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Books > History > World history > From 1900 > First World War
Two accounts of men of the Legion during the First World War
The French Foreign Legion has earned its reputation in acts of
heroism and aggression, in tenacious actions of resistance and in
the spilling of much blood. It has always been recognised as a home
for the dispossessed, criminals and soldiers of fortune, so among
its ranks could be found hard men from a multitude of backgrounds
and numerous nations. The Legion has been typified by the fierce
loyalty of its men, its esprit de corps and its undying allegiance
to the nation which had taken them under its protection. France
has, however, always exacted a high price for its patronage. The
Legion has habitually been asked to demonstrate that it is equal to
its laurels and it has constantly been placed in the 'post of
honour'-that bloody ground where the fighting is hardest and death
more certain. In the warfare of the Western Front during the Great
War that likelihood of annihilation was multiplied by the lethal
nature of the battleground and losses were horrendous for Legion
regiments-sometimes as high as one man killed out of three or four
engaged. Yet still men flocked to the Legion's ranks. This book
offers accounts of the experiences of two such men as they fought
for the cause of France in the trenches. Each piece is
comparatively short so they have been joined together in this
special Leonaur good value edition.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
On His Majesty's Secret Service
The Duke of Wellington famously said that the art of war was
discovering what you don't know by what you do-guessing what was on
the other side of the hill. The best way to know what was over that
hill was to send someone to look for you. The duke was no stranger
to scouts, spies and intelligence officers and knew their value. As
important as the spying itself was the need to stop enemy agents
employed in the same work. By the later 19th century the means by
which intelligence work could be undertaken was as a result of
developments in communication, transport and technology in all its
forms becoming more sophisticated. Countermeasures likewise became
more difficult and complex. The decision made by many governments
was to formalise the operations of espionage and counterespionage
agents into dedicated services. This book, by a member of the
British Secret Service, offers an essential insight into
intelligence activities during the Great War. The narrative
includes the riveting personal experiences and anecdotes of other
agents, touches upon the methods used including codes and locating
minelayers, and gives an overview of the secret service
organisations operating at that time; it concludes with an
examination of the 'Casement Affair.' For those interested in the
world of the proto-Bond against Imperial Germany this is a highly
entertaining read.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
The two decades between the first and second world wars saw the
emergence of nuclear physics as the dominant field of experimental
and theoretical physics, owing to the work of an international cast
of gifted physicists. Prominent among them were Ernest Rutherford,
George Gamow, the husband and wife team of Frederic and Irene
Joliot-Curie, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton, Gregory Breit and
Eugene Wigner, Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch, the brash
Ernest Lawrence, the prodigious Enrico Fermi, and the incomparable
Niels Bohr. Their experimental and theoretical work arose from a
quest to understand nuclear phenomena; it was not motivated by a
desire to find a practical application for nuclear energy. In this
sense, these physicists lived in an 'Age of Innocence'. They did
not, however, live in isolation. Their research reflected their
idiosyncratic personalities; it was shaped by the physical and
intellectual environments of the countries and institutions in
which they worked. It was also buffeted by the political upheavals
after the Great War: the punitive postwar treaties, the runaway
inflation in Germany and Austria, the Great Depression, and the
intellectual migration from Germany and later from Austria and
Italy. Their pioneering experimental and theoretical achievements
in the interwar period therefore are set within their personal,
institutional, and political contexts. Both domains and their
mutual influences are conveyed by quotations from autobiographies,
biographies, recollections, interviews, correspondence, and other
writings of physicists and historians.
Mersey to mud - war and Liverpool men Like many large cities,
Liverpool raised a number of battalions in the Great War. Notable
among them were the Pals, the Liverpool Irish and Scottish, but
this book concerns the wartime history of the 9th Battalion - The
Kings. Originally formed in 1859 for volunteers from the Liverpool
newspaper and print industries, it was, by the outbreak of World
War 1, an experienced part of the Territorial Force, but no
previous experience could prepare the battalion for war on the
Western Front. Once in the line, the exacting toll of modern
warfare caused immediate casualties, including the commanding
officer invalided home and another quickly killed in action. The
King's endured gruelling life and death in the trenches to the full
measure. In the course of the war the battalion fought at Aubers
Ridge, Loos, the Somme, Third Ypres, Cambrai and Arras. This moving
history of the battalion is essential reading for military students
and genealogists since it includes a substantial Decoration Roll.
World War I was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from
1914 to 1918. Contemporaneously known as the Great War or "the war
to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70
million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making
it one of the largest wars in history. This series of Eight volumes
provides year by year analysis of the war that resulted in the
death of more than 17 million deaths worldwide.
A remarkable man's view of three military disasters
This book is comprised of the journals of an intelligence officer
of the British Army written in often difficult circumstances as the
events he experienced unfolded around him. Readers will note that
while the focus of this book concentrates on notable events within
the Great War, they also happen to be some of the worst military
failures for the allies. Inviting himself into the war on the
Western Front as an interpreter, he experienced the irresistible
human wave of the German advance as it rolled back the outnumbered
BEF from Mons. His journal was compiled from brief notes during the
retreat and from memory whilst in hospital following a wound,
capture, brief imprisonment and escape. The second journal concerns
the disastrous Dardanelle's adventure-written 'in idle hours
between times of furious action.' The author was able to view the
events in which he was involved with clear insight and objectivity.
At one point he wryly reports an outraged officer complaining that
the Turks were walking about the Gallipoli Peninsula, 'as if they
owned the place ' The third journal was written in Mesopotamia on a
Fly-boat upon the River Tigris as Kut fell. The accounts within
Herbert's book are of undoubted and vital interest as source
material of the First World War. Herbert was an interesting
character. He was half brother to Lord Carnarvon of Tutankhamen
fame, he was pivotal in the cause of Albanian independence and was
offered its throne on two occasions and he was intimate with
several of the notable figures of his time including T. E Lawrence,
Belloc, Buchan, Mark Sykes and others. A talented Orientalist and
linguist-he spoke 8 languages fluently-he was also a serving member
of the British Parliament throughout the war whilst also fulfilling
his military duties. Perhaps most significantly Herbert achieved
all this whist under the handicap of being practically blind, an
affliction he had suffered from birth. Available in softcover and
hardcover with dust jacket.
German general Hermann Balck (1897--1982) was considered to be one
of World War II's greatest battlefield commanders. His brilliantly
fought battles were masterpieces of tactical agility, mobile
counterattack, and the technique of Auftragstaktik, or "mission
command." However, because he declined to participate in the U.S.
Army's military history debriefing program, today he is known only
to serious students of the war. Drawing heavily on his meticulously
kept wartime journals, Balck discusses his childhood and his career
through the First and Second World Wars. His memoir details the
command decision-making process as well as operations on the ground
during crucial battles, including the Battle of the Marne in World
War I and his incredible victories against a larger and
better-equipped Soviet army at the Chir River in World War II.
Balck also offers observations on Germany's greatest generals, such
as Erich Ludendorff and Heinz Guderian, and shares his thoughts on
international relations, domestic politics, and Germany's place in
history. Available in English for the first time in an expertly
edited and annotated edition, this important book provides
essential information about the German military during a critical
era in modern history.
The Gallipoli expedition was the bold and audacious plan of Winston
Churchill, amongst others, to force the Dardanelles narrows, by sea
and by land, to capture Constantinople from the Turks and to open
the Black Sea to ships taking supplies and arms for the Russians on
their immense German front. The campaign failed with catastrophic
loss of life on all sides, but again and again, unbeknown to the
Allies, they came close to achieving a goal that might have led to
victory overall. This book, first published in 1956, is still
regarded as the best and definitive account of the campaign. It won
the Sunday Times Best Book of the Year Award as well as the
inaugural Duff Cooper prize when the winner could choose who would
present the award. Appropriately enough, Moorehead chose Churchill
to make the presentation because the book demonstrated that the
faults were not in the conception of the plan. Indeed, long after
Churchill had resigned in disgrace, a new fleet was being assembled
to again attempt to force the Dardanelles in 1919, which was
cancelled when the war ceased and the Armistice was signed. Seen in
the new light that Moorehead revealed, the Gallipoli campaign was
no longer regarded as a blunder or a reckless gamble; it was the
most imaginative conception of the war, and its potentialities were
almost beyond reckoning. Certainly in its strictly military aspect
its influence was enormous. It was the greatest amphibious
operation which mankind had known up till then, and it took place
in circumstances in which nearly everything was experimental: in
the use of submarines and aircraft, in the trial of modern naval
guns against artillery on the shore, in the manoeuvre of landing
armies in small boats on a hostile coast, in the use of radio, or
the aerial bomb, the landmine, and many other novel devices. These
things lead on through Dunkirk and the Mediterranean landings to
the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War. In 1940 there was
very little the Allied commanders could learn from the long
struggle against the Kaiser's armies in the trenches in France. But
Gallipoli was a mine of information about the complexities of the
modern war of manoeuvre, of the combined operation by land and sea
and sky; and the correction of the errors made then was the basis
of the victory of 1945. "the story of one of the great military
tragedies of the twentieth century, which no writer has described
better than Alan Moorehead." Sir Max Hastings.
This important translation looks at World War I from the
perspective of German working-class women. The author demonstrates
the intimate connection between 'general' social history and
women's history while analyzing the dynamics between these
different levels of interpretation. She asks:
- How did women view the war and whom did they hold responsible for
it?
- How did military leaders and politicians perceive women at work,
in the home, and
on the streets?
This book explores the ways in which the people themselves
interpreted their world and their lives -- a perspective often
neglected by historians but one becoming increasingly relevant in
Germany today. Essential reading for all those interested in War
Studies, German Studies, History and Women's Studies and an
excellent text for course use.
World War I and Propaganda offers a new look at a familiar subject.
The contributions to this volume demonstrate that the traditional
view of propaganda as top-down manipulation is no longer plausible.
Drawing from a variety of sources, scholars examine the complex
negotiations involved in propaganda within the British Empire, in
occupied territories, in neutral nations, and how war should be
conducted. Propaganda was tailored to meet local circumstances and
integrated into a larger narrative in which the war was not always
the most important issue. Issues centering on local politics,
national identity, preservation of tradition, or hopes of a
brighter future all played a role in different forms of propaganda.
Contributors are Christopher Barthel, Donata Blobaum, Robert
Blobaum, Mourad Djebabla, Christopher Fischer, Andrew T. Jarboe,
Elli Lemonidou, David Monger, Javier Pounce,Catriona Pennell, Anne
Samson, Richard Smith, Kenneth Andrew Steuer, Maria Ines Tato, and
Lisa Todd.
This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It
contains classical literature works from over two thousand years.
Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore
shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the
cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical
literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the
mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from
oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of
international literature classics available in printed format again
- worldwide.
World War I was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from
1914 to 1918. Contemporaneously known as the Great War or "the war
to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70
million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making
it one of the largest wars in history. This series of Eight volumes
provides year by year analysis of the war that resulted in the
death of more than 17 million deaths worldwide.
Contrary to popular belief, Woodrow Wilson coordinated foreign and
defense policies. Wilson viewed Imperial Germany as a threat to
U.S. national security and acted accordingly. His urgent desire to
mediate an end to World War I was driven by geo-political concerns.
Forced into the war by tertiary issues, he decided to throw a great
deal of weight upon the scale by intervening decisively in the
Great War in order to dominate the postwar peace conference. There
he intended to dictate "a scientific peace" and to create a League
of Nations to insure collective security.
One of the decisive battles of the 20th century began on August 29,
1914 with the cry that echoed throughout France: "The Prussians are
coming!" It ended on September 10th, that same year. Earlier, more
than a million German troops-five massive armies-poured into
Belgium and France. The French army began the biggest retreat in
its history, and Germany seemed about to triumph. But the German
right wing, instead of wheeling to the east of Paris, as the famous
Schlieffen Plan required, crossed to the west of Paris, exposing
its banks. The counterattack was led from Paris, using the city's
taxi streets in a famous dash to take soldiers to the front. The
German plan was thwarted, and the Kaiser's army was forced to
retreat. It was an astonishing and costly victory: over 300,000
French soldiers died. As stirring as a novel, The Marne is a
classic of military history.
The first year of war on the Western Front
The quality of medical and nursing care available to British
soldiers on campaign had improved immeasurably since the days of
the Crimean War in the middle of the nineteenth century when
Florence Nightingale and her nurses had cared for wounded men who
could scarcely believe that her presence was not other worldly. By
the time of the First World War the organisation of medical care
had become a fixture of the military establishment, though, of
course, this was to be a war like no other. The reader joins the
author of this book in the first days of the conflict and through
the pages of her diary we follow her experiences on the Western
Front as she cared for the wounded from the actions on the Aisne
through the First Battle of Ypres and to the fighting to the middle
of 1915. This book was originally published anonymously during
wartime, but today most sources attribute the diary to Kathleen
Luard. Clearly she was a dedicated nurse and her writings take the
reader to the heart of a war of mud and attrition, revealing the
incredible work she and her colleagues undertook to care for their
beloved 'Tommies'-particularly on the ambulance trains which
collected the wounded from the front line to transport them to base
hospitals and close to the firing line in Field Ambulance stations
where her accounts of the plight of the wounded makes poignant and
touching reading. An essential source work of the Great war from
the female perspective.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
WE ALL MADE HISTORY is a collection of personal stories from people
who were in the military. Many military have put their lives on the
line for you to be free. The real Heroes never returned. When you
see a veteran, shake their hand and thank them for their service.
This book presents for the first time the collected editorials
Taft produced under contract for the "Philadelphia Public Ledger"
from November 1, 1917 through July 5, 1921. These syndicated
editorials contain his reactions to U.S. participation and policy
during World War I, the Paris peace settlement, the League of
Nations controversy, and the national elections of 1918 and
1920.
The work is first and foremost a resource and reference
compilation. The collection assumes, and the introduction strongly
suggests, that the material represents poorly recognized
information that is yet to be properly and fully integrated into
the historical accounts and interpretations, and that Taft's career
beckons closer examination. The work implicitly casts Taft in a new
and more active light than previously depicted. This book will be a
valuable addition to any research library, and it should appeal to
scholars engaged in research in Taft, and in American political
history.
The passage of time has not slowed the production of books and
articles about World War I. This volume provides a guide to the
historiography and bibliography of the Dardanelles Campaign,
including the Gallipoli invasion. It focuses on military history
but also provides information on political histories that give
significant attention to the handling of the Dardanelles Campaign.
The opening section of the book provides background information
about the campaign, discusses the major sources of information, and
lays out the major interpretative disputes. A comprehensive
annotated bibliography follows. This book nicely complements the
two earlier volumes on World War I battles--The Battle of Jutland
by Eugene Rasor and The Battles of the Somme by Fred R. van
Hartesveldt.
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