History 532 - History of European Military Policy - Civil-Military Relations
Dr. Jay Lockenour
Fall 1996
This course is designed to introduce you to both the classic works and the most recent research on a subject which has preoccupied European historians for decades: the problems of civil-military relations and militarism. We will begin by reading some of the classic formulations of the "proper" relations of civilian and military officials, primarily the seminal work of Karl von Clausewitz (often cited, rarely read). Later historians and sociologists, such as Alfred Vagts, Gerhard Ritter, and Samuel Huntington will help us flesh out a working definition of "militarism" and prepare us for several weeks of work comparing the histories of various European countries, including Russia/Soviet Union/Russia. For most of the semester, the focus will remain on "classic" (and often older) works, but in the final weeks we will sally forth into Temple's journal collections to ascertain what is preoccupying historians in the field of military policy today. The culmination of your work in the course will be a 10-12 page historiographical essay treating some aspect of the problem of civil-military relations, as it impacts either a particular country or Europe as a whole. I am happy to entertain suggestions for alternate (though relevant) topics that might mesh more successfully with your own research or program of study. Grades will be determined by your regular and focused contributions to class discussions (40%) and by your final papers (60%).
Notes on readings: Many of the works we will discuss this semester are out of print or prohibitively expensive, so we will be relying primarily on Paley's reserve system. All of the books listed will be on reserve. Depending on class size, sharing these books may be a problem, so I have included a rather large reading list for most weeks. Books in normal print should be the focus of your reading for the week. If those are unavailable (or if you have some particular interest) books in italics may be substituted. A few of the works, especially Gordon Craig's Politics of the Prussian Army and Paret's Makers of Modern Strategy may be found at places like Borders or Amazon.com, and I would urge you to buy them. Many of the others are long out-of-print but have been spotted at used bookstores around town, if you care to have the convenience of your own personal copy.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Civil-Military Relations - Theoretical Perspectives
Samuel P. Huntington, The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations, 1957.
Morris Janowitz, The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait
Alfred Vagts, A History of Militarism
Michael Howard, Theory and Practice of War
Volker Berghahn, Militarism, the History of an International Debate
Patrick Regan, Organizing Societies for War
Russell Weigley, End of Militarism.
Week 3: Civil-Military Relations in Clausewitz
Karl von Clausewitz, On War, translated by Peter Paret. (Selections)
Baron de Jomini, in Roots of Strategy or from the Military Classics (condensed) series
John Shy, "Jomini" in Peter Paret, Makers of Modern Strategy
Peter Paret, "Clausewitz," in Peter Paret, Makers of Modern Strategy
Peter Paret, Clausewitz and the State
Roger Parkinson, Clausewitz (biography)
Jehuda Wallach, The Dogma of the Battle of Annihilation, Part I
Week 4: The Prusso-German Tradition
Gerhard Ritter, The Sword and the Scepter, vol I and vol II (section on German Empire)
Gordon Craig, The Politics of the Prussian Army, (parts through 1914)
Martin Kitchen, The German Officer Corps, 1890-1914
Walter Goerlitz, History of the German General Staff
Week 5: The Problem of Militarism in Europe - Britain, France, and Russia
Gerhard Ritter, The Sword and the Scepter, Vol II, (sections on Britain and France)
Douglas Porch, March to the Marne
Edward Spiers, The Late Victorian Army, 1868-1902 (ignore sections on organization)
William Fuller, Civil-Military Conflict in Imperial Russia
Michael Howard, Soldiers and Governments
Week 6: The July Crisis as a Problem of Civil-Military Relations: The Fischer Thesis and Controversy
Fritz Fischer, Germany’s Aims in the First World War OR
Fritz Fischer, War of Illusions
Marc Trachtenberg, "The Coming of the First World War, A Reassessment," in Trachtenberg, History and Strategy
JA Moses, Politics of Illusion
Berghahn, Germany and the Approach of War in 1914
Paul Kennedy, The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism
Week 7: The Reichswehr and Politics
FL Carsten, The Reichswehr and Politics
Craig, Politics of the Prussian Army (relevant bits)
John Wheeler-Bennett, The Nemesis of Power
James Diehl, Paramilitary Politics
Wilhelm Deist, German Military in the Age of Total War
Michael Geyer, "The Crisis of Military Leadership in the 1930s" Journal of Strategic Studies 14, 1991
Week 8: France and Britain in the Interwar Period
Brian Bond, British Military Policy Between the Wars
Paul De La Gorce, The French Army
Steven Shuker, The End of French Predominance, 1976
Hughes, JM, To the Maginot Line: The politics of French Military Preparation in the 1920s, 1971
Bankwitz, PC, Maxime Weygand and Civil-Military Relations in Modern France, Harvard, 1967
Young, RJ, In Command of France: French Foreign Policy and Military Planning 1933-1940, Harvard, 1978.
Week 9: The Wehrmacht - The 20th of July 1944 as a Problem of Civil-Military Relations
Peter Hoffman, The History of the German Resistance, 1933-1945, Cambridge, Mass., 1977, (a translation of his 1970 work, Widerstand, Staatsstreich, Attentat) is perhaps the standard
Robert Weldon Whalen, Assassinating Hitler: Ethics and Resistance in Nazi Germany, (Assoc. Univ. Presses, 1993),
Contributions by Hans Mommsen and David Clay Large in David Clay Large (ed.), Contending with Hitler: Varieties of German Resistance in the Third Reich, Washington DC, 1991).
Graml, Mommsen, Reichardt and Wolf, The German Resistance to Hitler, Berkeley, 1970, Joachim Fest’s 1994 Staatsstreich: Der lange Weg zum 20. Juli has also just been translated into English as Plotting Hitler’s Death, (New York, 1996).
Week 10: France and Britain in the Postwar Era-
Paul De La Gorce, The French Army
John Ambler, French Army in Politics, 1945-1962
Horne, A, The French Army in Politics, 1870-1970, London, 1984
William Snyder, Politics of British Defense Policy 1945-1962
WGF Jackson. Withdrawal from Empire: a Military View
Week 11: Creating an "Anti-militarist" Military: Rearming the Germans
David Clay Large, Germans to the Front
Donald Abenheim, Reforging the Iron Cross
Eric Waldman, the Goose Step is Verboten
Julian Lider, Problems of Military Policy in Konrad Adenauer Era (1984)
Week 12: Soviet Civil-Military Relations
Jacques Sapir, The Soviet Military System, Ch 10 Army and Society
Timothy Colton, Commissars, Commanders, and Civilian Authority: Structure of Soviet Military Politics - Pt.3
Week 13: Current historiography
read recent journal articles on topics relating to European military policy. What issues are preoccupying historians in this field? Are there any glaring omissions? Bring to class a list of the articles/reviews/books you consulted and be prepared to discuss your findings with the class. Some suggested journals: Journal of Strategic Studies, Journal of Military History, Armed Forces and Society, French Historical Studies, Central European History, Journal of Modern History
Assignments: The principle assignment for the course will be an historiographic essay of 12-15 pages on some aspect of civil-military relations over the last two centuries. To help prepare you for this paper and for class discussions, I also ask that each week, you submit a précis of at least one of the works you read for the class. A separate handout will detail the requirements for the précis. If you have questions about historiographic essays, consult any of those journals cited under Week 13 for excellent examples of what such an essay should look like.