Harmon Memorial Lectures in Military History, 1959-1987: Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Pershing, FDR as War Leader, Washington and Marshall, World War II, Korean War, Tsarist Russia, Napoleon

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this Air Force publication presents a collection of the first thirty Harmon lectures given at the U.S. Air Force Academy with fascinating insights into various aspects of airpower and military history.

In 1959 the United States Air Force Academy's Department of History began the Harmon Memorial Lecture Series on Military History in memory of Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, first superintendent and "father" of the Academy. The series supported two goals: to further encourage the awakened interest in military history that evolved after World War II and to stimulate cadets to develop a lifelong interest in the history of the military profession. Each year thereafter, a committee of nationally known civilian historians and Academy representatives selected an outstanding military historian to be the annual lecturer. Beginning in 1970, the Harmon Lecture also served as the keynote address for the Academy's biennial Military History Symposium. This collection of the first thirty Harmon Memorial Lectures reflects the evolution in scholarship of prominent scholars working in military history over the past three decades. In keeping with the purpose of the series, the Academy publishes and distributes each lecture to Air Force and Department of Defense agencies, university libraries, and scholars throughout the United States and abroad. A number of lectures are used in courses at the Academy, and we receive many requests for them from civilian scholars and military personnel. Consequently, the Academy's Department of History and the Office of Air Force History have decided to publish the first thirty lectures under one cover, thereby making them more available. In this way, we continue to honor the memory of General Harmon, who during his lifetime developed a deep and abiding interest in military history and contributed so much to establishing the United States Air Force Academy.

Part I - Military History * Introduction to Part I * Why Military History? * The Influence of Air Power Upon Historians * Part II * Biography and Leadership * Introduction to Part II * The Military Leadership of the North and the South * John. J. Pershing and the Anatomy of Leadership * Leadership in the Old Air Force: A Postgraduate Assignment * Mr. Roosevelt's Three Wars: FDR as War Leader * Pacific Command: A Study in Interservice Relations * George Washington and George Marshall: Some Reflections on the American Military Tradition * George C. Marshall: Global Commander * The Many Faces of George S. Patton, Jr. * Command Crisis: MacArthur and the Korean War * Part III * Soldiers and Armies * Introduction to Part III * Soldiering in Tsarist Russia * The Young Officer in the Old Army * Perspectives in the History of Military Education and Professionalism * Part IV * Strategy and Tactics * Introduction to Part IV * Napoleon and Maneuver Warfare * Problems of Coalition Warfare: The Military Alliance Against Napoleon, 1813-1814 * Strategy and Policy in Twentieth-Century Warfare * The Historical Development of Contemporary Strategy * The Strategist's Short Catechism: Six Questions Without Answers * Part V * Military Thought and Reform * Innovation and Reform in Warfare * The War of Ideas: The United States Navy, 1870-1890 * An Enduring Challenge: The Problem of Air Force Doctrine * Operation POINTBLANK: A Tale of Bombers and Fighters * The American Revolution Today * Western Perceptions and Asian Realities * Part VI * The Military and Society * Introduction to Part VI * The Military in the Service of the State * The Contribution of the Frontier to the American Military Tradition * The End of Militarism * Military Planning and National Policy: German Overtures to Two World Wars * United Against: American Culture and Society During World War II * Appendix: Harmon Memorial Lectures