Download or read book Walking Verdun written by Christina Holstein and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 21 February 1916 the German Fifth Army launched a devastating offensive against French forces at Verdun and set in motion one of the most harrowing and prolonged battles of the Great War. By the time the struggle finished ten months later, over 650,000 men had been killed or wounded or were missing, and the terrible memory of the battle had been etched into the histories of France and Germany. This epic trial of military and national strength cannot be properly understood without visiting, and walking, the battlefield, and this is the purpose of Christina Holstein's invaluable guide. In a series of walks she takes the reader to all the key points on the battlefield, many of which have attained almost legendary status - the spot where Colonel Driant was killed, the forts of Douaumont, Vaux and Souville, the Mort Homme ridge, and Verdun itself.REVIEWS A new guide book from one of the most knowledgeable Western Front historians and guides. A New work by long-time battlefield guide and WFA member who also wrote an earlier Pen & Sword book on Ft. Douaumont.e: WWI Historical Association

Download or read book Walking D Day written by Paul Reed and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-08-19 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII battlefield guide offers twelve walking tours covering all the major sites of the D-Day landings in Normandy with in-depth historical context. D-Day the momentous first step in the Allied liberation of France and the rest of northwest Europe. The places associated with the Normandy landings are among the most memorable that a battlefield visitor can explore. In Walking D-Day, military historian Paul Reed takes visitors through all the major sites, from Pegasus Bridge, Merville Battery, Ouistrehem and Longues Battery to Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah Beaches, Pointe du Hoc and Sainte-Mre-glise. Each of the twelve walks includes a vividly detailed historical introduction. Information on the many battlefield monuments and the military cemeteries is included, and there are over 120 illustrations. Walking D-Day introduces the visitor not only to the places where the Allies landed and first clashed with the Germans defenders but also to the Normandy landscape over which the critical battles that decided the course of the war were fought.

Download or read book Walking Gallipoli written by Stephen Chambers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-12-19 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A walking tour guidebook for travelers and armchair historians interested in visiting the sites of the World War I campaign in Turkey. Gallipoli was a First World War tragedy, a side show that had ambitious hopes to end the war early. Despite the immense gallantry displayed by those fighting, from the beginning, this grand scale 1915 operation was plagued with mismanagement. Failure in high places betrayed the heroism in the field, resulting in casualties of over half a million. Those who visit the area today owe to those who served and died a conscious effort to see beyond the heartbreak and futility, to appreciate the what, the how, and the why. There is no better way to do this today than walking the battlefields with this invaluable guide. From the beaches and fields of Helles to the precipitous heights of Anzac and the plains of Suvla, this book guides the walker to the key points of the campaign. Infamous names that are synonymous with the fighting are covered: Sedd-el Bahr, Krithia, Achi Baba, the Vineyard, Gully Ravine, Kereviz Dere, Lone Pine, the Nek, Chunuk Bair, Lala Baba, Chocolate Hill, Kidney Hill and Kiretch Tepe. All of these features are set in a scene of beauty and tragedy that still pervades this eastern Mediterranean peninsula. In total there are ten walks, some challenging, others not, with a narrative that helps make sense of it all. “Whether you are looking for a guidebook or a concise introduction to the campaign, Chambers’s offering is well worth your attention.” —WW1 Geek

Download or read book Walking In the Footsteps of the Fallen written by Christina Holstein and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2019-04-30 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A visit to the battlefield of Verdun is usually dominated by the forts of Douamont and Vaux, the museum at Fleury and the striking, huge Ossuary. Although this gives a flavor of the horrific fighting that took place in the area, particularly in 1916, the visitor will be hard pressed to get much more than an impression from such places. This book seeks to guide the battlefield pilgrim into parts of the battlefield that get rarely visited by means of a series of walks, a number of which include the major sites. The four tours have been carefully walked. All are practicable for a reasonably healthy adult; the tours vary in length, most taking a half day to complete and the longest (the last) a day. In a twist to the usual walks to be found in the Battleground series, Christina makes full use of the numerous field graves and isolated memorials that are to be found on the Verdun battlefield, a number of which will bring visitors to the most visited sites. In the course of these walks many physical remnants will be found, such as gun positions, bunkers and trench systems, the significance of which is fully explained. The walks have not been chosen at random; by following these the tourer will get a far greater understanding of why the fighting at Verdun developed as it did and why such places as Fort Vaux were so significant to both sides. The field graves and memorials to the combatants, very often of individuals, provide an opportunity to give their story and the unit action in which they were fighting when they were killed. Verdun is a battlefield where the story of units and individuals can easily become lost in the horror of the incessant fighting that raged over ten months; and over ground which is extremely difficult to read because of the post war forestation program. Profusely illustrated and with excellent mapping, a hallmark of Christina Holstein's books, a visitor who follows the walks in this book will be left with a far clearer idea of the men who fought and died here and of the features of the battlefield and their significance in this battle that so challenged the endurance of the armies of two nations.

Download or read book Boesinghe written by Stephen McGreal and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Boesinghe is not a place name that often comes up in battlefield touring ... Yet during the months and years between late October 1914 and September 1918 large number of units spent periods of time of dreary discomfort in water and mud, interspersed with tragedy, death and maiming, in this northernmost outpost of the Salient. Significant events happened -- the fighting at Second Ypres in 1915 and the push forward on 31st July 1917 ... but the memory of the area was generally one of trench warfare ... This book gives a flavour of these months of trench warfare: short entries in war diaries, filled with routine and interspersed with trench raids, small and large ... The extensive tours section take the visitor around the battlefield and provides points where it is possible to gain an appreciation of the issues that faced the rival armies"--Page 6.

Download or read book The American Expeditionary Forces in the Great War written by Maarten Otte and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An invaluable and extraordinary” account of the bloodiest battle in American military history (Midwest Book Review). Although the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began in late September 1918 and continued through to the Armistice, was not the first major action fought by the AEF, it was the greatest in which it engaged in the Great War. The Argonne was an area that had been heavily fought over, particularly in the early part of the war; its eastern part, towards the Meuse, then became enveloped in the first great attritional battle of the war, Verdun. Maarten Otte gives a background narrative to events before the opening of the Offensive and its development. Taking each of the US corps in turn, he then provides tours that will help the visitor to understand the fighting and the problems that were faced. This opening book on the Meuse-Argonne takes the reader, more or less, to the date when General Pershing handed over command of the US First Army to Major General Liggard in mid-October, a change in command that marked a significant improvement in the American performance as they pushed the Germans ever backwards. The Great War battlefield of the Argonne is marked by numerous physical remains of the war, some fine (some might argue overly grandiose) monuments and by the stunning American cemetery at Romagne, the second largest in the world administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. There is much to see in a battlefield that has been largely neglected in the decades since the Second World War.

Download or read book Nijmegen written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-10-20 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII battlefield guide offers a detailed history of the Allied Liberation of Nijmegen during Operation Market Garden—with maps and photos throughout. On September 17th, 1944, the 82nd Airborne dropped Allied parachute infantry along the Waal River in the Netherlandish city of Nijmegen. Their goal was to seize the city’s two major bridges and reinforce the British troops in nearby Arnhem. Though the Allied forces faced a desperate struggle, they ultimately secured both bridges and liberated the city. This comprehensive guide offers detailed information on all of the units, personalities and actions of this heroic episode in the Allies’ failed Operation Market Garden. Fully illustrated with maps and photographs, this volume covers all the monuments and major battle sites, as well as contemporary local facilities.

Download or read book Bruneval written by Paul Oldfield and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2013-02-19 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bruneval Raid, launched against a German radar installation on the French coast in February 1942, was unique: it was one of the first fully combined operations put together by HQ Combined Operations under Mountbatten; for the first time a unit of the newly formed British Parachute Regiment went into action; it was the only raid carried out purely to satisfy the needs of scientific intelligence. It was highly successful and the results achieved were out of all proportion to the resources committed.This book covers the development of radar, the search for German radar in the Second World War, the discovery of Wrzburg radar at Bruneval, the planning and preparations for the audacious raid, its highly successful execution and the aftermath. There is a wealth of colorful characters involved, from world-class scientists, outstanding reconnaissance pilots, Resistance agents, famous sailors, soldiers and airmen, an escaped German Jew and, most importantly, a vast number of ordinary people involved doing extraordinary things to win the war against Hitler's Germany.

Download or read book Messines Ridge written by Peter Oldham and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-12-31 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The battle for the possession of the villages of Messines Ridge, Messines, Wytchaete, St. Eloi, took place in 1914-17, and the final battle for Messines in 1918. The 1917 Battle of Messines was preceded by 19 giant mine explosions and was the biggest military mining effort in history. This book gives comprehensive details of what happened where and when, together with what can be seen today, including maps of all the remnants and sites.

Download or read book Pozieres written by Graham Keech and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-12-31 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The village sits on top of the ridge that bears its name, a ridge that was an objective on the 1st July 1916. As it was, the whole position was not finally cleared until early September 1916 as German, Australian and British troops fought tenaciously over it.

Download or read book Fort Douaumont written by Christina Holstein and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-08-19 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A WWI guide “rich in personal experiences from French and German sources . . . a vivid, yet sometimes ghastly, account of the fighting for the fort” (Burton Mail). The Battle of Verdun, which lasted from 21 February to 15 December 1916, was a turning point in the First World War, and Fort Douaumont was at the heart of it. In 1914 the fort was the strongest and most modern of the fortifications around Verdun and it formed the keystone of the French defense in the area. Using both French and German sources, Christina Holstein introduces the reader to the fortress system around Verdun, explains the construction, reinforcement and armament of Fort Douaumont and describes its surprise capture by the Germans in February 1916. Its loss was a terrible blow to French morale and their repeated attempts to retake the fort are portrayed in graphic detail. As the months ground on and the Battle of Verdun turned into stalemate, the desire to keep or to recapture Fort Douaumont, whatever the cost, became the reason for both sides to go on fighting. Now fully up-to-date, this guide gives a compelling insight into the brutal nature of the struggle and into the soldiers who took part in it and will be essential reading for students of the Battle of Verdun, for visitors to the battlefield, and for anyone who is interested in the history of twentieth-century fortifications. “Much more than a battlefield guide . . . The plans and campaign maps are clear and easy to follow, and the text is accompanied by some excellent photographs.”—Fortress Study Group

Download or read book The Battle of the Lys 1918 written by Chris Baker and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-04-30 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second of two Battelground Europe titles covering this highly significant battle of spring 1918.The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaisers men. Following close on the heels of the devastating Operation Michael attack in March, which had been aimed against the British front on the Somme and Arras, this offensive, Operation Georgette, was aimed at strangling the vital railways and roads that supplied the British at Ypres and threatening the vital logistics links with the Channel Ports.Having assembled an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Germans attacked in thick fog on 9 April 1918. By days end, the Germans had succeeded in gaining a crossing of the River Lys and were well on their way to the railway junctions at Hazebrouck. Next day, they extended the attacked front northwards and advanced to the very gates of Ypres, forcing a British retirement from the bloodily won advances during the Third Battle of Ypres. Messines Ridge, captured so spectacularly by the British in June 1917, was soon in German hands and fighting inched towards Mont Kemmel, which dominated the Ypres front. Once this fell, the way was open for the capture of the main supply roads into Ypres.To find sufficient reserves to counter the German attack, the British took the heart-breaking decision to abandon the ground won so dearly in the Passchendaele offensive in the summer and autumn of 1917. Gradually, fresher British and French reserves arrived and held their ground. With disappointing results, mounting casualties and a diminishing return for their efforts, the Germans paused to regroup. Late in the month they unleashed a rapid, unstoppable attack that captured Kemmel from the French forces that had been rushed north to reinforce the threatened line and which had been holding the summit: one of the finest military feats of the Great War.Behind the scenes, however, the Germans were already calling off a continuation of the offensive and so, by a seeming miracle, the bastion that was Ypres remained in British hands.What the British call The Battle of the Lys 1918 is a fascinating yet curiously neglected period of military history. Chris Baker examines this major battle from the strategic down to the platoon level, highlighting the key events, characters and acts of enormous bravery on both sides, both in historical narrative and in a series of tours of the area.This volume concentrates on the northern half of the battlefield; nearly all of the actions described in this volume took place in Belgium.

Download or read book Rick Steves France 2018 written by Rick Steves and published by Rick Steves. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 1245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wander the lavender fields of Provence, climb the Eiffel Tower, and bite into a perfect croissant: with Rick Steves on your side, France can be yours! Inside Rick Steves France 2018 you'll find: Comprehensive coverage for planning a multi-week trip to France Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites Top sights and hidden gems, from Louvre and the Palace of Versailles to neighborhood restaurants and delicate macarons How to connect with local culture: Stroll through open-air markets in Paris, or bike between rustic villages and local vineyards Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight The best places to eat, sleep, and relax over a vin rouge Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and museums Vital trip-planning tools, like how to link destinations, build your itinerary, and get from place to place Detailed maps, including a fold-out map for exploring on the go Useful resources including a packing list, French phrase book, a historical overview, and recommended reading Over 1,000 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down Annually updated information on Paris, Chartres, Normandy, Mont St-Michel, Brittany, The Loire, Dordogne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, The French Riviera, Nice, Monaco, The French Alps, Burgundy, Lyon, Alsace, Reims, Verdun, and much more Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves France 2018. Planning a one- to two-week trip? Check out Rick Steves Best of France.

Download or read book Villers Plouich written by K W Mitchinson and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1999-03-16 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Villers Plouich and its adjacent ridges were among the last centres of German resistance west of the Hindenburg Line. The capture and consolidation of the hamlet and nearby villages in April 1917 necessitated ferocious and well-executed attacks by several British divisions. When British and Dominion troops again approached the Hindenburg Line in 1918, some of the bloodiest engagements of the Hundred Days were fought over the ridges of Villers Plouich, Beaucamp and La Vacquerie.

Download or read book Montauban written by Graham Maddocks and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1998-01-12 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Montauban was the southernmost of the Somme villages attacked by the British Army on 1 July, 1916, and it was where there was the greatest success. This new book in the series takes the reader over ground where Captain Nevill kicked a football on going over the top, where the Somme cameramen took some of their most evocative footage and where Pals battalions engaged in a triumphant first major engagement.

Download or read book St Vith written by Michael Tolhurst and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1999-03-16 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An easy to understand account of one of the opening actions of the Battle of the Bulge. Contains detailed maps of positions and graphic first-hand accounts from veterans.

Download or read book Ladysmith written by Lewis Childs and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-12-31 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1899 the Boers, armed with the latest European rifles and artillery, drove through Natal to help themselves to a seaport - Durban - only to spend their energies in laying siege to the market and railway town of Ladysmith.