look at the first major amphibious and joint campaign of World War II in Norway. He also notes the crucial role played by service culture, and his controversial look at the American military tradition reveals that the US military has played a major role in politics throughout our history. An essay on unity of command in the Pacific during World War II reveals interservice rivalry and conflicting strategic views. Strategic bombing in World War II depended on new analytical tools, such as intelligence gathering. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey examined the results of those bombing campaigns in depth. The United States now engages in wars of choice and requires an international mandate to intervene to restore peace or destroy a terrorist group. We must therefore limit risk and cost, especially to the civilian populace. This leads to a new paradigm emphasizing the use of airpower, special operations forces, intelligence gathering and dissemination systems, and indigenous ground forces.
Asa Briggs
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192129567
- eISBN:
- 9780191670022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192129567.003.0022
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the impact of the setting up of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) on the operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It discusses the ...
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This chapter examines the impact of the setting up of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) on the operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It discusses the SHAEF's creation of a Psychological Warfare Division which had obvious ramifications for the BBC's European services and the SHAEF's demand for a new international broadcasting service for troops serving under the SHAEF Command. It also explains that the very existence of the SHAEF guaranteed the opening of the Second Front of the war and that BBC had to make preparations for its own reporting of D-Day.Less
This chapter examines the impact of the setting up of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) on the operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It discusses the SHAEF's creation of a Psychological Warfare Division which had obvious ramifications for the BBC's European services and the SHAEF's demand for a new international broadcasting service for troops serving under the SHAEF Command. It also explains that the very existence of the SHAEF guaranteed the opening of the Second Front of the war and that BBC had to make preparations for its own reporting of D-Day.
VOLOVIK GRIGORY E.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199564842
- eISBN:
- 9780191709906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564842.003.0028
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter discusses the vortex formation during a rapid phase transition from the normal to superfluid state. The formation of topological defects in non-equilibrium phase transitions is a very ...
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This chapter discusses the vortex formation during a rapid phase transition from the normal to superfluid state. The formation of topological defects in non-equilibrium phase transitions is a very generic phenomenon, called the phase ordering, which reflects the process of the establishment of the homogeneous order parameter state after quench. In cosmology this process is known as the Kibble–Zurek mechanism of formation of a network of cosmic strings when the cosmological phase transition is crossed in the expanding universe. In superfluid 3He-B, vortices are formed by neutron radiation. The decay products from the neutron absorption reaction generate ionization tracks, which cause heating in a small volume of 3He above the superfluid transition. Subsequently the heated bubble cools back below the transition temperature into the broken-symmetry state, and vortices are formed according to the Kibble–Zurek scenario. This chapter also discusses formation of vortices behind the propagating front of the second-order transition and due to instability of the non-topological vortex sheet.Less
This chapter discusses the vortex formation during a rapid phase transition from the normal to superfluid state. The formation of topological defects in non-equilibrium phase transitions is a very generic phenomenon, called the phase ordering, which reflects the process of the establishment of the homogeneous order parameter state after quench. In cosmology this process is known as the Kibble–Zurek mechanism of formation of a network of cosmic strings when the cosmological phase transition is crossed in the expanding universe. In superfluid 3He-B, vortices are formed by neutron radiation. The decay products from the neutron absorption reaction generate ionization tracks, which cause heating in a small volume of 3He above the superfluid transition. Subsequently the heated bubble cools back below the transition temperature into the broken-symmetry state, and vortices are formed according to the Kibble–Zurek scenario. This chapter also discusses formation of vortices behind the propagating front of the second-order transition and due to instability of the non-topological vortex sheet.
David F. Schmitz
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780813180441
- eISBN:
- 9780813180472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813180441.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Roosevelt's grand strategy of ensuring the survival of Great Britain and the Soviet Union was based on the understanding that Germany was the most dangerous enemy and Berlin defeated first. It was ...
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Roosevelt's grand strategy of ensuring the survival of Great Britain and the Soviet Union was based on the understanding that Germany was the most dangerous enemy and Berlin defeated first. It was also predicated on the idea that World War II provided the United States a second chance to take up its rightful place as a world leader. As the nation fully mobilized in 1942, the Grand Alliance struggled with question of the best strategy for defeating Germany with the Soviet Union seeking an immediate second front and Great Britain wanting to attack Germany in the Mediterranean. Roosevelt ultimately sided with the British. As the course of the war started to turn in favor of the Allies with the victory at Midway over Japan's navy, the successful attack on North Africa, and the Russians victory at Stalingrad, Roosevelt met with Churchill in Casablanca and sought to solidify Grand Alliance with the declaration of unconditional surrender.Less
Roosevelt's grand strategy of ensuring the survival of Great Britain and the Soviet Union was based on the understanding that Germany was the most dangerous enemy and Berlin defeated first. It was also predicated on the idea that World War II provided the United States a second chance to take up its rightful place as a world leader. As the nation fully mobilized in 1942, the Grand Alliance struggled with question of the best strategy for defeating Germany with the Soviet Union seeking an immediate second front and Great Britain wanting to attack Germany in the Mediterranean. Roosevelt ultimately sided with the British. As the course of the war started to turn in favor of the Allies with the victory at Midway over Japan's navy, the successful attack on North Africa, and the Russians victory at Stalingrad, Roosevelt met with Churchill in Casablanca and sought to solidify Grand Alliance with the declaration of unconditional surrender.
Mark Rawlinson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198806516
- eISBN:
- 9780191844126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198806516.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
This chapter explores how Anglophone literature and culture envisioned and questioned an economy of sacrificial exchange, particularly its symbolic aspect, as driving the compulsions entangled in the ...
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This chapter explores how Anglophone literature and culture envisioned and questioned an economy of sacrificial exchange, particularly its symbolic aspect, as driving the compulsions entangled in the Second World War. After considering how Elizabeth Bowen’s short stories cast light on the Home Front rhetorics of sacrifice and reconstruction, it looks at how poets Robert Graves, Keith Douglas, and Alun Lewis reflect on First World War poetry of sacrifice. With reference to René Girard’s and Carl von Clausewitz’s writings on war, I take up Elaine Cobley’s assertion about the differing valencies of the First and Second World Wars, arguing that the contrast is better seen in terms of sacrificial economy. I develop that argument with reference to examples from Second World War literature depicting sacrificial exchange (while often harking back to the First World War), including Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour Trilogy (1952–61), and William Wharton’s memoir Shrapnel (2012).Less
This chapter explores how Anglophone literature and culture envisioned and questioned an economy of sacrificial exchange, particularly its symbolic aspect, as driving the compulsions entangled in the Second World War. After considering how Elizabeth Bowen’s short stories cast light on the Home Front rhetorics of sacrifice and reconstruction, it looks at how poets Robert Graves, Keith Douglas, and Alun Lewis reflect on First World War poetry of sacrifice. With reference to René Girard’s and Carl von Clausewitz’s writings on war, I take up Elaine Cobley’s assertion about the differing valencies of the First and Second World Wars, arguing that the contrast is better seen in terms of sacrificial economy. I develop that argument with reference to examples from Second World War literature depicting sacrificial exchange (while often harking back to the First World War), including Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour Trilogy (1952–61), and William Wharton’s memoir Shrapnel (2012).
