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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Military life & institutions
Few brigades of the Civil War can boast of a record as distinguished as that of New York's 69th, yet it has never fully received the attention warranted by its record of military excellence, distinctive reputation, and the unusual perspective its members brought to the Civil War. In fact, the 69th was engaged in nearly every major action of the eastern theater; its military reputation was well deserved and its combat casualties, which are some of the highest of the war, are testimony to the soldiers' collective bravery and patriotism. In his post as war correspondent for the New York Herald, Capt. David Power Conygham was required to be an eyewitness to the many battles on which he reported - some of the experiences he would later describe when writing the history of the Irish Brigade. Conygham's account of the Irish Brigade is one of the best - filled with vivid accounts of battle, wit and humor, and an appendix of scrupulously gathered biographical data on the men who served the unit.
At the Forward Edge of Battle is the first ever illustrated history of the Pakistan Armoured Corps. The Pakistan Armoured Corps is based on a unique blend of values and traditions inherited from its predecessors, and those of the post-Independence national army. The origins of this force can be traced back to the time when the cavalry units of the British India Army were mechanized, in the late 1930s. They were worked up and then deployed extensively during the Second World War, and further moulded during the post-independence period and two wars with India between 1948-1971. By the 1990s, the Pakistan Armoured Corps had evolved into a modern fighting force in thought, organization, and equipment. Based on decades of the author's first-hand experience, extensive research with the help of authentic sources and official documentation, this book provides a detailed and richly illustrated description of the build-up and expansion of the Pakistan Armoured Corps, its culture, organisation, doctrine, equipment, bases, a myriad of events and personalities, and combat operations that shaped it over the last 95 years. At the Forward Edge of Battle, Volume 2, is illustrated with over 100 rare and authentic photographs, 15 colour profiles, and a similar number of maps.
Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks was a legend in his lifetime. He leapt to fame as a Brigade, Divisional and Corps Commander during the Second World War where his dashing style, good luck and easy manner won him huge respect and great success. He was happiest in the frontline and yet his victories in the field were hard won, be they in North Africa or NW Europe. By 1944 he was commanding 200,000 men of all Allied nations who did not agree on much else but all thought highly of him. His attributes brought him success in industry, as a TV presenter and as Black Rod, in the Houses of Parliament.
When John Burdick received his orders to ship to Vietnam in 1967, he was certain his life was over. His goal was to return to the United States alive and on his feet no matter what it took. He had been recruited by the military to become an intelligence agent, and for a college graduate student from California, it sounded intriguing. But serving in Vietnam would require all of his skills to stay alive. Dressed as a civilian and with little formal training, Burdick learned quickly and executed missions effectively. He fulfilled several purposes in Vietnam-from infiltrating the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army command infrastructure to searching for American prisoners of war. The war hit hard. The deaths of all the young men haunted him. He could trust no one, including the military establishment who tried to squash each success the intelligence personnel achieved. In A Sphinx, author John Burdick recounts a powerful and emotional narrative following his duty in the Vietnam War in the 1960s. It uncovers behind-the-scenes footage of a military intelligence agent and his quest to help more American soldiers come home alive.
This book is the culmination of many years' work from two authors who have "lived and breathed" the subject for the past forty years: one, a military antiques dealer of international standing; the other, an extremely knowledgeable collector of German World War I uniforms and equipment. Using mostly never before published period photographs as well as a wealth of highly detailed color studio photos of tunics drawn from one of the world's greatest private collections, it is an absolute must for any collector of World War I uniforms. Indeed, for any collector of German World War I memorabilia, laying out as it does in a very clear and precise way, all the variations of tunic, their origins and usage. This reader-friendly book will help guide the novice and experienced collector alike through the often difficult and confusing information on the subject.
The 'Pals' battalions were a phenomenon of the Great War, never repeated since. Under Lord Derby's scheme, and in response to Kitchener's famous call for a million volunteers, local communities raised (and initially often paid for) entire battalions for service on the Western Front. Their experience was all too frequently tragic, as men who had known each other all their lives, had worked, volunteered, and trained together, and had shipped to France together, encountered the first full fury of modern battle on the Somme in July 1916. Many of the Pals battalions would not long survive that first brutal baptism, but their spirit and fighting qualities have gone down into history - these were, truly, the cream of Britain's young men, and every single one of them was a volunteer.
Strategic Defense Initiative examines developments in the technologies currently being researched under SDI. The OTA does not repeat the work of its earlier reports but gives special attention to filling in gaps in those reports and to describing technical progress made in the intervening period. The report also presents information on the prospects for functional survival against preemptive attack of alternative ballistic missile defense system architectures now being considered under the SDI. Finally, it analyzes the feasibility of developing reliable software to perform the battle management tasks required by such system architectures. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
From the beginning in 1935 this attractive book describes the different elements that went into the Panzer-Divisions. It describes how the Germans carefully built up their assault forces utilizing all available reserves and resources into making an effective fighting machine. It depicts how these awesome formations grew to be used four years later in war, and provides much historical information and facts about the vehicles and its components that fought in all the campaigns of the war from the early victorious Blitzkrieg in Poland and France to the last ditch defense in Germany in 1945. Each chapter features unseen photographs of light tanks, main battle tanks, assault guns, anti-tank destroyers, artillery, reconnaissance units, support vehicles, pioneers with their bridge building platforms and the motorized infantry or Panzergrenadiers. This book is a visual treat for the military enthusiast and collector and a worthy addition to the Images of War series.
"A visceral account of the war . . . honest, agenda-free, and
chilling." -"New York"" Times Book Review"
Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia became the new face of the anti-war movement in 2004 when he applied for discharge from the army as a conscientious objector. Now released after serving nearly nine months in prison, Mejia tells his own story in his own words. Most powerful are his firsthand experiences of prison abuse, senseless patrols inviting insurgent attacks, discord among demoralised comrades and the constant brutalisation of Iraqis by paranoid, trigger-happy GIs.' - Publisher's Weekly'
"As I am ingaged in this glories Cause I am will to go whare I am Called"-so Joseph Hodgkins, a shoemaker of Ipswich, Massachusetts, declared to his wife the purpose that sustained him through four crucial years of the American Revolution. Hodgkins and his fellow townsman Nathaniel Wade, a carpenter, turned out for the Lexington alarm, fought at Bunker Hill, retreated from Long Island past White Plains, attacked at Trenton and Princeton, and enjoyed triumph at Saratoga. One of them wintered at Valley Forge, and the other was promoted to command at West Point on the night that Benedict Arnold was revealed as a traitor. On countless nights of his long march Hodgkins wrote to his wife of his adventures, his fears and hopes; and she replied with homely details of family life in a wartime New England village. The letters that survive from the exchange, printed here as an appendix to the text, are a principal source for this intimate history of two company officers in Washington's army. This Glorious Cause is a heartwarming and stirring book, illuminating a significant part of our national experience and adding to our knowledge of why thousands of unknown patriots fought, how they fought, and what it meant to fight. Originally published in 1958. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Salford was late in recruiting for its Pals battalions, with many of its men already joining Territorial units and a new Pals battalion in Manchester. Yet within a year it had raised four Pals battalions and a reserve battalion. Raised mainly from Lancashire's most notorious slums, the men trained together in Wales, North East England and on Salisbury Plain, they had great expectations of success. On the 1st of July 1916 the Somme offensive was launched and in the very epicentre of that cauldron the first three of Salford's battalions were thrown at the massive defences of Thiepval - the men were decimated, Salford was shattered. Michael Stedman records the impact of the war from the start on Salford and follows the difficulties and triumphs. Whether the actions small or great the author writes graphically about them all. Unusual photographs and a variety of sources make this both a readable and a scholarly account.
The extraordinary story of British junior officers in the First World War, who led their men out of the trenches and faced a life expectancy of six weeks. During the Great War, many boys went straight from the classroom to the most dangerous job in the world - that of junior officer on the Western Front. Although desperately aware of how many of their predecessors had fallen before them, nearly all stepped forward, unflinchingly, to do their duty. The average life expectancy of a subaltern in the trenches was a mere six weeks. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the forgotten men who truly won Britain's victory in the First World War - the subalterns, lieutenants and captains of the Army, the leaders in the trenches, the first 'over the top', the last to retreat. Basing his narrative on a huge range of first-person accounts, including the poignant letters and diaries sent home or to their old schools, the author reveals what motivated these boy-men to act in such an extraordinary, heroic way. He describes their brief, brilliant lives in and out of the trenches, the tireless ways they cared for their men, and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their values and codes were quite literally being shot to pieces.
When Britain was compelled to introduce conscription in 1916, the question arose of what to do with its 'friendly aliens'its 30,000 Russian-Jewish refugees of military age. The Tsar didn't want them back to serve in his army, and they had no desire to help his war effort. But when sections of the British press commented that as asylum seekers they should show gratitude and join up, a campaign with strong anti-Semitic overtones took off and became Parliamentary business. Then the Tsar was overthrown, and by the summer of 1917 the question was settled with the new regime: Russian Jews of military age had to choose either to join the British Army or to return to Russia to serve there. MI5 and Special Branch kept watch on the Communist Club in the West End, where Russian revolutionaries agitated tailors, cobblers and cabinet-makers who agonised over what to do. Many ended up in the British Army or were exempted for war work, but nearly 4,000 chose to go back to Russiafor a variety of rea
This book surveys the medals awarded to British personnel for military service around the world and in two world wars. The campaign medals awarded for the military actions have become a popular field for collectors, since the majority of British awards were officially named, thus making it possible to research the military career of an individual or regiment. This second edition has been extended to include the operations of the British forces in the opening years of the twenty-first century.
Faith in the Fight tells a story of religion, soldiering, suffering, and death in the Great War. Recovering the thoughts and experiences of American troops, nurses, and aid workers through their letters, diaries, and memoirs, Jonathan Ebel describes how religion--primarily Christianity--encouraged these young men and women to fight and die, sustained them through war's chaos, and shaped their responses to the war's aftermath. The book reveals the surprising frequency with which Americans who fought viewed the war as a religious challenge that could lead to individual and national redemption. Believing in a "Christianity of the sword," these Americans responded to the war by reasserting their religious faith and proclaiming America God-chosen and righteous in its mission. And while the war sometimes challenged these beliefs, it did not fundamentally alter them. Revising the conventional view that the war was universally disillusioning, Faith in the Fight argues that the war in fact strengthened the religious beliefs of the Americans who fought, and that it helped spark a religiously charged revival of many prewar orthodoxies during a postwar period marked by race riots, labor wars, communist witch hunts, and gender struggles. For many Americans, Ebel argues, the postwar period was actually one of "reillusionment." Demonstrating the deep connections between Christianity and Americans' experience of the First World War, Faith in the Fight encourages us to examine the religious dimensions of America's wars, past and present, and to work toward a deeper understanding of religion and violence in American history.
War and Enlightenment in Russia explores how members of the military during the reign of Catherine II reconciled Enlightenment ideas about the equality and moral worth of all humans with the Russian reality based on serfdom, a world governed by autocracy, absolute respect for authority, and subordination to seniority. While there is a sizable literature about the impact of the Enlightenment on government, economy, manners, and literature in Russia, no analytical framework that outlines its impact on the military exists. Eugene Miakinkov's research addresses this gap and challenges the assumption that the military was an unadaptable and vertical institution. Using archival sources, military manuals, essays, memoirs, and letters, the author demonstrates how the Russian militaires philosophes operationalized the Enlightenment by turning thought into reality.
Over the years since 1980 when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, much has been written and recorded about the various regiments that served the country of Rhodesia from the early pioneers in the 1890s, right through to the day that these fine units marched off their respective parade grounds for the last time and into the august annals of history. Much of this service for the older regiments, such as the Rhodesia Regiment, the British South Africa police, the Rhodesia Native Regiment and the Rhodesian African Rifes, was as a contribution to the British Empires war efforts during the South African War, both World Wars, and other regional conflicts of the 1950s and 1960s. This Book of remembrance has been specifically compiled as a lasting tribute to the men of the Rhodesia Native Regiment (RNR) and its successor the Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) who, during the proud and honourable life of these units, made the ultimate sacrifice. It is not a definitive history of these regiments, as this has been admirably done in books such as Masodja and Ragtime soldiers. Accordingly, the book briefly looks at the history of each of the regiments and their battalions, with pictorial depictions of uniforms, badges, theatres of operation and colours. Chapters are also dedicated to those who received honours and awards for bravery and dedication to duty, with citations where it has been possible to source. Nominal rolls, some incomplete, of commanding officers, officers and senior non-commissioned officers add to the overall remembrance theme of the book. The main content is the various Rolls of Honour, covering all the major conflicts and areas of operation in which the two units saw active service.
Could the event that triggered the 'war to end all wars' have been prevented? The shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and directly led to the outbreak of the First World War is known as the 'shot heard around the world'. Far less widely known is the fact that the Archduke owned, but on that fateful day did not wear, a bulletproof vest manufactured by Polish priest-turned-inventor Casimir Zeglen. Using a reconstructed bulletproof vest and a Royal Armouries Browning Model 1910 pistol identical to that used by the Archduke's assassin, Lisa Traynor highlights the risks associated with power and status in the early 20th century. Assessing the design and composition of Zeglen's armours, she charts the technological development of pistols used during this period's assassination plots. Testing her findings on a replica of the Archduke's bulletproof vest, Traynor poses the haunting question: had Franz Ferdinand been wearing body armour on the day of his assassination, would it have saved his life? Featured in the BBC TV series Sword, Musket and Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History, this fascinating book breaks new ground in our understanding of the outbreak of the First World War.
Recruiting and career retention remain valid and important concerns of the US Congress and the Executive Branch in a world where the US has become involved in many military engagements in recent years with more apparently on the horizon. This book deals with the questions of pay levels, health care, retirement benefits and other aspects of the military experience. These issues take on even more significance with a military which has been downsized in numbers and upsized in electronic technology. Contents: Preface, Military Pay and Benefits; Military Health Care; Military Medical Care Services; Veterans' Pensions: Fact Sheet; Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues; Military Technicians: The Issue of Mandatory Retirement for Non-Dual-Status Technicians. Subject Index.
An accessibly written and superbly illustrated introduction to armor used for battle, tournament, and ceremony This engaging book offers an introduction to and overview of armor in Europe from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, focusing in particular on the 16th century when plate armor reached its peak of stylistic beauty and functional perfection. Created by highly skilled armorers, often in cooperation with noted artists and commissioned by wealthy patrons, armor was worn for centuries on the battlefield, in festive tournaments, and for ceremonial events. Through informative discussions of representative works from the Metropolitan Museum's world-renowned collection, this new addition to the popular How to Read series shows what to look for when examining armor, the pieces that make up a typical suit of armor, how the parts work, the various methods used to decorate armor, and how armor became an important part of so many museum collections today. The book features a wealth of new photography of historically important armor and other works of art from the Metropolitan Museum and select pieces from other institutions. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Addressing all those interested in the history of American science and concerned with its future, a leading scholar of public policy explains how and why the Office of Naval Research became the first federal agency to support a wide range of scientific work in universities. Harvey Sapolsky shows that the ONR functioned as a "surrogate national science foundation" between 1946 and 1950 and argues that its activities emerged not from any particularly enlightened position but largely from a bureaucratic accident. Once involved with basic research, however, the ONR challenged a Navy skeptical of the value of independent scientific advice and established a national security rationale that gave American science its Golden Age. Eventually, the ONR's autonomy was worn away in bureaucratic struggles, but Sapolsky demonstrates that its experience holds lessons for those who are committed to the effective management of science and interested in the ability of scientists to choose the directions for their research. As military support for basic research fades, scientists are discovering that they are unprotected from the vagaries of distributive politics. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Revised and updated, this is the essential guide for servicemembers' wives and families. * Covers all aspects, from marriage and living on base to moving and deployments * Includes sections on benefits, resources, and sound advice for a quality life in the service * Tips on how to survive and prosper, including coping with periodic separations, managing a separate career, pursuing further education, handling finances, living overseas, raising a family, and enjoying the social aspects of military life
David Kenyon Webster’s memoir is a clear-eyed, emotionally charged chronicle of youth, camaraderie, and the chaos of war. Relying on his own letters home and recollections he penned just after his discharge, Webster gives a first hand account of life in E Company, 101st Airborne Division, crafting a memoir that resonates with the immediacy of a gripping novel. |
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