Engineers At War

Do some technologies provoke war? Do others promote peace? Offense-defense theory contends that technological change is an important cause of conflict: leaders will be tempted to launch wars when they believe innovation favors attackers over defenders. Offense-defense theory is perhaps best known from the passionate and intricate debates about first-strike capability and deterrence stability during the cold war, but it has deeper historical roots, remains a staple in international relations theorizing, and drives modern arms control policymaking. In War and the Engineers, the first book systematically to test the logical and empirical validity of offense-defense theory, Keir A. Lieber examines the relationships among politics, technology, and the causes of war. Lieber's cases explore the military and political implications of the spread of railroads, the emergence of rifled small arms and artillery, the introduction of battle tanks, and the nuclear revolution. Lieber incorporates the new historiography of World War I, which draws on archival materials that only recently became available, to challenge many common beliefs about the conflict. The author's central conclusion is that technology is neither a cause of international conflict nor a panacea; instead, power politics remains paramount.

NOTE: NO FURTHER DISCOUNT FOR THIS PRINTED PRODUCT- OVERSTOCK SALE -- Significantly reduced list price Engineers at War describes the role of military engineers, especially the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the Vietnam War. It is a story of the engineers' battle against an elusive and determined enemy in one of the harshest underdeveloped regions of the world. Despite these challenges, engineer soldiers successfully carried out their combat and construction missions. The building effort in South Vietnam allowed the United States to deploy and operate a modern 500,000-man force in a far-off region. Although the engineers faced huge construction tasks, they were always ready to support the combat troops. They built ports and depots, carved airfields and airstrips out of jungle and mountain plateaus, repaired roads and bridges, and constructed bases. Because of these efforts, ground combat troops with their supporting engineers were able to fight the enemy from well-established bases. Although most of the construction was temporary, more durable facilities, such as airfields, port and depot complexes, headquarters buildings, communications facilities, and an improved highway system, were intended to serve as economic assets for South Vietnam. This volume covers how the engineers grew from a few advisory detachments to a force of more than 10 percent of the Army troops serving in South Vietnam. The 35th Engineer Group began arriving in large numbers in June 1965 to begin transforming Cam Ranh Bay into a major port, airfield, and depot complex. Within a few years, the Army engineers had expanded to a command, two brigades, six groups, twenty-eight construction and combat battalions, and many smaller units. Other products produced by the U.S. Army, Center of Military History can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/1061

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Paul Kennedy, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and one of today’s most renowned historians, now provides a new and unique look at how World War II was won. Engineers of Victory is a fascinating nuts-and-bolts account of the strategic factors that led to Allied victory. Kennedy reveals how the leaders’ grand strategy was carried out by the ordinary soldiers, scientists, engineers, and businessmen responsible for realizing their commanders’ visions of success. In January 1943, FDR and Churchill convened in Casablanca and established the Allied objectives for the war: to defeat the Nazi blitzkrieg; to control the Atlantic sea lanes and the air over western and central Europe; to take the fight to the European mainland; and to end Japan’s imperialism. Astonishingly, a little over a year later, these ambitious goals had nearly all been accomplished. With riveting, tactical detail, Engineers of Victory reveals how. Kennedy recounts the inside stories of the invention of the cavity magnetron, a miniature radar “as small as a soup plate,” and the Hedgehog, a multi-headed grenade launcher that allowed the Allies to overcome the threat to their convoys crossing the Atlantic; the critical decision by engineers to install a super-charged Rolls-Royce engine in the P-51 Mustang, creating a fighter plane more powerful than the Luftwaffe’s; and the innovative use of pontoon bridges (made from rafts strung together) to help Russian troops cross rivers and elude the Nazi blitzkrieg. He takes readers behind the scenes, unveiling exactly how thousands of individual Allied planes and fighting ships were choreographed to collectively pull off the invasion of Normandy, and illuminating how crew chiefs perfected the high-flying and inaccessible B-29 Superfortress that would drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The story of World War II is often told as a grand narrative, as if it were fought by supermen or decided by fate. Here Kennedy uncovers the real heroes of the war, highlighting for the first time the creative strategies, tactics, and organizational decisions that made the lofty Allied objectives into a successful reality. In an even more significant way, Engineers of Victory has another claim to our attention, for it restores “the middle level of war” to its rightful place in history. Praise for Engineers of Victory “Superbly written and carefully documented . . . indispensable reading for anyone who seeks to understand how and why the Allies won.”—The Christian Science Monitor “An important contribution to our understanding of World War II . . . Like an engineer who pries open a pocket watch to reveal its inner mechanics, [Paul] Kennedy tells how little-known men and women at lower levels helped win the war.”—Michael Beschloss, The New York Times Book Review “Histories of World War II tend to concentrate on the leaders and generals at the top who make the big strategic decisions and on the lowly grunts at the bottom. . . . [Engineers of Victory] seeks to fill this gap in the historiography of World War II and does so triumphantly. . . . This book is a fine tribute.”—The Wall Street Journal “[Kennedy] colorfully and convincingly illustrates the ingenuity and persistence of a few men who made all the difference.”—The Washington Post “This superb book is Kennedy’s best.”—Foreign Affairs

The military engineers who supported the U.S. Army in Vietnam wrote a proud record of achievement that spanned nearly two decades of war. Starting with a handful of advisers in the mid-1950s, Army engineers landed in force with U.S. ground units in 1965 and before long numbered more than 10 percent of the U.S. Army troops committed to the fight. Working in one of the world's harshest undeveloped regions, and under constant threat from an elusive and determined foe, the engineers met every test that came their way. They built ports and depots for a supply line that reached halfway around the globe, carved airfields and airstrips out of jungle and mountain plateaus, repaired roads and bridges to clear the advance for the combat infantryman, and constructed bases for an army whose communications grew in complexity with each passing year. They were often found in the thick of the fighting and fought as infantrymen as part of a long tradition of fighting while building. When the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began to wind down, the engineers were given another demanding mission, imparting to the South Vietnamese Army their specialized skills in construction and management. They left in place a robust infrastructure to support the South Vietnamese as they vainly struggled for survival against the armored spearheads of the North Vietnamese Army.Engineers at War is the eleventh volume published in the United States Army in Vietnam official series. Like its companion volumes, it forcibly reminds us that the American soldier in Vietnam was courageous, infinitely adaptable, and tireless in pursuit of the mission. For the engineers, that mission and their comrades sustained them, in the best engineer tradition, even as the political and popular will to sustain the fight diminished. Their story and dedication should inspire all soldiers as they face a future of sustained operations around the world.

Engineers at War describes the experiences of engineers in support of combat operations and carrying out construction in a distant theater. "The performance of United States Army Engineers in Vietnam, "wrote General Harold K. Johnson, the Army chief of staff, "adds another brilliant chapter to their history." The building effort in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1968 allowed the United States to deploy and operate a modern 500,000-man force in a far-off undeveloped region. Although the engineers faced enormous construction responsibilities, the Army's top priority remained providing combat support to tactical operations. As a result, ground combat troops with their supporting engineers were able to fight the enemy from well-established bases, which gave U.S. and allied forces the ability to concentrate and operate when and where they wanted. Although most of the construction was temporary, more durable facilities-including airfields, port and depot complexes, headquarters buildings, communications facilities, and an improved highway system-were intended to serve as economic resources for South Vietnam. The military engineers who supported the U.S. Army in Vietnam wrote a proud record of achievement that spanned nearly two decades of war. Starting with a handful of advisers in the mid-1950s, Army engineers landed in force with U.S. ground units in 1965 and before long numbered more than 10 percent of the U.S. Army troops committed to the fight. Working in one of the world's harshest undeveloped regions, and under constant threat from an elusive and determined foe, the engineers met every test that came their way. They built ports and depots for a supply line that reached halfway around the globe, carved airfields and airstrips out of jungle and mountain plateaus, repaired roads and bridges to clear the advance for the combat infantryman, and constructed bases for an army whose communications grew in complexity with each passing year. They were often found in the thick of the fighting and fought as infantrymen as part of a long tradition of fighting while building. When the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began to wind down, the engineers were given another demanding mission, imparting to the South Vietnamese Army their specialized skills in construction and management. They left in place a robust infrastructure to support the South Vietnamese as they vainly struggled for survival against the armored spearheads of the North Vietnamese Army. Engineers at War is the eleventh volume published in the United States Army in Vietnam official series. Like its companion volumes, it forcibly reminds us that the American soldier in Vietnam was courageous, infinitely adaptable, and tireless in pursuit of the mission. For the engineers, that mission and their comrades sustained them, in the best engineer tradition, even as the political and popular will to sustain the fight diminished. Their story and dedication should inspire all soldiers as they face a future of sustained operations around the world.

With full color maps and illustrations. Center of Military History publication CMH 91-14-1. United States Army in Vietnam series. Covers how the engineers grew from a few advisory detachments to a force of more than 10 percent of the Army troops serving in South Vietnam. The 35th Engineer Group began arriving in large numbers in June 1965 to begin transforming Cam Ranh Bay into a major port, airfield, and depot complex. Within a few years, the Army engineers had expanded to a command, two brigades, six groups, twenty-eight construction and combat battalions, and many smaller units.