The Paul Birdsall Prize in European Military and Strategic History was established in 1985 by a generous gift from Professor Hans Gatzke, who remained anonymous until his death. Paul Birdsall (d. 1970) was a historian of European diplomatic and military affairs and a foreign service officer. The Birdsall Prize is awarded biennially for the most important work published in English on European military or strategic history since 1870.

Preference will be given to the international aspects of military history (military/diplomatic), but the impact of technological developments, strategic planning, and military events on society—political, economic, social—will also qualify. Purely technical studies, divorced from historical context, will not. The current prize amount is $1,000. See the list of past recipients.

The general rules for submission are:

1. Preference will be given to early-career academics, but established scholars and nonacademic candidates will not be excluded.
2. Books published in English and bearing a copyright of 2022 or 2023 are eligible for the 2024 prize.
3. Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
4. Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
5. One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Birdsall Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.

Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2024, to be eligible for the 2024 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2024 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2025 AHA annual meeting in New York City.

For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.