Download or read book Big Wars and Small Wars written by Hew Strachan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a fascinating new insight into the British army and its evolution through both large and small scale conflicts. To prepare for future wars, armies derive lessons from past wars. However, some armies are defeated because they learnt the wrong lessons, fighting new conflicts in ways appropriate to the last. For the British Army in the twentieth century, the challenge has been particularly great. It has never had the luxury of emerging from one major European war with the time to prepare itself for the next. The leading military historians show how ongoing commitments to a range of ‘small wars’ have always been part of the Army’s experience. After 1902 and after 1918 they included colonial campaigns, but they also developed into what we would now call counter-insurgency operations, and these became the norm between 1945 and 1969. During the height of the Cold War, in 1982, the Army was deployed to the Falklands. Since 1990 the dominant tasks of the Army have been peace support operations. This is an excellent resource for all students and scholars of military history, politics and international relations and British history.
Download or read book Britain s Army in the Twentieth Century written by Field Marshal Lord Carver and published by Pan Books Limited. This book was released on 1999 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the British Army in our century, as told by one of Britain's most distinguished living soldiers, Field Marshal Lord Carver. His research is backed by first-person 'action accounts', provided by the Imperial War Museum.
Download or read book The British Army Manpower and Society Into the Twenty first Century written by Hew Strachan and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2000 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in this volume set the relationship between the Army and society in the context of the 20th century as a whole.
Download or read book British Army Cap Badges of the Twentieth Century written by Arthur Ward and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2008-05-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Items connected with the British military have always been extremely popular with collectors, and the intricate and beautiful badges made to denote a soldier's regiment have always been keenly collected, due to their small size, high quality and the fascinating stories of military derring-do that lie behind each one. The British army cap badge really came into being around the turn of the twentieth century, with large badges intended for the blue cloth helmets then in use. Later badges became smaller, and materials changed, as headgear became smaller, and new manufacturing techniques took away the laborious daily cleaning that was a part of every soldier's routine for most of the century. With every regiment having numerous variations of badge, this is a field of collecting that will yield rewards for the collector. With the aid of nearly 200 specially taken color photographs, Arthur Ward offers a complete introduction to this topic.
Download or read book The First British Army 1624 1628 written by Laurence Spring and published by Century of the Soldier. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "True, the concept of Britain dates back to Roman times, but it was James I that founded Britain in the modern sense. With his accession to the throne in 1603 for the first time Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland were united - with James bestowing on himself the title of 'King of Great Britain'. Before this time, Scots and Irishmen may have served in the English Army as mercenaries, but it was known as an English Army - but now the King's (or British) flag flew over the castles and forts throughout the land. The army raised by Charles I in 1625 for his war against Spain -and subsequently, with France - is most famous for its failure. However, it is one of the best-documented armies of the early 17th century. Using archival and archaeological evidence, the first half of the book covers the lives of the officers and men serving in the army at this time - as well as the women who accompanied them. The author discusses the origins of officers and why they decided to serve in the army - and how the men from England, Scotland and Ireland were recruited (as well as how they were clothed and what they ate; the medical care; and the tactics used by the army at this time). It also covers the hidden faction of tailors, armorers and merchants who helped to put the army into the field. The second half of the book covers not only the expeditions to Cadiz, the Isle de Rhe and the siege of La Rochelle, but also their effect on an England who feared a Spanish (and later a French) invasion. Also covered are the campaigns of Count Ernest von Mansfeldt's and Sir Charles Morgan's armies at this time, which fought at Breda, Dessau Bridge and against the forces of the Holy Roman Empire. The final chapter looks at what became of the soldiers and their widows once the army had been disbanded - therefore, the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in Early Modern History, including the English Civil War and the Thirty Years War." --Publisher description.
Download or read book The Changing of the Guard written by Simon Akam and published by Scribe Publications. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A TLS and a Prospect Book of the Year A revelatory, explosive new analysis of the British military today. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Britain has changed enormously. During this time, the British Army fought two campaigns, in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. This book questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answers. Composed from assiduous documentary research, field reportage, and hundreds of interviews with many soldiers and officers who served, as well as the politicians who directed them, the allies who accompanied them, and the family members who loved and — on occasion — lost them, it is a strikingly rich, nuanced portrait of one of our pivotal national institutions in a time of great stress. Award-winning journalist Simon Akam, who spent a year in the army when he was 18, returned a decade later to see how the institution had changed. His book examines the relevance of the armed forces today — their social, economic, political, and cultural role. This is as much a book about Britain, and about the politics of failure, as it is about the military.
Download or read book Learning to Fight written by Aimée Fox-Godden and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first institutional examination of the British army's learning and innovation process during the First World War.
Download or read book Toward Combined Arms Warfare written by Jonathan Mallory House and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1985 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bull Run to Boer War written by Michael Somerville and published by . This book was released on 2019-12-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American Civil War is often said to have predicted the way in which later wars such as the Boer War and the First World War would be fought. As a result the British Army has been criticised for not heeding its lessons, a view that can be traced back to the 1930s.This book challenges that long-held view, and demonstrates that the responses to the lessons of the war in the British Army were more complex, better informed, and of higher quality, than normally depicted.Key to this new interpretation is that it takes a nineteenth century perspective rather than pre-supposing what the British should have seen based upon hindsight from the South African veldt or the Western Front trenches. It demonstrates that strategists and policy-makers reacted to the changes in the nature of warfare suggested by American experience, looks at how officers in the cavalry, infantry, artillery and engineers applied their observations in America to the technical and tactical issues of the day, and even examines the war's influence on the development of aeronautics.In studying how the Civil War changed the Late Victorian British Army, the book provides insight into its learning process, and concludes that although sometimes flawed, its study of the American Civil War meant that it was better prepared for the wars of the twentieth century than previously acknowledged.
Download or read book Soldiers as Workers written by Nick Mansfield (Historian) and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book outlines how class is single most important factor in understanding the British army in the period of industrialisation. It challenges the 'ruffians officered by gentlemen' theory of most military histories and demonstrates how service in the ranks was not confined to 'the scum of the earth' but included a cross section of 'respectable' working class men. Common soldiers represent a huge unstudied occupational group. They worked as artisans, servants and dealers, displaying pre-enlistment working class attitudes and evidencing low level class conflict in numerous ways. Soldiers continued as members of the working class after discharge, with military service forming one phase of their careers and overall life experience. After training, most common soldiers had time on their hands and were allowed to work at a wide variety of jobs, analysed here for the first time. Many serving soldiers continued to work as regimental tradesmen, or skilled artificers. Others worked as officers' servants or were allowed to run small businesses, providing goods and services to their comrades. Some, especially the Non Commissioned Officers who actually ran the army, forged extraordinary careers which surpassed any opportunities in civilian life. All the soldiers studied retained much of their working class way of life. This was evidenced in a contract culture similar to that of the civilian trade unions. Within disciplined boundaries, army life resulted in all sorts of low level class conflict. The book explores these by covering drinking, desertion, feigned illness, self harm, strikes and go-slows. It further describes mutinies, back chat, looting, fraternisation, foreign service, suicide and even the shooting of unpopular officers.
Download or read book Marriage and the British Army in the Long Eighteenth Century written by Jennine Hurl-Eamon and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014-02 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the relationships between soldiers and their wives during the long eighteenth century in Britain, particularly focusing on the wives who stayed at home while their husbands went to war.
Download or read book Forgotten Victorian Generals written by Christopher Brice and published by . This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of the British Army's actions during the Victorian Era are forgotten, misunderstood and misrepresented. Stereotypes of the Victorian officer, soldier and battlefield abound. As the latter half of the twentieth century was one of 'Imperial Guilt' it is perhaps unsurprising that many of the 'heroes' of the age have been forgotten. This is particularly true of the 'Generals'. They were lauded in their day but now are unknown. Yet there were many capable individuals exercising high office. This new work provides some examples of the many interesting and talented officers who exercised command during the Victorian Era. It is hoped that such a work will be of interest to both the casual reader and the student of military history. Much of the military history of this age has been unfairly ignored, and there are many powerful and important lessons to be learnt from the careers of the men included in this book. The Generals featured in this book represent different types of General. Field Marshal Sir George White was Commander in Chief in India from 1893 to 1898 and was a rising star of the Army. Yet his reputation suffered from the South African War and his decision to take refuge in Ladysmith and become sieged during the early part of the war. Field Marshal Robert Napier was also Commander-in-Chief India from 1870 to 1876. He was originally an officer of engineers in the East India Company Army. He was considered one of the finest civil engineers in India and developed a reputation as a fine battlefield commander, culminating in his successfully conducting the Abyssinia Campaign of 1867-68. Brigadier General Robert Loyd-Lindsay's success lay in the political arena more than the military. He did much in the name of military reform and worked hard for the medical support of soldiers. General Sir Archibald Allison was very much the fighting soldier in his younger days, but in later life proved a successful Commandant at Sandhurst and Head of the Intelligence Branch at the War Office. Field Marshal William Nicholson had an interesting campaigning career and had the distinction of being the Second Chief of the General Staff of the British Army and was credited with much success in reforming the army. General Sir William Lockhart was yet another Commander-in-Chief in India who had seen considerable active service including commanding the Tirah Expedition of 1897-1898. General Sir Henry Brackenbury saw considerable active service but his greatest contributions were behind the scenes. He was the greatest administrator in the British Army during the Victorian Era. Major-General Sir John Ardagh had served under Brackenbury in the Intelligence Branch and later became its leader. Ardagh was also a first rate administrator and did an excellent job in the Intelligence Branch. Although criticized during the South African War for a perceived failure of military intelligence he was exonerated by the Royal Commission set up after the war. General Sir Arthur Cunynghame was an officer of the old school. He perhaps deserves more credit than he gets and certainly provides for an interesting study. All in all the Generals featured in this book provides us with a very interesting insight into generals of this era and the way in which they exercised command. The authors are a collection of experienced and early career historians.
Download or read book Borrowed Soldiers written by Mitchell A. Yockelson and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2016-01-18 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The combined British Expeditionary Force and American II Corps successfully pierced the Hindenburg Line during the Hundred Days Campaign of World War I, an offensive that hastened the war’s end. Yet despite the importance of this effort, the training and operation of II Corps has received scant attention from historians. Mitchell A. Yockelson delivers a comprehensive study of the first time American and British soldiers fought together as a coalition force—more than twenty years before D-Day. He follows the two divisions that constituted II Corps, the 27th and 30th, from the training camps of South Carolina to the bloody battlefields of Europe. Despite cultural differences, General Pershing’s misgivings, and the contrast between American eagerness and British exhaustion, the untested Yanks benefited from the experience of battle-toughened Tommies. Their combined forces contributed much to the Allied victory. Yockelson plumbs new archival sources, including letters and diaries of American, Australian, and British soldiers to examine how two forces of differing organization and attitude merged command relationships and operations. Emphasizing tactical cooperation and training, he details II Corps’ performance in Flanders during the Ypres-Lys offensive, the assault on the Hindenburg Line, and the decisive battle of the Selle. Featuring thirty-nine evocative photographs and nine maps, this account shows how the British and American military relationship evolved both strategically and politically. A case study of coalition warfare, Borrowed Soldiers adds significantly to our understanding of the Great War.
Download or read book The Darkest Year written by Spencer Jones and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-15 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the latest volume of Spencer Jones's award-winning series which examines the British Army on the Western Front year-by-year.
Download or read book Empire of Guns written by Priya Satia and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 569 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE By a prize-winning young historian, an authoritative work that reframes the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of British empire, and emergence of industrial capitalism by presenting them as inextricable from the gun trade "A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose."--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies We have long understood the Industrial Revolution as a triumphant story of innovation and technology. Empire of Guns, a rich and ambitious new book by award-winning historian Priya Satia, upends this conventional wisdom by placing war and Britain's prosperous gun trade at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and the state's imperial expansion. Satia brings to life this bustling industrial society with the story of a scandal: Samuel Galton of Birmingham, one of Britain's most prominent gunmakers, has been condemned by his fellow Quakers, who argue that his profession violates the society's pacifist principles. In his fervent self-defense, Galton argues that the state's heavy reliance on industry for all of its war needs means that every member of the British industrial economy is implicated in Britain's near-constant state of war. Empire of Guns uses the story of Galton and the gun trade, from Birmingham to the outermost edges of the British empire, to illuminate the nation's emergence as a global superpower, the roots of the state's role in economic development, and the origins of our era's debates about gun control and the "military-industrial complex" -- that thorny partnership of government, the economy, and the military. Through Satia's eyes, we acquire a radically new understanding of this critical historical moment and all that followed from it. Sweeping in its scope and entirely original in its approach, Empire of Guns is a masterful new work of history -- a rigorous historical argument with a human story at its heart.
Download or read book No Want of Courage written by R. N. W. Thomas and published by From Reason to Revolution. This book was released on 2022-03-31 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The structure of the headquarters staff, the commissariat, and the medical departments of the Duke of York's army in Flanders is examined in detail using mostly unpublished sources from the campaign.
Download or read book British Army Uniforms in Color written by Peter Harrington and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2001 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gale and Polden's postcards of British uniforms are now widely collected but little is known about the artists and few of their original paintings have survived. Now over 130 of these rare works by artists such as Harry Payne, Edgar A. Holloway, John McNeill, and Ernest Ibbetson are reproduced here for the first time in full colour with background information as to how the pictures were created. This book is a useful reference for postcard collectors, miniature modelers, as well as collectors and scholars of early twentieth century British uniforms.
