The "Casualty Issue" in American Military Practice The Impact of World War I

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military History
• History » American History -- 1900 to 1945
• History » World War I

Reviews:

• This well-researched book takes readers on a tour of strategic, tactical, and organizational policies formed between 1919 and the opening events of WW II. Each chapter enables readers to better understand the Victory Plan: how WW II was fought, and why....This exceptionally sophisticated book is very welcome. Highly recommended.
  —Choice May 2004
• In The "Casualty Issue" MAj. Evan Huelfer, a former history instructor at West Point, makes a compelling argument that America's aversion to accepting casualties in any conflict is deeply rooted in the experience of World War I, and not, as one might today assume, entirely a reaction to the war in Vietnam. This book is all the more interesting when viewed against the growing casualty lists from our current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the public reaction to them.
  —Army History Winter 2007
• Anyone interested in the interwar years period or in how military institutions affect change should read this clearly written and well-documented book.
  —The Journal of American History March 2005
• [A]dds a much-needed and unique element to the existing scholarship on American military history between the world wars....[H]uelfer's book will prove useful to anyone interested in American military history between the world wars.
  —The Journal of Military History January 2005

• Endorsement From Charles F. Brower, IV
  Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Retired)
  Deputy Superintendent for Academics and Dean of the Faculty, Virginia Military Institute: Sets the contemporary American preoccupation with casualty aversion and force protection in its broader historical context. It is a thoughtful, well-researched, and eminently readable contribution to our understanding of the American way of war.
• Endorsement From Dennis Showalter, Colorado College: American armed forces are generally described as reluctant to accept combat casulaties. This attitude is usually linked to post-Cold War factors such as fear of unfavorable publicity. Huelfer's monograph demonstrates instead that the national aversion to casualties is deeply rooted. It developed in the aftermath of World War I, and conditioned the officer corps to minimize losses as far as possible in future conflicts. Well into World War II, U.S. military policy reflected a desire to limit the direct commitment of ground forces for the purpose of avoiding casualties, favoring instead the use first of sea and air power, then of armor and artillery. Ironically, losses under those circumstances were frequently higher than might have been the case with a more robust initial attitude to the casualty issue.
• Endorsement From Carol Reardon, Author of Soldiers and Scholars: The U.S. Army and the Uses of Military History, 1865-1920: Evan Huelfer's study of the interwar U.S. Army's extensive deliberations about accomplishing its missions without the excessive loss of American lives forces us to look well before Vietnam for the roots of today's concerns about "body counts" and the influence of combat deaths on policy decisions.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• The Experience of the Great War
• The Dark Shadow of the Great War
• Drawing Immediate Lessons from Combat
• Revamping the Military Education System
• The Application of American Power
• Strategic Planning During the Interwar Period
• Preparing for War, 1939-1941
• Conclusion
• Select Bibliography
• Index