![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > General
"From Revolutionaries to Citizens" is the first comprehensive account of the most important antiwar campaign prior to World War I: the antimilitarism of the French Left. Covering the views and actions of socialists, trade unionists, and anarchists from the time of France's defeat by Prussia in 1870 to the outbreak of hostilities with Germany in 1914, Paul B. Miller tackles a fundamental question of prewar historiography: how did the most antimilitarist culture and society in Europe come to accept and even support war in 1914? Although more general accounts of the Left's "failure" to halt
international war in August 1914 focus on its lack of unity or the
decline of trade unionism, Miller contends that these explanations
barely scratch the surface when it comes to interpreting the Left's
overwhelming acceptance of the war. By embedding his cultural
analysis of antimilitarist propaganda into the larger political and
diplomatic history of prewar Europe, he reveals the Left's
seemingly sudden transformation "from revolutionaries to citizens"
as less a failure of resolve than a confession of commonality with
the broader ideals of republican France. Examining sources ranging
from police files and court records to German and British foreign
office memos, Miller emphasizes the success of antimilitarism as a
rallying cry against social and political inequities on behalf of
ordinary citizens. Despite their keen awareness of the bloodletting
that awaited Europe, he claims, antimilitarists ultimately accepted
the war with Germany for the same reason they had pursued their own
struggle within France: to address injustices and defend the rights
of citizens in a democratic society.
Throughout the three centuries before Christ many hundreds of thousands of Thracians, in more than 40 tribes, occupied the area between northern Greece, southern Russia and north-west Turkey. Skilled horsemen, masters of light infantry fighting in broken terrain, and renowned for their ferocity, the Thracians were feared by even the greatest of their contemporaries, who were eager to employ them as mercenaries. After surviving invasions by the Persians, Greeks, Macedonians and Celts, the Thracians were finally conquered by Rome in AD 46. This concise but lavishly illustrated study of their history and material culture includes the results of the latest archaeological research, notably some remarkable tomb paintings.
British Air Power demonstrates how the Royal Air Force sought to adapt in regard to the roles it could play and the conflicts in which it could be used, as well as the evolution of air power doctrine at a time of rapid changes in national politics and in the international arena. The development of new concepts and theories, the evaluation of operational experience, the political environment and budgetary cuts, and the role of academics and personalities in development of doctrine are thus all explored to show changes in strategic thinking regarding air power. Fedorchak further examines the influence of jointery - the process of co-operation between the army, navy and air force - on thinking, conceptualising, teaching and using air power in recent operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. A contemporary complement to more historical studies, British Air Power provides a very detailed look at the development of air-land doctrine in the RAF since the turn of the century.
At the height of the savage and bitter Indian Mutiny, the British garrison at Cawnpore found itself surrounded in June 1857\. Through a lack of resources, its commander, Major General Wheeler, agreed to surrender the city providing all the British inhabitants were granted free passage out of Cawnpore. But, just as the men women and children were about to embark on the boats that would take them to safety, the Mutineers attacked. All the British troops were killed, as were some of the women and children, with others being wounded. Those who survived, approximately 200 in number, were moved to a small villa called Bibighar. Held in awful conditions, many subsequently died from cholera and dysentery. When the rebel leader, Nana Sahib, learned that a large British force was approaching to relieve the captives, he ordered all the women and children to be killed. Though some of the sepoys refused to act, others began to hack about them with swords and cleavers. In the orgy of horror that followed, women were raped and mutilated, children stripped and murdered. In a bid to conceal the atrocity from the revengeful British troops, the corpses were thrown into a deep well. Just four of the original 200 people captured at Cawnpore lived to tell the gruesome tale by hiding under the bodies of the dead. Over many years James Bancroft has collected information on the victims and has interviewed some of the descendants. This has enabled him to examine the events at Cawnpore in 1857 through the lives of those who died and survived the atrocity, throwing new light on this very dark tale. The book is completed with photographs of the sites in India taken by one the families of the victims.
150 years after the Norman Conquest, history came within a hair’s breadth of repeating itself. In 1216, taking advantage of the turmoil created in England by King John’s inept rule, Prince Louis of France invaded England and allied with English rebels. The prize was the crown of England. Within months Louis had seized control of one-third of the country, including London. This is the first book to cover the bloody events of the invasion, one of the most dramatic but most overlooked episodes of British history. The text vividly describes the campaigns, sieges, battles and atrocities of the invasion and its colourful leaders – Louis the Lion, King John, William Marshal, and the mercenaries Fawkes de Béauté and Eustace the Monk – to offer the first detailed military analysis of this epic struggle for England.
Where did wargames come from? Who participated in them, and why? How is their development related to changes in real-life warfare? Which aspects of war did they capture, which ones did they leave out, how, and why? What do they tell us about the conduct of war in the times and places where they were played? How useful are they in training and preparation for war? Why are some so much more popular than others, and how do men and women differ in their interest? Starting with the combat of David versus Goliath, passing through the gladiatorial games, tournaments, trials by battle, duels, and board games such as chess, all the way to the latest simulations and computer games, this unique book traces the subject in all its splendid richness. As it does so, it provides new and occasionally surprising insights into human nature.
The Seven Years’ War was the world’s first global conflict, spanning five continents and the critical sea lanes that connected them. This book is the fullest account ever written of the French navy’s role in the hostilities. It is also the most complete survey of both phases of the war: the French and Indian War in North America (1754–60) and the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756–63), which are almost always treated independently. By considering both phases of the war from every angle, award-winning historian Jonathan R. Dull shows not only that the two conflicts are so interconnected that neither can be fully understood in isolation but also that traditional interpretations of the war are largely inaccurate. His work also reveals how the French navy, supposedly utterly crushed, could have figured so prominently in the War of American Independence only fifteen years later. A comprehensive work integrating diplomatic, naval, military, and political history, The French Navy and the Seven Years’ War thoroughly explores the French perspective on the Seven Years’ War. It also studies British diplomacy and war strategy as well as the roles played by the American colonies, Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and Portugal. As this history unfolds, it becomes clear that French policy was more consistent, logical, and successful than has previously been acknowledged, and that King Louis XV’s conduct of the war profoundly affected the outcome of America’s subsequent Revolutionary War.
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the
United States, this critically acclaimed volume--a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize--offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary
War and the birth of the American republic.
Although it has been largely neglected, the Korean War served as the backdrop for many ""firsts"" in military history: the first extensive use of the helicopter, the first battles between jet aircraft, and the first time two world powers - the United States and China - met on a battlefield since World War II. A 1953 armistice halted the fighting, yet the war technically continues today, as North and South Korea remain divided. This comprehensive reference work draws from previously secret information found in Russian and Chinese archives as well as numerous primary source documents. It includes more than 600 A-to-Z entries written by over 100 military and civilian experts. The entries are carefully written to convey information about the war from the perspectives of both the United States and Korea, giving readers a balanced and comprehensive overview of this war.
David Jablonsky has compiled the best writings of four of the most influential theorists of naval and air power in the past century. Alfred Thayer Mahan's Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Julian Corbett's Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, Guilio Douhet's Command of the Air, and William "Billy" Mitchell's Winged Defense continue to have relevance for students and practitioners of naval and air strategy. They illustrate the continuity of strategic thought, even through current times of great and widespread change.
Bosnia and Hercegovina emerged in the wake of the Second World War
as a melting pot for the cultures that had determined the history
of the South Slavs since the middle ages. Catholic, Orthodox, and
Muslim all shared in and contributed to the political and cultural
life of Yugoslavia's most diverse republic.
Presenting a significant new interpretation of Napoleonic warfare, Robert M. Epstein argues persuasively that the true origins of modern war can be found in the Franco-Austrian War of 1809. Epstein contends that the 1809 war--with its massive and evenly matched armies, multiple theaters of operation, new command-and-control schemes, increased firepower, frequent stalemates, and large-scale slaughter--had more in common with the American Civil War and subsequent conflicts than with the decisive Napoleonic campaigns that preceded it. Epstein examines 1809 in terms of the evolving new systems of recruitment, organization, and command used by both sides. As he shows, this was the first time that two states confronted each other on the battlefield with armies created by large-scale conscription, organized in corps, and coordinated along two major theaters of operation (Danubian and Italian). As a result, the opponents were forced into "distributed maneuvers" that produced broad operational fronts in which battles became both sequential and simultaneous, but ultimately indecisive. Ironically, as Epstein points out, neither Napoleon nor the opposing commander Archduke Charles ever fully understood that a paradigm shift had occurred in the conduct of war. Regardless, after 1809, warfare would never be the same.
In the year 216 B.C., Hannibal of Carthage, faced with an opposing Roman army twice the size of his own, outwitted the enemy at Cannae by means of a strategy which has become a classic of its kind. As a result of his famous "double pincer" maneuver, 70,000 Roman soldiers died within the space of a few hours on a field the size of New York's Central Park. Yet, as devastating and startling as Cannae was, it was only one of a long list of incredible achievements. Hannibal's fantastic 1,000-mile march across the Alps from Spain to Italy was one of the wonders of ancient times. He began his hazardous journey with 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants. By the time he reached the Valley of the Po, more than 30,000 troops and many of his elephants had perished, but he still managed to stay in Italy for sixteen years.Blending biography and military adventure, "Hannibal" is a portrait of a military genius who was also a highly civilized man. The son of Hamilcar Barca, a famous general in his own right, Hannibal was a student of the Greek classics. But his father's lifelong grudge against Rome fostered in the son a deep hatred for that Republic and a fierce determination to subdue it forever. This resulted in the bloody battles of Lake Trasimene, Campania, Nole, Capua, and Zama, all of which Leonard Cottrell describes with vigor and authority. In gathering material for "Hannibal," Cottrell traveled the entire route that Hannibal took across the Alps, thus bringing to his account a valuable firsthand knowledge of his subject. With the drama and authenticity for which he is famous, Leonard Cottrell describes Hannibal's amazing campaign--a saga of victory after victory which fell justshort of its ultimate goal: the annihilation of Rome.
The First Anglo-Sikh War broke out due to escalating tensions between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in the Punjab region of India in the mid-nineteenth century. Political machinations were at the heart of the conflict, with Sikh rulers fearing the growing power of their own army, while several prominent Sikh generals actively collaborated with the East India Company. The British faced a disciplined opponent, trained along European lines, which fielded armies numbering in the tens of thousands. The war featured a number of closely contested battles, with both sides taking heavy losses. This fully illustrated study of the First Anglo-Sikh War tells the story of one of the major colonial wars of the nineteenth century, as the East India Company attempted to wrest control of the Punjab region from a Sikh Empire riven by infighting.
In the War of Independence, military leaders such as Michael Collins, Liam Lynch and Liam Deasy secured Irish independence from a country that had seemingly limitless resources of men, money and arms. The British, lacked the one thing which the Irish possessed in abundance: a burning conviction in the justice of their cause. First published in 1973, Towards Ireland Free is the story of one of these leaders. Liam Deasy was just twenty at the time of the 1916 Easter Rising. He enrolled in the Volunteers in Bandon in 1917 and by 1921 was in command of the West Cork Brigade. In this account of the War of Independence in West Cork, he vividly recreates the tense and hope-filled atmosphere of those years and provides a rich gallery of portraits of those alongside whom he fought. Best of all, he recounts in great detail famous episodes such as the successful attacj on the British Naval Sloop in Bantry, Howes Strand and Ballycrovane Coastguard stations, the ambushes at Kilmichael and Crossbarry and the raid on Fastnet rock.
In the late 1990s, NATO initiated KFOR, the militarized peacekeeping force charged with stabilizing Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for displaced persons and refugees after the genocide and other numerous atrocities carried out during the Balkan conflicts. Operation KINETIC is a not only a history of the origins and operations of the Kosovo Force, it is also a history of the vital Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Civil-Military Cooperation operations conducted by the Canadian Army units assigned to KFOR during the crucial early days and months after entry into the province in 1999-2000. Operating alongside American, British, French, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish forces, these surveillance and response units were instrumental in preventing violence in numerous areas before it could escalate and draw in the Serbian Army, which could have led to another war in the region. Sean Maloney, a Canadian military historian with extensive field experience in the Balkans, draws upon numerous interviews and first-hand accounts of an operation that would later serve as a model in preparing for similar efforts in Afghanistan and provide a blueprint for possible future stabilization operations around the world.
One of the enduring myths about World War Two is that the Allies alone liberated occupied Europe. However, many countries had successful anti-fascist movements, and Italy's was one of the biggest and most politically radical. Yet it remains relatively unknown outside of its own homeland. Tom Behan tells this inspiring history. Within Italy many plaques and streets commemorate the actions of the partisans - a movement from below that grew as Mussolini's dictatorship unravelled. Led by radical left forces, the Resistance trod a thin line between fighting their enemies at home and maintaining an uneasy working relationship with the Allies. Through the use of unpublished archival material and interviews with surviving partisans, this is an inspiring story of liberation.
Zombie Army tells the story of Canada’s Second World War military conscripts – reluctant soldiers pejoratively referred to as “zombies†for their perceived similarity to the mindless movie monsters of the 1930s. In the first full-length book on the subject in almost forty years, Byers combines underused and newly discovered records to argue that although conscripts were only liable for home defence, they soon became a steady source of recruits from which the army found volunteers to serve overseas. He also challenges the traditional nationalist-dominated impression that Quebec participated only grudgingly in the war.
Black Africans made up more than half of the British army that invaded Zululand in January of 1879 and went on to fight the storied battles of Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift, and Ulundi. The British force totaled some 16,800 men, at least 9,000 of whom were Africans. Of these a few, perhaps as many as 1,000, were dissident Zulus...The bulk of the large African component, however, was comprised of the Natal Native Contingent (NNC), men recruited from Africans resident in Natal. This is the force whose story Thompson told in a 1997 edition [and he] has produced a revised and expanded version that is sure to remain the definitive account of Britain's black allies in the Anglo-Zulu War. ""The literature on the Anglo-Zulu War contains very little about the NNC, for reasons that are partly political, partly cultural. During the imperial era, Europeans were not interested in diminishing their own exploits by extolling those of their native [allies]. And in the wake of empire, the African had no desire to glorify them. To many in the current generation, the NNC [were] egregiously incorrect politically and best forgotten [but] this would scant the part played in the Anglo-Zulu War by the province of Natal. In 1879, Africans made up the vast majority of the population of that province, many of whom were peoples who had been driven from Zululand as a result of Zulu expansion and therefore bitterly anti-Zulu.
Forces of the independent Zulu kingdom inflicted a crushing defeat on British imperial forces at Isandlwana in January 1879. The Zulu Army was not, however, a professional force, unlike its British counterpart, but was the mobilized manpower of the Zulu state. Ian Knight details how the Zulu army functioned and ties its role firmly to the broader context of Zulu society and culture. The Zulu army had its roots in the early groups of young men who took part in combats between tribes, but such warfare was limited to disputes over cattle ownership, grazing rights, or avenging insults. In the early nineteenth century the Zulu nation began a period of rapid expansion, and King Shaka began to reform his forces into regular military units. Ian Knight charts the development and training of the men that formed the impi which later operated so successfully under King Cetshwayo. He analysis the Zulu's fighting methods, weapons and philosophy, all of which led to the disciplined force that faced the British army in 1879.
When the first Balkan War broke out in October 1912, few Ottomans anticipated that it would prove to be a watershed moment for the Empire, ending in ignominy, national catastrophe, and the loss of its remaining provinces in the Balkans. Defeat at the hands of an alliance of Balkan powers comprising Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro set the stage for the Balkan Crisis of 1914 and would serve as a prelude to WWI. It was also a moment of deep national trauma and led to bitter soul-searching, giving rise to a so-called 'Culture of Defeat' in which condemnation and criticism flourished in a way seemingly at odds with the reformist debate which followed the Young Turk Revolution of 1908.Eyal Ginio's clear-eyed and rigorously researched book uncovers the different visual and written products of the defeat, published in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Ladino, with the aim of understanding the experience of defeat - how it was perceived, analysed and commemorated by different sectors in Ottoman society - to show that it is key to understanding the actions of the Ottoman political elite during the subsequent World War and the early decades of the Turkish Republic.
Seeking military distinction, the 22-year-old Winston S. Churchill talked his way into the Malakand Field Force as a war correspondent, reporting on the front line in a struggle against restless tribes on the Northwest Frontier. Churchill describes dramatic campaigns, his writing always rooted in the exotic and, at times, adverse environment of the area now part of Pakistan. This experience of entrenched and increasingly mechanized warfare almost certainly influenced his command during the First World War, when he was better able than most to understand the nature of military stalemate. In this, his first book, he collected his reports of the conflict, providing a fascinating look at the start of Churchill's career as both a writer and as a soldier. This book, in Italian and English, collects the papers presented at the Second International Congress on Conoscenza e valorizzazione delle opere militari moderne - Knowledge and development of modern military structures, held at the Politecnico di Milano, Campus Bovisa, on 27 and 28 November 2012. The Congress was devoted to two types of military structures made between 1919 and 1939 in Italy and in some European countries: Theatres of war and Air-raid shelters in urban areas. Papers illustrate the structural characteristics and recent experiences of reuse and exploitation, even by cultural Association. It is an important contribution to the development and dissemination of studies on European defensive systems and on air defense of the city between 1919 and 1939, a period still poorly understood with regard to the military architecture and the protection of civilians and cities by air raids. The book gathers updated data and documents in many cases unpublished.
Over 2600 years ago the Parian poet Archilochus wrote "we chased seven and killed them.. the thousand of us." In all parts of the world, and in all civilizations, the history of warfare, as well as the ironic humour of those who fight and die, can be traced back to the earliest records. But the vocabulary of modern warfare - army, military, strategy, tactics - derives from Greek and Latin, while metaphors of conflict similarly evoke ancient times. Such expressions and phrases as "Live by the sword and die by the sword", "Pyrrhic victory", and "arms and the man" are commonplace, and all come from the classical age. Wilfred Owen, famous soldier of the Great War, could write the bitter line "the old lie: Dulce et decorum est/pro patria mori" while expecting his readers to understand both Latin and allusion. Combining astute analysis of the logistics of conflict with the ethics of war, and drawing on a diverse range of cultural texts (from the Iliad to Hugo Grotius and von Clausewitz), Alfred S Bradford draws fascinating parallels between warfare and battle in ancient and modern societies. He shows that despite huge differences in weaponry and firepower, the basic principles of warfare have remained unchanged over thousands of years. War in the modern age is persistently illuminated by antiquity.
The ballistic missile threat is increasing both quantitatively and qualitatively, and is likely to continue to do so over the next decade. Current global trends indicate that ballistic missile systems are becoming more flexible, mobile, survivable, reliable, and accurate, while also increasing in range. A number of states are also working to increase the protection of their ballistic missiles from pre-launch attack and to increase their effectiveness in penetrating missile defences. Several states are also developing nuclear, chemical, and/or biological warheads for their missiles. Such capabilities could be significant sources of military advantage during a conflict. But they may be equally significant in times of relative peace, when they undergird efforts to coerce states near and far. Regional actors such as North Korea and Iran continue to develop long-range missiles that will be threatening to the United States. There is some uncertainty about when and how this type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threat to the U.S. homeland will mature, but there is no uncertainty about the existence of regional threats. They are clear and present. The threat from short- range, medium-range, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs, MRBMs, and IRBMs) in regions where the United States deploys forces and maintains security relationships is growing at a particularly rapid pace. This book provides an overview of select issues and policies of the ballistic missile defence program. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Biometric Security and Privacy…
Richard Jiang, Somaya Al-Maadeed, …
Hardcover
R5,137
Discovery Miles 51 370
Visual Analytics for Data Scientists
Natalia Andrienko, Gennady Andrienko, …
Hardcover
R2,706
Discovery Miles 27 060
Visual Analytics of Movement
Gennady Andrienko, Natalia Andrienko, …
Hardcover
Feature Learning and Understanding…
Haitao Zhao, Zhihui Lai, …
Hardcover
R3,903
Discovery Miles 39 030
Deep Learning - Research and…
Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, Vaclav Snasel, …
Hardcover
R4,094
Discovery Miles 40 940
Signal and Image Processing for…
Jacob Scharcanski, Hugo Proenca, …
Hardcover
|