Benjamin King | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944 (age 79–80) |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1965–1977 |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | |
Benjamin King (also B. D. King; born 1944) is an American author, military historian and noted war gamer. He served as a Field Artillery officer during the Vietnam War and later served as an historian for the US Army. He is best known for his historical novels A Bullet for Stonewall and A Bullet for Lincoln.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Benjamin King earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Connecticut. In 1965, he was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer in the US Army and assigned to 1st Battalion, 81st Field Artillery Regiment (Pershing), which he recognized the Pershing missile’s similarity to the German V-2 rocket. Consequently he wrote a paper on the V-2 during the captains’ career course after his return from Vietnam, which he later turned into an article for the ‘’Field Artillery Journal’’ and later expanded into a book. After his assignment in Germany, he commanded both a 105mm artillery and headquarters battery in 2nd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970 where he was awarded the Air Medal, a Bronze Star Medal for valor and a Purple Heart Medal. [1] [2]
After leaving the Army in 1977, King aspired to write short stories, but upon reading a book about Stonewall Jackson during the Battle of Chancellorsville in preparation for a battlefield staff ride, he asked the question, “What if he was murdered?” Three months later he finished his first novel, A Bullet for Stonewall, published by Pelican Publishing Company in 1990. [3] [4] He followed up this thriller with a twist on another assassination, A Bullet for Lincoln, published by Pelican in 1993. In this murder mystery, King explored the possibility of John Wilkes Booth being the scapegoat of an elaborate conspiracy “with enough probability to hold the attention of the most accuracy-minded Civil War buffs.” [5] [6] His third alternative history thriller, The Loki Project, was published in 2000, where he considered what would have happened if the Germans had built the atomic bomb. [7]
His interest in war gaming began as a child playing with toy metal soldiers when he found H. G. Wells' "Little Wars", the first book on war gaming rules. He next discovered Donald Featherstone’s rules and eventually wrote his own rules in 1965, which required a detailed knowledge of military history. He published his first rules in 1967 followed by many more after that. [8] [9] [10]
This interest led to a job with the US Army as the Chief of Simulations in the Army Transportation School in 1984 where he designed the simulations, TRANSWAR III, Theater Deployment in the AirLand Battle and TRANSWAR IV, Truck Company Operations in the AirLand Battle. [11]
His professional career as an historian initially started as a contract historian for the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe from 1978 to 1979. Recognizing his extensive knowledge of military history and ability to write books, the US Army Transportation Corps then hired King as their Command Historian in 1992 specifically to write the branch history with the assistance of Richard C. Biggs and Captain Eric R. Criner. The Army subsequently published Spearhead of Logistics, A History of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps in 1994. It was the second branch history published by any Army historian and was later republished by the Center of Military History in 2001. [12] Inspired by the inaccurate claim that the V-2 was ineffective, he teamed up with Timothy J. Kutta to write Impact, the History of Germany’s V-Weapons in World War II, published by Sarpedon Press in 1998. Roland Green hailed it as "an outstanding revisionist history of Germany's famous rocket weapons." [13] In 1999, King moved up to the US Army Training and Doctrine Command History Office where he wrote nine annual history reports and Victory Starts Here, A 35 Year History of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, published by Combat Studies Institute Press in 2008, and followed up with the 40-year history also published by Combat Studies Institute Press in 2013. [14]
He retired from the federal service in 2013 and focuses on writing, painting miniature soldiers and war gaming.
Blitzkrieg is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations; together with artillery, air assault, and close air support; with intent to break through the opponent's lines of defense, dislocate the defenders, unbalance the enemies by making it difficult to respond to the continuously changing front, and defeat them in a decisive Vernichtungsschlacht: a battle of annihilation.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the Eastern theater of the war until his death. Military historians regard him as one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history.
The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. Part of the Maryland Campaign, it was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It remains the bloodiest day in American history, with a tally of 22,727 dead, wounded, or missing on both sides. Although the Union Army suffered heavier casualties than the Confederates, the battle was a major turning point in the Union's favor.
Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces should be deployed, and the modes of cooperation between types of forces. "Joint doctrine" refers to the doctrines shared and aligned by multinational forces or joint service operations.
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small independent light infantry forces advancing into enemy rear areas, bypassing enemy frontline strongpoints, possibly isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons. Soldiers take the initiative to identify enemy weak points and choose their own routes, targets, moments and methods of attack; this requires a high degree of skill and training, and can be supplemented by special equipment and weaponry to give them more local combat options.
Lesley James McNair was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War II, and received a posthumous promotion to general.
The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles which together decided the outcome of the Union's Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the inconclusive Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) the previous day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against the right flank of the Union Army, relatively isolated on the northern side of the Chickahominy River. There, Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp. Lee's force was destined to launch the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon as the Confederates attacked in a disjointed manner, first with the division of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill, then Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, suffering heavy casualties. The arrival of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's command was delayed, preventing the full concentration of Confederate force before Porter received some reinforcements from the VI Corps.
The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military Institute (VMI). His severe training program and ascetic standards of military discipline turned enthusiastic but raw recruits into an effective military organization, which distinguished itself from the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 to Spotsylvania Court House in 1864. Its legacy lives on in the 116th Infantry Brigade, which bears the unofficial nickname "Stonewall Brigade," and in several living history reenactment groups.
Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis.
Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon is a British academic maritime war historian, who wrote the First World War history The Rules of the Game (1996).
Samuel Wylie Crawford was a United States Army surgeon and a Union general in the American Civil War.
The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. TRADOC operates 37 schools and centers at 27 different locations. TRADOC schools conduct 1,304 courses and 108 language courses. The 1,304 courses include 516,000 seats for 443,231 soldiers; 36,145 other-service personnel; 8,314 international soldiers; and 28,310 civilians.
The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Quartermaster Corps and the Ordnance Corps. The Corps was established in its current form on 31 July 1942, with predecessor services dating back to the American Civil War. The Transportation Corps is currently headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. The officer in charge of the branch for doctrine, training, and professional development purposes is the Chief of Transportation (CoT) and Commandant of the US Army Transportation School, currently held by BG Beth A. Behn. The Corps's motto is "Nothing Happens Until Something Moves".
Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as SLAM, was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before becoming a journalist, specialising in military affairs.
The Royal Jordanian Army is the ground force branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF). It draws its origins from units such as the Arab Legion, formed in the British Mandate of Transjordan in the 1920s. It has seen combat against Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. The Army also fought the Syrians and the PLO during Black September in 1970.
Bevin Alexander is an American military historian and author. He served as an officer during the Korean War as part of the 5th Historical Detachment. His book Korea: The First War We Lost was largely influenced by his experiences during the war.
Robert Hinds "Bob" Scales Jr. was a United States Army Major General and former Commandant of the United States Army War College. He is widely known for his work as a military analyst, news commentator, and author.
The history of the United States Army began in 1775, as part of the United States Armed Forces. The Army's main responsibility has been in fighting land battles and military occupation. The Corps of Engineers also has a major role in controlling rivers inside the United States. The Continental Army was founded in response to a need for professional soldiers in the American Revolutionary War to fight the invading British Army. Until the 1940s, the Army was relatively small in peacetime. In 1947, the Air Force became completely independent of the Army Air Forces. The Army was under the control of the War Department until 1947, and since then the Defense Department. The U.S. Army fought the Indian Wars of the 1790s, the War of 1812 (1812–15), Mexican–American War (1846–48), American Civil War (1861–65), American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War (1898), World War I (1917–18), World War II (1941–45), Korean War (1950–53) and Vietnam War (1965–71). Following the Cold War's end in 1991, Army has focused primarily on Western Asia, and also took part in the 1991 Gulf War and war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan.
The structure of the United States Army is complex, and can be interpreted in several different ways: active/reserve, operational/administrative, and branches/functional areas.
Richard Eldon Killblane is an American military historian, author and martial arts instructor. A West Point grad in 1979 and a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School. He served as an enlisted man and officer in the U. S. Army in the infantry and Special Forces. Killblane is a veteran of Central American counter-insurgency and Operation Just Cause. He served as the Command Historian of the U.S. Army Transportation School at Fort Lee, Virginia for 19 years and traveled extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan to research convoy operations. He has published numerous articles and books on military history and is considered an authority on military convoy security. In 2003, Killblane co-authored, with Jake McNiece, The Filthy Thirteen: The True Story of the Dirty Dozen, detailing the life and World War II 101st Airborne Division exploits of McNiece.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
