The assignment is to research and write papers,roughly 12-15 pages in length, from the list provided below. In so doing, you can only choose one topic or question from each category or war.
World War I
1. Compare and Contrast the policy of any two of the major belligerents concerning desertion, cowardice and dereliction of duty.
2. Everyone expected a short war. Why were these expectations wrong?
3. Why did the allied forces (British and French) continue to undertake arguably futile and costly offensives for little, if any gain?
World War II Strategic Bombing
1. Why did the United States and/or Great Britain undertake strategic bombing as a key element of their overall strategy?
2. Give the costs of strategic bombing, was the campaign worth it?
3. Do you agree or disagree with the moral and ethical critiques of strategic bombing that emerged after the war?
World War II Iwo Jima
1. Was the Japanese ‘bushido’ code and samurai ethic responsible for the behaviour of the Japanese military in World War II?
2. Was Iwo Jima necessary and worth the costs?
3. Why did the United States drop the atomic bombs?
The Cold War
1. What is meant by the term Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)? Identify the key components of the condition of MAD.
The Vietnam War
1. Did U.S. minorities, especially the African-American community, bear a disproportionate burden of the war in Vietnam?
2. Did American domestic public opinion lose the war in Vietnam?
3. What is the Vietnam syndrome and is it still significant?
