Welcome to the twenty-third edition of the Military History Carnival. We have an eclectic range of entries in this edition:
Asian Military History
Alan Baumler submitted an entry on Wartime Dog Killing Squads at Frog in a Well.
Alan Baumler submitted a post on Imperial Conquest and Assimilation in China from Jottings from the Granite Studio.
Brett Holman nominated an entry on a novel about the Japanese saving Britain at Frog in a Well.
John Emerson nominated a post on the Mongols at Haquelabac.
Nikolaos Markoulakis submitted a post on the Greco-Bactrian Empire at Sparta: Journal of Ancient Spartan and Greek History.
World War I
Rich Landers submitted an entry from “Letters Home from a New England Doughboy 1916-1919.”
Brett Holman nominated a post on T.E. Lawrence at the Bioscope.
World War II
Thomas Bruschino submitted his essay on “Remaking Memory or Getting It Right? Saving Private Ryan and the World War II Generation” at Michigan War Studies Review.
Graham Jenkins submitted a post on the German plan to invade Switzerland during World War II at Automatic Ballpoint.
Aaron Elson submitted a post on the memories of a tank commander during World War II at Oral History Audiobooks.
Brett Holman put forward a post on a major new WWII Russian archive at the Russian Front.
Also posted at H-War.
The Edge of the American West 
14 comments
April 17, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Battlefield Biker
Thanks, David
Good Edition.
April 18, 2010 at 5:35 am
Charlieford
Cool.
Say there, Dr. Silbey, hate to ambush you this way, but what can you recommend reading-wise on the War of 1812? Has there been anything stellar that I can put on my summer reading list? Same for Mexican War–the best thing I’ve read has been Foos–what else is out there? I thank you in advance for your suggestions.
April 18, 2010 at 6:38 am
eric
Let me recommend this on the War of 1812.
April 18, 2010 at 7:19 am
BP in MN
Hey cool. I took a couple classes from Alan Baumler way back as an undergrad and really liked his teaching style. I was actually idly wondering where he was teaching these days, but since I couldn’t remember his name… Good links.
April 18, 2010 at 10:44 am
Charlieford
Thanks, Eric. Looks yummy!
April 18, 2010 at 1:04 pm
silbey
This (http://www.amazon.com/So-Far-God-Mexico-1846-1848/dp/0806132795/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271624542&sr=8-2) is good on the military side of things.
This (http://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Defeat-Mexico-United-States/dp/0809049678/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271624542&sr=8-4 ) is good on the Mexican perspective.
April 18, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Charlieford
Thanks!
April 19, 2010 at 7:05 am
elizardbreath
I’m just thinking of it because Ta-nehisi Coates is talking about them, but if you haven’t read Grant’s Memoirs, there’s a section on the Mexican War. Obviously, not a complete history, but it might be an interesting sidelight.
April 19, 2010 at 8:41 am
Charlieford
Yes, Grant’s memoirs are great. Thank you, Mark Twain! The 2d greatest thing you did for America.
April 19, 2010 at 10:38 am
kid bitzer
charlie, you definitely have to go over to tnc’s blog. he talked to one of the editors of grant’s papers, who takes pains to squelch the rumor that twain had any more than a bureaucratic role in publishing grant’s memoirs.
i had been led to believe that there was some serious possibility that twain had played a larger role in their composition, maybe editing very very heavily, drafting prose or punching it up with jokes. the editor of grant’s papers says it ain’t so.
April 19, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Charlieford
Kid, no, I never was saying that. Grant had a fantastic style. I had never even heard about any rumor that Twain was involved in any way with the composition. Rather, he was the guy who published them, and he seems to have played the typical editor’s role of encouraging, giving pep talks, enthusing over the product, etc. All of which is important in and of itself. We need not amplify his role.
April 19, 2010 at 5:48 pm
kid bitzer
righto–my apologies.
that more minimal reading of your laudatio clementis did occur to me, after i had submitted my comment.
that said, i still urge you to follow some of the threads over on tnc’s site. watching him discover grant’s memoir is beautiful in itself.
April 19, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Charlieford
Will do. i check in on Coates every few days, and watching his enthusiasm for the Civil War over the years has been a lot of fun: his comment about his wife harassing him when he was watching David Blight’s videos with the computer endlessly chanting, “Vicksburg … Shiloh … Little Round Top …” was a riot (and all too familiar).
May 12, 2010 at 8:21 am
lyle
great military history recommendations. i’ll have to read them all! thanks!