Download or read book Bloody Red Tabs written by Frank Davies and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long before that ghastly and quite unnecessary slogging match in the mud which we now call the First World War had dragged to its blood-soaked conclusion the belief that most of the senior officers had spent their time in comfort and safety in chateaux far behind the lines with no idea of the conditions in which the men they commanded were fighting was firmly embedded in the public mind. As the years pass by that belief has, if anything, become more deeply held, gaining strength from plays like Oh! What a Lovely War, itself based on Alan Clark's book The Donkeys.It is the purpose of this book to show not only how the myth was born and grew but how totally at odds it is with the facts. Biographies of over 200 officers who held the rank of Brigadier-General or above who were killed or wounded during the war show how closely involved the men at the top were with the men at the front. Ironically, as the authors point out, this was more than just a waste of blood, for these were the very men whose experience was vital to the successful prosecution of the war. Had they actually stayed in their chateaux, as Lloyd George alleged, they might have done much more to hasten the end of the conflict.This is not only an invaluable work of reference but a tribute to those gallant senior officers who have been so unfairly traduced by many who should have known better.As featured in Essence Magazine.

Download or read book The Bloodiest Year written by Ken Wharton and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1972 was the bloodiest year of an already bloody conflict played out on the streets of Northern Ireland. Over twelve months the country was rocked by the atrocities of Bloody Friday and the Claudy bombing, civilian casualties mounted, and the soldiers of the British Army were caught between the factions. 169 servicemen died that year, their deaths unnoticed at home except by their loved ones, fighting a forgotten war on British soil. In The Bloodiest Year, Ken Wharton, a former soldier who did two tours of Northern Ireland, tells the story of the worst year of the Troubles through the accounts of the men who patrolled the streets of Belfast and Londonderry, who saw their comrades die and walked with death themselves. He examines almost every single death during that year, and names the men behind the violence, many of whom now hold high office in the country they tried so hard to break apart.

Download or read book Haig and Kitchener in Twentieth Century Britain written by Stephen Heathorn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-22 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lord Kitchener and Lord Haig are two monumental figures of the First World War. Their reputations, both in their lifetimes and after their deaths, have been attacked and defended, scrutinized and contested. They have been depicted in film, print and public memorials in Britain and the wider world, and new biographies of both men appear to this day. The material representations of Haig and Kitchener were shaped, used and manipulated for official and popular ends by a variety of groups at different times during the twentieth century. The purpose of this study is not to discover the real individual, nor to attack or defend their reputations, rather it is an exploration of how both men have been depicted since their deaths and to consider what this tells us about the nature and meaning of First World War commemoration. While Haig's representation was more contested before the Second World War than was Kitchener's, with several constituencies trying to fashion and use Haig's memory - the Government, the British Legion, ex-servicemen themselves, and bereaved families - it was probably less contested, but overwhelmingly more negative, than Kitchener's after the Second World War. The book sheds light on the notion of 'heroic' masculinity - questioning, in particular, the degree to which the image of the common soldier replaced that of the high commander in the popular imagination - and explores how the military heritage in the twentieth century came into collision with the culture of modernity. It also contributes to ongoing debates in British historiography and to the larger debates over the social construction of memory, the problematic relation between what is considered 'heritage' and 'history', and the need for historians to be sensitive and attentive to the interconnections between heritage and history and their contexts.

Download or read book From the Somme to Victory written by Peter Simkins and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-10-30 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Simkins has established a reputation over the last forty years as one of the most original and stimulating historians of the First World War. He has made a major contribution to the debate about the performance of the British Army on the Western Front. This collection of his most perceptive and challenging essays, which concentrates on British operations in France between 1916 and 1918, shows that this reputation is richly deserved. He focuses on key aspects of the army's performance in battle, from the first day of the Somme to the Hundred Days, and gives a fascinating insight into the developing theory and practice of the army as it struggled to find a way to break through the German line. His rigorous analysis undermines some of the common assumptions - and the myths - that still cling to the history of these British battles.

Download or read book Lloyd George written by Richard Wilkinson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Lloyd George left a profound political legacy, despite being described by the wife of his successor, Herbert Asquith, as a 'gambler without foresight'. He is, of course, best known as the Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in World War I, but his contribution to domestic politics was similarly impressive. As Chancellor of the Exchequer he introduced pensions and national insurance against sickness and unemployment, while as Prime Minister he extended democracy by giving votes to women. Yet Lloyd George was compromised by his flaws as a human being. Vain, cruel, capricious and dishonest, at times his notoriously corrupt nature threatened to damage the British political system. Providing a unique new perspective on one of the most phenomenally-talented - but also one of the most phenomenally-flawed - of British Prime Ministers, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in modern British politics and history.

Download or read book Fromelles 1916 written by Paul Cobb and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At Fromelles in July 1916 two divisions – one British and one Australian – within a few weeks of arriving in France – went into action for the first time. Their task was to prevent the Germans from moving troops to the Somme where a major British offensive was in progress, but the attack on 19/20 July was a disaster with nearly 7,000 casualties in a few hours. This account explores this battle which for many epitomises the futility of the Great War. In those few hours many heroic deeds were done but the battle caused a souring of Anglo-Australian relationships and truly was a baptism of fire for these British and Australian troops. This is their history. In a new section, Paul Cobb explores the recent discovery in 2008/09 of a mass war grave on the battlefield and includes details of the findings of the archaeological dig, the recovery of 250 bodies and the creation of a new military cemetery.

Download or read book Communications and British Operations on the Western Front 1914 1918 written by Brian N. Hall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-07 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reveals the impact of communications on the military operations of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

Download or read book Blue Beast written by Jonathan Walker and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-30 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘The Blue Beast’—Edwardian slang for sexual passion—is the true account of the intimate lives of three extraordinary Edwardian women. Drawing on private family archives and highly revealing letters and diaries, the story examines how they became mistresses or confidantes of some of the most powerful men in Britain, men who profoundly affected the Empire’s efforts in the First World War. The wealthy and voluptuous American adventuress, Emilie Grigsby, claimed she was the ‘mascot of High Command’ – and not without good reason. She courted the press baron Lord Northcliffe, the philandering Quartermaster-General, Sir John Cowans and The Times military correspondent, Colonel Charles Repington, all of whom fell under her spell. It was manipulation on an ambitious scale, although eventually her schemes unravelled. Meanwhile, the sensuous and statuesque Winifred ‘Wendy’ Bennett launched into a passionate affair with the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir John French. ‘The ‘Blue Beast’ uncovers how they conducted their relationship, whilst French wrestled with crisis after crisis to keep command of a vast army on the Western Front. Finally, the strong-willed and aristocratic Hon. Sylvia Henley replaced her sister Venetia Stanley as the close confidante of Prime Minister Asquith. It brought her great influence; but it was no compensation for the personal heartache that followed.Taking the reader on a journey into London’s High Society during the glittering Edwardian era and the tumult of the Great War, Jonathan Walker uncovers a story of power, passion and betrayal.

Download or read book British Prisoners of War in First World War Germany written by Oliver Wilkinson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An original investigation dedicated to the captivity experiences of British military servicemen captured by Germany in the First World War.

Download or read book The Secret History of Soldiers written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been thousands of books on the Great War, but most have focused on commanders, battles, strategy, and tactics. Less attention has been paid to the daily lives of the combatants, how they endured the unimaginable conditions of industrial warfare: the rain of shells, bullets, and chemical agents. In The Secret History of Soldiers, Tim Cook, Canada's foremost military historian, examines how those who survived trench warfare on the Western Front found entertainment, solace, relief, and distraction from the relentless slaughter. These tales come from the soldiers themselves, mined from the letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral accounts of more than five hundred combatants. Rare examples of trench art, postcards, and even song sheets offer insight into a hidden society that was often irreverent, raunchy, and anti-authoritarian. Believing in supernatural stories was another way soldiers shielded themselves from the horror. While novels and poetry often depict the soldiers of the Great War as mere victims, this new history shows how the soldiers pushed back against the grim war, refusing to be broken in the mincing machine of the Western Front. The violence of war is always present, but Cook reveals the gallows humour the soldiers employed to get through it. Over the years, both writers and historians have overlooked this aspect of the men's lives. The fighting at the front was devastating, but behind the battle lines, another layer of life existed, one that included songs, skits, art, and soldier-produced newspapers. With his trademark narrative abilities and an unerring eye for the telling human detail, Cook has created another landmark history of Canadian military life as he reveals the secrets of how soldiers survived the carnage of the Western Front.

Download or read book Volunteers and Pressed Men written by Roger Broad and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-05-27 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Britain did not ‘stand-alone’ in 1940 after the fall of FranceMen and women from around the world fought in British Empire forces in two global warsUnpublished personal memoirs and other sources now record their experience and achievementsThe first overall recognition of their contribution The great heroic myth of 20th century British history is that after the fall of France in June 1940, Britain ‘stood alone’. This does a great disservice to the millions of men and women from around the world who rallied to the British cause. As in 1914-1918, Britain in 1939-1945 could call on the human and material resources of the world’s greatest empire, and without them could not have held off Germany and Italy, and later Japan. In the First World War, Britain initially depended on volunteers to form Kitchener’s ‘New Army’, but from 1916, it had to resort to conscription. The imperial forces were mainly raised voluntarily although, as in Britain, various forms of social and economic pressure were applied to get men into uniform. In both wars, some Commonwealth and Empire territories applied formal conscription. In 1939-1945, these countries doubled the military manpower available from Britain itself. Volunteers and Pressed Men: How Britain and its Empire Raised its Forces in Two World Wars draws on official documents, diaries, memoirs and other sources to describe how, alongside Britain’s own forces, men and women drawn from the Americas to the Pacific served, fought and suffered injury and death in Britain’s cause. Illustrations: 28 black-and-white photographs

Download or read book At the Sharp End Volume One written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-08-16 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive history of Canadians in WWI in forty years, and already hailed as the definitive work on Canadians in the Great War, At the Sharp End covers the harrowing early battles of 1914—16. Tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands, died before the generals and soldiers found a way to break the terrible stalemate of the front. Based on eyewitness accounts detailed in the letters of ordinary soldiers, Cook describes the horrible struggle, first to survive in battle, and then to drive the Germans back. At the Sharp End provides both an intimate look at the Canadian men in the trenches and an authoritative account of the slow evolution in tactics, weapons, and advancement. Featuring never-before-published photographs, letters, diaries, and maps, this recounting of the Great War through the soldiers' eyes is moving, engaging, and thoroughly engrossing.

Download or read book Somme 1916 written by Gerald Gliddon and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2009-11-20 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gerald Gliddon's classic survery of the Somme battlefield in 1916, first published in 1987 to great acclaim, has been greatly expanded and updated to include the latest research and analysis. Supported by a wide selection of archive photographs and drawing on the testimony of those who took part, this new edition covers both the famous battle sites, such as High Wood and Mametz Wood and lesser known villages on the outlying flanks. It includes a day-by-day account of the British build-up on the Somme and the ensuing struggle, British and German orders of battle and a full history of the cemeteries and memorials, both 'lost' and current, that sprang up in the years following the First World War. The author also provides thumbnail biographies of all the senior officers to fall, as well as the winners of the Victoria Cross and those who were 'shot at dawn'. In addition, Somme 'personalities' such as George Butterworth are covered in far greater detail than before.

Download or read book Magnificent but Not War written by John Dixon and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2003-11-19 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a detailed account of the fighting around Ypres during April and May 1915. It is essentially a day-by-day record of the Second Battle of Ypres which draws heavily upon personal accounts, regimental histories and war diaries to present a comprehensive study of the battle in which Germany became the first nation to use poisonous gas as a weapon. Each phrase of the battle (the Battle of Gravenstafel; the Battle of St. Julien; the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge and the Battle of Bellewarde Ridge) is discussed in detail with maps and photographs where appropriate. the main text is accompanied by a number of appendices including officer casualties; Victoria Cross winners and the British Order of Battle for Hill 60 and the Second Battle of Ypres.

Download or read book British Generalship on the Western Front 1914 1918 written by Simon Robbins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-12-21 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the British Army's response on the Western Front to a period of seminal change in warfare. In particular it examines the impact of the pre-war emphasis on worldwide garrison, occupation and policing duties for the Empire's defence of the mindset of the Army's leadership and its lack of preparation for a continental war involving a massive, unplanned increase in men and material. The reasons for the poor performance in the early years of the war, notably professionalism within the British Army, including poor staff work, 'trade unionism', careerism within the high command, and the tendency of an overconfident hierarchy to ignore the need for reform to tackle the tactical stalemate prior to 1916, are analysed. The high command rapidly learnt from the defeats of 1915-16 and performed much better in 1916-18, an especially formative period resulting in the promotion of a younger, more professional leadership and the development of the first truly modern system of tactics which has dominated wars ever since. During 1917-18 the Army's commanders and staff evolved and improved these new methods; developing a doctrine of combined arms to overcome the tactical stalemate bedevilling Allied offensives.

Download or read book 1918 Year of Victory written by Ashley Ekins and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1918: Year of Victory, convened by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in November 2008 to mark the ninetieth anniversary of the end of the Great War. Ashley Ekins (volume editor) is Head of the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Download or read book Ypres 1914 Messines written by Nigel Cave and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These three Battleground Europe books on Ypres 1914 mark the centenary of the final major battle of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front. Although fought over a relatively small area and short time span, the fighting was even more than usually chaotic and the stakes were extremely high. Authors Nigel Cave and Jack Sheldon combine their respective expertise to tell the story of the men British, French, Indian and German - who fought over the unremarkable undulating ground that was to become firmly placed in British national conscience ever afterwards.At the end of October 1914 an increasingly desperate Falkenhayn, aware that his offensive in Flanders had stalled, decided to make one final effort to break through the Allied lines south of Ypres. Pulling together a large strike force, the so-called Army Group Fabeck, he launched a violent offensive designed to capture the Messines Ridge and to use this dominating terrain as a springboard for a further advance. Inadequately resourced, assembled in a rush, this thrust was soon in trouble. Confused fighting in the wooded areas to the south of the Menin Road slowed the advance and initial attempts to gain a foothold on the ridge failed. A supreme effort by the men of the 26th Infantry Division ultimately brought about the capture of the town of Messines and similar heroics by the Bavarian 6th Reserve Division led to the fall of Wytschaete, but it was all in vain. Yet again a valiant Allied defence had buckled, but not broken.