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"War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men."
~ Georges Clemenceau, French premier during World War I.

"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." ~ Winston Churchill

War montage shadow


Military Web sites


 

Military / war blogs:


 

U.S. war fatalities
in Afghanistan

Month Monthly deaths Cum. deaths
Oct. 2001 3 3
Nov. 2001 5 8
Dec. 2001 4 12
Jan. 2002 10 22
Feb. 2002 12 34
Mar. 2002 9 43
Apr. 2002 4 47
May 2002 1 48
June 2002 3 51
July 2002 0 51
Aug. 2002 1 52
Sept. 2002 0 52
Oct. 2002 5 57
Nov. 2002 2 59
Dec. 2002 1 60
Jan. 2003 4 64
Feb. 2003 7 71
Mar. 2003 11 82
Apr. 2003 2 84
May 2003 1 85
June 2003 3 88
July 2003 1 89
Aug. 2003 4 93
Sept. 2003 2 95
Oct. 2003 3 98
Nov. 2003 6 104
Dec. 2003 1 105
Jan. 2004 9 114
Feb. 2004 2 116
Mar. 2004 3 119
Apr. 2004 3 122
May 2004 8 130
June 2004 5 135
July 2004 2 137
Aug. 2004 3 140
Sept. 2004 4 144
Oct. 2004 5 149
Nov. 2004 7 156
Dec. 2004 1 157
Jan. 2005 2 159
Feb. 2005 1 160
Mar. 2005 6 166
Apr. 2005 18 184
May 2005 4 188
June 2005 27 205
July 2005 2 207
Aug. 2005 15 222
Sept. 2005 11 233
Oct. 2005 7 240
Nov. 2005 3 243
Dec. 2005 3 246
Jan. 2006 1 247
Feb. 2006 17 254
Mar. 2006 10 264
Apr. 2006 1 265
May 2006 11 276
June 2006 18 294
July 2006 9 203
Aug. 2006 10 213
Sept. 2006 6 219
Oct. 2006 10 229
Nov. 2006 7 236
Dec. 2006 1 237
Jan. 2007 0 237
Feb. 2007 14 251
Mar. 2007 5 256
Apr. 2007 8 264
May 2007 11 275
June 2007 12 287
July 2007 14 301
Aug. 2007 17 318
Sept. 2007 9 327
Oct. 2007 10 337
Nov. 2007 11 348
Dec. 2007 6 354
Jan. 2008 7 361
Feb. 2008 1 362
Mar. 2008 8 370
Apr. 2008 5 375
May 2008 17 392
June 2008 28 420
July 2008 20 448
Aug. 2008 22 470
Sept. 2008 27 497
Oct. 2008 16 513
Nov. 2008 1 514
Dec. 2008 3 517
Jan. 2009 15 532
Feb. 2009 15 547
Mar. 2009 13 560
Apr. 2009 6 566
May 2009 12 578
June 2009 25 603
July 2009 45 648
Aug. 2009 51 699
Sept. 2009 40 739
Oct. 2009 59 798
Nov. 2009 18 816
Dec. 2009 18 834
Jan. 2010 30 864
Feb. 2010 31 895
Mar. 2010 26 921
Apr. 2010 20 941
May 2010 34 975
June 2010 60 1035
July 2010 65 1100
Aug. 2010 55 1155
Sept. 2010 42 1197
Oct. 2010 50 1247
Nov. 2010 53 1300
Dec. 2010 33 1333
Jan. 2011 25 1358
Feb. 2011 20 1378
Mar. 2011 31 1409
Apr. 2011 46 1455
May 2011 35 1490
June 2011 47 1537
July 2011 37 1574
Aug. 2011 71 1645
Sept. 2011 42 1687
Oct. 2011 31 1718
Nov. 2011 10 1728
Dec. 2011
*

NOTE: "There have been 533 U.S. combat deaths to date in Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes Afghanistan and other areas." SOURCES: Washington Post, July 2, 2008; Apr. 9, 2009; icasualties.org

June 6, 2023 [LINK / comment]

D-Day + 79 years:
Lessons from the invasion at Normandy

It's hard to explain to the younger generation the supreme importance of the Allied invasion of France that was launched 79 years ago today. Victory was by no means assured, and things could have turned out much differently. The sense of patriotic duty and the willingness of U.S. soldiers to sacrifice their own lives for the good of the country, and indeed for the good of humanity as a whole, is sadly almost beyond comprehension in the America of today. With forces of tyranny and oppression on the rise around the world, we may once again face a challenge similar to the rise of fascism in the 1930s and 1940s. Will we be ready? One way to try to rectify this emptiness in our civic culture is to encourage more families and school groups to visit historic memorials such the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia.

D-Day Memorial

D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, showing a beach landing scene. (Photo taken circa 2001.)

I posted the above paragraph along with this photo on Facebook earlier this evening.

Another way to gain a better grasp of the strategic situation as the D-Day invasion began is through the use of wargames. For example, by using playing pieces to represent actual units and a map that depicts the key geographical features, one can see the advantages and disadvantages of landing on the beaches of Normandy rather than near Le Havre or Calais, where much stronger German forces were concentrated. The Germans were caught unprepared for the Normandy landings, partly due to Allied deception measures aimed at convincing the Germans that the main invasion force was gathering northeast of London, with the Calais-Dunkirk area as the target. Also, one can see that the Germans had the advantage of interior lines, being able to shift forces from one potential invasion zone to another, and therefore amassing superior forces before the Allies could build up their strength on the beachhead. (Allied air power partly nullified that advantage, of course.)

D-Day Western Front map

A portion of the "Western Front" game map that I have been working on for many years, modified to show the five American divisions, three British divisions, and one Canadian division that participated in the initial landings.

One essential characteristic of war that is very hard to recreate in a wargame is strategic uncertainty. The Germans greatly overestimated the number of Allied forces arrayed against them, partly because of the Allied deception measures mentioned above, while the Allies underestimated the difficulty of breaking out of the beachhead. The planning for "Operation Overlord," as the invasion was code-named, envisioned a gradual push out of Normandy within a few weeks of the initial landing. In fact, however, the Germans had the Americans, British, and Canadians pinned down for nearly two months before the big breakout was finally achieved. In early August, General George Patton led an American-style "blitzkrieg" westward into Brittany and then east toward Paris, which was liberated on the 25th of the month. By September, the vast majority of French territory was in Allied hands. The moment of triumphal euphoria soon passed, however, and conquering Germany ended up taking several more months. Time and again, both sides' expectations were badly mismatched with the real world.

Strategic uncertainty has been on full display in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Russians underestimated the Ukrainian people's will to fight, and the determination of Western nations to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to defend themselves. Throughout history, miscalculations by national leaders have led to awful tragedies and needless loss of life on a mass scale. About one year ago, it seemed that the Ukrainian army might recover from their initial losses and inflict a humiliating defeat on Russia. But Vladimir Putin's heartless sacrificing of Russian troops in the prolonged battle of attrition centered on the town of Bakhmut demonstrated that this war is likely to go on for many more months, and probably years. Yesterday's bombing of the huge hydroelectric dam on the Dnipro River revealed once again Putin's grim determination to inflict misery on the Ukrainian people. As I wrote one year ago, "for there to be a real peace, either Putin or Ukrainian President Zelensky has to go." Unfortunately, here is no indication that either leader is about to give up power, and a prolonged agonizing stalemate seems likely to continue. What the United States should do about this bleak prospect will be the topic of a future blog essay. The stakes are huge beyond measure: the very existence of an open world order in which democracy and free trade can thrive.




Disclaimer: My military experience is limited to one semester of ROTC at the University of South Dakota.

War books:



U.S. war fatalities
in Iraq

Month Monthly deaths Cum. deaths
Mar. 2003 65 65
Apr. 2003 73 138
May 2003 37 175
June 2003 30 205
July 2003 47 252
Aug. 2003 35 287
Sept. 2003 30 317
Oct. 2003 43 360
Nov. 2003 82 442
Dec. 2003 40 482
Jan. 2004 47 529
Feb. 2004 19 548
Mar. 2004 52 600
Apr. 2004 135 735
May 2004 80 815
June 2004 42 857
July 2004 54 905
Aug. 2004 66 971
Sept. 2004 81 1052
Oct. 2004 63 1121
Nov. 2004 137 1258
Dec. 2004 72 1330
Jan. 2005 107 1437
Feb. 2005 58 1495
Mar. 2005 36 1531
Apr. 2005 52 1583
May 2005 79 1662
June 2005 77 1739
July 2005 54 1793
Aug. 2005 84 1877
Sept. 2005 48 1925
Oct. 2005 96 2021
Nov. 2005 83 2104
Dec. 2005 66 2170
Jan. 2006 61 2231
Feb. 2006 53 2284
Mar. 2006 30 2314
Apr. 2006 74 2388
May 2006 69 2457
June 2006 59 2516
July 2006 42 2558
Aug. 2006 65 2623
Sept. 2006 70 2693
Oct. 2006 100 2793
Nov. 2006 63 2856
Dec. 2006 105 2961
Jan. 2007 82 3043
Feb. 2007 81 3124
Mar. 2007 75 3199
Apr. 2007 102 3301
May 2007 121 3422
June 2007 98 3520
July 2007 75 3595
Aug. 2007 77 3672
Sept. 2007 62 3734
Oct. 2007 37 3771
Nov. 2007 35 3806
Dec. 2007 23 3829
Jan. 2008 40 3869
Feb. 2008 29 3898
Mar. 2008 37 3935
Apr. 2008 51 3988
May 2008 20 4008
June 2008 28 4036
July 2008 13 4049
Aug. 2008 22 4071
Sept. 2008 25 4097
Oct. 2008 13 4110
Nov. 2008 16 4126
Dec. 2008 13 4139
Jan. 2009 16 4154
Feb. 2009 17 4172
Mar. 2009 9 4181
Apr. 2009 17 4198
May 2009 25 4223
June 2009 14 4237
July 2009 8 4245
Aug. 2009 7 4252
Sept. 2009 10 4262
Oct. 2009 7 4269
Nov. 2009 10 4279
Dec. 2009 3 4282
Jan. 2010 6 4288
Feb. 2010 6 4294
Mar. 2010 7 4301
Apr. 2010 8 4309
May 2010 6 4315
June 2010 8 4323
July 2010 4 4327
Aug. 2010 3 4330
Sept. 2010 7 4337
Oct. 2010 2 4339
Nov. 2010 2 4341
Dec. 2010 1 4342
Jan. 2011 6 4348
Feb. 2011 3 4351
Mar. 2011 2 4353
Apr. 2011 11 4364
May 2011 6 4372
June 2011 15 4387
July 2011 5 4392
Aug. 2011 0 4392
Sept. 2011 4 4396
Oct. 2011 5 4401
Nov. 2011 2 4403
Dec. 2011
Data for 2010-2011 pertain to all Coalition forces, and may include some non-U.S. fatalities.

NOTE: Includes all deaths, caused by enemy forces or not. Excludes military personnel (5, as of June 2009) whose names have not been released because their next of kin have not yet been contacted.

SOURCES: strategypage.com,
GlobalSecurity.org, icasualties.org,
Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2004