Recent scholarship has challenged the assumption that military commanders during the First World War were inflexible, backward-looking and unwilling to exploit new technologies. Instead a very different picture is now emerging of armies desperately looking to a wide range of often untested and immature scientific and technological innovations to help break the deadlock of the Western Front. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the development of tank warfare, which both the British and the French hoped would give them a decisive edge in their offensives of 1917 and 1918. Whilst the British efforts to develop armoured warfare have been well chronicled, there has been no academic study in English on the French tank force - the Artillerie Speciale - during the Great War. As such, this book provides a welcome new perspective on an important but much misunderstood area of the war. Such was the scale of the French tanks' failure in their first engagement in 1917, it was rumoured that the Artillerie Speciale was in danger of being disbanded, yet, by the end of the war it was the world's largest and most technologically advanced tank force. This work examines this important facet of the French army's performance in the First World War, arguing that the AS fought the war in as intelligent and sensible a manner as was possible, given the immature state of the technology available. No amount of sound tank doctrine could compensate for the fragility of the material, for the paucity of battlefield communication equipment and for the lack of tank-infantry training opportunities. Only by 1918 was the French army equipped with enough reliable tanks, as well as aircraft and heavy-artillery, to begin to exercise a mastery of the new form of combined-arms warfare. The successful French armoured effort outlined in this study (including a listing of all the combat engagements of the French tank service in the Great War) highlights a level of military effectiveness within

Horses and mules served during the Civil War in greater numbers and suffered more casualties than the men of the Union and Confederate armies combined. Using firsthand accounts, the many uses of equines during the war, the methods by which they were obtained, their costs, their suffering on the battlefields and roads, their consumption by soldiers, and racing, mounted music and other themes are all addressed. The book is supplemented by accounts of the ""Lightning Mule Brigade,"" the ""Charge of the Mule Brigade,"" five appendices and 37 illustrations. More than 700 Civil War equines are identified and described with incidental information and identification of their masters.

The 115th New York began its military career as part of the largest surrender of U.S. troops to take place before World War II and ended its career as part of the largest successful amphibious landings of U.S. troops before World War II. In between, it travelled a fighting odyssey through the American Civil War that is unique among Union regiments. Not only did it fight mainly in theatres and battles unknown to all but the most serious Civil War student, but it endured mass arrest and banishment by its own army and a cabal of its own officers against its commander. In earning distinction as one of ""Fox's Fighting 300"" Union regiments, the 115th fought in obscure campaigns along the Southern coast, joined briefly in the famous combat between Grant and Lee in Virginia, fought alongside African American units, witnessed the liberation of thousands of slaves and captured Union soldiers, and ended up campaigning with William T. Sherman's western army. The soldiers of the 115th New York were common men from Saratoga County, the Mohawk Valley, and Adirondack Mountain areas of New York State. In telling their story, author Mark Silo utilizes the words and recollections left by sixty-seven of these men, as well as vast amounts of source material regarding the events and battles they experienced. The result, states National Park Service historian John J. Hennessy, is ""Truly exceptional... a woven story that is both excellent history and engaging narrative - an important chronicle of common men on an uncommon quest for survival and triumph.

The book traces the history of the Richardson Light Guard from its origins in 1851, through war and peace, until its end in 1975. What had been an institution of members and local elites, passed to the town, then state, and finally federal governments. During the same period, Wakefield evolved from an agrarian town, to a manufacturing town, and finally into a bedroom suburb, ending the practice of a handful of local elites controlling most town institutions. Though the rise of the National Guard was generally positive, bringing uniformity, professionalism and better equipment, for some militia companies, inclusion into the National Guard weakened vital bonds with their communities. In the 19th century, the Richardson Light Guard thrived under generous patrons, a supportive town, and a relatively wealthy state government. It was the institution through which the town went to war and memorialised war during peacetime. After becoming part of the National Guard in 1916, the deep links with its home community steadily weakened until breaking during World War II. After the war, the National Guard company had few links to the town, and was reorganised out of existence in 1975.

"Italian Resistance Writing" is a collection of famous and rare archive texts about one of the more controversial periods in modern Italian history. The extracts are from a wide variety of different genres, including novels, memoirs, short stories, historical works and songs. Taking into account the significant changes in approach to, and interpretations of, the resistance movement, that have emerged since the early 1990s, Italian resistance writing includes works by, among others, Claudio Pauone, Italo Calvino, Gian Enrico Rusconi, Renata Vigano and Pietro Scoppola. Cooke places each work in context and stresses the contemporary significance of the Italian resistance. This is a vibrant, multifaceted volume which sheds light on the past while illuminating the present in Italian history, cultural studies and current affairs.

Tracing the development of the Irish Republican Army following Ireland's Declaration of Independence, this book focuses on the recruitment, training, and arming of Ireland's military volunteers and the Army's subsequent guerrilla campaign against British rule. Beginning with a brief account of the failed Easter Rising, it continues through the resulting military and political re-organizations, the campaign's various battles, and the eventual truce agreements and signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Other topics include: the significance of Irish intelligence and the British counter-intelligence efforts; urban warfare and the fight for Dublin; and the role of female soldiers, suffragettes, and other women in waging the IRA's campaign.

Men, ideas and tanks reviews the development of British military ideas on armoured forces from 1903 to 1939. Great Britain was the nation which first developed the tank, first used it in action and first gained dramatic results by employment. The British continued to be world leaders in the field of mechanised warfare until the early 1930s. J. P. Harris offers strikingly new interpretations of the early history of British armoured forces and explains why Great Britain had lost the lead by the outbreak of the Second World War. Available in paperback once more, this work will be of interest to all those concerned with British military history in the first half of the twentieth century, with the history of mechanised warfare and with the history of military thought. -- .

An illustrated introduction to how British industries, supported by thousands of newly recruited women, strove to meet the nation's wartime need for munitions, armour, shipping, uniforms and aircraft. During the Second World War (1939-45), Britain stretched every sinew of its industrial might to fend off a Nazi invasion. As the nation stood alone against Fortress Europe, it harnessed, coordinated and maximised its resources, firstly to defend itself and then to help liberate Axis-occupied countries. Wartime Industry uses informative text and beautiful illustrations to show how the men and women of Britain met this unprecedented demand for military and home-front materials. It explores the work of Lord Beaverbrook's highly organised Ministry of Aircraft Production; the 'Shadow Factories' that enabled manufacturers such as Vauxhall and Rootes to make tanks and aircraft; the Royal Ordnance Factories that produced firearms and explosives; the 'Bevin Boys' conscripted to work in the coal mines; the Women's Timber Corps; and war workers - who, together, helped the nation to make it.

""Revolution"" is a word that causes fear in some, exhilaration in others, and confusion in most. Originally used to describe a restoration, it eventually came to mean a sweeping, sudden attack on an existing order. Human history has borne witness to a variety of national and social revolutions population revolution, revolution of ideas, technological revolution, and revolution in education. Simultaneously, there has been a proliferation of literature on revolution, armed struggle, and violence aimed at unseating policies and leadership of governments and societies.

Revolutionary struggles are more than simply armed internal conflict; they involve the essence of the political system. The desire to make such phenomena understandable often leads to oversimplification. Attempts to encompass their multi-dimensional nature, on the other hand, can become immersed in complexities, ambiguities, and misinterpretations. The perspective of this classic volume, available in paperback for the first time, is that revolution is here to stay. Guerrilla warfare, according to Sarkesian, is a particularly useful strategy for the weak, the frustrated, the alienated, and seekers of power against existing regimes. The collected works in this volume examine thei1/2social roots of revolution, development of strategy and tactics, practice in city and countryside, dilemmas of attackers and defenders. The actors and thinkers collected and analyzed here range from leading political analysts, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and officials as well as practitioners of guerrilla warfare. This core text with primary sources in the area of war, revolution, and insurgence develops an understanding of revolution, traces the growth of guerilla doctrine, and studies the specifics of revolutionary and counterrevolutionary guerilla warfare.

Noted authority Steven J. Zaloga charts the development, combat use, and influence of man-portable air defense systems, from the late 1960s to the present day. The first attempts at developing a man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) based around a guided missile began in the mid-1950s, as a response to the increased speed and maneuverability of jet aircraft. This book charts the technological evolution of the MANPADS and explores their combat usage and the lessons from these encounters. Besides detailing the missiles, it also surveys the various methods developed as countermeasures to the MANPADS threat. The first generation of MANPADS, such as the US Army's Redeye and the Soviet Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail), saw combat use in the Vietnam War in 1972 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The next generation of infrared-guided MANPADS, such as the US Stinger and Soviet Igla, came to prominence following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Since the 1970s, MANPADS have been used in innumerable wars, border conflicts, civil wars and insurrections. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen photographs, this study tells the story of these lethally effective weapons, from their origins to their use today.

Explore the Eastern Front battle that resulted in one of the greatest defeats of World War I, in which an entire Russian army was annihilated by German arms. Tannenberg is a major battle that deserves a fully illustrated treatment all of its own, and for the first time this book brings the epic Eastern Front clash to life in visual detail. No other book on this topic walks you through the action like this one, using detailed maps to provide unit locations and movements and help explain key command decisions, while period photographs and colour battlescenes put soldiering back at the core of the events by revealing the military material culture of the opposing sides. Michael McNally guides you through the initial border engagements and the battles of Gumbinnen and Stallupoenen, before moving on to explore the massive, often confused running battle of Tannenberg in easy to follow and concise detail. This work helps you understand how the Germans managed to maul Samsonov's Second Army and all but destroyed the Russians as a fighting force. The Russian war plan of using overwhelming numbers to gain a quick victory before conducting further operations would soon lie in pieces on the ground. It also assesses the contribution modern technology - such as railways, aerial reconnaissance, radio and telegraphy - made to the emphatic German victory.

In September 2014, Azad Cudi became one of seventeen snipers deployed when ISIS, trying to shatter the Kurds in a decisive battle, besieged the northern city of Kobani. In LONG SHOT, he tells the inside story of how a group of activists and idealists withstood a ferocious assault and, street by street, house by house, took back their land in a victory that was to prove the turning point in the war against ISIS. By turns devastating, inspiring and lyrical, this is a unique account of modern war and of the incalculable price of victory as a few thousand men and women achieved the impossible and kept their dream of freedom alive.

Confronting insurgent violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has recognized the need to "re-learn" counterinsurgency. But how has the Department of Defense with its mixed efforts responded to this new strategic environment? Has it learned anything from past failures?

In "The New Counterinsurgency Era," David Ucko examines DoD's institutional obstacles and initially slow response to a changing strategic reality. Ucko also suggests how the military can better prepare for the unique challenges of modern warfare, where it is charged with everything from providing security to supporting reconstruction to establishing basic governance -- all while stabilizing conquered territory and engaging with local populations. After briefly surveying the history of American counterinsurgency operations, Ucko focuses on measures the military has taken since 2001 to relearn old lessons about counterinsurgency, to improve its ability to conduct stability operations, to change the institutional bias against counterinsurgency, and to account for successes gained from the learning process.

Given the effectiveness of insurgent tactics, the frequency of operations aimed at building local capacity, and the danger of ungoverned spaces acting as havens for hostile groups, the military must acquire new skills to confront irregular threats in future wars. Ucko clearly shows that the opportunity to come to grips with counterinsurgency is matched in magnitude only by the cost of failing to do so.

When the Allied armies landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 the backbone of the armoured reaction force awaiting them was made up of 758 Pzkpfw IV tanks, a number which represents almost half the fully-tracked vehicles available for the defence of the West. The first models of these tanks had entered service in November 1937 and although replacements had been considered, the original design was continually up-gunned and up-armoured. Perhaps lacking the glamour of the Panther and Tiger, the most recent variant, the Pzkpfw IV ausf H, was at least the equal of the best British and American tanks. Drawing on official documentation and unit histories Dennis Oliver investigates the formations that operated these deservedly famous vehicles and uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the markings, camouflage and technical aspects of the Pzkpfw IV tanks that served on the Western Front during the critical summer of 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

A prevalent view among historians is that both horsed cavalry and the cavalry charge became obviously obsolete in the second half of the nineteenth century in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower, and that officers of the cavalry clung to both for reasons of prestige and stupidity. It is this view, commonly held but rarely supported by sustained research, that this book challenges. It shows that the achievements of British and Empire cavalry in the First World War, although controversial, are sufficient to contradict the argument that belief in the cavalry was evidence of military incompetence. It offers a case study of how in reality a practical military doctrine for the cavalry was developed and modified over several decades, influenced by wider defence plans and spending, by the experience of combat, by Army politics, and by the rivalries of senior officers. Debate as to how the cavalry was to adjust its tactics in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower began in the mid nineteenth century, when the increasing size of armies meant a greater need for mobile troops. The cavalry problem was how to deal with a gap in the evolution of warfare between the mass armies of the later nineteenth century and the motorised firepower of the mid twentieth century, an issue that is closely connected with the origins of the deadlock on the Western Front. Tracing this debate, this book shows how, despite serious attempts to 'learn from history', both European-style wars and colonial wars produced ambiguous or disputed evidence as to the future of cavalry, and doctrine was largely a matter of what appeared practical at the time.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) plays a key role in Israeli society, and has traditionally been perceived not only as the guardian of national survival, but also as a 'people's army' responsible for the custody of national values. This volume analyses the circumstances currently undermining these perceptions, and explores both the changes occurring in Israel's military framework, and their potential implications. The book highlights the influence exerted by massive shifts in both Israel's external strategic landscape and in the country's domestic and cultural environments, which have compelled the IDF to undertake major programmes of structural reform, technological adaptation and doctrinal revision. This book argues that these changes have lead the public to subject the armed forces and their conduct to unprecedented critical scrutiny. The way in which Israelis and their army resolve these tensions is of crucial importance not only for Israel, but for the Middle East as a whole.

During the Glorious Revolution of 1688 Huguenot soldiers were at the forefront of William of Orange's army. Their role was an important one and they are, with justification, best remembered for this act among British historians and the public alike. Yet Huguenot soldiering existed long before this event, and French Protestants and their descendants featured prominently in European armies long afterwards. This volume is the first attempt to bring together in a scholarly study essays treating the Huguenots as soldiers in Europe and globally. Their story is often fascinating and sometimes poignant as they aided international Protestantism against Catholic foes across Europe and in the New World, while remaining 'under the cross' in their homeland of France. The book is divided into three sections, the first analysing the period prior to the 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes which sealed their fate in France. Their role as mercenaries and freedom fighters receives attention, as does the complex political motivation that underscored their involvements abroad in the pre-Revocation era. Chapters examine the Huguenot rationale for foreign service and the dynamics of the Protestant international of which they were such a prominent part. Their role in European armies after that date is covered in the second section of the volume with a number of expert studies of Huguenot refugees in the armies of Britain, the Netherlands and Russia. A third section treats the Huguenot legacy, focusing on the aging generation of refugees and their descendants' contributions to the countries of their adoption. This book contains studies of the Huguenots serving in armies in various countries, and examines the lives and actions of a number of individual French refugee commanders who led armies consisting of their compatriots. By combining biographical studies of eminent figures with broader considerations of group experience, the volume presents a wide-ranging and thought provoking collection of material, making this the first study of its kind to consistently treat the military contribution made by the Huguenots to Europe at the high point of their importance as a historical group.

This book deals with two significant issues: the peculiar and paradoxical question of why regular armies, better suited to fighting conventional high-intensity wars, adopt inappropriate measures when fighting guerilla wars; and the evolution of the Indian army's counterinsurgency doctrine over the last decade. In addition, the book also includes the first detailed analysis of the trajectory of the army's counterinsurgency doctrine, arguing that while it was consolidated only over the last decade, the essential elements of the doctrine may in fact be traced back to the army's first confrontation with the Naga guerillas in the 1950s. It outlines the three essential elements that make up the Indian army's counterinsurgency doctrine: that there are no military solutions to an insurgency; that military force can only help to reduce levels of violence to enable political solutions; and that there should be limited use of military force. Rajagopalan argues that international circumstances - particularly the need to counter conventional military threats from Pakistan and China - led to a counterinsurgency doctrine that had a strong conventional war bias. This bias also conditioned the organisational culture of the Indian army.

This work details the state of British counterinsurgency knowledge by 1945, and shows how wartime special forces and unconventional warfare affected many postwar counterinsurgencies. The vital role of the Special Air Service (SAS) is revealed here for the first time.

The battle of Kursk, fought in the summer of 1943, involved six thousand German and Soviet armored vehicles, making it the biggest tank battle of all time and possibly the largest battle of any kind. Students of military history have long recognized the importance of Kursk, also known as "Operation Citadel," and there have been several serious studies of the battle. Yet, the German view of the battle has been largely ignored.After the war, U.S. Army Intelligence officers gathered German commanders' post-war reports of the battle. Due, in part, to poor translations done after the war, these important documents have been overlooked by World War II historians. Steven H. Newton has collected, translated, and edited these accounts, including reports made by the Chiefs of Staff of Army Group South and the Fourth Panzer Army, and by the Army Group Center Operations Officer. As a result, a new and unprecedented picture of German strategy and operations is made available. The translated staff reports are supplemented by Newton's commentary and original research, which challenges a number of widely accepted ideas about this pivotal battle.

This collection of essays examines the evolution of the British Army during the century-long Pax Britannica, from the time Wellington considered its soldiers 'the scum of the earth' to the height of the imperial epoch, when they were highly-respected 'soldiers of the Queen'. The British Army during this period was a microcosm and reflection of the larger British society. As a result, this study of the British Army focuses on its character and composition, its officers and men, efforts to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and its role and performance on active service while an instrument of British Government policy.

Between the reigns of Augustus and Septimius Severus, the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire frequently saw brutal fighting, most notably during the conquest of Dacia by Trajan, the suppression of the Great Revolt in Judea and intermittent clashes with Rome's great rival Parthia. In these wars, Roman soldiers had to fight in a range of different climates and terrains, from the deserts of the Middle East to the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. Using full-colour artwork, this book examines the variation of equipment and uniforms both between different military units, and in armies stationed in different regions of the Empire. Using evidence drawn from recent archaeological finds, it paints a vivid portrait of Roman army units in the Eastern provinces in the first two centuries of the Imperial period.

The book deals with the future of land warfare on the Indian subcontinent. To predict the future is extremely difficult particularly in the field of Warfare. This is due to the fact that wars are impacted by doctrine, technology and people. Also, the introduction of nuclear weapons has made war less frequent and reduced the duration. There are trends which keep changing with the passage of time. Conflicts in the 21st century are short and swift with a combination of effects. Further aspirations of leaders often point towards different military objectives. In such a scenario we could plan at best for a decade and maybe visualise for about 15 years. By and large wars of the future will be conventional, hybrid and would be interstate or with non-state actors. The causes could be territorial or related to historical differences, ideological biases, economic disparity, security and water distribution. Further issues could exacerbate due to impact of climate change, higher rate of population growth of minorities and sectarian or ethnic extremism. The future wars are likely to follow three types. It could be overt, covert and finally outsourced. The future battle space as visualised in the next 15 years would have characteristics which would make it non linear in time and space. Unlike wars of the past they would be swift and would be based on speed. Targets would need to be precisely engaged to avoid collateral damage. Operations would demand jointness between the three services. Further they would be continuous with no pauses. They could be termed as 24x7 operations. In these operations connectivity would play an important part and communications would be available to soldiers, commanders and autonomous weapon systems and vehicles. There would be a need for synergy between air, sea, and outer space while undertaking land warfare. Perception management becomes extremely important as this alone would lead to an effective reorganisation of people. Finally technology would play an important role particularly, the application of artificial intelligence.

Adolf Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army in August 1914 as a war volunteer. Fanatically devoted to the German cause between 1914 and 1918 Hitler served with distinction and sometimes reckless bravery, winning both classes of Iron Cross. Using memoirs, military records, regimental, divisional and official war histories as well as (wherever possible) Hitler's own words, this book seeks to reconstruct a period in his life that has been neglected in the literature. It is also the story of a German regiment (16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry, or List Regiment), which fought in all the main battles on the Western Front. As a frontline soldier Hitler began his 'study' of the black art of propaganda; and, as he himself maintained, the List Regiment provided him with his 'university of life'.
This is not only an account of the fighting, however. Some of the most profound influences on Hitler occurred on home leave or as a result of official wartime propaganda, which he devoured uncritically. His conversion from passive pathological anti-Semitism began while invalided in Germany in 1916-17. The language of anti-Bolshevik 'Jewish virus' propaganda became Hitler's language, confirmed, as he saw it, by the 'infected' recruits to the List Regiment in 1918.
Hitler is here presented less as the product of high-cultural forces than as an avid reader and gullible consumer of state propaganda, which fed his prejudices. He was a 'good soldier' but also a 'true believer' in fact and practice. It is no exaggeration to say that every military decision made by Hitler between 1939 and 1945 was in some way influenced or colored by his experiences with the List Regiment between 1914 and 1918.