World War I was a uniquely devastating total war that surpassed all previous conflicts for its destruction. But what was the reality like on the ground, for both the soldiers on the front-lines and the women on the homefront?Drawing on intimate firsthand accounts in diaries and letters, 'War Experiences in Rural Germany' examines this question in detail and challenges some strongly held assumptions about the Great War. The author makes the controversial case for the blurring of 'front' and 'homefront'. He shows that through the constant exchange of letters and frequent furloughs, rural soldiers maintained a high degree of contact with their home lives. In addition, the author provides a more nuanced interpretation of the alleged brutalizing effect of the war experience, suggesting that it was by far not as complete as has been previously understood. This pathbreaking book paints a vivid picture of the dynamics of total war on rural communities, from the calling up of troops to the reintegration of veterans into society.

This is a major new contribution to the historiography of the First World War. It examines the lively battle of ideas which helped to destroy Austria-Hungary. It also assesses, for the first time, the weapon of 'front propaganda' as used by and against the Empire on the Italian and Eastern Fronts. Based on material in eight languages, the work challenges accepted views about Britain's primacy in the field of propaganda, while casting fresh light on the creation of Yugoslavia and the viability of the Habsburg Empire in its last years.

The 6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment was raised in August 1914 and sailed for Gallipoli in July 1915. Upon arrival, the Battalion was almost immediately thrown into action at the Suvla Bay landings on 6 August 1915. The 6th Lincolns continued to serve at Gallipoli until the evacuation of Suvla. Following a period of respite in Egypt, the Battalion was transferred to the Western Front where it served until Armistice. Compiled from a previously unpublished manuscript written in the 1920's, this book provides a unique and colourful account of the Battalion's history throughout WW1, as told by Colonel F.G. Spring who served with the Battalion in 1915. The book also contains a Roll of Honour listing the names of all those who died with the Battalion, as well as the citations for those awarded medals for gallantry. Given that the Battalion War Diary for Gallipoli was lost, this publication is represents the most comprehensive account of the 6th Lincolns during the Great War.

This book represents a first considered attempt to study the factors that conditioned industrial chemistry for war in 1914-18. Taking a comparative perspective, it reflects on the experience of France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Britain, Italy and Russia, and points to significant similarities and differences. It looks at changing patterns in the organisation of industry, and at the emerging symbiosis between science, industry and the military.

An American eagle with British wings
Readers interested in the personal experiences of the resolute and brave young men who ventured into the air to fight the first aerial combats will discover much to reward them in this book. The author joined the R. F. C in 1914 to fight Germany following its invasion of Belgium and advance into France at the beginning of the First World War. However, he was, in fact an American much taken with the idea of adventure as well as the righting of wrongs. Roberts' first experience of air fighting for the British flying corps was as an observer manning a machine gun and his descriptions of battling enemy aircraft and his accounts of his various 'kills' make gripping reading. Eventually he graduated to the pilot's cockpit where he became an accomplished exponent of the dogfight; this did not come without some cost, Roberts lost many comrades and was seriously wounded himself. This account is highly recommended since it brings to life through many anecdotes the first hand experiences of one who was there. This book is one of a very small number by early military aviators and will be a valuable addition to the library of anyone with an interest in the subject.
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.

In 1918, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) played a critical role in defeating the German army and thus winning the First World War. This 'Hundred Days' campaign (August to November 1918) was the greatest series of land victories in British military history. 1918 also saw the creation of the Royal Air Force, the world's first independent air service, from the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. Until recently, British histories of the First World War have tended to concentrate on the earlier battles of 1916 and 1917 and often underplayed this vitally important period."Changing War" fills this significant gap in our knowledge by providing in-depth examinations of key aspects of the operations of the British Army, the Royal Air Force and its antecedents in the climactic year of the First World War. Written by a group of established historians and emerging scholars it sheds light not only on 1918, but on the revolutionary changes in warfare that took place at that time.

Episodes from the United States first war in the air
The United States of America joined the Allies in the First World War in April of 1917. While the addition of its enormous resource of men and military personnel was undoubtedly pivotal in a war that had become one of attrition against a much war weakened enemy which was struggling alone, it was inevitable that the history of the American units engaged on land, sea or in the air would concern the latter battles of the conflict. For the airmen themselves, including those of the American 17th Aero Squadron whose exploits this book details, that made far less difference than it would to most military personnel. The air war was new, the flying machines were flimsy and primitive and the business of fighting in the skies was being defined by the young men who fought and died above the surface of the earth. All knew that the life of a pilot was perilous and likely to be short. This is an essential book for those interested in the First World War in the skies over the Western Front-and in the early days of what was to become one of the greatest air forces in the world. Many of the activities of the 17th Aero Squadron were focussed on the Dunkirk front and in its support of the British battle and advances during the fighting at Cambrai. The book includes an interesting view of a low bombing and machine gun attack on the Varssenaere Aerodrome. Also included are many combat reports by the squadron's pilots and these make fascinating reading. The appendices include useful statistical information, an honour and casualty role and a list of those officers and men who served in the squadron.
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.

Nominated for the Longman History Today Book of the Year Prize, 1995The first full-scale study of the rituals with which the British people commemorated three-quarters of a million war dead.Explains both the origins of the two minutes silence and the reasons for the success of the poppy appeal.This book examines how the British people came to terms with the massive trauma of the First World War. Although the literary memory of the war has often been discussed, little has been written on the public ceremonies on and around 11 November which dominated the public memory of the war in the inter-war years. This book aims to remedy the deficiency by showing the pre-eminence of Armistice Day, both in reflecting what people felt about the war and in shaping their memories of it. It shows that this memory was complex rather than simple and that it was continually contested. Finally it seeks to examine the impact of the Second World War on the memory of the First and to show how difficult it is to recapture the idealistic assumptions of a world that believed it had experienced 'the war to end all wars'.

What did British combatants wear on the western front in the First World War? From the idealized recruitment images to the coarse trousers and ill-fitting tunics, Jane Tynan retraces wartime culture through images and experiences of khaki. Photographs, newspapers, memoirs, war office documents and tailoring ephemera reveal the impact of the war on the tailoring trade. But the story of uniform also involves the wartime knitting projects, the issue of 'Kitchener Blue', Sikhs wearing khaki on the western front, and the punishments given to COs. Military uniforms were designed to make soldiers of civilian men and to rank them according to race and class, but Tynan argues that neat images of men in khaki concealed the reality that clothing an ever-expanding army involved compromise, resistance and improvisation. Uniforms transformed men and war changed British society. This book tells the story of British army clothing during wartime and offers insights into why khaki has endured as the symbol of modern militarism.

Three hundred and fifty-one men were executed by British Army firing-squads between September 1914 and November 1920. By far the greatest number were shot for desertion in the face of the enemy. Controversial even at the time, these executions of soldiers amid the horrors of the Western Front continue to haunt the history of war. This book provides a critical analysis of military law in the British army and other major armies during the First World War, with particular reference to the use of the death penalty. This study establishes a full cultural and legal framework for military discipline and compares British military law with French and German military law. It includes case studies of British troops on the Frontline.

Piero Gobetti was an astonishing figure. A radical liberal and fierce critic of Italian politics in the years after World War I, he was fascinated by the workers' struggles in his native Turin and by Gramsci's vision of a factory-based democracy. Gobetti proposed liberalism as an emancipatory theory grounded in social conflicts. "Revolutionary liberalism," as he called it, guided his opposition to Fascism and, following his untimely death at twenty-five, inspired key figures in the Italian Resistance. Accessible but critical, this volume is the first English-language study of Gobetti's political ideas and offers a balanced assessment of his enduring significance.

A woman in Iraq
This book of a woman's ordeal at the hands of Arabs in post First World War Mesopotamia (now modern day Iraq) is such a riveting account that to describe too much would be to spoil the experience for the reader. The young wife and mother, Zetton Buchanan, had joined her husband, Captain 'Billy' Buchanan of the RAF, on his eastern posting with a degree of expectation and sense of impending adventure. Nothing she could have imagined would have prepared her for the events that followed. This is a touching and inspirational first hand account of a young woman's ability to cope with tragedy and overcome astonishing difficulties. Although the narrative takes place in the 1920s there is much with the pages of Zetton Buchanan's book that resonates with the experiences of many in this still troubled land. A recommended read for those interested in women's issues.
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.