HI 408
War in Film and Literature
Cathal J. Nolan
Associate Professor of History
Executive Director, International History Institute
Com bat, killing, suffering, death. This course explores these vivid hum an experiences through
great, and lesser, works of film and literature. Topics range widely, from m edieval Japan to Africa, the
Am ericas and Europe, the two 20th century world wars and various “sm all wars” of the 19 th through 21 st
centuries. W e explore "the angle of vision" problem : who should we trust m ore, eye-witness accounts of
war, great poets and novelists, m odern film -m akers, or m ilitary and other historians? W ho gets us closest
to the "truth" about war as a fundam ental elem ent of the hum an experience and condition? Can we draw
general conclusions about the experience of war? Or do we falsely im pose our own ideas on history?
Note: The course is them atic rather than narrative. Som e of you will find it necessary to do extra reading
on the general history of war, or reading that situates specific wars in overarching patterns of m ilitary and
world history. I will post a com prehensive reading list to Blackboard. On the course site are additional
features, from photos and m usic files to videos, to still and anim ated m aps.
Administrative Information
Office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00-3:00 pm . Thursday 11:00-12:00 in B-13, 725 Com m onwealth
Avenue. Phone: (617) 353-1165 e-m ail: [email protected] Email is best method of contact.
Grading: Attendance and participation is required, including m aking form al class presentations.
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Film review (4-6 pages)
Book review (6-8 pages)
Research paper (15-18 pages)
Participation
20%
20%
40%
20%
Due February 23
Due March 23
Due April 20
Includes reports to class
In your research paper you m ust engage the m ain historical issues but also how your chosen topic
is represented or m isrepresented in different m edia. You must include am ong your sources one m ajor
fictional account of war (a novel, play, or selections of war poetry), two or m ore film s, selected prim ary
sources, and several secondary works of traditional academ ic history. Be sure to discuss with m e well in
advance which film s, works of fiction, and m ilitary or other histories best m atch your chosen topic.
In class, selected scenes from feature and/or docum entary film s will be shown and discussed,
with an eye to how this powerful m edium captures or distorts key m om ents in the history of war. Other film
clips will be loaded to the Backboard course site for required viewing before class discussion. You m ust
do all required reading before class, as you will be called upon to participate actively in engaging assigned
works of literature and history. Most DVDs m ay be borrowed from m e, or you can access film s online
(Blackboard, or YouTube or Hulu, or Netflix). I will not assign or approve any film that I cannot m ake
available to you in som e form at. Foreign language film s are perfectly acceptable, as is reading literature in
its original language (if you can). Participation includes active engagem ent with assigned readings, as well
as short presentations of your own critical reviews of film s and literature on war.
Required Readings Note: Cheaper Kindle or other e-editions are acceptable. Given the likelihood of
m any in the class working from different m edia, I have not indicated pages. Read by chapter or title.
Required:
Various PDF files posted to the Blackboard course site.
John Keegan, ed., Book of W ar (1999): collection of short, prim ary source m aterials
Jon Stallworthy, ed., Oxford Book of W ar Poetry (2005)
Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels (1974)
Ernst Jünger, Storm of Steel (In Stahlgewittern, 1920)
Boris Paternak, Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Vasily Grossm an, A W riter at W ar (2005). Collection of his writings for Red Star, 1941-1945
E. B. Sledge, W ith the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa (1980).
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)
Sebastian Junger, W ar (2010)
CLASS SCHEDULE
W eek One: Gods of W ar
John Milton, “The W ar in Heaven,” Book VI of Paradise Lost (PDF)
John Hale, “W ar and Public Opinion in the 15th & 16th Centuries” Oxford Journals, 1962 (PDF)
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Michael Drayton, “Ballad of Agincourt”
Geoffrey Chaucer, “From ‘The Knight’s Tale’”
Richard Lovelace, “To Lucasta, Going to the W ars”
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Jean Froissart, “The Battle of Crécy”
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Jehan de W avrin, “A French Knight’s Account of Agincourt”
Scenes from : Henry V (Agincourt); Kingdom of Heaven (siege of Jerusalem ); Fetih 1453 (Ottom an siege
of Constantinople); Il Mestiere Delle Armi (W ars of Religion in Italy).
W eek Two: W arrior Cultures and the Transition to Soldiering
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Father Paul Ragueneau, “An Attack by Iroquois W arriors” (Beaver W ars)
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W illiam Dunbar, “Braddock on the Monogahela” (French and Indian W ar)
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David Crocket, “Davy Crocket” (frontier fighting)
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John D. Hunter, ?Captivity Am ong the Indians” (Great Plains W ars, 1840s-1880s)
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Elizabeth Custer, “General Custer” (Sioux W ars, 1870s)
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Robert Southey, “The Battle of Blenheim ”
Thom as Cam pbell, “Hohenlinden”
Lord Byron, “Don Juan”
Scenes from : Kagemusha & Ran (Sengoku Period wars, Japan 1467–1573); Black Robe (Beaver W ars in
New France); Last of the Mohicans (French and Indian W ar);
W eek Three: Napoleonic W ars
Paul W . Schroeder, “Napoleon’s Foreign Policy as a Crim inal Enterprise,” JMH 1990 (PDF)
Leo Tolstoy, W ar and Peace, chapters on Austerlitz (1805, in Vol. I) and Borodino (1812, in Vol. II). Project
Guttenberg online text: http://www.jus.uio.no/sisu/war_and_peace.leo_tolstoy/toc.htm l or PDF
Keegan, The Book of W ar:
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Anna Myers, “The Revolution Rem em bered”
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Private W heeler, “Letters of Private W heeler”
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Duke of W ellington, ?W aterloo Dispatch” (W ar of the Grand Alliance, 1815)
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
John Scott (of Am well), “The Drum ”
W illiam W ordsworth, “Novem ber, 1806"
Joel Barlow, “Advice to a Raven in Russia: Decem ber, 1812"
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Adam Mickiewicz, “The Year 1812"
Victor Hugo, “Russia, 1812"
Robert Browning, “Incident of the French Cam p”
Thom as Hardy, “The Eve of W aterloo”
Scenes from : W ar and Peace (Soviet 1967); W aterloo (British 1970); Napoleon (French 2002).
W eek Four: American Civil W ar (1861-1865):
Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels (1974)
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Steven Crane “W ar is Kind”
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Herm an Melville, “The Portent,” “Ball’s Bluff,” “Shiloh: A Requiem ”
Em ily Dickinson, Untitled (starts: “My portion is Defeat...”)
Julia W ard Howe, “Battle Hym n of the Republic”
Alan Tate, “Ode to the Confederate Dead”
Robert Lowell, “For the Union Dead”
Scenes from : Glory; Gettysburg; Cold Mountain (Battle of the Crater); Ken Burn’s The Civil W ar
W eek Five: 19 th Century Imperial W ars
Keegan, The Book of W ar:
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Henry Clifford, “Clifford in the Crim ea” (Crim ean W ar)
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W . H. Fitchett, “The Relief of Lucknow” (“Indian Mutiny,” a.k.a. “First W ar of Independence”)
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— ?Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift” Four Eyewitness Accounts (Zulu W ars)
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Colin Cam pbell, “Letters from Cam p”
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Charge of the Light Brigade”
Rudyard Kipling, “Arithm etic on the Frontier” and “Tom m y”
Thom as Hardy, “Drum m er Hodge,” “A W ife in London,” and “The Man He Killed”
Scenes from : Four Feathers; Zulu; Mangal Pandey & Junoon (Indian Rising); Breaker Morant (Boer W ar)
W eek Six: W orld W ar I, The Allied Experience
Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Sidney Rogerson, “Twelve Days” (The Som m e)
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E. L. Spears, “Prelude to Victory” (First Marne)
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Com pton MacKenzie, “Gallipoli Mem oirs” (Gallipoli cam paign, 1915)
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Ernest Hem ingway, ?W ounded” (Caporetto, Italo-Austrian Front, 1917)
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John Glub, “A Soldier’s Diary of the Great W ar”
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Robert Graves, excerpt from Goodbye to All That
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Rupert Brooke, “The Dead,” “The Soldier”
Herbert Asquith, “The Volunteer”
John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields”
W illiam Yeats, “Asked for a W ar Poem ,” “An Irish Airm an Foresees his Death,” “Reprisals,”
Siegfried Sassoon, “They,” “The Hero,” “Rearguard,” “The General,” “Glory of W om en”
W ilfred Owen, “Anthem for a Doom ed Youth,” “Dulce et Decorum Est”
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Rudyard Kipling, “Epitaphs of the W ar”
Scenes from : Joyeux Noel (Anglo-French); Passchendaele (Canadian); Un long dimanche de fiançailles
(French), Gallipoli and Beneath Hill 60 (Australian)
W eek Seven: W orld W ar I, The German Experience
Ernst Jünger, Storm of Steel (In Stahlgewittern, 1920)
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Erwin Rom m el, ?Infantry Attacks”
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Isaac Babel, “Red Cavalry”
Oxford Book of W ar Poetry:
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Isaac Rosenberg, “On Receiving News of the W ar,” “August 1914," “Break of Day in the
Trenches,” “Dead Man’s Dum p”
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Carl Sandburg, “Grass”
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W ilfred Owen, “Insensibility,” “Strange Meeting”
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Robert Graves, “Recalling W ar,”
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Edm und Blunden, “Two Voices,” “Zonnebeke Road,” “Vlam ertinghe,”
Scenes from : The Great Dictator, All Quiet on the W estern Front; The Lost Battalion
W eek Eight: W orld W ar II, The W estern Allies
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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W inston Churchill, “BBC address, May 19, 1940"
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Studs Terkel, “The Good W ar”
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Marie-Louise Osm ont, ?Norm andy Diary”
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Ernie Pyle, “Breakout in Norm andy”
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Louis Aragon, “The Lilacs and the Roses”
David Gascoyne, “Ecce Homo”
Randall Jarrell, “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”
Louis Sim pson, “Carentan, O Carentan”
Vernon Scannel, “W alking W ounded”
Scenes from : Indigenes (Algerian); Band of Brothers (Am erican); A Bridge Too Far (Anglo-Am erican);
Sorrow and the Pity (French); Big Red One (Am erican); Storming Juno (Canadian)
W eek Nine: W orld W ar II, The Germans
Gert Ledig, The Stalin Front (2000).
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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Alexander Stahlberg, “Bounden Diary” Note: there are THREE Stahlberg segm ents
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Peter Crem er, “U-333"
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Gehr von Sweppenberg, “On the Other Side of the Hill”
Oxford
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Book of W ar Poetry:
Jam es Dickey, “The Firebom bing”
Anthony Hecht, “More light! More light!”
John Stallworthy, “Letter from Berlin”
Scenes from : 1939: Battle of W esterplatte; Das Boot; Stalingrad (1984, Germ an); Cross of Iron; Downfall
W eek Ten: W orld W ar II, The Soviets
Vasily Grossm an, A W riter at W ar (2005). W ritten 1941-1945
Cathal J. Nolan, “Operation Barbarossa,” “Operation Blau,” Operation Bagration,” “Stalin,” and “Red
Arm y,” all from Nolan, Concise Encyclopedia of W orld W ar II, 2010 (PDF)
Jam es W inn, “W ar Poetry,” from Gordon Martel, ed., Encyclopedia of W ar, 2011 (PDF)
Konstantin Sim onov, “W ait for Me” and other poem s (PDF).
Scenes from : Stalingrad (Russo-Germ an production, 2003); Russia's W ar (Russo-British docum entary
series); Behind Closed Doors, BBC dram atization (2009) of Stalin's wartim e policies
W eek Eleven: W orld W ar II, The Japanese
Yukiko Koshiro, “Eurasian Eclipse: Japan’s Endgam e in W W II,” American Historical Review 2004 (PDF)
Selections from Em iko Ohnuki, ed., Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers (PDF)
E. B. Sledge, W ith the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa (1980).
Keegan, Book of W ar:
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W illiam Lawrence, “Bom bing Nagasaki”
Oxford Book of W ar Poetry:
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W . H. Auden, “Sonnets from China”
Scenes from : The Pacific; Letters from Iwo Jima; Yamato; Children of Huang Shi, Chinese (2008), on
Rape of Nanking and IJA’s brutal Sanko Sakusen cam paign in northern China
W eek Twelve: Hot W ars of the Cold W ar in Korea and Vietnam
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)
Excerpts from Hal Moore and Joe Galloway, W e W ere Soldiers Once, and Young (2004) PDF
Keegan, The Book of W ar:
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Jam es Fenton, “The Fall of Saigon” (Vietnam W ar)
Scenes from : Taegukgi: Brotherhood of W ar (South Korea, 2004); The Front Line (South Korea, 2011);
Hamburger Hill; W e W ere Soldiers Once
W eek Thirteen: 21 st Century ‘Small W ars’
Keegan, The Book of W ar:
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Andy McNab, ?Bravo Two Zero” (Gulf W ar)
Sebastian Junger, W ar (2010), NATO in Afghanistan
Scenes from : The Beast (Soviet-Afghan W ar, 1988); Baghdad ER (docum entary Iraq, 2007); Combat
Diary (docum entary Iraq, 2009); Restrepo (docum entary Afghanistan, 2010).
Approved optional fiction (choose from this list for your research paper core w ork of fiction, or
obtain approval from the instructor of another, non-listed novel, play, or poetry collection:
Note: “Approved” for use in your research does not m ean recom m ended as historically accurate. You will
likely find m any historical errors in m ost of these books. Part of your job is to identify the m ajor m istakes
m ade that are presented as history, and to discuss the m edium of prose fiction as historical presentation
in the context of other m edia, including film s and academ ic works of m ilitary-historical analysis.
Shakespeare, Henry V (the Agincourt cam paign, 1415)
Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grim m elshausen, Simplicius Simplicissimus (1668): Thirty Years’ W ar
Géza Gárdonyi, Stars of Eger (1899): Hungarian-Ottom an wars, 16 th century
Henryk Sienkiewicz, W ith Fire and Sword (1884, Ogniem i mieczem): Poland in 17 th century Northern W ar
----. The Deluge (1886, Potop): Poland in 17 th century Northern W ar
----. Fire in the Steppe (1886, Pan W olodyjowski): Poland in 17th century Northern W ar
Jam es Fenim ore Cooper, Last of the Mohicans (1826), or another vol. from the “Leatherstocking Tales”
George Bernard Shaw, The Devil’s Disciple (1897), play set during Saratoga cam paign
----. Saint Joan (Shaw’s take on the Jeanne D’Arc story)
----. Major Barbara (Shaw’s take on pacifism and the “Merchants of Death” in W orld W ar I)
W illiam Makepeace Thackeray, The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844): Seven Years’ W ar
Makinlay Kantor, Valley Forge (1976): Am erican W ar of Independence
Any Patrick O’Brien book in the Aubrey/Maturin series on naval warfare in the Nelsonian/Napoleonic era:
Master and Commander
HMS Surprise
Fortune of W ar
Treason’s Harbour etc.
C.S. Forster, any two vols. in the Hornblower series. Note: these were written as boy’s adventure stories,
a sub-genre of war literature. Analyze them in that context, for what they taught children about war.
Stendhal, Charterhouse of Parma (La Chartreuse de Parme, 1839): Napoleonic W ars in Italy.
Leo Tolstoy, Sebastopol Sketches (any edition): Crim ean W ar
----. W ar and Peace (1869), focus on Vol. II, the French invasion of Russia in 1812
Stephen Crane, Red Badge of Courage (1895): Am erican Civil W ar
Makinlay Kantor, Andersonville (1955): Am erican Civil W ar
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997): Am erican Civil W ar
Shelby Foote, Shiloh (1991), Am erican Civil W ar
Howard Bahr, The Black Flower
----.The Year of Jubilo
----. The Judas Field all from an Am erican Civil W ar trilogy told from the Confederate side
Thom as Berger, Little Big Man (1965), Great Plains (Sioux) W ars, quixotic point-of-view
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, August 1914 (1972), first m onth of W orld W ar I on eastern front
Henri Barbusse, Le Feu, (Under Fire, 1916): French Arm y in W orld W ar I
Pat Barker, Regeneration: W orld W ar I (British Arm y m edical corp, “shell shock” and early psychiatry)
----.The Eye in the Door (1993), third volum e in her fam ed trilogy (along with The Ghost Road)
Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That (1929). Beware: Graves is m ostly pulling your leg.
Erich Maria Rem arque, All Quiet on the W estern Front (Im W esten nichts Neues, 1929). Germ an Arm y.
Hum phrey Cobb, Paths of Glory (1935): French Arm y in W orld W ar I
Rebecca W est, The Return of the Soldier (1918): Great W ar’s afterm ath from a fem ale perspective
W illiam Faulkner, Soldier’s Pay (1926): soldiers com ing hom e from W orld W ar I
Rom ain Rolland, Clérambault (1920): French anti-war sentim ent
Arnold Zweig, Sergeant Grischa (1927), Der Streit un den Sergeanten Grischa: Germ an experience
Charles Harrison, Generals Die in Bed (1930): W orld W ar I, Canadian experience
Jim Harrison, Legends of the Fall (1979), Am ericans in Canadian Arm y in W orld W ar I
Sébastien Japrisot, A Very Long Engagement (1991), fem ale experience, France in Great W ar
John Dos Passos, Three Soldiers (1920): W orld W ar I, Am erican experience
Michael Goodspeed, Three to a Loaf (2008): a Canadian joins the Reichswehr
Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930): fictionalized m em oir by the British war poet
Boris Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago: W orld W ar I (Russian front) and Russian Civil W ar
Mikhail Sholokhov, And Quiet Flows the Don (1925): Russian Civil W ar, Bolshevik view
Mikhail Bulgakov, The W hite Guard (1925/1966): Kiev in the Russian Civil W ar
Ernest Hem ingway, For W hom the Bell Tolls: Spanish Civil W ar, Republican side
----. The Fifth Column and Four Stories of the Spanish Civil W ar (any edition)
----. A Farewell to Arms (autobiographical fiction of his experience in Italy)
Patricia Anthony, Flanders (1998), the m ud and blood as experienced by one soldier
Vaino Linna, The Unknown Soldier (Finnish, 1954); ‘Continuation W ar’ (Finnish-Soviet W ar, 1941-45)
Pierre Boulle, Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï (1952), Bridge over the River Kwai: British POW s in Burm a
Vasily Grossm an, Life and Fate (1956/1988): W orld W ar II, Red Arm y: Tolstoyan in length and aspiration
Gert Ledig, Stalin Front (2005): W orld W ar II on eastern front; a raw portrait, seen from both sides
David Robbins, W ar of the Rats: W orld W ar II, Germ ans in the sewers of Stalingrad.
Lothar-Guenther Buchheim , Das Boot (1973): Germ an U-boat experience late in W orld W ar II
Jim Jones, The Thin Red Line (1965): W ar in the Pacific, Am erican side
Ashihei Hino, W heat and Soldiers (Mugi to Heitai): popular wartim e Japanese propaganda novel
Jun Ishikawa, Mar’s Song (1938, Marusu no uta): Japanese contem porary anti-China W ar literature
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969): W orld W ar II, Am erican satire
Norm an Mailer The Naked and the Dead (1948): W ar in the Pacific, Am erican side
Joseph Heller, Catch-22: W orld W ar II, Am erican satire
Jam es Dickey, To the W hite Sea (1994), air war over Japan
Irwin Shaw, The Young Lions (2000), varied characters experience W orld W ar II
J. G. Ballard, Empire of the Sun (1984): British-Japanese interaction
Evelyn W augh, Sword of Honor trilogy (1988); autobiographical
W . G. Sebald, Austerlitz (2001) W orld W ar II as rem em bered in postwar Germ any
Martin Am is, Time's Arrow (1991): Holocaust literature
W ladyslaw Szpilm an, The Pianist (1946), Germ an occupation of Poland
Ales Adam ovich, Khatyn (2012), Polish novel about the Katyn m assacre
Leon Uris, Mila 18 (1976): W arsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943
Joy Kogawa, Obasan (1981): W orld W ar II Japanese-Canadian internm ent, through eyes of sm all girl
Richard Hooker, MASH (1968): Am erican satire, centered on m edical unit in Korean W ar
Ha Jin, W ar Trash (2004): PLA (Chinese) soldier in Korean W ar
Jam es Michener, The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954): Am erican view of Korean W ar
Graham Greene, The Quiet American (1955): French-Indochina W ar
Any Tim O’Brien book on the Am erican com bat experience in Vietnam , especially:
If I Die In a Combat Zone
Going After Cacciato
Jam es W ebb, Fields of Fire (1978), Vietnam W ar
Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of W ar (1990, Nôi buôn chiên tranh): Vietnam W ar seen from Com m unist side.
Special war m em oirs that m ay be substituted for the required work of fiction:
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George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia (1940). Spanish Civil W ar
Boris Gorbachevsky, Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's W ar (2007).
Guy Sajer, Forgotten Soldier (1962), Alsatian-Germ an com bat m em oir, W orld W ar II
W illy P. Reese, Stranger to Myself (1944) W orld W ar II Germ an com bat m em oir, with literary bent
Philip Caputo, A Rumor of W ar (1977), nakedly honest Am erican m em oir of Vietnam
Tatsuzo Ishikawa, Soldiers Alive (1938, Ikite iru Heitai): unapologetic contem porary Japanese
account of the Nanjing m assacre written by a perpetrator. Published in English in 2003.
Jung Chang, W ild Swans: Three Daughters of China (2003): civil war, revolution, invasion
E. B. Sledge, W ith the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa (1980). Best U.S. m em oir of W W II
Paul Fussell, The Great W ar and Modern Memory (various editions). Critical study of war poetry.
Approved Films
Note: As with works of historical fiction, “approved” for use in research does not m ean recom m ended as
historically accurate. You will likely find m any historical errors in m ost of these film s. Part of your job is to
identify the m ajor m istakes m ade that are presented as history, and to discuss the m edium of film as
historical presentation in the full context of other m edia, including prose fiction and academ ic works of
m ilitary-historical analysis.
W orld M edieval and European Early M odern
Samrat Askoka
The Emperor’s Shadow
The First Emperor
Battle of W its
Red Cliff
Hua Mu Lan
Mohamed: Messenger of God
Vikings
Kingdom of Heaven
Lion in W inter
Ironclad
Alexander Nevsky
Musa the W arrior
Ghengis Khan
Mongol
Boj na Kosovu
Jan Hus
Henry V
Jeanne d'Arc
Seven Samurai
Kagemusha
Ran
El Cid
Fetih 1453
Royal Hunt of the Sun
Il Mestiere Delle Armi
Elizabeth R
Mary, Queen of Scots
1612
La Reine Margot
Henri IV
Boris Godunov
Alatriste
The Last Valley
Cromwell
The Devil’s W hore
W ith Fire and Sword
Black Robe
Nouvelle-France
Last of the Mohicans
The Mission
Snapphanar
Indian-Tam il (2001), Em peror Asoka’s W ars, 3 rd century B.C.E.
Chinese (1998), W arring States period
Chinese (1999), W arring States period
Chinese (2006), W arring States period
Chinese (2008), Han dynasty wars, 209 C.E.
Chinese (2011), China border wars, 5 th century C.E.
British (1976), conquest of Arabia
Canadian-Irish (2013)
(2005), Siege of Jerusalem
The Great Revolt (1173)
British (2011), First Baron’s W ar, siege of Rochester,1215-1217
Soviet (1938), ‘Battle of the Ice’ in 1242
South Korean (2001), Korean-Mongol wars
Japanese-Mongolian (2007)
Russian (2007)
Yugoslavian (1989), Serbian view of Battle of Kosovo in 1389
Czechoslovakian (1954), Hussite W ars
Agincourt (1415), Hundred Years’ W ar (1337-1453)
French (1999), siege of Orléans in Hundred Years’ W ar (1337-1453)
Japanese (1954), classic tale of Ronin Sam urai
Japanese (1980), Sengoku Period wars (1467–1573)
Japanese (1985), Sengoku Period wars (1467–1573)
Am erican (1961), early Reconquista
Turkish (2011), Ottom an siege of Constantinople in 1453
British (1998), Spanish invasion & conquest of Peru
Italian (2001), W ars of Religion (Charles V)
British (1975), Invincible Arm ada cam paign of 1588
British (1971), Tudor-Stuart dynastic wars
Russian (2007), Polish-Muscovite W ar, revolt against Boris Gudonov
French (1994), W ars of Religion, St. Bartholom ew’s Day Massacre
French (2010), W ars of Religion, St. Bartholom ew’s Day Massacre
Soviet (1986), Russian wars of religion and dynastic succession
Spanish (2006), Eighty Years’ W ar (1568-1648)
British (1970), Thirty Years’ W ar (1618-1648)
British (1970), W ars of the Three Kingdom s, 1640s
British (2008), W ars of the Three Kingdom s, Crom well in Ireland
Polish (1999), Khm elnitsky Uprising 1648-51
Canadian (1991), Beaver W ars in New France, c.1630s
Québecois (2004), war in New France; English title: Battle of the Brave
Am erican (1992), French and Indian W ar
International (1986), Portuguese-Am azon Indian wars, 17 th century
Swedish (2006), Scanian W ars, 1660-1700
18 th and 19 th Centuries
The Sovereign's Servant
Barry Lyndon
W hen the Forest Ran Red
The Patriot
Revolution
The Crossing
The Opium W ar
W ar and Peace
Napoleon
Hornblower
The Duellists
Sharpe
W aterloo
Russian (2007), Great Northern W ar, 1709
British (1975), Seven Years’ W ar (1756-1763)
Docum entary (2004), North Am erican Beaver W ars
Am erican (2000), Am erican W ar of Independence
Am erican (2009), Am erican W ar of Independence
Docum entary on Valley Forge, Am erican W ar of Independence
Chinese (1997), Anglo-Chinese or ‘Arrow’ or ‘Opium ’ W ar
Soviet (1967), 404 m inutes (3 DVD set)
French (2002), TV series: Italian cam paign to retreat from Russia
British (2010), TV series in 8 parts, Napoleonic era naval warfare
British (1977), Napoleonic W ars, based on Joseph Conrad’s The Duel
British TV (2004-2008), British infantry in Napoleonic W ars
British (1970), Napoleon’s Hundred Days, Battle of W aterloo
Long Grey Line
One Man’s Hero
The Alamo
Champ d'honneur
Birth of a Nation
Gods and Generals
Gettysburg
The General
Glory
Ride with the Devil
Cold Mountain
W icked Spring
Lincoln
The Civil W ar
Red Badge of Courage
Andersonville
Little Big Man
Bury... Heart at W ounded Knee
Crazy Horse
Geronimo
Great Indian W ars, 1540-1890
Beau Geste
Shaka Zulu
Zulu
Zulu Dawn
The W arlords
Charge of the Light Brigade
Mangal Pandey: The Rising
Junoon
Khartoum
The Four Feathers
55 Days at Peking
Am erican (2002), History of W est Point
Am erican (1999), Irish-Am erican deserters in Mexican-Am erican W ar
Am erican (2003), Texas W ar of Independence
French (1987), Franco-Prussian W ar
‘The Clansm an’ (1915), Am erican Civil W ar and Reconstruction
Am erican (2002), Am erican Civil W ar (1861-1862)
Am erican (1993), Am erican Civil W ar (1863)
Am erican (1927), Am erican Civil W ar, epic silent film
Am erican (1989), Am erican Civil W ar, African-Am erican experience
Am erican (1999), Kansas-Missouri border war & Am erican Civil W ar
Am erican (2004), Am erican Civil W ar, Battle of the Crater
Am erican (2002), Am erican Civil W ar, Battle of the W ilderness
Am erican (2012), Am erican Civil W ar
Ken Burn's fam ed docum entary (1990, 4 DVDs)
Am erican (1951), Am erican Civil W ar
Am erican (1996), Am erican Civil W ar
Am erican (1970), Great Plains Indian W ars
Am erican docum entary (2007), Great Plains W ars from Indian viewpoint
Am erican docum entary (1996), bio of Sioux war chief
Am erican (1993), portrait of Apache war chief
Am erican docum entary (2004), W ars of the Southwest and Great Plains
Am erican (1937), French-Tuareg W ar
South African (1979), The Mfecane and founding of the Zulu em pire
British (1964), Rorke's Drift, 1879
British (1979), Battle of Isandlwana, 1879
Chinese (2007), Taiping Rebellion
British (1968), dark satire on the Crim ean W ar
Hindi (2004), Indian Mutiny/W ar of Independence
Hindi (1978), Indian Mutiny/W ar of Independence
British (1966), Mahdi W ar in Sudan
British (2002), war in Sudan in 1880s
Am erican (1963), Boxer Rebellion in northern China
Early 20th century and interw ar period:
Amigo
Breaker Morant
W ind and the Lion
1911
A Fistful of Dynamite
Cristiada
Lion of the Desert
The Sand Pebbles
Michael Collins
Ryan's Daughter
W ind that Shakes the Barley
Battle of W arsaw 1920
Seediq Bale
Axis of W ar
Children of Huang Shi
John Rabe
The Flowers of W ar
Caterpillar
Children of Huang Shi
City of Life and Death
To Live
Nanking
John Rabe
Am erican-Filipino (2010), Am erican-Philippine W ar, 1900-1904
Australian (1980), Second Boer W ar
British (1975), Rif Rebellion in Morocco, 1904
Chinese (2011), Chinese Revolution and Second Guangzhou Uprising
Italian (1971), Mexican Revolution
Mexican (2012), Cristero W ar of 1917
Italian (1981), Arab resistance to Italian conquest, Libyan desert in 1920s
Am erican (1966), Am erican gunship in China in 1920s
Irish (1996), Irish W ar of Independence/Civil W ar, 1916-1922
Irish (1970), Irish W ar of Independence
Irish (2006), Marxist view of Irish W ar of Independence
Polish (2011), Polish-Soviet W ar
Taiwan (2011), W ushe Incident (rebellion) of 1930
Chinese (2010), Northern Expedition and 1927 Nanchang Uprising
British-Chinese (2008), Japanese invasion of China, 1937
Anglo-Chinese (2009), Rape of Nanjing
Chinese (2011), Rape of Nanjing, 1937
Japanese (2010), Sino-Japanese W ar, 1930s
Chinese (2008), Rape of Nanking and Sanko Sakusen cam paign
Chinese (2009), Rape of Nanking
Chinese (1994), Sino-Japanese W ar
Docum entary-dram a (2007), Rape of Nanjing
Chinese-Germ an-French (2009), Rape of Nanjing
W orld W ar I:
Century of W arfare
Battleship Potemkin
Ten Days that Shook W orld
The Christmas Truce
Joyeux Noel
Oh! W hat a Lovely W ar
Anzacs
Un long dimanche de fiançailles
All Quiet...W estern Front
All Quiet...W estern Front
The Road Back
The Grand Illusion
The Blue Max
Lawrence of Arabia
Doctor Zhivago
Gallipoli
The Lighthorsemen
Paths of Glory
Passchendaele
Beneath Hill 60
A Farewell to Arms
La grande guerra
La France
La Grande Illusion
The Lost Battalion
My Boy Jack
Regeneration
The Trench
Von Richtoffen & Brown
The Red Baron
Flyboys
Quiet Flows the Don
Admiral
The Red and the W hite
Capitaine Conan
Docum entary, 20th century warfare, Vols 1-12
Soviet (1925)
Soviet (1927)
Docum entary, Xm as 1914
French (2006), Xm as Truce, 1914
British (1969), Xm as Truce, 1914
Australian TV series (1985), ANZAC corps
French (2004), afterm ath of the Som m e, 1916
Am erican (1979), Germ an Arm y on W estern Front
Franco-Germ an (1930), Germ an Arm y on W estern Front
(1937) Germ ans return from the Great W ar
French (1937)
British (1966) Air com bat, Germ an flying circus, 1917-18
British (1962), Arab Revolt, cam paign in Arabia and Syria, 1915-18
British (1965), Eastern Front, Russian Revolution, Russian Civil W ar
Australian (1981), Australians in Gallipoli cam paign, 1915
Australian (1987), Australians in Sinai and Palestine cam paigns, 1916-17
British (1957), Kubrick’s study of sacrifice and French Arm y m utinies
Canadian (2008), Canadians at Third Ypres, 1917
Australian (2010), ANZAC m iners in trench warfare
Am erican (1957), Hem ingway on the Italian front, 1917
Italian (1959), Italian Arm y and front
French (2007), wom en and the Great W ar
French (1937), POW s try to escape Germ an cam p
Am erican (2001), Argonne Forest battle, October 1918
British (2008), Rudyard Kipling's soldier son is lost
British (1997), screen version of Pat Barker’s novel about ‘shell shock’
British (1999), Battle of the Som m e
Am erican (1971), war in the air
Am erican (2010), war in the air
Am erican (2010), war in the air
Soviet (1957), Russian Civil W ar, Bolshevik view
Russian (2000), Russian Civil W ar, anti-Bolshevik view
Hungarian (1967), Russian Civil W ar
French (1996), French Arm y after Arm istice
W orld W ar II:
Triumph of the W ill
Death and Glory in Changde
Back to 1942
Empire of the Sun
My W ay
The Great Dictator
1939: Battle of W esterplatte
W inter W ar
Das Boot
Mission to Moscow
Come and See
Victory at Sea
W orld W ar II in Color
Battle of Britain
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Pearl Harbor
Run Silent, Run Deep
Thin Red Line
Nazi docum entary (1934), Nazi Party rally in Nurem berg, 1934
Chinese (2010), Sino-Japanese W ar
Chinese (2012), Sino-Japanese W ar
Anglo-Am erican (1987), W esterners in the China W ar, 1937-45
South Korean (2011), Koreans in Germ any in W orld W ar II
Charlie Chaplin’s classic satire (1940)
Polish (2013), opening fight of Polish-Germ an W ar
Finnish (n.d.), Soviet-Finish W ar, 1939-1940
Germ an (1985), U-boat cruise late in the war
Am erican (1943), influential pro-Stalin propaganda
Soviet (1985), partisans
Am erican 1942-45 Capra’s classic propaganda, Vols. 1-10
Archives, International, Vols. 1-3
British (1969), Battle of Britain, 1940
Am erican/Japanese (1970), Pearl Harbor, 1941
Am erican docum entary (2001), Pearl Harbor & Doolittle Raid
Am erican (1958), ‘silent service' in Pacific W ar, 1942-45
Am erican (2000), war in the Pacific, 1944
Hitler's SS
Samurai and Swastika
Stalingrad
Stalingrad
Stalingrad
Cross of Iron
The Longest Day
Storming Juno
Is Paris Burning?
Hell is for Heroes
The Great Escape
Kolberg
Katyn
Casablanca
It Happened Here
Desert Fox
Desert Rats
Sink the Bismarck
The Last Lieutenant
The W inter W ar
Ambush
Russia's W ar
The Star
They Fought for ... Motherland
The Dawns Here are Quiet
A Bridge Too Far
The Hot Snow
Indigenes
A W oman in Berlin
They Came Home
Charlotte Grey
So Proudly W e Hail
Lacombe Lucien
Sorrow and the Pity
l'armée du crime
l'armée des ombres
Open City
Colditz
Beyond the Barbed W ire
The Only W ay
Nuremberg Trials
Judgment at Nuremberg
A Hand of Peace
Europa, Europa
Praying for Time
Hidden in Silence
Eichmann
Playing for Time
Paragraph 175
Die W annseekonferenz
Conspiracy
Ogre
Architecture of Doom
Hitler: A Career
Bonhöffer
Saints and Soldiers
A Midnight Clear
W hen Trumpets Fade
Band of Brothers
British docum entary (1985)
Docum entary (2003), Japanese-Germ an relations in W orld W ar II
Germ an (1985), Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-43
Russo-Germ an m ini-series (2003), Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-43
Russian (2013)
Eastern Front, Germ an experience
Am erican (1962), D-Day, June 6, 1944
Canadian (2010), D-Day, June 6, 1944
Multinational (1966), Liberation of Paris, August 1944
Am erican (1962), Am ericans on the Siegfried Line
Anglo-Am erican (1966), POW s escape from Germ an cam p
Nazi propaganda (1945), defense of Kolberg by Prussians in 1807
Polish (2007), Katyn m assacre
Am erican (1940), French neutrality & resistance
British (1965), fantasy of Germ an conquest of Britain
British (1951), Rom m el & Afrika Korps
British (1953), defense of Tobruk
British (1960), Battle of Atlantic, 1940-42
Norwegian (1994), invasion of Norway & resistance
Finnish (1990), Soviet-Finnish W ar
Finnish (2008), Soviet-Finnish W ar
Russo-British docum entary
Soviet (2002), Eastern front, 1944
Soviet (1975), July 1942
Soviet (1972), W om en in Red Arm y
British (1977), Operation Market Garden, 1944
Soviet (1973), Volga Front, 1943
Franco-Algerian (2006), Algerians in W orld W ar II
Germ an (2008), m ass rapes in Berlin, 1945
Am erican (1950), wom en in Japanese cam p
British (2001), wom en spies of Britain
Am erican (1943), U.S. Arm y nurses
French (1974), issues of collaboration
French (1969), fam ed docum entary on resistance and collaboration
French (2009), resistance and collaboration
French (1969), resistance and collaboration
Italian (1945), Italy in W orld W ar II
British (2006), POW s experience
Am erican docum entary (2001), experience of Japanese-Am ericans
Danish (1970), Denm ark invaded 1940
Docum entary (2006)
Am erican (1961), dram atization of ‘trial of the century’
2008 Catholic apologia for Pius XII’s silence on the Holocaust
Germ an/Russian (1990), Holocaust
Am erican (1980), wom en in Holocaust
British (2010), Holocaust
Germ an (2010), Holocaust
International (1970), wom en and survival in a death cam p
Docum entary (2000), Nazi persecution of hom osexuals
Germ an (1984), re-enactm ent of the W annsee Conference
British (2001), re-enactm ent of the W annsee Conference
Germ an (1996), Nazism & SS
British (1990), docum entary on art as propaganda under Nazism
Germ an docum entary (1977)
Docum entary (2003), Germ an resistance to Nazism
Am erican (2004), W estern Front 1944
Am erican (1992), W estern Front 1944
Am erican (1998), W estern Front 1944-1945
Am erican (1998), W estern Front 1944-45
The Bridge
The Big Red One
Beach Red
To End All W ars
Midway
The Enemy Below
Run Silent, Run Deep
Hiroshima
Yamato
Behind Closed Doors
Attack on Leningrad
Uprising
Enemy at the Gates
Battleground
Is Paris Burning?
Bridge at Remagen
Battle of the Bulge
Patton
Merrill's Marauders
Anzio
Devil's Brigade
Downfall
Eye of Vichy
Italian-Germ an (2008), last days in Germ any
Am erican (1969), from Italy to Germ any
Am erican (1967), Pacific W ar
Am erican (2001), Pacific W ar
Am erican (1976), naval war in Pacific (carriers)
Am erican (1957), naval war in Atlantic (U-boats)
Am erican (1958), naval war in Atlantic (U-boats)
Am erican docu-dram a series (2004)
Japanese (2004), suicide run of the IJN Yamato in 1945
BBC dram atization (2009) of new inform ation on Stalin's wartim e policies
Russian (2011), siege of Leningrad
British (2010), W arsaw Ghetto, 1943
British (2001), Stalingrad sniper contest & ‘W ar of the Rats’
Am erican (1949), W estern Front
Am erican (1966), Battle of France, August 1944
Am erican (1969), Fighting on the Rhine, 1945
Am erican (1965), Ardennes cam paign
Am erican (1970), Richard Nixon’s favorite film
Am erican (1962), Am erican SOF in Burm a
Am erican (1968), ANZIO cam paign
Am erican (1968), Canadian-Am erican joint SOF force in Italy
Germ an (2002), Hitler's last 10 days
French docum entary (1993), Vichy propaganda film s
Post-W orld W ar II
The Bridge
Assembly
A Home Too Far
The Korean W ar
Korea: Forgotten W ar
Pork Chop Hill
W ar is Hell
MacArthur
Taegukgi: Brotherhood of W ar
71 Into the Fire
The Front Line
Battle on Shangganling
Korean W ar in Color
Too Late the Hero
Lost Command
La Bataille d’Algier
La Section Anderson
Siege of Firebase Gloria
Héroes de Otra Patria
The Ten Thousand Day W ar
Vietnam
Boys in Company C
Apocalypse Now
Hamburger Hill
Platoon
The Green Berets
The Deer Hunter
Full Metal Jacket
A Rumor of W ar
Tour of Duty
Born on the 4 th July
Casualties of W ar
Chinese (1949), Chinese Civil W ar, 1946-1949
Chinese (2007), Chinese Civil W ar, 1946-1949
Taiwanese (1990), Guom indang retreat to Burm a in 1950
Am erican docum entary (2000)
Am erican docum entary (1995)
Am erican (1956), Korean W ar
Am erican (1961), Korean W ar
Am erican (1977), biographical
South Korean (2004), Korean W ar
South Korean (2005), students in first battles of Korean W ar
South Korean (2011), Korean W ar
Chinese (1956), Korean W ar
Docum entary (2001)
British (1970), French in Indochina
Franco-Am erican (1966), Dien Bien Phu to Algeria
French (1966), Algerian W ar of Independence
French docum entary (1965), Vietnam W ar
Australian (1989), Vietnam W ar
Puerto Rican (1998), Vietnam W ar
Am erican docum entary (1980)
Am erican docum entary (2003)
Am erican (1978), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1979), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1987), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1986), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1968), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1978), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1987), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1980), Vietnam W ar
Am erican TV (1987-1990), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1989), Vietnam W ar
Am erican (1989), Vietnam W ar
A Bright Shining Lie
Am erican (1998), Vietnam W ar
W e W ere Soldiers Once
Am erican (2002), Vietnam W ar
Six Days in June
Israeli docum entary (2007)
Kippur
Israeli (2000), 1973 Arab-Israeli W ar on the Golan heights
Exodus
Am erican (1960), Arab-Israeli W ar, 1948
Time of Favor
Israeli (2000), war on the W est Bank
Blessed by Fire
Argentine (2005), Falklands W ar
Line of Fire: Goose Green
British docum entary (2002), Falklands W ar
No-man's-land
Bosnian (2001), satire takes on journalists & peacekeepers
Pretty Village, Pretty Flame
Bosnian (1998), Serb-Bosnian W ar
The Beast
Multinational (1988), Afghan-Soviet W ar
Black Hawk Down
Am erican (2002), UN in Mogadishu
Courage Under Fire
Am erican (1998), Gulf W ar
Jarhead
Am erican (2005), Iraq W ar
This is W ar
Docum entary (2007), Iraq W ar
Gunner Palace
Docum entary (2004), Iraq W ar
Combat Diary
Docum entary (2006), Iraq W ar
The Hurt Locker
Am erican (2009), Iraq W ar
Generation Kill
Am erican TV series (2009), Iraq W ar
Over There
Am erican TV series (2009), Iraq W ar
No-Man's-Land
Bosnian (2001), Bosnia post-UN intervention (1995+)
W ar (Voyna)
Russian (2002), Chechnya W ar
Restrepo
Am erican docum entary (2012), NATO-Afghan W ar