C. Sterling – Military Communications. From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Автор: C. Sterling
Название книги: Military Communications. From Ancient Times to the 21st Century
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Военная история
Страницы: 607
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

An alphabetically organized encyclopedia that provides both a history of military communications and an assessment of current methods and applications.

• Over 300 alphabetically organized entries covering all innovations in military communication technology (in the United States and around the world), as well as key people, locations, organizations, and signature battles

• Over 40 expert contributors―both researchers and practitioners of military communications

• An annotated guide to basic reading plus further readings and references for all entries

• Glossary of key terms including acronyms

This volume is the result of a concerted effort by nearly fifty scholars to
assemble a historical reference on a topic that stretches over thousands of
years. While huge amounts of ink have been devoted to just about every
other aspect of military history (commanders, battles, weapons, even fortification),
for some reason communications has not been one of them. Yet
without effective communication, little can be accomplished, regardless of
the scale of the military event. What follows is an attempt to rectify that hole
in the military literature.
Taken together, the 322 entries contained in this volume provide an introduction
to the vast and fascinating topic of communications in a military
context. More specifically, our concern on these pages is with both the
tactical and strategic applications of communication technology (and sometimes,
as in selected battles, with the impact of those applications) in military
organizations in war and peace. The scope is purposely broad rather than
deep. Entries range from ancient times and the use of fire, smoke, and
couriers, up to present-day digital integrated systems. To the extent that
information is available, coverage includes as wide a variety of countries as
possible over the years, though our emphasis is on the English-speaking
world (material on other countries or regions has been limited by availability
of the source material and volunteers to write relevant entries).
As is made clear in the introduction, communication has been central to
the process of fighting throughout history. But to a great extent, it seems to
have become part of the background context of hostilities—always there,
even if not always well applied. Whether we are talking about the use of
human runners as couriers or the use of fire or smoke signals—surely the
earliest modes of military communication—communications has been vital
to victory even if it has rarely been able to stave off defeat. The effective use
of modes of communication, of course, is subject to all the limitations of any
other human endeavor.
We have provided entries on specific battles where communication
played a central part (e.g., the Battle of Midway in 1942), general periods
of military history (e.g., Napoleonic), key individuals (military and civilian),
commands and other military organizations, specific locations (e.g., chiefly
important command headquarters), and—most relevant and the largest category—
the specific modes and means of message transmission. These
range from the natural (e.g., birds, animals, human runners) to the latest
technologies (e.g., the growing variety of digital systems).
Each entry places its subject topic within a historical context, is linked to
related materials by “see also” suggestions, and includes references for further
reading. Some of the latter are Web based, always a risky business as
Web sites all too often come and go without notice. We have leaned toward
print sources whenever possible as they will—presumably—last.
Brevity and concise writing are a hallmark of any encyclopedia project.
We are not telling the whole story here by a long shot. Rather, we have
attempted to survey a huge field (both as to historical time covered and
breadth of means and modes) in what must be considered an introductory
survey.
Any project including current military information naturally must work
within the confines of security concerns and classified information restrictions.
Put another way, as coverage in these pages gets more current (say,
in the period since Vietnam, and especially since about 1990), we are
writing entries based on information that is publicly available—not classified.
There are doubtless many other organizations, processes, and systems
not yet known in the open literature. And doubtless the conclusions drawn
here will become outdated with time as more is learned.
You will find little information here on specific equipment types or models.
That is a huge subject in itself, as epitomized, for example, by Louis
Muelstee’s substantial (three volumes with another in preparation) directory
of British signals equipment. We focus here on overall developments
and provide some equipment examples. Numerous Web sites offer detailed
equipment information.
Save for minor exceptions, this volume does not deal with the mass
media (radio, television, the press) and their coverage of military affairs.
Nor does it generally include the broadcasting operations of the military,
operated chiefly as moral support for fighting forces. We are not concerned
here with international diplomacy, except when those efforts fail and military
action results.
A few topics are dealt with briefly but not extensively—code breaking is a
good example. Many of the historical efforts at code breaking were not inherently
military (but were diplomatic or even religious, for example), nor did
they have direct military impact. Most importantly, however, excellent code
breaking reference material already fills several books the size of this one.
Less information is available on countries other than Britain and the
United States than the editor would have liked to include. Likewise, fewer
“foreign” people, sites, and organizations are listed here than we would
have liked. This is due primarily to a lack of authors with the background
to write about the host of nations not represented on these pages, or adequate
material in English on which to base entries. Sadly, the information
on British military communications suffers from a lack of participation in
the project by the impressive Royal Corps of Signals Museum in Blandford
Camp, England, one of the world centers of artifacts and research in this
field. We tried on numerous occasions to interest them in our project, to
no avail.
There is no intended bias in these pages. We are not touting a particular
point of view—save that communication links are vital to military operations—
nor any particular mode to accomplish military needs. As a group
of authors, we do not adhere to any single point of view, political or
otherwise.
Christopher H. Sterling