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.

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.

Despite the substantial output of revisionist scholarship over the last decade reappraising the performance of the British Army on the Western Front during the First World War, there still remains a stubborn perception that its commanders were incompetent, inflexible and unimaginative. Whilst much ink has been spilled vilifying or defending individual commanders, or looking for overarching trends and 'learning curves', this is the first work to examine systematically the vertical nature of command - that is the transmission of plans from the high-command down through the rank structure to the front line. Through such an investigation, a much more rounded measure of the effectiveness of British commanders can be gained; one moves the argument beyond the overly simplistic 'casualties to ground gained' equation that is usually offered. The Battle of Fromelles (19-20 July 1916) was selected as the case study as it was relatively small in scale, in the right period, and retains sufficient primary sources available to sustain the analysis. It also witnessed the first time Australian forces were used in offensive operations on the Western Front, and thus looms large in wider Commonwealth perceptions of 'Bumbling British Generals'. The book follows the progress of the battle plan from its inception in the strategic designs of the supreme commander down through the various intermediate level commands at operational and tactical headquarters until it became the orders that sent the infantry forward into the attack. In so doing it provides a unique insight into the strengths and weaknesses of British command structure, allowing a much more scholarly judgement of its overall effectiveness.

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.

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.

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. -- .

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.

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.

'This is a book everyone should read. It is the autobiography of an ace, and no common ace either. The boy had all the noble tastes and qualities, love of beauty, soaring imagination, a brilliant endowment of good looks ...this prince of pilots ...had a charmed life in every sense of the word' - George Bernard ShawSent to France with the Royal Flying Corps at just seventeen, and later a member of the famous 56 Squadron, Cecil Lewis was an illustrious and passionate fighter pilot of the First World War, described by Bernard Shaw in 1935 as 'a thinker, a master of words, and a bit of a poet'. In this vivid and spirited account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war, as we follow his progress from France and the battlefields of the Somme, to his pioneering defence of London against deadly night time raids.

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.

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. -- .

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.

This book explores the historical background to Irish participation in the Great War, and the ways in which issues raised in 1914-18 still reverberate in contemporary Northern Ireland. The complications of Irish politics are such that Irish memory of the Great War has often been repressed. Nevertheless, Irish writers throughout the century have been preoccupied with the events and images of the Great War. The work of the Irish poets discussed here - from W. B. Yeats and Ireland's soldier-poets through to Seamus Heaney and contemporary Northern Irish writing - challenges reductive versions of history, and of the literary canon, in relation to Ireland and the First World War.

This is a definitive account of the Austro-Hungarian Royal and Imperial Army during the First World War. Graydon A. Tunstall shows how Austria-Hungary entered the war woefully unprepared for the ordeal it would endure. When the war commenced, the Habsburg Army proved grossly under strengthen relative to trained officers and manpower, possessing obsolete weapons and equipment, and with the vast majority of its troops proved inadequately trained for modern warfare. Well over one million Habsburg troops mobilized creating an enormous logistical challenge of forging an army from the diverse cultures, languages, economic and educational backgrounds of the Empire's peoples. Graydon A. Tunstall shows how the army suffered from poor strategic direction and outdated tactics and facing a two-front offensive against both Russia and Serbia. He charts the army's performance on the battlefields of Galicia, Serbia, Romania, the Middle East and Italy through to its ultimate collapse in 1918.

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.

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.

The Lands Between investigates the causes and dynamics of conflict in the "borderlands" of Eastern Europe: the modern Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the western provinces of Byelorussia and Ukraine, and the republic of Moldova -- areas that have changed hands in the course of the twentieth-century on several occasions. Alexander V. Prusin looks at these "borderlands" as a whole, synthesizing narrower national histories into a wider-ranging study that highlights the common factors feeding conflict across the region. He also takes a long-term view, from the modernizing of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires in the late nineteenth century, through to the break-up of the Soviet Union, with a particular focus on the 'era of conflict' between the outbreak of the First World War and the Soviet pacification of the area in the mid-1950s.
While admitting the importance of socio-economic cleavages and ethnic rivalries in creating conflict, Prusin argues that the borderlands' ethno-cultural diversity was in basic conflict with the policies of the authorities that dominated the region, whether these authorities were imperial or (after 1919) nation states. Since collective identities in the borderlands were based on ethno-communal rather than national association, connections between ethnic groups across state borders raised suspicions that their allegiances and identities were not necessarily compatible with those envisioned by the ruling authority. In wartime, when the state's economic and human resources became strained to the limit, suspicion of the groups deemed less loyal blurred the concept of internal and external enemies and entailed pressure on allegedly "corrosive" ethnic elements.
Efforts to impose some sort of supranational identity upon the patchwork of ethnically-mixed settlements thus became the standard practice through the first half of the twentieth-century, accelerating the conflict between the state and the population and making the potential for extreme violence so much greater. Simultaneously, as war progressed, violence was sustained and exacerbated by popular participation and acquired its own destructive logic, mutating into a vicious cycle of ethnic conflicts and civil wars.

This book, first published in 1963, discusses the events of the Paris Peace Conference- the meeting of Allied victors following the end of World War I to set peace terms. Lord Hankey discusses the political and military terms and issues, as well as those of individual countries. This book is ideal for students of modern history.

Featuring over 1,000 alphabetically arranged, biographical entries, Who's Who in World War One builds up a complete and vivid picture of the major figures of the Great War. The subjects are drawn not only from the political and military spheres of all thirty-two nations involved, but also from the social and cultural life of the period.
This book's breadth of coverage makes it the definitive biographical guide to the First World War;
* from the British air ace, Albert Ball, to the German foreign secretary, Richard von Kuhlmann
* from David Lloyd George to Rasputin
* from the British war poet Siegfried Sassoon to the Serbian assassin Trifko Grabez and the Emperor Wilhelm II.
Each entry provides biographical data and basic factual information about its subject's role in the Great War, and in the case of major figures there is also an assessment of their reputation in the light of current scholarship.
Maps, cross-referencing, a list of military ranks, a guide to further reading and a thorough introduction complete what is at once a comprehensive work of reference and a fascinating overview of a crucial period in twentieth century history.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203438817

The role of Americans in the two world wars is well known - with a glaring exception. By the time of the American entrance into World War I in April 1917 and World War II in December 1941, tens of thousands of Americans had already fought and died in those conflicts in the uniforms of other nations. Most had travelled to Canada to join the ground, air and naval forces of the Commonwealth nations, others to France, Poland, China and the other nations and armed forces that played a role in the continuing world conflict of the first half of the century. In preceding their own nation to war, they influenced the course of events in those years and, though threatened with loss of citizenship, were ultimately met with the acceptance of their own government. This book tells the story of who these Americans were, why they took the actions they did, their experiences in war, and the effects of their presence as Americans in foreign forces.

This book contributes to the global turn in First World War studies by exploring Australians' engagements with the conflict across varied boundaries and by situating Australian voices and perspectives within broader, more complex contexts. This diverse and multifaceted collection includes chapters on the composition and contribution of the Australian Imperial Force, the experiences of prisoners of war, nurses and Red Cross workers, the resonances of overseas events for Australians at home, and the cultural legacies of the war through remembrance and representation. The local-global framework provides a fresh lens through which to view Australian connections with the Great War, demonstrating that there is still much to be said about this cataclysmic event in modern history.