Download or read book Rearming the RAF for the Second World War written by Adrian Phillips and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-07-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the RAF rearmed to meet the growing threat from Nazi Germany's remorseless expansion in the late 1930s, it faced immense challenges. It had to manage a huge increase in size as well as mastering rapid advances in aviation technology. To protect Britain from attack, the RAF's commanders had to choose the right strategy and the right balance in its forces. The choices had to be made in peacetime with no guidance from combat experience. These visions then had to be translated into practical reality. A shifting cast of government ministers, civil servants and industrialists with their own financial, political and military agendas brought further dynamics into play. The RAF's readiness for war was crucial to Britain's ability to respond to Nazi aggression before war broke out and when it did, the RAF's rearmament was put to the acid test of battle. Adrian Phillips uses the penetrating grasp of how top level decisions are made that he honed in his inside accounts of the abdication crisis and appeasement, to dissect the process which shaped the RAF of 1940. He looks beyond the familiar legends of the Battle of Britain and explores in depth the successes and failures of a vital element in British preparations for war.
Download or read book Victory to Defeat written by Richard Dannatt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-09-14 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling history of the decline of an army from the triumph of victory in 1918 to defeat in 1940 and why this happened. A salutary warning for modern Britain. The British Army won a convincing series of victories between 1916 and 1918. But by 1939 the British Army was an entirely different animal. The hard-won knowledge, experience and strategic vision that delivered victory after victory in the closing stages of the First World War had been lost. In the inter-war years there was plenty of talking, but very little focus on who Britain might have to fight, and how. Victory to Defeat clearly illustrates how the British Army wasn't prepared to fight a first-class European Army in 1939 for the simple reason that as a country Britain hadn't prepared itself to do so. The failure of the army's leadership led directly to its abysmal performance in Norway and France in 1940. Victory to Defeat is a captivating history of the mismanagement of a war-winning army. It is also a stark warning that we neglect to understand who our enemy might be, and how to defeat him, at the peril of our country. The British Army is now to be cut to its smallest size since 1714. Are we, this book asks, repeating the same mistakes again?
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Plans and early operations January 1939 to August 1942 written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 874 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Second World War in Europe written by S.P. Mackenzie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an updated edition of the first truly concise introduction to the history of World War II in the West. The author, S. P. MacKenzie traces the major events on both fighting front and home front, explaining what happened and, just as importantly, why the balance of fortunes swung first towards the Axis and then towards the Allies. Along with overviews of the origins and consequences of the conflict, the book: Provides a narrative account of the course of events on land throughout the war Contains sections specifically devoted to societies and economies; resistance movements and collaboration; technology and intelligence; alliances and strategy; the war in the air and at sea Assesses the impact of the war and introduces the key historiographical debates surrounding it Far from being a blow-by-blow account, the book shows how the Second World War can only be understood by taking all the contributing factors - military, economic and social among others - into account. In addition to the existing wealth of useful supplementary material, this edition has been updated to include a colour illustration section and, for readers interested in learning more, a detailed narrative guide to published historical literature. Admirably succinct yet academically rich, this is the essential introduction to the Second World War in the West.
Download or read book British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power c 1830 1960 written by T. G. Otte and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-09-26 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reshapes the discourse surrounding the nature of British global power in this crucial period of transformation in international politics.
Download or read book United States Army in World War II written by United States. Military History, Office of the Chief of and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Development of British Tactical Air Power 1940 1943 written by Matthew Powell and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-10 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the development of tactical air power in Britain between 1940 and 1943 through a study of the Royal Air Force’s Army Co-operation Command. It charts the work done by the Command during its existence, and highlights the arguments between the RAF and Army on this contentious issue in Britain. Much is known about the RAF both in the years preceding and during the Second World War, particularly the exploits of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands, yet the existence of the RAF’s Army Co-operation Command is little-known. Through extensive archival research, Matthew Powell maps the creation and work of the RAF’s Army Co-operation Command through an analysis of tactical air power developments during the First World War and inter-war periods, highlighting the debates and arguments that took place between the Air Ministry and the War Office.
Download or read book Britain s War Machine written by David Edgerton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-09 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The familiar image of the British in the Second World War is that of the plucky underdog taking on German might. David Edgerton's bold, compelling new history shows the conflict in a new light, with Britain as a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests, and in command of a global production system. Rather than belittled by a Nazi behemoth, Britain arguably had the world's most advanced mechanized forces. It had not only a great empire, but allies large and small. Edgerton shows that Britain fought on many fronts and its many home fronts kept it exceptionally well supplied with weapons, food and oil, allowing it to mobilize to an extraordinary extent. It created and deployed a vast empire of machines, from the humble tramp steamer to the battleship, from the rifle to the tank, made in colossal factories the world over. Scientists and engineers invented new weapons, encouraged by a government and prime minister enthusiastic about the latest technologies. The British, indeed Churchillian, vision of war and modernity was challenged by repeated defeat at the hands of less well-equipped enemies. Yet the end result was a vindication of this vision. Like the United States, a powerful Britain won a cheap victory, while others paid a great price. Putting resources, machines and experts at the heart of a global rather than merely imperial story, Britain's War Machine demolishes timeworn myths about wartime Britain and gives us a groundbreaking and often unsettling picture of a great power in action.
Download or read book Imperial Defence written by Greg Kennedy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-11-21 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new collection of essays, from leading British and Canadian scholars, presents an excellent insight into the strategic thinking of the British Empire. It defines the main areas of the strategic decision-making process that was known as 'Imperial Defence'. The theme is one of imperial defence and defence of empire, so chapters will be historiographical in nature, discussing the major features of each key component of imperial defence, areas of agreement and disagreement in the existing literature on critical interpretations, introducing key individuals and positions and commenting on the appropriateness of existing studies, as well as identifying a raft of new directions for future research.
Download or read book Anti Submarine Warfare in World War I written by John Abbatiello and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-05-02 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigating the employment of British aircraft against German submarines during the final years of the First World War, this new book places anti-submarine campaigns from the air in the wider history of the First World War. The Royal Naval Air Service invested heavily in aircraft of all types—aeroplanes, seaplanes, airships, and kite balloons—in order to counter the German U-boats. Under the Royal Air Force, the air campaign against U-boats continued uninterrupted. Aircraft bombed German U-boat bases in Flanders, conducted area and ‘hunting’ patrols around the coasts of Britain, and escorted merchant convoys to safety. Despite the fact that aircraft acting alone destroyed only one U-boat during the war, the overall contribution of naval aviation to foiling U-boat attacks was significant. Only five merchant vessels succumbed to submarine attack when convoyed by a combined air and surface escort during World War I. This book examines aircraft and weapons technology, aircrew training, and the aircraft production issues that shaped this campaign. Then, a close examination of anti-submarine operations—bombing, patrols, and escort—yields a significantly different judgment from existing interpretations of these operations. This study is the first to take an objective look at the writing and publication of the naval and air official histories as they told the story of naval aviation during the Great War. The author also examines the German view of aircraft effectiveness, through German actions, prisoner interrogations, official histories, and memoirs, to provide a comparative judgment. The conclusion closes with a brief narrative of post-war air anti-submarine developments and a summary of findings. Overall, the author concludes that despite the challenges of organization, training, and production the employment of aircraft against U-boats was largely successful during the Great War. This book will be of interest to historians of naval and air power history, as well as students of World War I and military history in general.
Download or read book The Royal Air Force Rearmament 1930 1939 written by Ian M. Philpott and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Nelson to Vanguard written by D. K. Brown and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2012-07-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nelson to Vanguard is the third volume in D K Browns bestselling series on warship design and development looks at the Royal Navys response to the restrictions placed on it by the Washington Naval Treaties in the inter-war years, and analyses the fleet that was constructed to fight the Second World War. He focusses on the principal pre-war developments such as the first purpose-built aircraft carriers and the growing perception of the threat of air attack to warships. All the wartime construction programmes are covered, such as the massive expansion in escort ships to counter the U-boat menace, and the development of the amphibious warfare fleet for the D-Day landings in 1944. Full analysis is also provided of the experience of wartime damage, as well as the once top secret pre- and post-war damage trials. Illustrated throughout with a superb collection of contemporary photographs and numerous line drawings, this now classic work is required reading for naval historians and enthusiasts.
Download or read book The Good Fight written by G. Campion and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-08 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Propaganda during the Battle of Britain contributed to high national morale and optimism, with 'The 'Few's' prowess and valour projected through Air Ministry communiqués and daily claims 'scores'. The media was a willing partner in portraying their heroism, also later consolidated in wartime publications, films and historiography.
Download or read book Military Aircraft 1919 1945 written by Justin D. Murphy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-12-08 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth history of the time when airpower became the great equalizer, changing military strategy forever and bringing once-safe targets in reach. Military Aircraft, 1919–1945: An Illustrated History of Their Impact covers a crucial era in modern warfare technology. Ranging from the development of airpower doctrines in the aftermath of World War I to the aircraft and missions that put those doctrines into action during World War II, it provides an expert summing-up of the decades when the use of aircraft in battle came of age. In chapters covering both the history of air power and specific types of aircraft (fighters, bombers, reconnaissance and auxiliary planes), Military Aircraft, 1919–1945 introduces key theorists and designers, describes important changes in technology and production, and recreates spectacular episodes from Pearl Harbor to the London Blitz to the Enola Gay. Readers will see the dramatic impact of the first generation of modern military aircraft on land and sea. They will also see how the expansion of war to the skies brought economic opportunity to some home fronts, and looming terror and devastation to others.
Download or read book Strategy For Defeat The Luftwaffe 1933 1945 Illustrated Edition written by Williamson Murray and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 883 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 200 maps, plans, and photos. This book is a comprehensive analysis of an air force, the Luftwaffe, in World War II. It follows the Germans from their prewar preparations to their final defeat. There are many disturbing parallels with our current situation. I urge every student of military science to read it carefully. The lessons of the nature of warfare and the application of airpower can provide the guidance to develop our fighting forces and employment concepts to meet the significant challenges we are certain to face in the future.
Download or read book Fighting Churchill Appeasing Hitler written by Adrian Phillips and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Fighting Churchill, Appeasing Hitler Adrian Phillips presents a radical new view of the British policy of appeasement in the late 1930s. No one doubts that appeasement failed, but Phillips shows that it caused active harm - even sabotaging Britain's preparations for war. He goes far further than previous historians in identifying the individuals responsible for a catalogue of miscalculations, deviousness and moral surrender that made the Second World War inevitable, and highlights the alternative policies that might have prevented it. Phillips outlines how Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his chief advisor, Sir Horace Wilson, formed a fatally inept two-man foreign-policy machine that was immune to any objective examination, criticism or assessment - ruthlessly manipulating the media to support appeasement while batting aside policies advocated by Winston Churchill, the most vocal opponent of appeasement. Churchill understood that Hitler was the implacable enemy of peace - and Britain - but Chamberlain and Wilson were terrified that any display of firmness would provoke him. For the first time, Phillips brings to light how Wilson and Churchill had been enemies since an incident early in their careers, and how, eventually, opposing Churchill became an end in itself. Featuring new revelations about the personalities involved and the shameful manipulations and betrayals that went into appeasement, including an attempt to buy Hitler off with a ruthless colonialist deal in Africa, Fighting Churchill, Appeasing Hitler shines a compelling and original light on one of the darkest hours in British diplomatic history. --
Download or read book The King Who Had To Go written by Adrian Phillips and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The previously untold story of the hidden politics that went on behind the scenes during the handling of the Royal abdication crisis of 1936. The King Who Had to Go describes the harsh realities of how the machinery of government responds when even the King steps out of line. It reveals the pitiless and insidious battles in Westminster and Whitehall that settled the fate of the King and Mrs Simpson. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin had to fight against ministers and civil servants who were determined to pressure the King into giving up Mrs Simpson and, when that failed, into abdicating. Dubious police reports on Mrs Simpson's sex life poisoned the government's view of her and were used to blacken her reputation. Threats to sabotage her divorce were deployed to edge the King towards abdication. Covert intelligence operations convinced the hardliners that the badly coordinated and hopeless attempts of the King's allies, particularly Winston Churchill, to keep him on the throne amounted to a sinister anti-constitutional conspiracy. The book also shows how the King doomed his chances of keeping the throne by wildly unrealistic goals and ill-thought -out schemes. As each side was overwhelmed by desperation and distrust, Baldwin somehow held the balance and steered the crisis to as smooth a conclusion as possible.
