Rally Point a Military History Journal
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Rally Point A Military History Journal By West Point and Yale 2020, Volume 1 Rally Point A military history journal Volume 1 2020 Rally Point, 3 Rally Point A military history journal Volume 1, 2020 Editors West Point Brandi Braggs (2021) Co-Editor-in-Chief of Report American History Collin Keogh (2021) Co-Editor-in-Chief of Report American History Yale Henry Jacob (2021) Editor in Chief of the Yale Historical Review History and Spanish Sharmaine Koh Mingli (2022) Senior Editor of the Yale Historical Review History Varun Sikand (2022) Senior Editor of the Yale Historical Review History and Philosophy Daniel Blatt (2021) Senior Editor of the Yale Historical Review History and Classical Civilization Mathis Bitton (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review Philosophy and Political Science Rally Point, 4 Noah Robinson (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review Undecided Natalie Simpson (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review Undecided Daniel Ma (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review History Esther Reichek (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review Classics Yuhan Kim (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review History and Political Science Louie Lu (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review History Rachel Blatt (2023) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review History Endure McTier (2022) Associate Editor of the Yale Historical Review Cognitive Science Rally Point, 5 Copyright and photocopying © 2021 Department of History United States Military Academy West Point, New York 10996 Acknowledgments The Editorial Board would like to thank the faculty of the United States Military Academy’s History Department for their submission recommendations, all the students who submitted papers, and Captain Louisa Koebrich for her advice and guidance on historical scholarship. Without their help, Rally Point would not have been possible. About The Review Rally Point is a non-profit publication produced by undergraduate students at Yale University and cadets at the United States Military Academy. It accepts previously unpublished submissions from undergraduates at Yale University and the United States Military Academy. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. On The Internet https://www.westpoint.edu/academics/academic- departments/history/history-journal Disclaimer The contents of Rally Point, including words, images, and opinions, are unofficial and are not to be considered as the official views of the United States Military Academy, the United States Army, or the Department of Defense. Readers accept and agree to this disclaimer in the use of any information obtained from Rally Point. Rally Point, 6 Letter from The Editors Dear Reader, It is our distinct honor to present the first edition of Rally Point: A Military History Journal, a joint publication produced by student- editors at Yale University and the United States Military Academy. This edition features articles covering a wide array of topics ranging the 1941 Al-Gaylani coup d’etat in Iraq and the foundation of modern covert operations to the Crusades in the Baltics and the Civil War. While each of our authors cover a different time period and place, they all explore the idea of sacrifice or service and offer a unique take on military history. These articles reflect the power of interdisciplinary, collaborative scholarship. In October 2018, members from our journals first met in New Haven to share our common passion for undergraduate research. The publication of Rally Point represents the realization of our unified vision: to recognize excellence, contribute to the rich literature of military history, and give the world a short collection of outstanding undergraduate scholarship. The release of this journal also serves as a fitting anniversary to celebrate two years of our strong relationship and signals further success in the future. We could not have completed this venture done without the hard work of our committed authors, editors, and faculty advisors. Their dedication, enthusiasm, and professionalism amaze and inspire us. Enjoy Volume 1 of Rally Point. We appreciate your support! Lux et Veritas! Sapientia Per Historiam! And Go Army, Beat Navy! Regards, Brandi Braggs, Collin Keogh, and Henry Jacob Rally Point, 7 Table of Contents INTERVIEW WITH RICK LEVIN: 22nd President of Yale University and Former CEO of Coursera Yale University 9 INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN MORILLO: 2020 Charles Boal Ewing Chair in Military History United States Military Academy 15 GEORGE FOSTER EMMONS: THE EARLY CAREER OF AN AMERICAN NAVAL OFFICER, 1828-1841 Mahlon Sorenson, Yale University 21 HITLER’S GERMANY AND THE 1941 AL- GAYLANI COUP D’ETAT IN IRAQ: FASCISM, NATIONALISM AND EMPIRE Peter Luff, Yale University 55 THE OSS AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN COVERT OPERATIONS: HOW WARTIME LESSONS IN BURMA AND NORTH AFRICA SET THE POSTWAR STAGE Keshav Raghavan, Yale University 94 Rally Point, 8 THE GREAT STARING CONTEST: 200 YEARS OF CRUSADING AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE IN THE BALTICS William Hogan, United States Military Academy 126 KILLING 'JOHNNY REB' AND THE MYTH OF THE MONOLITHIC SOUTH Michael Avallone, United States Military Academy 147 THE EXPANSION OF POST-WORLD WAR ONE LITERATURE: THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF FOUR BRITISH WRITERS Melissa Gammons, United States Military Academy 166 Rally Point, 9 INTERVIEW WITH RICK LEVIN 22nd President of Yale University and Former CEO of Coursera Interviewed by: Henry Jacob Transcribed by: Sharmaine Koh Mingli Questions are bolded. Rally Point, 10 When you became the 22nd President of Yale, you emphasized the importance of making connections, both in New Haven and across the world. Since then, you have bridged gaps and facilitated communication among departments and countries. Could you perhaps talk a bit about how you developed your vision for Yale? You have used the phrase global citizen throughout your speeches and writings. How does the reintegration of ROTC help Yalies become global citizens and leaders? We should go back to the beginning when I first came in as President. From the start, I sought to improve Yale’s relations with our local environment and to contribute as a corporate citizen of New Haven. I encouraged students and faculty to engage with community, with civic organizations, with the city government, and to share Yale’s resources. By the time you came to Yale, this philosophy became so entrenched that it probably didn’t seem surprising. But things like opening up the Payne Whitney Gym to youth programs in the summer was shocking to the community. Yale, which was considered an ivory tower separate from the inner-city, became a friend. Many students became engaged. This engendered a thriving culture of community service, a culture consistent with Yale’s values. Yale has a tremendous tradition of local and national service. As you know, we have an astonishing array of distinguished graduates who have served the nation, both in the military and civilian roles over three centuries. So that was one area of emphasis: to contribute to New Haven beyond writing checks for downtown development! I also recognized that the world had changed a lot in the couple of decades since I started teaching at Yale. I emphasized in my addresses that we lived in a much more interconnected world than ever before. We needed to embrace this shift and educate people for service in an international context. But I could only do so much in the first few years of my presidency. First and foremost, I focused on the local environment and on campus reconstruction. But by the late 90’s we really started to address the international aspect as well. We vastly increased the number of international students at Yale College. When I started, less than two percent of Yale undergraduates were non-Canadian international students. It seems amazing now, right? Yes, quite amazing. We decided to change that statistic. In 1999 we extended need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid across the world, which boosted both the number and quality of international students we admitted. We launched many programs that increased the number of overseas opportunities for Yale students. Foreign students started coming to campus and bringing a global perspective to Yale in the dormitory and the classroom. To be fully educated in the 21st century, you need to develop the capacity for cross-cultural understanding, to be able to step outside of yourself and Rally Point, 11 understand others. We did quite a remarkable job on this front. The curriculum got much more international. The undergraduate experience changed drastically; by the time I left, more than two-thirds of Yale students took advantage of one of the summer abroad programs that we offered. That’s how Yale came to emphasize service from a global perspective. This shift made it natural to bring programs to Yale that centered around national service. The founding of the Jackson Institute served this purpose. We envisioned that the Institute, soon to become a School, would focus not only on diplomatic service, but also educate future professionals in the area of global affairs. Incidentally, there were a whole slew of programs founded in the first decade of the 21st century — before the Jackson Institute —that had this global perspective. A number of them like the Institute for Security Studies and the Grand Strategy Program brought in active and retired military officers as visiting faculty and lecturers. Students interested in national and international affairs had the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the military. From the start of your presidency, you stressed the value of service to New Haven and to the world. In your writings, you also use the phrase “open-minded curiosity” — the ability to think both as a scholar and as a leader. How did you cultivate this “open-minded curiosity” and create Harkness table discussions in the president’s office? The primary mission of the university is advancing scholarship and educating students.