A transitory phenomenon: German commanders and chiefs of staff, 1866–1918

This article examines the relationship between commanders and chiefs of staff during the period of the Wars of German Unification and the entirety of the Kaiserreich. The practice of pairing up a commander and a chief of staff was one that was specific to Germany. Traditional scholarship holds that in many cases, it was really the chief of staff who did all the thinking, while the commander was nothing more than a front man. The primary example of this was the relationship between Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. The problem is that unthinking historians have projected relationship of this particular duo on the rest of the imperial German army. One of the reasons for this was the presence of members of German royal families in high command positions. This article suggests that first, commanders, including royal family members, were far more influential than their chiefs of staff. In addition, the power wielded by chiefs of staff also reflected the nagging problem of battlefield communications, especially given the limitations of telephone and early wireless radio. Once these difficulties were eliminated by the collapse of the imperial regime, and the development of radio, the power of chiefs of staff was severely curbed by 1939. Thus, the relationship between commanders and chiefs of staff was at best a transitory phenomenon.

POWER RELATION IN ‘IF HE WANTS TO COME HOME, JUST COME HOME’: JOKOWI AIDE SAYS ABOUT RIZIEQ BY THE JAKARTA POST

This research investigated the power relation which exists in Rizieq’s homecoming case in The Jakarta Post by doing Foucauldian genealogical discourse analysis proposed by Carabine (2001). The research was also supported by evidence gained using linguistics theory, Systemic Functional Grammar, focusing on transitivity. An article entitled ‘If he wants to come home, just come home’: Jokowi Aide Says about Rizieq written in the Jakarta Post is the main discourse analyzed supported by other discourses to show an inter-relationship between discourses and counter-discourses. The findings indicate that the absence of Habib Rizieq in Indonesia is the effect of power existing around him. There are some Actors mentioned in the discourse: the government, leader of FPI, presidential chief of staff, deputy secretary-general of NU, spokesman of the 212 Alumni Association, and Prabowo. The use of transitivity evokes the position possessed by them in which they have a connection around Rizieq’s case.

BASHKIR TROOPS ON THE STERLITAMAK FRONT 2ND HALF 1918 TO BEGINNING 1919

The article is devoted to the participation of the Bashkir army on the Sterlitamak front during the Civil War. The author set the task to consider in detail the events on this front. He gave a brief overview of the participation of the Bashchast in the battles against the Red Army on the side of the Whites. The events on the Sterlitamak front, where fierce battles took place between the White Bashkirs and the Red units, were particularly carefully analyzed. The study of this problem helps to reveal in more detail the little-known pages of the Civil War in Bashkortostan. The forces, condition and equipment of the Bashkir troops participating in the battles on this front are described in detail. The author focuses on the Bashkir troops, despite their serious condition, which successfully held the defense at the front, attracting large forces of the Red Army. On the basis of the report of the Chief of staff of the Sterlitamak Front, the winter events of 1919 were restored. The characteristic features of the Bashkir troops are highlighted and described. The actions on this front were one of the decisive moments of the Civil War on the territory of Bashkortostan. In conclusion, it is concluded that the fighting on this front partially led to the process of transition and further choice of the path to create the autonomy of Bashkortostan. The chronological framework of the events covered in this publication covers the period from the second half of 1918 to the beginning of 1919, the period of active battles of the Civil War on the territory of Bashkortostan.

Disliking Ike

Although Drew Pearson encouraged Dwight Eisenhower to run for president, he quickly lost his enthusiasm and became a frequent critic. Pearson had hoped that Eisenhower would stand up against McCarthyism but considered his response to be weak. Knowing that many of the newspapers that carried the “Merry-Go-Round” were Republican, Pearson tried to cover the Republican administration fairly, while scrutinizing it thoroughly. His columns helped to defeat the nomination of Lewis Strauss to be secretary of commerce, and forced the resignation of Eisenhower’s chief of staff, Sherman Adams. Eisenhower’s objective of a “leak-free” administration made investigative reporting harder and caused Pearson to be frequently assailed by Eisenhower’s press secretary, James Hagerty, for publishing lies. Later evidence, however, has supported Pearson’s reporting and revealed Hagerty to be the liar.

An Interview with the Ottawa Hospital’s Chief of Staff Dr. Virginia Roth

Dr. Virginia Roth is an infectious disease physician who has been the Ottawa Hospital’s Chief of Staff since 2018 and was the first woman to hold this position at TOH. An alumnus of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, she has also worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as Director of Infection Control at TOH. She also holds an Executive MBA from the Telfer School of Management. We sat down with Dr. Roth in late-September to talk more about her career path and professional roles, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and any advice for medical students as they navigate their own education and careers.

Carl von Clausewitz’s Last Campaign: Clausewitz’s Role as Chief of Staff for the Prussian Army of Observation in the Polish-Russian War of 1831

Relatively little is known about Carl von Clausewitz’s involvement in the November Uprising as the Chief of Staff for the Prussian Army of Observation. This article argues that in Prussia’s strategy of no direct involvement in the Polish-Russian conflict, Clausewitz’s formidable skills as a military planner played an integral role. The tightened control over the borders deprived the Polish army of critical manpower and resources, while not giving Great Powers sympathetic to the Polish independence like France a clear cause for intervention. Additionally, Clausewitz’s visceral opposition to the November Uprising stemmed from his fears about Prussia’s strategic vulnerabilities.

On Role of General V.E. Borisov in the Stavka of the Supreme Commander in 1915–1917

This article examines the role of General V.E. Borisov in the decision-making process at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander of the Russian Army in 1915–1917. General Borisov was a friend of General M.V. Alekseyev, and their contemporaries often characterized him as an unofficial advisor to Alekseyev, especially in military matters. When in August 1915 general Alekseyev was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander and arrived at the Stavka in Mogilev, Borisov followed him, even though he did not have any official status at the time. Comparing the handwriting in Borisov's personal documents with the unsigned documents from the documents of Stavka, preserved at the Russian State Archive for Military History (RGVIA), this article concludes that Borisov in fact took part in the creation of several major notes on Russia's relations with the Allies in the Entente that laid the foundation for the Stavka’s strategic military decisions. In some cases he was the sole author of the documents, sometimes he wrote it together with Alekseyev. Borisov paid particular attention to Serbia and the Balkans, so this article analyses in detail the project of the allied offensive from Galicia and Salonika, developed by Borisov in November 1915. Confirmation of Borisov's participation in Stavka’s strategic activities improves our understanding of Stavka’s functioning and allows us to determine the ideological origins of the strategic decisions of the Russian high command, since, unlike General Alekseyev, Borisov left a vast theoretical legacy.

The Image of the White Army Agent General Nosovich in the Novella Bread by Alexey N. Tolstoy

The article analyzes the image of a historical figure of the White Army agent Nosovich in A.N. Tolstoy’s novella Bread. Former General A.L. Nosovich in Soviet Russia in the spring and summer of 1918 held the post of chief of staff of the North Caucasus Military District, but at the same time was an agent of the White Army and carried out clandestine subversive work. His image in the novel was introduced as an antihero, who was opposed to the shrewd commissar Joseph Stalin. The attitude to Nosovich in the novel is negative. He is shown as a pragmatic and cruel cynic, for whom the aim justifies any means. Tolstoy did not fail to emphasize the connection between Nosovich and the leader of the Red Army Lev D. Trotsky ostracized in the USSR. When creating the character of Nosovich A.N. Tolstoy relied on genuine documents, including the report of Nosovich to the White Army command about his underground work. Tolstoy’s novel contributed to the strengthening of the personality cult of Stalin and the mythology of the history of the Russian Civil War in line with party attitudes. The image of the White Army agent General Nosovich served the same task.