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Thread: S.L.A. Marshall fact or fraud?

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  1. 07-09-2009 #1
    Sigaba
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    Default S.L.A. Marshall as a historian

    Marshall's grandson, John Douglas Marshall, was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. Later, the younger Marshall embarked on a journey to confront the many questions about the authenticity and reliability of his grandfather's works. This journey is the basis for J.D. Marshall's memoir, Reconciliation Road: A Family Odyssey (ISBN-13: 978-0295979496).

    In that work, the younger Marshall establishes that SLAM offered as facts events from his own life that were demonstrably false. SLAM also comes across as haphazard with his use of facts in his research and writing on military affairs. (The younger Marshall's anguish over these discoveries is evident.)

    In my own research on the elder Marshall, I concluded that the man's slapdash approach to history renders his works problematic as reliable contributions to American military historiography.

    In my opinion, S.L.A. Marshall, like Stephen Ambrose, J.F.C. Fuller, B. H. Liddell Hart, and, to a much smaller degree, John Jessup, are cautionary tales of what happens when students of warfare seek renown and celebrity.
  2. 07-09-2009 #2
    William F. Owen
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sigaba View Post
    In my opinion, S.L.A. Marshall, like Stephen Ambrose, J.F.C. Fuller, B. H. Liddell Hart, and, to a much smaller degree, John Jessup, are cautionary tales of what happens when students of warfare seek renown and celebrity.
    Wow! I can only agree. Liddell-Hart was especially prone to plagiarism, fraud, and the altering of facts to fit his thesis. Regardless of this he still has a strong following amongst US military thinkers.

    Fuller at least had some genuinely original ideas and useful insights, but they were not as many as commonly supposed.
    Infinity Journal "I don't care if this works in practice. I want to see it work in theory!"

    - The job of the British Army out here is to kill or capture Communist Terrorists in Malaya.
    - If we can double the ratio of kills per contact, we will soon put an end to the shooting in Malaya.
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  3. 07-10-2009 #3
    Bob's World
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    Default A cautionary tale perhaps...

    Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
    Wow! I can only agree. Liddell-Hart was especially prone to plagiarism, fraud, and the altering of facts to fit his thesis. Regardless of this he still has a strong following amongst US military thinkers.

    Fuller at least had some genuinely original ideas and useful insights, but they were not as many as commonly supposed.
    ...for the current crop of "spotlight theorists" at CNAS?
    Robert C. Jones
    Intellectus Supra Scientia
    (Understanding is more important than Knowledge)

    "The modern COIN mindset is when one arrogantly goes to some foreign land and attempts to make those who live there a lesser version of one's self. The FID mindset is when one humbly goes to some foreign land and seeks first to understand, and then to help in some small way for those who live there to be the best version of their own self." Colonel Robert C. Jones, US Army Special Forces (Retired)
  4. 07-10-2009 #4
    Ken White
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    Thumbs up Heh. I can indemnify with that...

    Yes, I can. Spot on, Mon Colonel..
  5. 07-10-2009 #5
    William F. Owen
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
    ...for the current crop of "spotlight theorists" at CNAS?
    Amen brother Bob.
    Infinity Journal "I don't care if this works in practice. I want to see it work in theory!"

    - The job of the British Army out here is to kill or capture Communist Terrorists in Malaya.
    - If we can double the ratio of kills per contact, we will soon put an end to the shooting in Malaya.
    Sir Gerald Templer, foreword to the "Conduct of Anti-Terrorist Operations in Malaya," 1958 Edition
  6. 07-10-2009 #6
    Sigaba
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
    ...for the current crop of "spotlight theorists" at CNAS?
    Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
    Amen brother Bob.
    It is reassuring that I am not alone in my misgivings.
  7. 07-10-2009 #7
    Ski
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    COL Jones,

    May I have permission to use that catchphrase? I am currently at SAMS and would like to tuck that brilliant insight into my intellectual kit bag for further use.

    Regards
    Ski
    "Speak English! said the Eaglet. "I don't know the meaning of half those long words, and what's more, I don't believe you do either!"

    The Eaglet from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
  8. 07-10-2009 #8
    Steve Blair
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    I always thought Marshall's stuff was far too sweeping, and that it flew in the face of many oral history accounts of actions (not just from World War II or Korea, either). It's good to see that his 'findings' are being questioned again.
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
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