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Books > History > World history > From 1900 > First World War
Anzac Labour explores the horror, frustration and exhaustion
surrounding working life in the Australian Imperial Force during
the First World War. Based on letters and diaries of Australian
soldiers, it traces the history of work and workplace cultures
through Australia, the shores of Gallipoli, the fields of France
and Belgium, and the Near East.
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Hell On Earth
(Hardcover)
Avigdor Hameiri; Translated by Peter C. Appelbaum; Introduction by Avner Holtzman
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R2,241
Discovery Miles 22 410
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Ships in 12 - 19 working days
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A literary account of the author's experience in World War I. Hell
on Earth is the second book written by Avigdor Hameiri (born
Feuerstein, 1890-1970) about his experiences as a Russian prisoner
of war during the second half of World War I. Translator Peter C.
Appelbaum first became interested in Hameiri's story after learning
that one quarter of the Austro-Hungarian army was captured and
imprisoned, and that the horrific events that took place at this
time throughout Russia and central Asia are rarely discussed in
scholarly texts. Available for the first time to an
English-speaking audience, this reality-driven novel is comparable
to classics like All Quiet on the Western Front and The Gulag
Archipelago. The text is deeply tragic, while allowing some humor
to shine through in the darkest hour. The reader is introduced to a
procession of complex characters with whom Hamieri comes into
contact during his imprisonment. The narrator watches his friends
die one by one until he is released in 1917 with the help of
Russian Zionist colleagues. He then immigrates to Israel in 1921.
Hameiri's perspective on the things surrounding him-the
Austro-Hungarian Army, the Russian people and countryside, the
geography of Siberia, the nascent Zionist movement, the Russian
Revolution and its immediate aftermath-offers a distinct personal
view of a moment in time that is often overshadowed by the horrors
of the Holocaust. In his preface, Appelbaum argues that World War I
was the original sin of the twentieth century-without it, the
unthinkable acts of World War II would not have come to fruition.
Hell on Earth is a fascinating, albeit gruesome, account of life in
prison camps at the end of the First World War. Fans of historical
fiction and war memoirs will appreciate the historic value in this
piece of literature.
Machine Gunners in the desert
The development of the rapidly firing machine gun had been
gathering pace throughout the latter part of the nineteenth
century. By the time of the Great War it had reached a point of
deadly and devastating efficiency. Now, specially trained units of
men within all armies were trained to bring this lethal weapon to
bear on the enemy. This book concerns a group of such men-within
the British Army-as it and they fought the Army of the Ottoman
Turkish empire in the Middle East Campaign. This was a more mobile
war than the gunners of the Western Front experienced, that had its
own challenges including disease, blistering heat, flies and
difficult terrain. This is an intimate story of a small tightly
knit unit operating in an interesting sideshow of the greater
conflict.
The past is brought to life in this historical epic about a South
African family whose lives collided with the biggest event in
history: The First World War. The central theme is the largely
forgotten east Africa campaign, but by definition a world war has a
wide reach. Five members of one family with deep roots in all four
corners of the country, served in three different theatres of war.
Their lives on active service are all interwoven and inseparable
from the home front. Global events are juxtaposed with everyday
life on a farm in the eastern Orange Free State. Appropriately, the
author constructs linkages that span generations, uncovering
individual experiences of an earlier conflict which had engulfed
South Africa barely a decade before the eruption of the 1914-18
war. As the sons of early pioneers, this generation witnessed
history in the making before writing their own. Riding into action
on horseback or in a flying machine, their paths led from the south
west African desert, through disease-infested jungles in east
Africa to some of the great battles on the western front. Only one
of the five came home unscathed although he crash-landed his
aircraft behind enemy lines and only made it back through his
audacity and brute strength. Another, an intellectual priest, was
left for dead at Delville Wood, and his brother was wounded on
Messines Ridge. The remaining two suffered from debilitating
tropical illnesses. Hazard and hardship lingered on in the form of
Spanish in influenza, mining strikes and the Great Depression. The
war cast a long shadow. Between them, these consciously literate
men left substantial documentary legacies. Using extracts of their
letters from the front, the story is to a large extent told in the
words of those who were there. Context is provided by referencing
existing literature, unpublished memoirs and archival material. It
could be called a military history or a social history, but it is a
truly South African story which contains much new material for
historians, while for the general reader it offers an accessible
insight into an unparalleled period of history.
Accounts of the 'Knights of the Sky' in the Great War
For those interested in the most outstanding airmen of the Great
War, this book will a highly satisfying read. The author has
chronicled the aces of the allied forces and has enhanced his
narrative with riveting accounts and first hand experiences and
reports of the 'High Aces' in action. Within these pages the reader
will discover the exploits of the Lafayette Escadrille, Roland
Garros-possibly the first Ace, Guynemer, Lufbery, Fonck, Pinsard
and many others of varied nationalities. The valiant flyers of the
bomber force are also covered as is the contribution made by
American pilots. The appendix includes a list of the Aces of all
nations with their 'kills' and much other vital information.
Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket. A must for
every one interested in the dogfights over the trenches.
This extended study of one of the critical campaigns of World War I
sheds light on vital strategic consequences for both sides.
Published during the centennial of the events it considers, this
book provides a comprehensive examination of one of the most
interesting and influential campaigns of World War I, a campaign
that was the apex of mobile warfare at the time. By the late summer
of 1915, the Russian threat to Austria-Hungary had been eliminated
by the Central Powers. That allowed Erich von Falkenhayn, head of
the German supreme command, to turn his attention to his next
strategic target-the conquest of Serbia-which was imperative to
opening a land route to the Ottoman Empire. Until that task was
accomplished, matters on the all-important Western Front would have
to wait. This first major study of the invasion of Serbia covers
events primarily from the viewpoint of the Central Powers, which
played the most pivotal role in the campaign. The book considers
the impact of factors as diverse as diplomacy, command, coalition
warfare, mountain warfare, military technology, and the harsh
environment in which the campaign was conducted. Readers will come
away with an understanding of and appreciation for the importance
of the Serbian campaign as it affected the outcome of the war and
the ultimate destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Examines
the campaign from the perspective of the Central Powers, rather
than from the Serbian point of view Shows that the assault on
Serbia was pivotal in that it led to the unraveling of the overall
conflict for Germany Features research conducted at the German
federal military archives in Freiburg, the Bavarian military
archives in Munich, the Austrian archives in Vienna, and the
Baden-Wurttemberg archives in Stuttgart Draws from official
histories, regimental histories, memoirs, and first-person accounts
Marks the 100th anniversary of the 1915 campaign
In one of the few book-length treatments of the subject, Nina
Mjagkij conveys the full range of the African American experience
during the "Great War." Prior to World War I, most African
Americans did not challenge the racial status quo. But nearly
370,000 black soldiers served in the military during the war, and
some 400,000 black civilians migrated from the rural South to the
urban North for defense jobs. Following the war, emboldened by
their military service and their support of the war on the home
front, African Americans were determined to fight for equality.
These two factors forced America to confront the impact of
segregation and racism.
How can we understand what caused World War I? What role did
Germany play? This book encourages us to re-think the events that
led to global conflict in 1914.Historians in recent years have
argued that German leaders acted defensively or pre-emptively in
1914, conscious of the Reich's deteriorating military and
diplomatic position. Germany and the Causes of the First World War
challenges such interpretations, placing new emphasis on the idea
that the Reich Chancellor, the German Foreign Office and the Great
General Staff were confident that they could win a continental war.
This belief in Germany's superiority derived primarily from an
assumption of French decline and Russian weakness throughout the
period between the turn of the century and the eve of the First
World War. Accordingly, Wilhelmine policy-makers pursued offensive
policies - at the risk of war at important junctures during the
1900s and 1910s.The author analyses the stereotyping of enemy
states, representations of war in peacetime, and conceptualizations
of international relations. He uncovers the complex role of ruling
elites, political parties, big business and the press, and contends
that the decade before the First World War witnessed some critical
changes in German foreign policy. By the time of the July crisis of
1914, for example, the perception of enemies had altered, with
Russia - the traditional bugbear of the German centre and left -
becoming the principal opponent of the Reich. Under these changed
conditions, German leaders could now pursue their strategy of
brinkmanship, using war as an instrument of policy, to its logical
conclusion.
Civilian into Soldier - A Novel Of The Great War. By John A. Lee.
Originally published in 1937. A fictionalised but autobiographical
account of a New Zealand man's fighting role in the fighting of
World War I, written by a man who became a political force in a
post-war New Zealand. Contents Include Sling Insubordination
Hel-Fire for Orators-Klink Not so tough after all The road to
Estaples Estaples War Logic About it and about Arrival Fatigue and
fire-step Adapation Talk, Talk, Talk From Fleux Baix to Le Bezit Le
Bezit Torches and Meteors Plugstreet Point De Neippe The Incubation
of Chaos Raid on the Left Rehearsal Vicious Appetites Lot of
Prepardness Fretfull Argumant Claim Twilight came Gas Nerves Up and
Over The Hysterical Hero Enter Fear Any Bearers Look, The
Cavalry-Counter Attack Bull Ring Philosophy Eyewash after chaos
Rest, disintegration Pagan death but Christian burial Eve of
offensive The advance of the refinery The brass hat who was a mad
hatter Good sport Comedy or tragedy Tragedy or comedy Rest camp On
the road gaily without a crust of bread Nerves nerves nerves The
attack on the pay office In which the infantry have a jolly good
time parley voo Good-byeee Many of the earliest books, particularly
those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce
and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these
classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using
the original text and artwor
This transnational, interdisciplinary study of traumatic neurosis
moves beyond the existing histories of medical theory, welfare, and
symptomatology. The essays explore the personal traumas of soldiers
and civilians in the wake of the First World War; they also discuss
how memory and representations of trauma are transmitted between
patients, doctors and families across generations. The book argues
that so far the traumatic effects of the war have been
substantially underestimated. Trauma was shaped by gender,
politics, and personality. To uncover the varied forms of trauma
ignored by medical and political authorities, this volume draws on
diverse sources, such as family archives and narratives by children
of traumatized men, documents from film and photography, memoirs by
soldiers and civilians. This innovative study challenges us to
re-examine our approach to the complex psychological effects of the
First World War.
Organised chronologically by type, German Aircraft of World War I
offers a highly-illustrated guide to the main types of aircraft
used by the German Air Force during World War I. The book offers a
comprehensive survey of German aircraft, from the Albatros B.1 and
Fokker E.II of the early years, to the more sophisticated Fokker
D.VII and Junkers CL.1 of the final months of the war. All the
major and many minor types are featured, including monoplanes,
biplanes, single-seater fighters, two-seater fighters, bombers,
ground attack aircraft, night bombers, giant bombers and
floatplanes. This includes both well-known and lesser- known
models, such as the LVG and Pfalz single-seater fighters, the Gotha
and Zeppelin Staaken large bombers, AEG ground attack aircraft, and
the Albatross, Halberstadt and Brandenburg two-seater biplanes.
Each featured profile includes authentic markings and colour
schemes, while every separate model is accompanied by exhaustive
specifications. Packed with 110 full-colour artworks with detailed
specifications, German Aircraft of World War I is a key reference
guide for military modellers and World War I enthusiasts.
The First World War began in the Balkans, and it was fought as
fiercely in the East as it was in the West. Fighting persisted in
the East for almost a decade, radically transforming the political
and social order of the entire continent. The specifics of the
Eastern war such as mass deportations, ethnic cleansing, and the
radicalization of military, paramilitary and revolutionary violence
have only recently become the focus of historical research. This
volume situates the 'Long First World War' on the Eastern Front
(1912-1923) in the hundred years from the mid-19th to the mid-20th
century and explores the legacies of violence within this context.
Content Jochen Boehler/Wlodzimierz Borodziej/Joachim von Puttkamer:
Introduction I. A World in Transition Joachim von Puttkamer:
Collapse and Restoration. Politics and the Strains of War in
Eastern Europe Mark Biondich: Eastern Borderlands and Prospective
Shatter Zones. Identity and Conflict in East Central and
Southeastern Europe on the Eve of the First World War Jochen
Boehler: Generals and Warlords, Revolutionaries and Nation-State
Builders. The First World War and its Aftermath in Central and
Eastern Europe II. Occupation Jonathan E. Gumz: Losing Control. The
Norm of Occupation in Eastern Europe during the First World War
Stephan Lehnstaedt: Fluctuating between 'Utilisation' and
Exploitation. Occupied East Central Europe during the First World
War Robert L. Nelson: Utopias of Open Space. Forced Population
Transfer Fantasies during the First World War III. Radicalization
Maciej Gorny: War on Paper? Physical Anthropology in the Service of
States and Nations Piotr J. Wrobel: Foreshadowing the Holocaust.
The Wars of 1914-1921 and Anti-Jewish Violence in Central and
Eastern Europe Robert Gerwarth: Fighting the Red Beast.
Counter-Revolutionary Violence in the Defeated States of Central
Europe IV. Aftermath Julia Eichenberg: Consent, Coercion and
Endurance in Eastern Europe. Poland and the Fluidity of War
Experiences Philipp Ther: Pre-negotiated Violence. Ethnic Cleansing
in the 'Long' First World War Dietrich Beyrau: The Long Shadow of
the Revolution. Violence in War and Peace in the Soviet Union
Commentary Joern Leonhard: Legacies of Violence: Eastern Europe's
First World War - A Commentary from a Comparative Perspective
The subject of this book is the confrontation between the American
reform tradition, historically inward-looking, and the first of the
world conflicts in which the United States has been involved in the
20th century. It focuses upon those writers and journals most
prominently associated with the progressive movement and examines
their response to the First World War and the effect of the war on
their thinking. During the progressive era a number of journalists
and authors had acquired national reputations as social critics or
as spokesmen for reform. Among these were Herbert Croly, Frederic
C. Howe, Waiter Lippmann, Amos Pinchot, Walter Weyl, and William
Allen White as well as some of the former muckrakers such as Ray
Stannard Baker, Charles Edward Russell, and Lincoln Steffens.
Studying these men as a group shows that, for all the diversity
emphasized in much recent historical writing on progressivism,
there were certain common commitments which distinguished
progressives from conservatives. These commitments, and the
assumptions and aspirations on which they were based, did much to
shape responses to the war.
The African and Chinese battles of the First World War
Historian Edmund Dane wrote some excellent concise histories of
various theatres of the First World War and the first work in this
unique volume from Leonaur is one of them. There is much interest
among students of the period in the campaigns fought in Africa
which drew into conflict the regular troops of the principal
protagonists together with a colourful array of colonial and
imperial troops on both sides. This book covers Botha's campaign in
South-West Africa, the East African Campaign which pitted Smuts
against the exemplary generalship of von Lettow-Vorbeck and the
campaigns in Togoland and the Cameroons. Dane includes in his
book's title the campaign in the Pacific and although the single
chapter dedicated to this topic is of undeniable interest the
contemporary reader may judge the piece too short. To remedy this
we have included an in depth work on the siege and fall of Tsingtau
in China by an American journalist who was an eye-witness. This was
a vital outpost for the Germans in the region. The Royal Navy was
involved and the South Wales Borderers were engaged; the main
assault, however, was undertaken by Imperial Japanese forces. The
author's forecasts as to Japan's ambitions in the region turned out
to be chillingly accurate.
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.
Whether victorious or not, Central European states faced
fundamental challenges after the First World War as they struggled
to contain ongoing violence and forge peaceful societies. This
collection explores the various forms of violence these nations
confronted during this period, which effectively transformed the
region into a laboratory for state-building. Employing a bottom-up
approach to understanding everyday life, these studies trace the
contours of individual and mass violence in the interwar era while
illuminating their effects upon politics, intellectual
developments, and the arts.
This book fully revises standard regimental history by establishing
the framework and background to the regiment's role in the Great
War. It tests the current theories about the British army in the
war and some of the conclusions of modern military historians. In
recent years a fascinating reassessment of the combat performance
of the British Army in the Great War has stressed the fact that the
British Army ascended a 'learning curve' during the conflict
resulting in a modern military machine of awesome power. Research
carried out thus far has been on a grand scale with very few
examinations of smaller units. This study of the battalion of the
Buffs has tested these theoretical ideas. The central questions
addressed in this study are: * The factors that dominated the
officer-man relationship during the war. * How identity and combat
efficiency was maintained in the light of heavy casualties. * The
relative importance of individual characters to the efficiency of a
battalion as opposed to the 'managerial structures' of the BEF. *
The importance of brigade and division to the performance of a
battalion. * The effective understanding and deployment of new
weapons. * The reactions of individual men to the trials of war. *
The personal and private reactions of the soldiers' communities in
Kent. Using previously uncovered material, this book adds a
significant new chapter to our understanding of the British army on
the Western Front, and the way its home community in East Kent
reacted to experience. It reveals the way in which the regiment
adjusted to the shock of modern warfare, and the bloody learning
curve the Buffs ascended as they shared the British Expeditionary
Force's march towards final victory.
The twenty-seven original contributions to this volume investigate
the ways in which the First World War has been commemorated and
represented internationally in prose fiction, drama, film,
docudrama and comics from the 1960s until the present. The volume
thus provides a comprehensive survey of the cultural memory of the
war as reflected in various media across national cultures,
addressing the complex connections between the cultural post-memory
of the war and its mediation. In four sections, the essays
investigate (1) the cultural legacy of the Great War (including its
mythology and iconography); (2) the implications of different forms
and media for representing the war; (3) 'national' memories,
foregrounding the differences in post-memory representations and
interpretations of the Great War, and (4) representations of the
Great War within larger temporal or spatial frameworks, focusing
specifically on the ideological dimensions of its 'remembrance' in
historical, socio-political, gender-oriented, and post-colonial
contexts.
The period from the outset of World War I to the end of World War
II was among the most significant in the history of the United
States. Twice it was drawn into "foreign entanglements"- wars it
initially thought were no concern of its own and of which it tried
to steer clear-only to realize that it could not stand aside. With
each one, it geared up in record time, entered the fray massively,
and was crucial to the outcome. Each war tested the American people
and their leaders, and in each case the country came out of the
conflagration stronger than before-and even more important-yet
stronger relative to other countries than it had ever been. This
was the period when the United States became a world leader. The A
to Z of U.S. Diplomacy from World War I through World War II
relates the events of this crucial period in U.S. history through a
chronology, an introductory essay, and over 600 cross-referenced
dictionary entries on key persons, places, events, institutions,
and organizations.
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