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Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > First World War
In World War I, 104 African American doctors joined the United
States Army to care for the 40,000 men of the 92nd and 93rd
Divisions, the Army's only black combat units. The infantry
regiments of the 93rd arrived first and were turned over to the
French to fill gaps in their decimated lines. The 92nd Division
came later and fought alongside other American units. Some of those
doctors rose to prominence; others died young or later succumbed to
the economic and social challenges of the times. Beginning with
their assignment to the Medical Officers Training Camp (Colored) -
the only one in U.S. history - this book covers the early years,
education and war experiences of these physicians, as well as their
careers in the black communities of early 20th century America.
Where the preceding two books of this pioneer series focused on the
World War I German aviators featured on Sanke postcards, this final
volume examines additional postcard presentations of First World
War German airmen as published by Liersch, NPG, Hoffmann,
Rothenberg and other more obscure companies. Once again, the author
looks in detail at where, why and by whom the photographs were
taken as well as why and when they were published in postcard form.
An extensive number of related photographs are also included, many
of them rarely if ever seen by the modern public. This volume - and
indeed the entire set - provides a treasure trove of biographical
information, historical data and photographic images that makes it
a must-have for all World War I aviation enthusiasts.
Lieutenant John Huddleston Taber was a New Yorker assigned to the
168th ""Third Iowa"" Infantry Regiment of the American
Expeditionary Force's 42nd ""Rainbow"" Division during World War I.
His diary provides a detailed narrative of a young officer maturing
through his war experiences, from the voyage across the submarine
filled Atlantic, to training in France, to front line combat. In a
clear, unaffected voice, Taber records his dealings with superiors
and enlisted men, billets in French and German towns, life in the
tenches, intense shelling, machine gun fire, gas warfare, leaves to
Paris, the occupation of Germany, and his return to New York.
Brushes With War is a unique history of World War I in broad brush
strokes. Over 230 original paintings, drawings, sculpture, and
trench art by the combatants of World War I cover all aspects of
the war and most major battles from Mons (1914) to the
Meuse-Argonne (1918). The artists were American, Austrian,
Australian, Belgian, British, Canadian, French, German, and Russian
soldiers. These were not professional artists, but amateurs
depicting their own daily struggles as they saw them. Just as
snapshot photos are often more realistic than posed professional
portraits, these works of art are more genuine impressions of the
war than the official art and illustrations of the time.
Using a collection of over one thousand popular songs from the war
years, as well as around 150 soldiers' songs, John Mullen provides
a fascinating insight into the world of popular entertainment
during the First World War. Mullen considers the position of songs
of this time within the history of popular music, and the needs,
tastes and experiences of working-class audiences who loved this
music. To do this, he dispels some of the nostalgic, rose-tinted
myths about music hall. At a time when recording companies and
record sales were marginal, the book shows the centrality of the
live show and of the sale of sheet music to the economy of the
entertainment industry. Mullen assesses the popularity and
significance of the different genres of musical entertainment which
were common in the war years and the previous decades, including
music hall, revue, pantomime, musical comedy, blackface minstrelsy,
army entertainment and amateur entertainment in prisoner of war
camps. He also considers non-commercial songs, such as hymns, folk
songs and soldiers' songs and weaves them into a subtle and nuanced
approach to the nature of popular song, the ways in which audiences
related to the music and the effects of the competing pressures of
commerce, propaganda, patriotism, social attitudes and the progress
of the war.
Using a collection of over one thousand popular songs from the war
years, as well as around 150 soldiers' songs, John Mullen provides
a fascinating insight into the world of popular entertainment
during the First World War. Mullen considers the position of songs
of this time within the history of popular music, and the needs,
tastes and experiences of working-class audiences who loved this
music. To do this, he dispels some of the nostalgic, rose-tinted
myths about music hall. At a time when recording companies and
record sales were marginal, the book shows the centrality of the
live show and of the sale of sheet music to the economy of the
entertainment industry. Mullen assesses the popularity and
significance of the different genres of musical entertainment which
were common in the war years and the previous decades, including
music hall, revue, pantomime, musical comedy, blackface minstrelsy,
army entertainment and amateur entertainment in prisoner of war
camps. He also considers non-commercial songs, such as hymns, folk
songs and soldiers' songs and weaves them into a subtle and nuanced
approach to the nature of popular song, the ways in which audiences
related to the music and the effects of the competing pressures of
commerce, propaganda, patriotism, social attitudes and the progress
of the war.
Maurice Neal was 15 when he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps in
1906. By the time his regiment was shipped off to the Somme to
fight in the First World War, he was a relatively experienced young
sergeant. He and his men soon found themselves plunged into the
full horror of trench warfare, daily enduring the shock of losing
comrades and lying for hours in the mud surrounded by dead and
injured fellow soldiers and deafened by the thunder of the bombs
and guns. Throughout, Maurice kept a candid and beautifully-written
diary of events: "Suddenly, a convulsion shakes him from head to
foot and he lies still. The blood rapidly drains away from his face
and hands. He turns ashen grey, and I realize that no more will
Paddy sing to us...I look to the man on my right. He is making a
gurgling noise and blood is oozing from his mouth - he does not
live long. What are our orders? Are we to lie like this until a
bullet accounts for us all?" Now, almost a century later, Maurice's
diary can be published in full, thanks to the efforts of his
granddaughter, Stephanie Hillier.
Remembering the First World War brings together a group of
international scholars to understand how and why the past quarter
of a century has witnessed such an extraordinary increase in global
popular and academic interest in the First World War, both as an
event and in the ways it is remembered. The book discusses this
phenomenon across three key areas. The first section looks at
family history, genealogy and the First World War, seeking to
understand the power of family history in shaping and reshaping
remembrance of the War at the smallest levels, as well as popular
media and the continuing role of the state and its agencies. The
second part discusses practices of remembering and the more public
forms of representation and negotiation through film, literature,
museums, monuments and heritage sites, focusing on agency in
representing and remembering war. The third section covers the
return of the War and the increasing determination among
individuals to acknowledge and participate in public rituals of
remembrance with their own contemporary politics. What, for
instance, does it mean to wear a poppy on armistice/remembrance
day? How do symbols like this operate today? These chapters will
investigate these aspects through a series of case studies. Placing
remembrance of the First World War in its longer historical and
broader transnational context and including illustrations and an
afterword by Professor David Reynolds, this is the ideal book for
all those interested in the history of the Great War and its
aftermath.
The origins of the First World War remain one of the greatest
twentieth century historical controversies. In this debate the role
of military planning in particular and of militarism in general,
are a key focus of attention. Did the military wrest control from
the civilians? Were the leaders of Europe eager for a conflict?
What military commitments were made between the various alliance
blocks? These questions are examined in detail here in eleven
essays by distinguished historians and the editor's introduction
provides a focus and draws out the comparative approach to the
history of military policies and war plans of the great powers.
Over the last 30 years, hydrographical marine surveys in the
English Channel helped uncover the potential wreck sites of German
submarines, or U-boats, sunk during the conflicts of World War I
and World War II. Through a series of systemic dives, nautical
archaeologist and historian Innes McCartney surveyed and recorded
these wrecks, discovering that the distribution and number of
wrecks conflicted with the published histories of U-boat losses. Of
all the U-boat war losses in the Channel, McCartney found that some
41% were heretofore unaccounted for in the historical literature of
World War I and World War II. This book reconciles these
inaccuracies with the archaeological record by presenting case
studies of a number of dives conducted in the English Channel.
Using empirical evidence, this book investigates possible reasons
historical inconsistencies persist and what Allied operational and
intelligence-based processes caused them to occur in the first
place. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in
the fields of nautical archaeology and naval history, as well as
wreck explorers.
This new volume explores the history of an important, but neglected
sector of the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 in the context of
its portrayal in the media. The analysis sheds new light on of the
role of the mass media in generating national mythologies. The book
focuses on the largely forgotten Armentieres and La Bassee sector,
a section of the Western Front which saw fighting from many
different nationalities on almost every day of the war. Through
analysis of this section of the Western Front, this book examines
the way the First World War was interpreted, both in official and
semi-official sources as well as in the mass media, comparing what
was apparently happening on the Western Front battlefield to what
was reported in the newspapers. It follows the different sides as
they responded to the changing nature of warfare and to each other,
showing how reporting was adapted to changing perceptions of
national needs.
Shortly after the end of the First World War, General Sir George
Macdonagh, wartime director of British Military Intelligence,
revealed that Lord Allenby's victory in Palestine had never been in
doubt because of the success of his intelligence service.
Seventy-five years later this book explains Macdonagh's statement.
Sheffy also adopts a novel approach to traditional heroes of the
campaign such as T E Lawrence.
In reading this memoir a person can learn first hand what it was
like to be a soldier in the American army during World War I. It is
a vivid account of one man's experience of being inducted into the
army; his basic training; and being sent to France where he and his
fellow soldiers were then taken to the front to begin their part in
the fighting of the war. This is the story of friendships formed
during this time; frightening, difficult situations; loss of
friends on the battlefield; the seemingly endless fight for
survival, and finally because of an injury being able to leave the
battlefield-thus ending his part in the war. In spite of all the
seriousness, this is a personal and compelling memoir that is hard
to put down. You get to know this young man from Louisiana; his
thoughts and beliefs about this war and life. Undoubtedly the whole
experience stayed with him all his life. One cannot read this
memoir without learning more about World War I--the so called Great
World War.
During World War I, the Second Division, American Expeditionary
Force, saw more action and captured more ground and enemy
combatants than any other division in that war, including the
vaunted First Division. The 4th Marine Brigade, especially, earned
a reputation as a steadfast unit of superb fighting men. This
riveting volume follows those Marines through their service in
France in 1917 and 1918, during the post-war occupation of Germany,
and their arrival in New York City in August, 1919. Seven
battalion-oriented chapters, along with one dedicated to the entire
4th Marine Brigade, recount the Brigade's role in some of the most
intense battles of the war, including at Belleau Wood, Soissons,
St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont, and the Meuse River. Descriptions of the
Armistice, welcome home parades, and the brigade's disbandment at
Quantico in August 1919 complete this comprehensive chronicle of
one of the American military's most distinguished units.
The First World War changed the face of Europe - two empires (the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire) collapsed in its
wake and as a result many of the boundaries of Europe were redrawn
and new states were created. The origins of many of the
international crises in the late twentieth century can be traced
back to decisions taken in these critical years, Yugoslavia being
the most obvious example. An understanding of the peace settlements
is thus crucial for any student studying international
history/international relations, which is what this book offers.
This book provides and accessible and concise introduction to this
most important period of history.
Healing the Nation is a study of caregiving during the Great War,
exploring life behind the lines for ordinary British soldiers who
served on the Western Front. Using a variety of literary, artistic,
and architectural evidence, this study draws connections between
the war machine and the wartime culture of caregiving: the product
of medical knowledge and procedure, social relationships and health
institutions that informed experiences of rest, recovery and
rehabilitation in sites administered by military and voluntary-aid
authorities. Rest huts, hospitals, and rehabilitation centres
served not only as means to sustain manpower and support for the
war but also as distinctive sites where soldiers, their caregivers
and the public attempted to make sense of the conflict and the
unprecedented change it wrought. Revealing aspects of wartime life
that have received little attention, this study shows that
Britain's 'generation of 1914' was a group bound as much by a
comradeship of healing as by a comradeship of the trenches. The
author has used an extensive collection of illustrations in his
discussion, and the book will make fascinating reading for students
and specialists in the history of war, medicine and gender studies.
-- .
A rethinking of the factors which led to the American entry into
the war. The complicated situation which led to the American entry
into the First World War in 1917 is often explained from the
perspective of public opinion, US domestic politics, or financial
and economic opportunity. This book, however,reasserts the
importance of diplomats and diplomacy. Based on extensive original
research, the book provides a detailed examination of British,
German, and American diplomacy in the period 1914-17. It argues
that British and German diplomacy in this period followed the same
patterns as had been established in the preceding decades. It goes
on to consider key issues which concerned diplomats, including the
international legality of Britain's economic blockade of Germany,
Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare, peace initiatives,
and Germany's attempt to manipulate in its favour the long history
of distrust in Mexican-American relations. Overall, the book
demonstrates thatdiplomats and diplomacy played a key role, thereby
providing a fresh and original approach to this crucially important
subject. JUSTIN QUINN OLMSTEAD is an Assistant Professor of History
at the University of Central Oklahoma.
This book tells the story of three small Lancashire villages and
their contrasting fortunes in the Great War. One was among the
fortunate few in England which passed through not only the First
World War but the Second without losing a single man - a 'Doubly
Thankful' village. The second survived the conflict almost without
loss, while the third lost a harrowing total of ten young men from
its tiny population. The stories of these villages and the triumphs
and tragedies war brought to them have been painstakingly
researched by the author, who has painted compassionate portraits
of some of the men who returned, and some of those who did not. A
fascinating historical adventure.
The British army was almost unique among the European armies of the
Great War in that it did not suffer from a serious breakdown of
discipline or collapse of morale. It did, however, inevitably
suffer from disciplinary problems. While attention has hitherto
focused on the 312 notorious 'shot at dawn' cases, many thousands
of British soldiers were tried by court martial during the Great
War. This book provides the first comprehensive study of discipline
and morale in the British Army during the Great War by using a case
study of the Irish regular and Special Reserve batallions. In doing
so, Timothy Bowman demonstrates that breaches of discipline did
occur in the Irish regiments but in most cases these were of a
minor nature. Controversially, he suggests that where executions
did take place, they were militarily necessary and served the
purpose of restoring discipline in failing units. Bowman also shows
that there was very little support for the emerging Sinn Fein
movement within the Irish regiments. This book will be essential
reading for military and Irish historians and their students, and
will interest any general reader concerned with how units maintain
discipline and morale under the most trying conditions. -- .
Lord Hankey (1877-1963) was a British civil servant and the first
Cabinet Secretary, a top aide to Prime Minister David Lloyd George
and the War Cabinet that directed Britain in World War One. Mostly
derived from the author's diaries, which began in March 1915, this
study describes how Lord Hankey contributed to the development of
the British system of Cabinet Government during the war years.
First published in 1961, the two-volume collection is a history of
the Supreme Command of the War; the conduct of the war, the
development of the Supreme Command from Balfour to Lloyd George,
and the emergence of the Cabinet Secretariat from the Secretariat
of the War Cabinet. It contains intimate glimpses of the statesmen,
sailors and soldiers who guided affairs towards 1918. This is a
fascinating first-hand examination of the people who influenced the
conduct of the war, and will be of particular value to students
interested in its diplomatic history.
In 1914 Herbert Hoskins joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment to
fight in the First World War. As a captain, he soon found himself
serving in the muddy, disease-ridden trenches of the Somme. Captain
Hoskins' letters, carefully compiled by his grandson, reveal the
horrific experiences Captain Hoskins and his men endured and the
extraordinary courage and stoicism they displayed as they faced
illness, treacherous weather and an indefatigable enemy during the
most gruelling years of the conflict. The letters reveal not only
the hardship they suffered but the indomitable spirit that helped
Hoskins and his men - some of them - survive. A remarkable blend of
tragedy and stiff upper lip British humour, Thank You Mister Bosh,
That's Close Enough! is a moving account of the war that killed
nine million men.
"A rich study of the role of personal psychology in the shaping of
the new global order after World War I. So long as so much
political power is concentrated in one human mind, we are all at
the mercy of the next madman in the White House." -Gary J. Bass,
author of The Blood Telegram The notorious psychobiography of
Woodrow Wilson, rediscovered nearly a century after it was written
by Sigmund Freud and US diplomat William C. Bullitt, sheds new
light on how the mental health of a controversial American
president shaped world events. When the fate of millions rests on
the decisions of a mentally compromised leader, what can one person
do? Disillusioned by President Woodrow Wilson's destructive and
irrational handling of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, a US diplomat
named William C. Bullitt asked this very question. With the help of
his friend Sigmund Freud, Bullitt set out to write a psychological
analysis of the president. He gathered material from personal
archives and interviewed members of Wilson's inner circle. In The
Madman in the White House, Patrick Weil resurrects this forgotten
portrait of a troubled president. After two years of collaboration,
Bullitt and Freud signed off on a manuscript in April 1932. But the
book was not published until 1966, nearly thirty years after
Freud's death and only months before Bullitt's. The published
edition was heavily redacted, and by the time it was released, the
mystique of psychoanalysis had waned in popular culture and
Wilson's legacy was unassailable. The psychological study was
panned by critics, and Freud's descendants denied his involvement
in the project. For nearly a century, the mysterious, original
Bullitt and Freud manuscript remained hidden from the public. Then
in 2014, while browsing the archives of Yale University, Weil
happened upon the text. Based on his reading of the 1932
manuscript, Weil examines the significance of Bullitt and Freud's
findings and offers a major reassessment of the notorious
psychobiography. The result is a powerful warning about the
influence a single unbalanced personality can have on the course of
history.
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