Download or read book The Battle of Heligoland Bight written by Eric W. Osborne and published by . This book was released on 2006-06-13 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet's effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.

Download or read book The Battle of Heligoland Bight written by Eric W. Osborne and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2006-06-13 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet's effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.

Download or read book Battle of Heligoland Bight 28th August 1914 written by William B. Black and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Battlecruiser New Zealand written by Matthew Wright and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells the story of HMS New Zealand, a battlecruiser paid for by the government of New Zealand at the height of its pro-Imperial ‘jingo’ era in 1909, when Britain’s ally Japan was perceived as a threat in Australasia and the Pacific. Born of the collision between New Zealand’s patriotic dreams and European politics, the tale of HMS New Zealand is further wrapped in the turbulent power-plays at the Admiralty in the years leading up to the First World War. The ship went on to have a distinguished First World War career, when she was present in all three major naval battles – Heligoland, Dogger Bank and Jutland – in the North Sea. The book ‘busts’ many of the myths associated with the ship and her construction, including the intent of the gift, New Zealand’s ability to pay, deployment, and the story behind the piupiu (skirt) and tiki (pendant) that, the crew believed, bestowed special protection upon the vessel. All is inter-woven with the human and social context to create a ‘biography’ of the ship as an expression of human endeavour, in significantly more detail than any of the summaries available in prior accounts. Extensively illustrated, this is a book with appeal to a wide audience, from naval enthusiasts and historians to the general reader with a wider interest in the story of Empire. The use of archival material available only in New Zealand, including the Ship’s Book, adds a dimension and novelty not previously included in histories of this great battlecruiser.

Download or read book Heligoland written by Jan Rüger and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, fifty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler's island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: 'If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one'. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Ruger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain's smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany had acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to wear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Far more than just the history of a small island in the North Sea, this is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe.

Download or read book The Battle of Jutland written by Jon Sutherland and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-10-06 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Jutland was the greatest naval engagement of the First World War, if not any war. Admiral Scheer had adopted a policy of launching attacks against the British coast. What he did not know was that the British had broken his naval codes and that they knew of his plans. Consequently, when Scheer threw his entire fleet in a mission to attack the British mainland in May 1916, he could not know that the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow were underway.This is a fresh account of this greatest naval engagement, it offers fascinating insight into the events preceding the action, the tactics during the battle and the political and military fall-out. The book draws on released official records and personal accounts.Jellicoe failed to ensnare Scheer and the bulk of the German fleet which escaped battered, but intact. The Germans knew however that despite their great fleet, it was the Royal Navy that controlled the North Sea.

Download or read book European Powers in the First World War written by Spencer Tucker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-12-07 with total page 820 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1996. The First World War was the single most important event of the twentieth century. This volume concentrates on non-U.S. aspects of the conflict. Organized alphabetically, its more than 600 detailed entries offer information and insight on such subjects as the causes of the conflict, major battles and campaigns, weapons systems (including military aviation, chemical warfare, the submarine, and the tank), and the terms of the peace. Some 350 biographies provide information on the roles played in the conflict by generals, admirals, and civilian leaders. There are also biographies of individuals who were shaped by the war, such as Charles De Gaulle, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin; essays on each of the countries involved in the conflict; new appraisals of such subjects as military medicine and artillery tactics; and essays on such diverse subjects as art, literature, and music in the war. Each entry has references for additional reading, and a subject index provides easy access. The volume is an excellent reference source for scholar and neophyte alike.

Download or read book The Worst Military Leaders in History written by John M. Jennings and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2023-06-24 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning countries and centuries, a “how-not-to” guide to leadership that reveals the most maladroit military commanders in history—now in paperback. For this book, fifteen distinguished historians were given a deceptively simple task: identify their choice for the worst military leader in history and then explain why theirs is the worst. From the clueless Conrad von Hötzendorf and George A. Custer to the criminal Baron Roman F. von Ungern-Sternberg and the bungling Garnet Wolseley, this book presents a rogues’ gallery of military incompetents. Rather than merely rehashing biographical details, the contributors take an original and unconventional look at military leadership in a way that appeals to both specialists and general readers alike. While there are plenty of books that analyze the keys to success, The Worst Military Leaders in History offers lessons of failure to avoid. In other words, this book is a “how-not-to” guide to leadership.

Download or read book Battle of Dogger Bank written by Tobias R. Philbin and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-10 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive study of one of the pivotal naval battles of the Great War. On January 24, 1915, a German naval force commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper conducted a raid on British fishing fleets in the area of the Dogger Banks. The force was engaged by a British force, which had been alerted by a decoded radio intercept. The ensuing battle would prove to be the largest and longest surface engagement until the Battle of Jutland the following summer. While the Germans lost an armored cruiser with heavy loss of life and Hipper’s flagship was almost sunk, confusion in executing orders allowed the Germans to escape. The British considered the battle a victory; but the Germans had learned important lessons and they would be better prepared for the next encounter with the British fleet at Jutand. Tobias Philbin’s Battle of Dogger Bank provides a keen analytical description of the battle and its place in the naval history of World War I. “Tobias Philbin has written a very entertaining and informative book on the Battle of Dogger Bank. It will be enjoyed by a wide audience including naval historians, strategists, and those interested in how broader long-term decision-making determines the manner in which battles are fought, won and lost.” —The International Journal of Maritime History “The author’s research in British and German archives and knowledge of secondary sources produces a significant work on the war at sea.” —Stand-To “An interesting and stimulating book that is a useful contribution to the history of the First World War in the North Sea.” —The Mariner’s Mirror

Download or read book Angels in the Trenches written by Leo Ruickbie and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a miraculous escape from the German military juggernaut in the small Belgian town of Mons in 1914, the first major battle that the British Expeditionary Force would face in the First World War, the British really believed that they were on the side of the angels. Indeed, after 1916, the number of spiritualist societies in the United Kingdom almost doubled, from 158 to 309. As Arthur Conan Doyle explained, 'The deaths occurring in almost every family in the land brought a sudden and concentrated interest in the life after death. People not only asked the question, "If a man die, shall he live again?" but they eagerly sought to know if communication was possible with the dear ones they had lost.' From the Angel of Mons to the popular boom in spiritualism as the horrors of industrialised warfare reaped their terrible harvest, the paranormal - and its use in propaganda - was one of the key aspects of the First World War. Angels in the Trenches takes us from defining moments, such as the Angel of Mons on the Front Line, to spirit communication on the Home Front, often involving the great and the good of the period, such as aristocrat Dame Edith Lyttelton, founder of the War Refugees Committee, and the physicist Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of Birmingham University. We see here people at every level of society struggling to come to terms with the ferocity and terror of the war, and their own losses: soldiers looking for miracles on the battlefield; parents searching for lost sons in the séance room. It is a human story of people forced to look beyond the apparent certainties of the everyday - and this book follows them on that journey.

Download or read book Short History of the First World War written by Gary Sheffield and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First World War was a watershed in world history. Tragic but far from futile, its origins, events and legacy have roused impassioned debate, creating multiple interpretations and confusion for those encountering the period for the first time. Synthesising the latest scholarship, acclaimed historian Gary Sheffield cuts to the heart of the conflict. He explores such key issues as: - the causes of war- the great battles on land, sea and in the air- the search for the peace and peace settlements- the political, social and economic consequences- the impact of 'total war' on the belligerents and the individual- and the place of the Great War in the history of warfare Accessible and authoritative, this is the ultimate introduction for anyone wanting a clear understanding of what happened and why.

Download or read book Sir Winston Churchill Published Articles by a Churchillian written by Fred Glueckstein and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-07-12 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Preface by David Freeman, editor of the Finest Hour, the journal of The International Churchill Society. “Fred Glueckstein knows Winston Churchill. As can be seen in the essays that follow, Fred’s Churchillian interests are both catholic and eclectic. Fred can tell us in detail about members of the Churchill family, such as the seventh Duke of Marlborough; Churchill’s mentors, such as J.E.C. Welldon, the headmaster of Harrow; and political patrons such as Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who gave Churchill his first government office. But Fred can also tell us about the lighter side of Churchill’s life including the name of every racehorse that Churchill owned.” “Churchill knew the great families of his time, and we read about his efforts to assist the son of Theodore Roosevelt. We also learn about the people whose lives orbited that of Churchill such as several of his bodyguards." “As editor of Finest Hour, I was responsible for commissioning some of the essays that follow and having the pleasure of being the first person to read them. You will enjoy as much as I have delving into these studies in miniature of the many facets of Winston Churchill.”

Download or read book The Numismatist written by and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 602 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vols. 24-52 include the proceedings of the A.N.A. convention. 1911-39.

Download or read book Chatham in the Great War written by Stephen Wynn and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chatham played a very important part in the nation's Great War effort. It was one of the British Royal Navy's three 'Manning Ports', with more than a third of the town's ships manned by men allocated to the Chatham Division. The war was only 6 weeks old when Chatham felt the affects of war for the first time. On 22 September 1914, three Royal Naval vessels from the Chatham Division, HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue, were sunk in quick succession by a German submarine, U-9. A total of 1,459 men lost their lives that day, 1,260 of whom were from the Chatham Division. Two months later, on 26 November, the battleship HMS Bulwark exploded and sunk whilst at anchor off of Sheerness on the Kent coast. There was a loss of 736 men, many of whom were from the Chatham area. On 18 August 1914, Private 6737 Walter Henry Smith, who was nineteen and serving with the 6th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, became the first person to be killed during wartime Chatham. He was on sentry duty with a colleague, who accidentally dropped his loaded rifle, discharging a bullet that struck Private Smith and killed him. It wasn't all doom and gloom, however. Winston Churchill, as the First Lord of the Admiralty, visited Chatham early on in the war, on 30 August 1914. On 18 September 1915, two German prisoners of war, Lieutenant Otto Thelen and Lieutenant Hans Keilback, escaped from Donnington Hall in Leicestershire. At first, it was believed they had escaped the country and were on their way back to Germany, but they were re-captured in Chatham four days later. By the end of the war, Chatham and the men who were stationed there had truly played their part in ensuring a historic Allied victory.

Download or read book The Great War at Sea The Opening Salvos written by Bob Carruthers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-08-30 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerful collection, depicting the events of the Great War at sea, showcases the work of the contemporary combat artists and illustrators from the Great War era. The result is a stunning and vivid graphic record of life and death on the high-seas from 1914-18, as reported to contemporary audiences at a time when the events of the Great War were still unfolding. During the Great War artists and illustrators produced a highly accurate visual record of the fleeting moments the bulky cameras couldn't reproduce. These works form a body ofwar reportage that are as valid as the written word. Today, the work of the combat illustrators and the official war artists from the Great War era is overlooked by historians in favour of photographs, but these illustrations are nonetheless important, as they provide a contemporary record of hand-to-hand fighting, trench raids, aerial dogfights, sea battles, desperate last stands, night actions and cavalry charges.

Download or read book Battle on the Seven Seas German Cruiser Battles 1914 1918 written by Gary Staff and published by Pen & Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2018 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Great War 1914 1918 written by Spencer Tucker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-01-04 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An up-to-date and concise account of WWI for teachers and students looking for a balanced introduction. It details both the military operations as well as the development of war aims, alliance diplomacy and the war on the home front.