The Machines of War: Western Military Technology 1850–2000

From the standpoint of military technology, the 20th century divides between two eras. The first half of the century saw the culmination of the mechanization of armed forces that had begun midway through the previous century. During most of this period, European innovations dictated the pace and direction of change. World War II changed all that. Europeans became followers of military change driven by the arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union. Two innovations, both largely products of World War II, dominated the second half of the century but proceeded with surprisingly little interaction. One was the elaboration of nuclear arsenals and their delivery systems. The other was the radical reconstruction of conventional warfare through applied electronics, especially from the 1960s onward.     

The development of the longbow in late medieval England and ‘technological determinism’

Traditional understandings of the development of the medieval English longbow and its role in the fourteenth-century ‘infantry revolution’ have recently been challenged by historians. This article responds to the revisionists, arguing based on archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence that the proper longbow was a weapon of extraordinary power, and was qualitatively different from – and more effective than – the shorter self-bows that were the norm in England (and western Europe generally) before the fourteenth century. It is further argued that acknowledging the importance of the weapon as a necessary element of any credible explanation of English military successes in the era of the Hundred Years War does not constitute ‘technological determinism’.     

The development of the longbow in late medieval England and ‘technological determinism’

Traditional understandings of the development of the medieval English longbow and its role in the fourteenth-century ‘infantry revolution’ have recently been challenged by historians. This article responds to the revisionists, arguing based on archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence that the proper longbow was a weapon of extraordinary power, and was qualitatively different from – and more effective than – the shorter self-bows that were the norm in England (and western Europe generally) before the fourteenth century. It is further argued that acknowledging the importance of the weapon as a necessary element of any credible explanation of English military successes in the era of the Hundred Years War does not constitute ‘technological determinism’.     

Microfossils from Neoproterozoic Supersequence 1 of the Officer Basin,Western Australia

The discovery of a rich assemblage of microfossils from the Neoproterozoic western Officer Basin (Centralian Superbasin) provides a more complete understanding of the biostratigraphy of this Basin. The microfossils are found in Supersequence 1 (～800 Ma) in Western Australia. The assemblages are comprised of acritarchs and cyanobacteria isolated by acid maceration from siliciclastics of the Browne (Madley), Hussar, Kanpa and Steptoe Formations. The distinctive acritarchs Cerebrosphaera buickii, Satka colonialica, Stictosphaeridium sinapticuliferum and Pterospermopsimorpha insolita are of particular interest in the Neoproterozoic. These taxa are found in similar depositional environments in Spitsbergen, Arizona, Canada and Siberia. This evidence, together with lithostratographic correlations, isotope chemostratigraphy, and sequence analysis contributes to the continuing development of Neoproterozoic stratigraphy.     

《巩昌分属图说》初探

《巩昌分属图说》是一套彩绘的中国传统山水画式舆图及图说,为研究明代西北边防的重要图籍。笔者主要结合历史文献,从历史地理角度对舆图绘制的时间、背景、内容作了梳理和考证。     

Archaeologists and the Military in Iraq, 2003–2008: Compromise or Contribution?

An offer to teach military units deploying to Iraq about history and culture of the region raised questions that are relevant to all archaeologists whose areas of study are subjected to armed conflict. Should we engage with the military at all, giving them the benefit of not only our archaeological knowledge, but our familiarity with local customs? Or could that knowledge be used against the local population that has welcomed us over the years or in some way lead to destruction of monuments, sites, and museums? I summarize my experience and compare this program with parallel efforts by other archaeologists working with the military since 2003.     

The Nixon and Ford Administrations and the Future of Post-Franco Spain (1970–6)

What was the value of Spain to the United States in the last years of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco? Unlike the Western European states, Washington had specific military interests in Spanish territory: military bases that were part of NATO's defensive strategy even though Spain was not a member of the Alliance. Since 1953, the Francoist system had been the guarantor of the political stability essential for the proper use of the bases. With the dictator's death approaching, maintaining stability in post-Franco Spain was the main concern of the US government. The maintenance of the bases as well as the Spanish policy of the European NATO members who, for the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, were capable of ‘making shoddy decisions of heroism so long as they don't have to pay for them’, would be essential to keep Spain stable.     

羊马城与一字城

羊马城是唐宋时期流行的城池外围防御设施,产生于战国,发展于南北朝,成熟于唐代,普及于两宋,元以后逐渐退出历史舞台。一字城则是为了加强江河侧畔城池的防御设施,其基本特征是在主城与江河之间修建的一道或两道城墙,主要见于宋元之际前后的南方,明代还有使用,以后就基本绝迹。     

Abolish the army? The ideal of democracy and the transformation of the Czechoslovak military after 1918 and 1989

This article deals with the relationship between the democratic transformations in Czechoslovakia after 1918 and 1989 and the armed forces. The democratic ideal of transformation seemed to be alien to the military institution, which upheld the old regime and paradigmatically represented undemocratic patterns of governance. In order to accommodate the popular demand to ‘abolish’ the army, the new political elite strived to initiate an institutional transformation that would re-legitimize the armed forces. Whereas after 1918 the military improved its reputation by changing into a ‘school of nation’, after 1989 the military, expected to become fully professional, went through a period in which its inner organisational culture was liberalized and personal freedoms of the soldiers were strengthened. The decline of previous authorities and the rise of civic self-confidence connected to the process of democratisation also led to the demoralisation of the soldiers. The liminal phase of military transformation was marked by the experience of the first ‘post-war war’, the Czechoslovak-Hungarian War in 1919 and the Gulf War in 1991, which indicated the needs of the new security environment and gave the idealistic thinking about the democratic military a touch of reality.     

元朝西南地区军事机构的设置及兵力的布置

蒙元朝廷在西南三省军事机构的设置是伴随着灭宋战争而来的。由于面临的形势不同,四川、云南、湖广三行省的军事机构并不相同,各具特色。与此同时,为了维护西南政治稳固,蒙元朝廷在三省的军事险要之地布置了大批的兵力。     

Dutch Mercenaries in the Tsar’s Service: The Van Bockhoven Clan

Historians have pointed out that the Dutch played a key role in Europe’s Military Revolution. Neither the Dutch role as the foremost international arms traders of the seventeenth century nor the significance of Dutch officers in seventeenth-century militaries has been very much studied. This essay suggests that the Dutch were rather more influential in Russia’s adoption of some of the key innovations of the Military Revolution than the historiography of late Muscovy has acknowledged. It does this by investigating the importance for Russia’ military modernization of a Dutch officers’ clan, that of the van Bockhovens. They provide a telling case study of the extent of this Dutch influence.

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20世纪初叶西藏的日本军事教官矢岛保治郎

矢岛保治郎是20世纪初叶日本入藏者中一个颇具冒险色彩的人物。他曾怀着不同的目的两度入藏,并被西藏地方政府聘请为军事教官,在西藏活动达6年之久,成为近代日本与中国西藏地方关系史中一个相当重要的人物。对他入藏经过及其在西藏的活动进行考察,不仅有助于我们对西藏近代史的研究,而且对我们认识历史上日本对我国西藏的渗透活动有所裨益。     

渭南市博物馆藏金代“总领军马都提控印”考释

渭南市博物馆收藏一方20世纪80年代出土于陕西省渭南市大荔县的金代官印,此方官印除印文外,背面和两侧阴刻铸印机构、铸印时间等款识。此印作为特殊的文献资料,真实记录了金代后期招募义军的历史,同时也侧面反映了金代官制、官印的变迁,蕴含了丰富的历史信息。本文借鉴前人的研究成果,结合《金史》的相关记载,从官职、铸印机构、品阶三个方面对该印进行考释。     

明代安庆、徽州地区兵备道分合演变考论

兵备道是明代重要的地方管理制度。为了对付“江贼”“矿贼”和倭寇的侵扰,加强地方屯田、水利等事务的管理,明廷在弘治至嘉靖年间相继设立凤阳、九江、太仓、应天和徽饶五个兵备道,其辖区范围均兼及安庆、徽州地区。兵备道对该地区的管辖单元,也有一个从卫逐渐转变为府的过程。隆庆六年,出于统一事权的考虑,明廷设立徽宁兵备道,将安庆、徽州地区的府卫纳入同一兵备道管理之下,并维持在南直隶的辖区范围内,不再跨省。后因地方形势的变化,为使兵备道在军事上占据有利位置,明廷又对徽宁兵备道进行了几次分化和调整。兵备道的分合演变,显示出其在安庆、徽州地区地方治理的重要性,并为清代安徽省的形成奠定基础。