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Between Threats and War: U.S. Discrete Military Operations in the Post-cold War World
by Micah ZenkoWhen confronted with a persistent foreign policy problem that threatens U.S. interests, and that cannot be adequately addressed through economic or political pressure, American policymakers and opinion formers have increasingly resorted to recommending the use of limited military force: that is, enough force to attempt to resolve the problem while minimizing U.S. military deaths, local civilian casualties, and collateral damage. These recommendations have ranged from the bizarre--such as a Predator missile strike to kill Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, or the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez--to the unwise--the preemptive bombing of North Korean ballistic missile sites--to the demonstrably practical-air raids into Bosnia and Somalia, and drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. However, even though they have been a regular feature of America's uses of military force through four successive administrations, the efficacy of these "Discrete Military Operations" (DMOs) remains largely unanalyzed, leaving unanswered the important question of whether or not they have succeeded in achieving their intended military and political objectives. In response, Micah Zenko examines the thirty-six DMOs undertaken by the US over the past 20 years, in order to discern why they were used, if they achieved their objectives, and what determined their success or failure. In the process, he both evaluates U.S. policy choices and recommends ways in which limited military force can be better used in the future. The insights and recommendations made by Zenko will be increasingly relevant to making decisions and predictions about the development of American grand strategy and future military policy.
Between Two Worlds (The Alison Plantaine Sagas)
by Maisie MoscoIn a changing world is there room for tradition as well as new ways? Alison Plantaine was born to the theatre. As a child the life she knew was one of back-stage dramas and highly-charged emotions. The desire to perform is in her Plantaine blood. But when Alison learns about her secret heritage it makes her question the path she has chosen. Meanwhile, tastes are changing and the family passion for acting is losing touch with trends. A war is breaking out and Alison senses change in the air. Her mother is a gifted actress and wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps. Her father, shrewd and practical, understands that his daughter&’s respect for family tradition must not stifle her talent and the promise of success. But the decision must be Alison&’s and she becomes torn between duty and heritage, or the life she always dreamed of on the stage. A vivid and emotional family saga from a much-loved author, perfect for fans of Rita Bradshaw and Margaret Dickinson. Praise for Maisie Mosco &‘Once in every generation or so a book comes along which lifts the curtain&’ Guardian 'Full of freshness and fascination&’ Manchester Evening News &“The undisputed queen of her genre&’ Jewish Chronicle
Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History after Genocide and Mass Violence
by Martha MinowThis is a book on justice and healing after horrific violence. Remembering and forgetting, judging and forgiving, reconciling and avenging, grieving and educating - the author Martha Minow shows us why each may be necessary, yet painfully inadequate, as individuals and societies confront past horrors.
Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq
by Victor Davis HansonHanson examines the world's ongoing war on terrorism, from America to Iraq, from Europe to Israel, and beyond. In direct language, Hanson portrays an America making progress against Islamic fundamentalism but hampered by the self-hatred of elite academics at home and the cynical self-interest of allies abroad. He sees a new and urgent struggle of evil against good, one that can fail only if "we convince ourselves that our enemies fight because of something we, rather than they, did." Whether it's a clear-cut defense of Israel as a secular democracy, a denunciation of how the U.N. undermines the U.S., a plea to drastically alter our alliance with Saudi Arabia, or a perception that postwar Iraq is reaching a dangerous tipping point, Hanson's arguments have the shock of candor and the fire of conviction.
Between War and Peace
by Col. Matthew MotenAn emperor bows abjectly before his conquerors on the deck of a battleship. As smoke yet rises from a bloody battlefield, a dejected general proffers his sword to his victorious opponent. Frock-coated ministers exchange red leather-bound treaty books in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. These are iconic images of war's end, but even when they are historically accurate, they conceal more than they convey. Not all wars end decisively. Indeed, the endings of most wars are messy, complicated, inconclusive, and deeply intriguing. As the United States attempts to extricate itself from two long and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nothing could be more relevant than a look back at the ways America has ended its major conflicts in the past. It is a topic that has been curiously overlooked. Edited and with an introduction by Col. Matthew Moten, a professor of history at West Point, Between War and Peace explores the endings of fourteen American wars, from the Revolution to the first Gulf War. Here, with incisive insight, narrative flourish, and strategic detail, some of America's leading historians examine the progress of America's wars: their initial aims--often quite different from their ends--their predominant strategies, their final campaigns, the painful journeys out of war, and the ramifications of the wars' ends for the nation's future. This timely and important book confronts one of the most pressing issues of our time: how do we end conflict and how do we deal with the country we are leaving behind? As recent history has shown, an "exit strategy," though it's sometimes neglected, can be as important a piece of military strategy as any. Taken together, these essays break new historical and theoretical ground, building on our current understanding of America's history in ways that few studies have done before. A formidable enterprise of historical collaboration, Between War and Peace takes readers inside the climactic moments of America's wars, offering a penetrating look at the past in hopes of illuminating future debates that will determine the nation's course between war and peace.
Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975
by Van Nguyen-MarshallIn Between War and the State, Van Nguyen-Marshall examines an array of voluntary activities, including mutual-help, professional, charitable, community development, student, women's, and rights organizations active in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. By bringing focus to the public lives of South Vietnamese people, Between War and the State challenges persistent stereotypes of South Vietnam as a place without society or agency. Such robust associational life underscores how an active civil society survived despite difficulties imposed by the war, government restrictions, economic hardship, and external political forces. These competing political forces, which included the United States, Western aid agencies, and Vietnamese communist agents, created a highly competitive arena wherein the South Vietnamese state did not have a monopoly on persuasive or coercive power. To maintain its influence, the state sometimes needed to accommodate groups and limit its use of violence. Civil society participants in South Vietnam leveraged their social connections, made alliances, appealed to the domestic and international public, and used street protests to voice their concerns, secure their interests, and carry out their activities.
Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor
by Ronald Drabkin"A beguiling tale of espionage and double-dealing in the years leading up to World War II. ... Strap in for a narrative that demands a suspension of disbelief—and richly rewards it." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review); Best Books of February SelectionThe untold story of the World War I hero who became a fixture of high society in Golden Age Hollywood—all while acting as a double agent for the Japanese Empire as it prepared to attack Pearl HarborFrederick Rutland’s story is a rags-to-riches coup for the ages—a lower-class boy from England bootstraps his way up the ranks of the British military, becoming a World War I pilot, father of the modern aircraft carrier, cosmopolitan businessman, and Hollywood A-list insider. He oversaw this small empire from his mansion on the fabled Bird Streets of Beverly Hills. Snubbed for promotion in the Royal Air Force due to little more than jealousy and class politics, Rutland—to all appearances—continued to spin gold from straw, living an enviably lavish lifestyle that included butlers, wild parties, private clubs, and newsworthy living . . .. . . and it was all funded by the Japanese Empire.Beverly Hills Spy reveals the story of Rutland’s life of espionage on behalf of the Axis, selling secrets about fleet and aircraft design to the Japanese Imperial Navy that would be instrumental in its ability to attack Pearl Harbor, while collecting a salary ten times larger than the best-paid Japanese admirals. Based on recently declassified FBI files and until-now untranslated documents from Japanese intelligence, Ronald Drabkin brings the scope of this unforgettable tale into full focus for the first time. Rutland hides in plain sight, rubbing elbows with Amelia Earhart and hosting galas and fundraisers with superstars like Charlie Chaplin and Boris Karloff, while simultaneously passing information to Japan through spy networks across North and Central America. Countless opportunities to catch Rutland in the act are squandered by the FBI, British Intelligence, and US Naval Intelligence alike as he uses his cunning and charm to misdirect and cast shadows of doubt over his business dealings, allowing him to operate largely unfettered for years.In the end, whether he fully intends to or not, Rutland sets in motion world events that are so monumental, their consequences are still being felt today.Beverly Hills Spy is a masterpiece of research on spy craft, a shocking narrative about an unknown but pivotal figure in history, and brings new information to light that helps us understand how Pearl Harbor happened—and how it could have been prevented.
Beware of Pity
by Trevor Blewitt Joan Accocella Stefan Zweig Phyllis BlewittThe great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig was a master anatomist of the deceitful heart, and Beware of Pity, the only novel he published during his lifetime, uncovers the seed of selfishness within even the finest of feelings.Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire, is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, a world away from the dreary routine of the barracks. The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host--s lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled. It is a minor blunder that will destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health.
Beware Raiders!: German Surface Raiders in the Second World War
by Bernard EdwardsA British naval historian recounts the victories and defeats of two of the most infamous German Navy vessels during World War II. Bernard Edwards&’s Beware Raiders! tells the fascinating story of two German ships and the havoc they caused amongst Allied shipping in World War II. One was the eight-inch gun cruiser Admiral Hipper—named for World War I&’s German fleet Admiral Franz von Hipper—fast, powerful, and Navy-manned. The other was a converted merchant man, Hansa Line&’s Kandelfels armed with a few old scavenged guns manned largely by reservists, and sailing under the nom de guerre Pinguin. The difference between the pride of the Third Reich&’s Kriegsmarine&’s fleet and the converted cruiser was even more evident in their commanders. Edwards emphasizes the striking contrast between the conduct of Ernst Kruder, captain of the Pinguin, who attempted to cause as little loss of life as possible, and the callous Iron Cross–decorated Wilhelm Meisel of the Admiral Hipper, who had scant regard for the lives of the men whose ships he had sunk. Contrary to all expectations, as Edwards reveals in his thrilling accounts of the missions performed by each ship, the amateur man-of-war reaped a rich harvest and went out in a blaze of glory. The purpose-built battlecruiser, on the other hand, was hard-pressed even to make her mark on the war and ended her days in ignominy.
Beware the Black Battlenaut
by Robert T. Jeschonek Ben BaldwinAll-out war engulfs a distant quadrant of space. Hardcore warriors clash in high tech Battlenaut armor, pitting the ultimate fighting machines in epic struggles on a planetary scale. In the heart of this raging hell, the sleep-deprived Redeye squad fights harder than anyone. Pumped up on drugs, wired to the max, the Redeyes tear through enemy forces like berserk Vikings. But fatigue takes a toll, as the Redeyes start to see things that don't exist. And something that might exist after all--a terrible harbinger of doom, a legendary herald of the end of all things. Does the Black Battlenaut truly tower over the blood-soaked war zone? Is it a nightmare brought on by exhaustion, or an omen of infinite devastation? Either way, the Redeyes set out to stop it by any means necessary...even if their private war requires the ultimate sacrifice and more. Don't miss this exciting tale by award-winning storyteller Robert T. Jeschonek, a master of hard-hitting science fiction that really packs a punch."Robert Jeschonek is a towering talent..." - Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Starship series.
Beware This Boy
by Maureen JenningsNovember, 1940. Tom Tyler, Detective Inspector of the small Shropshire town of Whitchurch, is a troubled man. The preceding summer had been a dark one for Britain, and even darker for Tom's own family and personal life. So he jumps at the opportunity to help out in the nearby city of Birmingham, where an explosion in a munitions factory has killed or badly injured several of the young women who have taken on dangerous work in support of the war effort.At first, it seems more than likely the explosion was an accident, and Tom has only been called in because the forces are stretched thin. But as he talks to the employees of the factory, inner divisions -- between the owner and his employees, between unionists and workers who fear communist infiltration -- begin to appear. Put that together with an AWOL young soldier who unwittingly puts all those he loves at risk and a charming American documentary filmmaker who may be much more than he seems, and you have a page-turning novel that bears all the hallmarks of Maureen Jennings' extraordinary talent: a multi-faceted mystery, vivid characters, snappy dialogue, and a pitch-perfect sense of the era of the Blitz, when the English were pushed to their limits and responded with a courage and resilience that still inspires.
Beyond Adversity: U' Company, 15th Battalion 1941-1942 (Big Sky Publishing Ser.)
by William ParkIn November 1941, about 100 university students began their short-term compulsory military training with the 15th Infantry Battalion. Most were aged 19-22, had daytime jobs and were evening or external students from the arts, commerce and law faculties. They were ambitious, hard-working young men anxious to make their way in the world. Their compulsory military training was due to end on 4 February 1942 and the students would then be released to return to their jobs and continue their part-time studies. The outbreak of the Pacific War on 7 December changed everything. In April 1942, the 15th Battalion was given 24 hours' notice to move from Caloundra to Townsville. In January 1943 the Battalion went to New Guinea to take part in the Salamaua and Lae campaigns and did not return to Brisbane until July 1944. In November it was sent to fight in Bougainville. The Battalion finally returned home in January 1946 and most returned to resume their studies and jobs within the community. This book tells the story of those Queensland University students of `U' Company, 15th Battalion during its brief existence. It covers their wartime service in all its tragedy and triumph and how they resumed their lives, studies and careers once the war was over. Most regard themselves as being very fortunate - to have survived the war, to have learned to cope with adversity, to have learned the importance of getting on with life in spite of insurmountable obstacles and in having been able to make the most of opportunities that arose. They have been fortunate to find a life beyond adversity.
Beyond All Weapons
by L. Ron HubbardBoldly go to new worlds. Firstin Guide is not a man to be reckoned with. Bilged out of the Space Academy at fourteen for one too many duels, raised in the lawless camps of Mars' southern ice cap and cast aside by his family, Firstin's experiences have made him resourceful, respected and feared. But it's just that brute strength of character which convinces a handful of Martian colonists to follow him as he leads a risky venture into space, escaping the tyrannical Earth government that has all but slaughtered them.The small band secures a spaceship that uses an innovative new fuel and, by the grace of the stars, finds a liveable planet. But the men of the new colony led by Firsten also thirst for revenge which drives them to return to Earth and exact retribution despite dire warnings against it. ALSO INCLUDES THE SCIENCE FICTION STORIES "STRAIN" AND "THE INVADERS" "...sci-fi stories from L. Ron Hubbard. Innocent & enjoyable vintage romps." --Review DuJour (Jeff Berkwits, Twitter review)
Beyond Antares: Dimensional Gates
by Robert E. Waters Brandon RospondAn anthology of 10 stories set in the Gates of Antares Universe
Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
by Dick WintersOn D-Day, Winters parachuted into France and assumed leadership of the Band of Brothers. Here are his and their stories from WWII.
Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs Of Major Dick Winters (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers Ser.)
by Dick Winters Cole C. KingseedThey were called Easy Company--but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered 150% casualties while liberating Europe--an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Dick Winters was their commander--"the best combat leader in World War II" to his men. This is his story--told in his own words for the first time. On D-Day, Dick Winters parachuted into France and assumed leadership of the Band of Brothers when their commander was killed. He led them through the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany, by which time each member had been wounded. They liberated an S.S. death camp from the horrors of the Holocaust and captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler's alpine retreat. After briefly serving during the Korean War, Winters was a highly successful businessman. Made famous by Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers--and the subsequent award-winning HBO miniseries--he is the object of worldwide adulation. Beyond Band of Brothers is Winters's memoir--based on his wartime diary--but it also includes his comrades' untold stories. Virtually all this material is being released for the first time. Only Winters was present from the activation of Easy Company until the war's end. Winner of the Distinguished Service Cross, only he could pen this moving tribute to the human spirit.
Beyond The Call
by Lee Trimble Jeremy DronfieldNear the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front, modern day Ukraine. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men.The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans.The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble.With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child.One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake.This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom.INCLUDES PHOTOS
Beyond The Call of Duty
by Franklin M. ReckTHE Medal of Honor is the highest decoration for bravery in battle awarded by the United States. It is frequently called the Congressional Medal of Honor, though the word “Congressional” doesn’t properly belong in the title.All citations for the Medal of Honor contain some variant of the following words:“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity involving risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy.”This book tells the stories of those first sixteen, plus two Army Air Force officers who won their decorations in a ground action during an infantry attack. Two of the winners in this book are Cavalry—jeep-mounted cavalry operating with the infantry during the Sicilian campaign.These men received the Medal of Honor, first of all, because their most intimate comrades thought they deserved it. A recommendation for a Medal of Honor begins on the field of action, with fellow soldiers who saw or shared in the exploit.
Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference (The Holocaust and its Contexts)
by Suzanne Bardgett Christine Schmidt Dan StoneThis book presents a selection of the newest research on themes amplified by the sixth annual Beyond Camps and Forced Labour conference on the post-Holocaust period, including ‘displaced persons’, reception and resettlement, exiles and refugees, trials and justice, reparation and restitution, and memory and testimony. The chapters highlight new, transnational approaches and findings based on underused and newly opened archives, including compensation files of the British government; on historical actors often on the periphery within English-language historiography, including Romanian and Hungarian survivors; and new approaches such as the spatial history of Drancy, as well as geographies that have undergone less scrutiny, for example, Tehran, Chile, Mexico and Cyprus. This volume represents the vibrant and varied state of research on the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era
by Heather Marie SturBeyond Combat investigates how the Vietnam War both reinforced and challenged the gender roles that were key components of American Cold War ideology. Refocusing attention onto women and gender paints a more complex and accurate picture of the war's far-reaching impact beyond the battlefields. Encounters between Americans and Vietnamese were shaped by a cluster of intertwined images used to make sense of and justify American intervention and use of force in Vietnam. These images included the girl next door, a wholesome reminder of why the United States was committed to defeating Communism, and the treacherous and mysterious 'dragon lady', who served as a metaphor for Vietnamese women and South Vietnam. Heather Stur also examines the ways in which ideas about masculinity shaped the American GI experience in Vietnam and, ultimately, how some American men and women returned from Vietnam to challenge homefront gender norms.
BEYOND COURAGE: Escape Tales Of Airmen In The Korean War [Illustrated Edition]
by Clay BlairIncludes ten illustrations and one map.Clay Blair, Jr., close to Air Force headquarters during the Korean war, heard, as did everyone there, fascinating stories of Air Force pilots who had crashed or been shot down behind enemy lines and then managed, by one means or another, often enduring incredible hardships, to make their way back to U.N. lines. However, at the time, these stories were highly classified and not available for publication. Now Mr. Blair has been allowed to go through these secret files and has studied the full details of these dramatic escapes. The most exciting of these he presents in this book. In addition he has interviewed the men themselves to fill in any missing links in the stories they gave to Air Force officers shortly after their rescue, and to recapture their own personal reactions to their amazing adventures. Here are unbelievable accounts of the U.N. forces in Korea—for the stories are peopled, not just with Americans, but with Turks and Greeks and ROK’s and friendly North Korean Christians, who often risked their lives to help downed airmen. You can feel the cold and agony of walking forty miles over mountains in temperatures of thirty degrees below with your feet frozen; the horror of spending more than a month in holes dug in the ground only slightly larger than a coffin; the torture of treatment— or lack of it—in a Communist POW hospital; the shattering loneliness of a month on a deserted island — with friendly planes flying over almost every day and ignoring you. How did one man survive when another failed? What gives some men a courage that surpasses comprehension? How is it possible to live through such experiences and be willing to risk them again? All these questions and many more are answered by Mr. Blair, himself a veteran of Navy submarine warfare, in this startling, thrilling account of Americans at their heroic best.
Beyond Courage: Air Sea Rescue by Walrus Squadrons in the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian Seas 1942–1945
by Norman FranksThe author of Another Kind of Courage takes a deep dive into the World War II heroics of the pilots and aircrew of the single-engined amphibian airplanes. This book covers the adventures of 283, 284, 293 and 294 Walrus Squadrons, operating from North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Sardinia. The pilots, like their counterparts in England, knew of the dangers of landing on the sea. It was a daunting task attempting to rescue downed airmen as they had often to operate in bad weather, and near hostile coasts. Airmen who were bobbing about in dinghies, or even just in their Mae West life jackets, were difficult to locate. Rescues from the cold sea needed to be speedy affairs, especially of those survivors not in dinghies, and the Walrus aircrew were always aware that time was of the essence. Moreover, rescues near a hostile shore often resulted in gunfire from German or Italian gunners. Many Walrus pilots have added personal recollections to the narrative and so too have some of those airmen who were rescued. As well as RAF and SAAF airmen, there were numerous USAAF units involved in the air war over the Mediterranean and Italy, and Norman has been in contact with several Americans whose lives were saved by these gallant men who flew the Walrus amphibian single-engined biplane. Men who knew only too well that to pick up more than two or three airmen generally meant a hard sea-borne taxi ride back to base, which conditions never guaranteed. The stories of these rescues give one a sense of sincere pride in the men who daily risked their lives to save others from a very hostile environment.
Beyond Endurance: An Epic of Whitehall and the South Atlantic Conflict (Post World War Ll Ser.)
by Nick BarkerAn Epic of Whitehall and the South Atlantic Conflict. This is the story of HMS Endurance before, during and after the Falklands conflict.
Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization
by Reza AslanThe wars in the Middle East have become religious wars in which God is believed to be directly engaged on behalf of one side against the other. The hijackers who attacked America on September 11, 2001, thought they were fighting in the name of God. According to award-winning writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan, the United States, by infusing the War on Terror with its own religiously polarizing rhetoric, is fighting a similar war-a war that can't be won. Beyond Fundamentalism is both an in-depth study of the ideology fueling al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. At a time when religion and politics increasingly share the same vocabulary and function in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must strip the conflicts of our world of their religious connotations and address the earthly grievances that always lie at its root. How do you win a religious war? By refusing to fight in one. Featuring new content and updated analysis. Originally published as How to Win a Cosmic War.
Beyond The Gap: A Historical Perspective On World War II River Crossings
by Major John OrdonioCrossing a river against a defending enemy force is a difficult and complex task for any army. History has shown that preparation is necessary to avoid disasters during this type of operation. In 2003, the Third Infantry Division crossed the Euphrates River because it was prepared for this task and possessed the necessary equipment. Since then, no other divisions or corps has executed river crossing operations.While the United States Army focused on counterinsurgency operations during the last twelve years, it underwent significant changes to adapt to meet the adversities on the battlefield. It transformed its war-fighting organizations, trained its corps and divisions with computer simulations, and relegated field training to brigade and below units. In addition, its current doctrine now refers to river crossings as the deliberate wet gap crossing. Because of these changes, many questions arose as to the present corps and divisions' preparedness to do large-scale operations, to include its ability to plan, prepare, and execute the deliberate wet gap crossing. If called today, could these organizations conduct this complex operation? Examining river crossings in Europe during the Second World War was appropriate for insight into how the previous generation of corps and divisions prepared and executed such a complex task. After analyzing how these units were able to cross the numerous waterways in Europe, the present Army should consider reassessing its doctrine, training, and organization and equipment to prepare its units for future deliberate wet gap crossings.