Book Reviews

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A HISTORY OF MILITARY AFFAIRS IN WESTERN SOCIETY SINCE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Edited with Introductions by Gordon B. Turner. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Com­pany, 1953. 776 pages.

Reviewed by E. B. Potter

(Professor Potter is chairman of the Naval History Committee in the Department of English, History, and Government, United Stales Naval Academy.)

In the universities of the R.O.T.C. pro­grams, cadets and midshipmen are taught political history by the university faculty; they are taught military history (battles and campaigns, the evolution of tactics, the logic of strategy) by officer instructors. To Pro­fessor Turner of Princeton this appeared a false compartmentation for, as Clausewitz pointed out quite some time ago, “War is merely the continuation of state policy by other means. . . . The political design is the object, while war is the means, and the means can never be thought of apart from the ob­ject.” Turner put it in terms of education: “Military history should not be taught ex­cept in its relation to general history, for military and civil affairs are today so inti­mately meshed that to study the former with­out putting it into the context of the latter is to distort it in the mind of the student.” With a grant from the Rockefeller Founda­tion and the assistance of three of his col­leagues, Professor Turner put his theory into practice. This took the form of a lecture- discussion course, now available at Princeton both to military and civilian students, and a book of readings. This book, A History of Military Affairs in Western Society since the Eighteenth Century, is made up of selections from authorities in military and politico- military fields (Fuller, Churchill, Mahan, Brodie, the Sprouts, Upton, Freeman, Bald­win, to name a few) put into chronological context by a series of thought-provoking introductions. The readings, and the lectures, deal with the impact of war on society and of society upon war; with the influence of politi­cal decision on strategy and the influence of military decision upon politics; with the relationship between military and political leaders and between leaders of coalitions; and with various aspects of grand strategy, the level of warfare where political and military objectives are most nearly inseparable.

For the general reader, Turner’s collection will open up new horizons. For the student of military matters, it brings together in one book representative passages from the stand­ard authorities and also selections from a number of works he may have missed in his previous reading. For either general reader or military student, A History of Military Affairs will prove deeply interesting and re­warding. Regarding the theory and the course which the book is intended to serve, however, at least two observations need to be made.

First, the project is still in a pioneer and tentative stage. That the editor and publish­ers recognize this is proclaimed by the format of A History of Military Affairs, which is paper bound and printed in offset from a typescript. Probably no more than a frac­tion of the necessary questions have yet been raised. The synthesis, when it comes, will probably be in the form of a treatise rather than a selection of readings. The Princeton professors have made a good beginning, but other approaches to the subject will also have influence, notably the extension course in the Philosophy of War offered in Annapolis and Washington under the auspices of St. John’s College by Naval Academy Professors W. R. Russell and H. H. Lumpkin.

Secondly, while the course in Military Af­fairs, excellent in itself, will doubtless in­fluence the teaching of both general history and military history, it is clearly not a satis­factory substitute for either. It is too special­ized for the former and not specialized enough for the latter. The officer, besides dealing with statesmen and keeping the po­litical objectives in mind, must also fight battles and wage campaigns. For that he needs to study in detail the military solutions reached by his predecessors. The probability is that Turner’s book will find its most wide­spread and possibly most valuable use as collateral reading for courses in general and military history.

CHESAPEAKE BAY: A PICTORIAL

MARITIME HISTORY. By M. V.

Brewington. Cambridge, Md.:          Cornell

Maritime Press, 1953. 256 pages. $6.50.

Reviewed by Commodore Dudley W.

Knox, U. S. Navy (Retired)

(iCommodore Knox, a graduate of the Naval Academy in the Class of 1896, is a founder of the Naval Historical Foundation and one of the U. S. Navy’s best known his­torians.)

An authoritative survey of maritime af­fairs and technology in long neglected Chesa­peake Bay; this book is factual, full of sub­stance and interestingly told. Well selected pictures, mostly contemporaneous with their subject and going back to 1585, are cleverly combined with brief text to tell the fruitful story up to recent times.

The historical significance of the work should be gauged by the cardinal influence of maritime matters upon the development of our country for more than two centuries. Much of this has been written about New England; too little about the productive Chesapeake region where 4,000 miles of shore line with a multitude of navigable rivers, creeks, bays, and harbors have made it es­pecially applicable. Here salt water furnished not only the life-line to the mother country and an avenue of lucrative foreign trade, but also, more than elsewhere, a principal source of food and a necessary and easy means of domestic transport. Until comparatively re­cent times many people even went to church by boat.

The great Bay saw the first permanent English settlement in the New World. “Here shipbuilding as a profession had its American beginnings; here the first of our purely local watercraft was developed. For a century and a half the Chesapeake’s waters carried car­goes of greater value and bulk than all the rest of America combined. These waters saw the first naval engagement, the first amphibi­ous expedition, and the action which altered the whole course of naval warfare.” The Bay had a major part in our national as well local history.

This significant phase of history is told in fourteen chapters dealing separately with: Explorers and Settlers: Shipbuilding: Sail­ing Vessels: Steamboats: Ferries: Bay Craft: Ports: Commerce and Trade: Maritime Artisans: Oysters, Crabs and Fish: Pilots: Privateering, Piracy and War: Maritime Museums: Sports.

Each chapter is a monograph setting forth its topic chronologically with brief text and a series of pictures. We should remember the high value of a picture in conveying an idea. Concerning watercraft and many mat­ters related thereto no amount of text can serve such purpose equally well. Pictorial ex­position was thus a sound method to adopt, more especially since the picture slection is excellent. The author has chosen the illustra­tions with priority to a factual, realistic standard rather than an artistic one, and to contemporaneous pictures when available.

The wealth of maritime events and tradi­tion related to Chesapeake Bay, and their national as well as local interest and impor­tance is worthy of a more extensive litera­ture. One foot ashore and the other in a boat has not heretofore seemed to have been con­ducive to history writing by the natives of that region. Brewington’s work fills a gap that has needed filling. It is of permanent value for standard reference.

TOBACCO COAST: A MARITIME HIS­TORY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY IN THE COLONIAL ERA. By Arthur Pierce Middleton. Newport News: The Mariners’ Museum, 1953. 482 pages, 28 il­lustrations, including index. $5.00.

Reviewed by Ernest S. Dodge

(Mr. Dodge is Director of the Peabody Museum of Salem, Massachusetts, and Managing Editor of “The American Neptune: A quarterly journal of Maritime History.’’)

Many friends of Dr. Middleton have been waiting for this substantial book for some time. It has been worth waiting for. In his foreword the author frankly states that he had no time to polish the manuscript nor was any foreseeable in the immediate future. Fortunately he was persuaded that the con­tents were of immediate value to others, and ^so he released the manuscript for publica­tion.

The book is divided into five parts: Sea and Bay, Commerce, Shipping, Warfare, and Conclusion. The book begins with descrip­tions of the hardships of life at sea in seven­teenth century Atlantic crossings, followed by a summary of the navigational methods of the period. A geographical description of the rivers emptying into the Bay points out that cities did not arise in the region until to­bacco cultivation had moved inland beyond the fall line and the crops had to be brought to navigable water.

The largest section is devoted to commerce and contains an excellent account of the growing, handling, and merchandising of tobacco, in all its ramifications. Small in­dustries arose and flourished in Virginia and Maryland when tobacco prices were low and decreased or became inactive in periods of high tobacco prices. The over-all trend in in­dustry, however, was upward and it became increasingly common toward the end of the Colonial Period. The English government discouraged the production of naval stores in the two Chesapeake Colonies despite abundant natural resources. It was the home government’s desire that nothing interfere with tobacco growing, which brought in rich revenue. After the market for tobacco in Great Britain was filled, enormous quantities were reshipped to the Continent. Toward the close of the Colonial period about nine- tenths of the annual export of nearly 100,000,000 pounds a year was reexported to foreign markets.

While tobacco was the staple article of trade, there was also a brisk trade in grain, with southern Europe, the West Indies, and the northern colonies. In the eighteenth cen­tury, a large illicit trade existed with the non-English West Indies where sugar and molasses were cheaper than in the English islands. Although fish abounded in the Bay waters fisheries did not develop into a com­mercial enterprise during the Colonial pe­riod. It is important to note that the value of the Chesapeake trade in the mid-1700s was considerable more than the combined trades of New England, Jamaica, Barbados, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and North Carolina.

The convoy system for protecting the to­bacco fleet from French and Dutch warships was developed early and was in general suc­cessful. Not so successful was the defence of the Bay. In 1667 and again 1673 Dutch men- of-war entered the Chesapeake and captured tobacco ships. The warships assigned to the defence of the Bay were all too frequently in deplorable condition or too small and lightly armed for the task. Thus the inhabitants of the Bay shores were not only endangered by foreign enemies, but by pirates who caused interminable trouble and annoyance.

Chesapeake Bay’s famous fast sailing ves­sels, aids to navigation, pilots, merchants and all aspects of the subjects during the Colonial period are pursued and discussed at length and with authority.

In conclusion the author points out that the geographical features of the Chesapeake tidewater, with its great network of navi­gable rivers, made possible the adoption of

tobacco as a single staple crop and also made unnecessary the early development of towns. This contributed to keeping Maryland and Virginia dependent socially, culturally, and economically upon Great Britain long after the northern colonies had become quite self sufficient. Dividing the single economic en­tity of the Chesapeake Bay area into two political units, worked greatly to its dis­advantage. Agreement on production fish­eries, lighthouses, and aids to navigation were long retarded by this political dis­memberment.

This is such an important book it is a pity the author did not have more time to work over the manuscript. Its length could have been reduced considerably to its benefit, and there is a feeling that the illustrations might have been better selected. The footnotes are in the back and are followed by an excellent bibliography and several useful appendices.

THE CONTINENTAL SHELF. By M. W. Mouton. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1952. xii and 367 pages. Chart of the con­tinental shelf, appendix, bibliography, and index. Guilders 24.

Reviewed by W. T. Mallison, Jr.

(A student of international law, Mr. Mallison has done considerable research and writing in his special field for the Navy Department.)

This book was awarded the Grotius Prize by the Institute of International Law in 1952. The author, a Captain in the Royal Netherlands Navy as well as a lawyer, brings to his analysis of the legal problems of the continental shelf advantages which a writer trained only in law would not enjoy. In our era of extreme specialization it is encouraging to find naval officer lawyers.

Throughout the book the author reveals a refreshing concern for factual background. One of the depressing deficiencies from which traditional international law has suffered has been the failure to relate the legal doctrines to the facts which give the doctrines signifi­cance. This inadequacy has caused interna­tional law to become suspect by many prac­tical minded men.

Captain Mouton defines the continental shelf as that part of the subsoil which is land­ward of the 100-fathom depth line. He be­lieves that this provides ample opportunity for resource exploitation considering extrac­tion techniques available now and in the fore­seeable future.

The most extensive treatment in the book is devoted to fisheries. The conclusion on this subject is that there is not such a factual rela­tion between fisheries and the shelf as to make a unified legal approach desirable.

Chapter 5, which provides a striking exam­ple of the relevance of facts to law, comprises an interesting summary of offshore extrac­tion methods. From the naval viewpoint one of the most interesting devices is a former L.S.T. mounting complete well-drilling equipment. The advantage of the self-pro­pelled drilling device is that once the well has been drilled, the transportation of the drilling equipment to another place is rela­tively simple.

In Chapter 4 the author is concerned with the national proclamations and decrees which attempt to assert varying degrees of control over the mineral resources of the con­tinental shelf and, in some instances, control or sovereignty over the high seas and the air space above and even beyond the shelf. Be­cause of the lack of established international law to regulate planning, allocation, and de­velopment of the resources of the shelf, Cap­tain Mouton attempts to determine the status of unilateral national action. He con­cludes that the Proclamation of the President of the United States of September 28, 1945, and the various proclamations of other na­tional states which have followed it are not successful in establishing law. He believes that at most they may point the direction for the development of new law. This reviewer cannot assent to either of these views because they at once give too much effect to some of the proclamations and deny a proper scope to others. It is thought that the author’s analysis is based upon over-emphasizing the common unilateral and national character of all the proclamations while according too little significance to the subjects and degrees of the national controls asserted. The legal effect of unilateral national action is tested in terms of its reasonableness. Here the rights claimed vary greatly. At one extreme, as found in the Proclamation of the President of the United States, we have a mere control or jurisdiction for the special and limited pur­pose of extraction of the natural resources of the adjacent continental shelf, because such resource utilization and conservation is conditional upon cooperation and protection from the shore. At the other extreme, as shown in some other proclamations, there are ^responsible claims to ownership or sover­eignty of the entire land mass of the adjacent continental shelf and the water and air above

and some of the water and air beyond it. Is it possible that claims which vary so widely in terms of reasonableness should be accorded the same treatment under international law? This reviewer is convinced that the action of the United States accomplishes a great deal more than merely pointing the direction of the development of the law. On the other hand, is must be recognized that it would be ^a severe blow to the free navigation of the high seas and the air space above them if any of the claims to ownership or sovereignty of such water or air were recognized in inter­national law.

In addition to the threat to the freedom of the seas and the air space just described, it is apparent that simple physical obstructions such as platform installations for the extrac­tion of resources can constitute a menace to navigation. There are serious legal problems concerning the location and marking of such installations. It is clear that even the self- Propelled drilling platform in the shape of an ex-L.S.T. could be a navigational hazard when conducting operations in a shipping lane. Captain Mouton’s training as a naval officer enables him to appraise the extent of these dangers to navigation. He believes, however, that platform installations can be used consistent with the requirements of free and safe navigation. This conclusion is in accord with the Draft Articles on the subject prepared by the International Law Commis­sion of the United Nations.

It is understandable that Captain Mou- ton, in common with many others from abroad, has inadequate knowledge of the complicated legal relationships between the United States Government and the state governments within the United States con­cerning development of the resources of the shelf. Whatever the law on the development of resources (the so-called “Tidelands” Oil

Bill has been enacted into law since Captain Mouton’s book was published), one point should be made crystal clear. It is that none of the state or federal legislation results in giving territorial waters to any of the indi­vidual states. Government control over ter­ritorial waters is different from development of resources below the waters. The compel­ling necessity of exclusive United States Gov­ernment control over our territorial waters can be illustrated by reference to the doctrine of the right of innocent passage of foreign ships through territorial waters. Let us sup­pose that the practical question arises as to whether a particular foreign vessel is prop­erly within the scope of the doctrine. If such a question could be handled by one of our indi­vidual states, then the United States would have ceased to be a single state under inter­national law. The question also has direct impact in terms of national defense. The allo­cation of the question to one of our individual states would give the states wide powers in national defense as well as in foreign rela­tions. The men who drafted the United States Constitution knew the folly of this in 1787. Today such a course could result in national disaster.

Captain Mouton manifests great faith in international conferences to solve the prob­lems of the continental shelf. It is possible to agree on the desirability of this approach and at the same time to advocate constructive national action until such time as genuine peace can provide the basis for constructive multilateral action. The United States and the other nations of the Free World seek security and peace. This involves extending the rule of law to the continental shelf and beyond it to the world community. Effective law may be defined as rules of conduct com­bined with some enforcement or sanction. In the world today and in the foreseeable fu­ture, the sea power of the Free World can be used to provide a measure of enforcement to the developing law in the world community. Eloquent statement of the indispensability of a sanction has been made before the Gen­eral Assembly of the United Nations in the following words:

“Peace and order cannot be preserved by words alone. Peace and order cannot be preserved with­out force, even in the most civilized communities

in the world. Crime and disorder cannot be re­strained in New York or in Washington or in Lon­don or in Ottawa, or even in Moscow, without force.”[1]

IMPERIAL COMMUNISM, by Anthony

T. Bouscaren. Washington: Public Affairs

Press, 1953; 256 pages; $3.75.

Reviewed by Vice Admiral Leslie C. Stevens, U. S. Navy (Retired)

(President of the American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, Admiral Stevens was U. S. Naval Attache in Moscow, 1947-1949.)

Mr. Bouscaren, who is an Associate Pro­fessor of Political Science at the University of San Francisco, presents a world-wide sur­vey of Communist activities as an aggressive attempt to achieve world domination by politico-military action. The four chapters on the Soviet Union consist of a documentation of this aspect of Soviet foreign policy, largely from the writings of Lenin, Stalin, and vari­ous Western commentators, a very brief summary of how this policy has been imple­mented by action since the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, an expose of the fraudu- lence of Soviet claims on fostering peace, and a short but useful summary of the military strength of the Soviet bloc.

Eighty percent of his pages deals with the machinations of Communist parties outside the Soviet Union. There is a chapter on Com­munism in China, one on Communism in Southeast Asia, another on Communism in Japan and the Pacific, followed by others on Korea, India and Pakistan, Iran, and so on through fifteen chapters around the world from east to west, ending with Communism in the United States. The pattern of each chapter is a sketchy outline of the vicissi­tudes, strength, and effectiveness of the local Communist movements and coalitions which they have controlled.

The book is a compilation rather than a developed argument, a handbook rather than a dissertation. It serves a useful purpose by bringing together an accumulation of data which would otherwise require some effort to locate, and the net result is an impressive array of evidence to document the basic thesis.

Although there are few who can read Imperial Communism without learning some things that they do not already know, it is very easy to find fault, not with his thesis, but with the manner in which he carries it out. Unless one is particularly interested in such matters, it is rather dull reading. Being largely a compilation of facts, there is little analysis or interpretation of what lies be­hind those facts, other than the obvious conclusion that it is the hand of Soviet Russia.

Mr. Bouscaren is a pro-MacArthur, anti- Acheson man, and, since many of his sources are newpapers, it is not surprising to find a certain amount of innuendo, half-statement, hindsight, and one-sided viewpoints in his pages. His chapters are none too well organ­ized, and minor instances of carelessness, contradictions and repetition can be found. Occasionally material which lends itself to strong and impressive handling seems to be slighted.

With all its faults, Mr. Bouscaren’s book is a definite contribution to the anti-Com­munist cause, although its stature is not as high as the subject seems to demand.

The Jungle Seas. By Arthur A. Ageton.

New York: Random House, 1954. 339

pages. $3.75.

Reviewed by William McFee

(iOne of the outstanding novelists of this century, Mr. McFee has written extensively on the relationship of man and the sea. Every listing of modern maritime fiction is certain to carry the title of several of his books.)

Since the days of Captain Frederick Mar- ryat of the Royal Navy, who died in 1848, and who created the immortal Mr. Midship­man Easy, it has been a tradition in other navies to write books. Even admirals have written them, but it must be admitted they have generally done it to explain how they won a war, or, in some cases, how they lost it. Library shelves groan with this kind of liter­ature, which does not concern us here. We are thinking of novelists, men like Pierre Loti, the French naval officer, and Melville,