Adrian Lewis
University of Kansas
Adrian R. Lewis is the David B. Pittaway Professor of Military History at the University of Kansas, where he teaches courses on World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recent military operations including the Global War on Terrorism and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His publications include The American Culture of War: The History of U.S. Military Force from World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom (Taylor & Francis, 2006), now in its third edition, and Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory (University of North Carolina Press, 2001). Prof. Lewis has taught at the U.S. Military Academy, the University of California, Berkley where he served as the PMS, and the University of North Texas, Denton where he served as the Chair of the Department of History. Prof. Lewis is a retired soldier; he served with the 2-1 Infantry and 2-23 Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, and the 2-75 Infantry (Ranger), in Korea, Alaska, Panama, and Germany.
Undergraduate SyllabI
THE HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II
This course covers the inter-war period and World War II, 1939 to 1945. It is divided into three periods, the European War, the American-European War, and the American-Japanese War. We will focus primarily on the Allied war efforts (British, American, and Soviet/Russian) in the Western European, Eastern European, Mediterranean, and Pacific theaters. The campaigns on the ground, in the air, and at sea are studied, analyzed, and discussed. This course is a study of the military conduct of World War II: hence, we will study the Normandy Invasion, Operation Barbarossa—the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the British and American Strategic Bombing Campaigns, the Stalingrad Campaign, the Holocaust, the U.S. Navy’s Midway Campaign, the Marine Corps’ battle for Iwo Jima, the decision to drop the atomic bomb and other major campaigns and battles. The political, social, diplomatic, and cultural aspects of the war are examined in relation to the military conduct of war. In this course we will study, analyze, and discuss the evolution of air, ground, and naval operations, doctrine, strategy, technology, tactics, command and control, and leadership. Students are required to attend lectures, complete required reading, view required documentaries, participate in discussions, and complete midterms and final exams.
THE HISTORY OF The Vietnam WAR
This course is a study of the American Vietnam War. The Vietnam War is considered by many the first and only war the United States has lost. How did the most powerful nation-state on Earth lose a war to a poor, undeveloped country? This is one of the questions we will discuss and debate in this course. We will study and analyze the American conduct of the war in Vietnam from 1945 to 1975. The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial and divisive wars in American history. By 1968, some observers believed the country, the American people, were near revolution. The controversy did not go away when the war ended. We will place the war in the context of American foreign and military policies, national and national-military strategies, strategic and operational doctrines, conventional and nuclear technological developments, leadership and organization of the national command structure, and numerous other aspects of the national security structure. In the post-World War II period, national security policy changed in response to the Communist threat and the emergence of the Soviet Union as a “Superpower.” The nation and its armed services adapted to the new demands of a bipolar, hostile world. Permanent readiness for war and the constant threat of nuclear war became part of American life. This context is essential to understanding the behavior of the United States during this difficult period known as the Cold War.