NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence: History

History - Teamwork saved stricken warship

Michael D'Alessandro — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:54:54 GMT

San Diego Union Tribune - A look at what saved the frigate Samuel B. Roberts when it hit an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf 20 years ago.

History - The rise and fall of navies

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:49:20 GMT

New York Times - Paul Kennedy takes a historian's view of some current naval trends.

History - Help was weeks away as 88 men waited in the Falklands dark for 3,000 invaders

Michael D'Alessandro — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 08:56:52 GMT

Daily Telegraph - Major Mike Norman shares his memories of defending the islands against an over-whelming Argentine force of 3,000 soldiers.

History - A Very British War

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 10:02:38 GMT

Daily Telegraph - Patrick Bishop, who sailed 8,000 miles with the Task Force to recapture the Falklands, and is the author of Winter War which I think is one of the best histories of the Falklands War, describes the highs and lows of the campaign against the Argentines, and explains how victory transformed the national mood and ushered in the brash new Thatcher era.

History - The Greely Relief Expedition and the New Navy

Michael D'Alessandro — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 11:25:11 GMT

International Journal of Naval History - On July 10, 1881, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely sailed north in command of a small polar expedition. After making an unexpectedly easy passage,the expedition settled into a well-supplied base they named Fort Conger and began their mission of scientific exploration and astronomical observation. After that, everything went wrong. Thick ice prevented the scheduled resupply missions from reaching them. Greely and his men were stranded, and after two years faced starvation. After much debate, President Chester Arthur sent the Navy to rescue them...

History - Fort Fischer: Amphibious Victory in the American Civil War

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 10:41:28 GMT

Naval War College Review - The first attack on Fort Fisher, during the American Civil War, failed utterly; the second succeeded magnificently. The commanders of the latter learned from the experience of the former; the lessons of both attempts were valuable for the great amphibious operations of the mid-twentieth century, and they remain instructive today.

History - Suez 1956: A Successful Naval Operation Compromised by Inept Political Leadership

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 09:52:59 GMT

Naval War College Review - The British and French forces that saw action during the abortive Suez invasion of 1956 produced a "copybook" performance in military terms. But flawed political decisions are likely to lead to flawed operational strategy, and today the entire episode is remembered as an embarrassing failure.

History - Economic Power, Technological Advantage, and Imperial Strength: Britain as a Unique Global Power, 1860 – 1890

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 12:05:20 GMT

International Journal of Naval History - Between 1860 and 1890 Britain greatly expanded her formal and informal empire, and her commercial activity, while avoiding war with any other major power. Although this period witnessed a revolution in the technologies of war, communication and transport, and profound changes in the European state system Britain secured her interests on low and falling defence estimates. This combination of circumstances was neither accidental, nor fortunate. It reflected a coherent response to the problems facing the state, and the development of core capabilities for a truly global strategy. In examining the development of British strategy between 1860 and 1890 this study will focus on the major influences, expanding and changing commercial activity, the emergent technologies of iron, steam, and telegraphy, and the vast extent of the potential defence commitment.

History - The American Sound Surveillance System: Using the Ocean to Hunt Soviet Submarines, 1950-1961

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 10:21:34 GMT

International Journal of Naval History - The most ambitious and effective defense project undertaken during the Cold War next to the hydrogen bomb succeeded completely, made not a sound, and remained invisible for a half-century. Dreading an increase in the capability and geographical reach of a Soviet deep-water submarine force, the U.S. Navy decided in 1950 to turn the ocean itself against the Soviet Navy. Over the next three decades there emerged a sophisticated surveillance network with global reach that used the ocean’s own characteristics to identify submarine activity. SOSUS, as the sound surveillance system became known, gradually made it impossible for the Soviets to sortie a submarine anywhere in the world without detection. The present historical analysis of this system highlights the importance of the environment in naval warfare, further illuminates the relationship between naval and civilian ocean science, and reveals significant challenges to naval culture and habits directly related to the nature of SOSUS.

History - The Early Career of a Marine Legend: General Eddie Craig

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 10:04:47 GMT

Leatherneck - "A hard-boiled crowd" of old Corps warriors in Santo Domingo broke in the new lieutenant.

History - "Next Time I Send Damn Fool I Go Myself"

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 09:36:21 GMT

Leatherneck - Louis Cukela: Eccentric for certain. Marine warrior and hero? Most definitely

History - Grant, Vicksburg, and Modern War

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 11:02:56 GMT

Marine Corps Gazette - Hints of maneuver warfare in the 19th century U.S. Civil War.

History - Fixed Targets for the Enemy: Engineers Risked It All Every Day to Get the Job Done

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 11:23:47 GMT

Leatherneck - In Vietnam, Marine engineers blasted and built roads and bridges that are still used today.

History - Night Session of the Presidium of the Central Committee, 22–23 October 1962

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:43:21 GMT

Naval War College Review - A Russian historian of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis argues from archival evidence that while authority to use tactical nuclear weapons was never delegated to local Soviet commanders, it was only with difficulty (and the assistance of the Navy commander in chief) that hard-liners were prevented from pushing through a potentially dangerous policy.

History - The Attack at Taranto

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 09:30:43 GMT

Naval War College Review - The 1940 British air attack on the Italian battle fleet at Taranto Harbor has rightly been celebrated. However, measuring the success gained against the objectives assigned, the attack can be assessed only as a limited tactical victory with limited operational impact-a priceless opportunity lost.

History - Geography, Technology, and British Naval Strategy in the Dreadnought Era

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 09:19:35 GMT

Naval War College Review - Alfred Thayer Mahan and Admiral Sir John Fisher disagreed about capital-ship design and the utility of history as a guide to formulating naval policy, but the main difference between their ways of thinking about strategy was over the best means of defending the British empire in a maritime war. Where Mahan called for concentration at the center, Fisher contended that defense could be achieved at the periphery.

History - Giants of the Corps: Col John W. Thomason Jr., the "Kipling of the Corps"

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:54:47 GMT

Leatherneck - Internationally acclaimed writer and artist John W. Thomason was a Marine first and foremost.

History - Sinking Ships

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 09:56:28 GMT

Air Force - Contrary to popular belief, land-based airpower played the key role in decimating Japan’s World War II shipping.

History - Operation Hastings: The War Moves North

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:02:17 GMT

Leatherneck - Leathernecks of Task Force Delta went head to head with the NVA 324B Division and cleaned their clocks, but not without loss.

History - Once Upon a Time in The Arizona

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 09:36:18 GMT

Leatherneck - The Arizona in Vietnam: scrub brush, tunnels, caves, killers and heroes.

History - Why Weren't We Warned?

Michael D'Alessandro — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 10:20:59 GMT

World War II Magazine - David Kahn writs that the contention that broken Japanese codes could have alerted the United States won't go away. But is there a simpler explanation than a failure of intelligence?

History - Loss of a Yankee SSBN

Michael D'Alessandro — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 10:38:22 GMT

Undersea Warfare - A look at the loss of Yankee-class submarine K-219 in October 1986 following an explosion in missile tube number six.

History - China Marines: The Lost Leathernecks

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 12:12:49 GMT

World War II - In the twilight of peace, the China Marines found themselves on the front lines of conflict.

History - Death of Convoy PQ-17

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 10:46:35 GMT

World War II - As their escorts turned away, the ships of the doomed Allied convoy followed orders and began to disperse in the Arctic waters.

History - Douglas MacArthur's Last Triumph

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 10:47:45 GMT

Military History - Conducted against great odds, the September 1950 amphibious landings at Inchon rehabilitated the U.S. military’s tarnished post–World War II image.

History - One Last Look at Lady Lex

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 11:22:53 GMT

World War II - The waterway at deck's edge was neatly lined with shoes, and...a short while later, terrible to behold, every doorway, hatch or open space was ablaze.

History - Locked in a Sinister Embrace

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 12:18:22 GMT

Military History - When French Vice Adm. Pierre de Villeneuve emerged from Cadiz with his 33 mammoth warships, Britain’s Royal Navy awaited him with only 27, often smaller, ships of the line. But the British also had Lord Horatio Nelson.

History - Lexington Comes to the Rescue

Michael D'Alessandro — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:27:27 GMT

Sea Power - In December 1929, one of the more unusual relief efforts in the U.S. Navy’s history took place in the Pacific Northwest.

History - Fred Avey: Flying with the Black Sheep

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 12:05:47 GMT

Aviation History - When Fred Avey joined "Pappy" Boyington's flock, he found himself among a pack of wolves in Black Sheep's clothing.

History - Japan's Underwater Convoys

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 11:09:05 GMT

World War II - A series of top-secret Japanese submarine missions could have altered the course of World War II.

History - Nelson at Trafalgar: He Did His Duty

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 12:30:26 GMT

Military History - Horatio Nelson's two-column charge into the Franco-Spanish line was risky, but it won him the battle -- at the cost of his life.

History - Two Centuries of Dreadnought

Michael D'Alessandro — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 08:55:35 GMT

Sea Power - The story of HMS Dreadnought.

History - Hill 881 South

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 09:50:02 GMT

Leatherneck - Captain Bill Dabney led his two companies in a desperate 77-day fight, where the only way out was to be "flown off or blown off" the mountain.

History - Net-centric before Its Time

Michael D'Alessandro — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:26:28 GMT

Naval War College Review - The main caution that the story of the Jeune École offers for advocates of network-centric warfare and American defense transformation is not that they may be wrong in their assessments but that they may be right, too early.

History - Missouri Ceremony 60 Years Ago Marked Victory in the Pacific

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 10:38:24 GMT

Sea Power - A look at the Japanese surrender ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri.

History - Raeder versus Wegener

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 10:13:27 GMT

Naval War College Review - German naval thought between the world wars was defined by a dispute between two distinguished officers: one who critiqued German naval performance in the conflict just ended, the other obliged to meet the very different realities of the war to come. Neither was wholly wrong or entirely correct; the disagreement produced concepts that mark naval doctrine today.

History - Cold War Strategic ASW

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:25:45 GMT

Undersea Warfare - Soviet strategic missile submarines were the greatest naval threat to the United States during the Cold War. Accordingly, strategic antisubmarine warfare (ASW) became a major role of the U.S. Navy, especially the attack submarines. This excerpt from Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines by Normal Polmar and Kenneth J. Moore briefly describes the development of strategic ASW.

History - Between Fleet Scouts & Commerce Raiders

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 10:25:12 GMT

Undersea Warfare - A look at the operational level of the submarine campaigns waged by both Germany and the United States in World War II.

History - Lightships Showed the Way

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 10:37:29 GMT

Sea Power - A brief history of Coast Guard light ships.

History - Operation Starlite: The First Battle of the Vietnam War

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 10:43:54 GMT

Leatherneck - August 1965—Operation Starlite kicked off to become the first major battle of the Vietnam War.

History - Colonel Fraser West

Michael D'Alessandro — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 10:46:34 GMT

Leatherneck - Equally at home in the rodeo arena or on the ski slopes, this World War II leatherneck remains home on the range with his working ranch.

History - The Harrowing Origins of 'Raiders from the Deep'

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 10:34:49 GMT

Sea Power - The early days of Marine Force Reconnaissance.

History - We can't afford to forget Trafalgar

Michael D'Alessandro — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 09:08:55 GMT

Daily Telegraph - John Keegan opines on the significance of Trafalgar to England.

History - World armada recalls a day of victory and death at sea

Michael D'Alessandro — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 09:05:21 GMT

The Times - Britain celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

History - British Naval Policy and the War against Japan, 1937-1945: Distorted Doctrine, Insufficient Resources, or Inadequate Intelligence?

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 09:10:37 GMT

International Journal of Naval History - Why was the Royal Navy so unprepared to fight Japan before as well as during World War II?

History - The Russo-Japanese War

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 10:34:11 GMT

Naval War College Review - In the first years of the twentieth century, Japanese leaders, with little experience in international issues, raised the nation's stature, developed appropriate strategies, showed excellent qualities of leadership and coordination, and so won a crucial victory in the Russo-Japanese War. But if that was the high point of Imperial Japan, it was also the beginning of the end.

History - John J. Nagazyna, Hero or Liberty Risk?

Michael D'Alessandro — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 09:00:07 GMT

Leatherneck - Here's a wartime hero who added a General Court-Martial and a few nonjudicial punishments for off-hours indiscretions between the Navy Crosses and other medals for valor during two World Wars.

History - The Epic Cruise of the Essex

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:32:51 GMT

Sea Power - The actions of the USS Essex in the War of 1812.

History - How Britain averted a Falklands invasion in 1977

Michael D'Alessandro — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 10:16:19 GMT

Guardian - A look at how Britain persuaded Argentina not to invade the Falklands in 1977.

More from the Daily Telegraph - Secret Falklands task force revealed.

History - Donald Hamblen: One Tough Marine

Michael D'Alessandro — Sat, 28 May 2005 11:09:33 GMT

Vietnam - He had been wounded twice in Korea. He had lost part of his left leg in a parachute training accident. Still, Donald Hamblen earned two more Purple Hearts while serving in Vietnam.