Return with us this week as Jeff Ballard and I continue our journey in the Pacific Theater of World War II during 1942 and '43 . Here, Jeff and I look into the new naval tactics designed by Admiral Burke and explore the technological difficulties of American Naval firepower early in the war. Lastly, Jeff provides us with an overview of the important role of the Destroyer.

Jeff Ballard holds a Master’s in Military History with a concentration in World War II. He is on the editorial staff of the Saber and Scroll Military History Journal and is the Editor in Chief of the Military History Chronicles military history journal.

⁠Jeff Ballard⁠

⁠Military History Chronicles⁠

⁠The Saber and Scroll

Visit the Pacific Theater of World War II during 1942 and '43 with Military Historian Jeff Ballard. Here, Jeff and I delve deep into an operational overview of the Pacific Theater, the Japanese response to American initiative after Midway, failures and successes in naval leadership, and new doctrine.

Jeff Ballard holds a Master’s in Military History with a concentration in World War II. He is on the editorial staff of the Saber and Scroll Military History Journal and is the Editor in Chief of the Military History Chronicles military history journal.

Jeff Ballard

Military History Chronicles

The Saber and Scroll

In this episode we have a very special guest, Dr. John McManus. He is a military historian with 15 books published and holds the position of Professor of Military History at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Some of his works include The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion, The Dead and Those about to Die: D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach, and To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945.

In this episode we are lucky to have him with us to speak on his newest book American Courage, American Carnage: The 7th Infantry Regiment’s Combat Experience, 1812 through WWII.

American Courage, American Carnage

American military intervention in Korea at the end of June 1950 began with a clearly defined and just goal in response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) invasion of their sovereign rival below the 38th Parallel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s foreign policy goals in Southeast Asia, the defense of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and containment of communism in the region, were threatened by the invasion. The United States and the ROK Army found themselves assailed by the rapid advance of the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). Pushed back to the Pusan Perimeter where the threat of total military defeat loomed over the heads of the defenders, the combined American and South Korean forces held and successfully executed a counteroffensive which drove the NKPA back across the 38th Parallel and stood as a resounding victory for the United States, South Korea, and democracy. For the moment, communism had not spread in Southeast Asia and had been contained. However, foreign policy changed and so, too, did America’s war aims.

Bloody Ridge signaled the United States’ shift from the pursuit of total victory to limited objective engagements intended to influence and strengthen its political position at the negotiation table.

Sources:

Alexander, Bevin. Korea: The First War We Lost. New York, NY: Hippocrene Books, 2004.

Blair, Clay. The Forgotten War. London: Times Books, 1987.

Fehrenbach, T. R. This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2008.

Gugeler, Russell A. Combat Actions in Korea. Center of Military History. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1987. https://history.army.mil/books/korea/30-2/30-2_con.htm.

Hermes, Walter G. Truce Tent and Fighting Front. Center of Military History. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2005. https://history.army.mil/books/korea/truce/ch5.htm.

Lynch, John M. “Korean War 9th Infantry Regiment - Command Report - August 1951.” College Park: Korean War Project, n.d.

Patterson, Michael Robert. “Clark Louis Ruffner General, United States Army.” Clark Louis Ruffner, General, United States Army, December 24, 2006. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/clruffner.htm.

Patterson, Michael Robert. “James Alward Van Fleet General, United States Army.” James Alward Van Fleet, general, United States Army, October 17, 2007. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/vanfleet.htm.

Woong-ki, Song. “Get Away from It All in Yanggu.” The Korea Herald. The Korea Herald, August 6, 2010. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100806000681.

Young, Robert N. “Korean War 2nd Infantry Division - Command Report - August 1951.” Dallas: Korean War Project, n.d.

Fueled by events that reflected Gilded Age American economic, cultural, and political interests in the preceding years, the presence and role of sensationalist styled news medium known as “yellow journalism” found its place into the fray and was woven into the fabric of America’s foreign affairs. “Yellow journalism” furthered American ambitions of empire and aided foreign policy efforts in advancing overseas expansion through the exploitation of the Cuban War of Independence.

Sources

Avalon Project - Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain; December 10, 1898. Accessed June 26, 2021. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp.

Calhoun, Charles W. The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007.

Dill, William A. “Growth of Newspapers in the United States.” Kansas University Scholar Works. Kansas University. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/21361/dill_1928_3425151.pdf?sequence=1.

MacOwen, Arthur H. Remember the Maine. Library of Congress. Library of Congress. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/static/classroom-materials/spanish-american-war-the-united-states-becomes-a-world-power/documents/remember.pdf.

War Movie

Watch War Movies: The American Battle in Cinema | Prime Video (amazon.com)

Amazon.com: War Movie: The American Battle in Cinema [DVD] : Steve Summers, Dale Dye, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Steven Jay Rubin: Movies & TV

National Museum of the Pacific War (pacificwarmuseum.org)

Shortly after Japan launched its surprise attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, resulting in over 100k West Coast citizens and residents of Japanese descent into incarceration camps. Racism against Japanese Americans rapidly increased as distrust ballooned. What many Americans failed to realize was that Japanese Americans were also inflamed at the attack on Pearl Harbor. Afterall, they were Americans, too.

Sources:

Go For Broke – National Education Center

nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/442nd-regimental-combat-team

Redress and Reparations for Japanese American Incarceration | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans (nationalww2museum.org)

Achieving the Impossible Dream: HOW JAPANESE AMERICANS OBTAINED REDRESS (Asian American Experience): Maki, Mitchell T, Kitano, Harry H, Berthold, S Megan, Matsui, Robert T: 9780252067648: Amazon.com: Books

Tune in to this episode of Hardtack for an interview with a special guest, the producer, director, writer, and editor of the five-part documentary series, War Movie: The American Battle in Cinema, Steve Summers.

War Movie is a documentary series that examines not only the history of war in American cinema, but how this medium has shaped our country's perspective on conflict, foreign policy, race, masculinity and national identity.

Sources and Links:

Watch War Movies: The American Battle in Cinema | Prime Video (amazon.com)

Amazon.com: War Movie: The American Battle in Cinema [DVD] : Steve Summers, Dale Dye, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Steven Jay Rubin: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: War Movie: The American Battle in Cinema [Blu-Ray] : Steve Summers, Dale Dye, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Steven Jay Rubin: Movies & TV

War Movie: The American Battle in Cinema (TV Series 2023) - IMDb

National Museum of the Pacific War (pacificwarmuseum.org)

Standing five feet six inches tall and weighing just 145 pounds, the hazel eyed Catholic man of Eastern European descent fit the profile the FBI and Army Intelligence department were looking for in 1966 for a “special assignment.” The brown haired, spectacled man spoke Czech and German, had an understanding of Russian and several other Slavic languages. More than that, their man had proven himself to be of quick wit, assertive, and confidant in his capabilities. His memory was sharp and his recall abilities the sort you may expect from any fictional sleuth like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes, though the FBI was not looking for their Soviet Era James Bond.

The special mission involved the right man with the right nerve and background to walk into the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City and be used as bait. 

With a reputation as a hard man, married to a European woman, and having a mother still living behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia, Rudolph Ciglar had the personality and the background that made him the ideal candidate for the job as double agent. Unfortunately, the assignment also resulted in his untimely and still questionable death.

The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the first major battles of World War I, fought between Russia and Germany in East Prussia. The early decisions of German leadership in World War I, and consequently the Eastern Front, resulted from the German war plan of 1914. However, Eighth Army’s operations in East Prussia did not adhere to the plan’s original course of action. Although outnumbered, the Imperial German Army successfully and overwhelmingly outperformed the Russian First and Second Armies in mobilization, strategic and tactical execution, logistics, and reconnaissance. The Battle of Tannenberg was one of Germany’s earliest, most decisive tactical victories.

The Saber and Scroll Socials:

The Battle of Tannenberg by Paul von Hindenburg, August 1914. Accessed July 24,

2021. https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/tannenberg_hindenburg.htm.

Gurko Vasiliĭ Iosifovich. Memories & Impressions of War and Revolution in Russia,

1914-1917. London: John Murray, 2010.

Hoffman, Max. “Chapter III - The Battle of Tannenberg.” Essay. In The War of Lost

Opportunities, 27–38. Eschenburg Press, 2018.

Showalter, Dennis E. Tannenberg: Clash of Empires, 1914. United States: Potomac

Books, Inc., An imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2004.

Strachan, Hew. The First World War. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2013.

Sweetman, John. Tannenberg 1914. London: Cassell, 2002.