What was it like to be a soldier on a Napoleonic battlefield? What happened when cavalry regiments charged directly at one another? What did the generals do during battle? Drawing on memoirs, diaries, and letters of the time, this dramatic book explores what actually happened in battle and how the participants' feelings and reactions influenced the outcome. Rory Muir focuses on the dynamics of combat in the age of Napoleon, enhancing his analysis with vivid accounts of those who were there-the frightened foot soldier, the general in command, the young cavalry officer whose boils made it impossible to ride, and the smartly dressed aide-de-camp, tripped up by his voluminous pantaloons. This book sheds new light on how military tactics worked by concentrating on the experience of soldiers in the firing line. Muir considers the interaction of artillery, infantry, and cavalry; the role of the general, subordinate commanders, staff officers, and aides; morale, esprit de corps, and the role of regimental officers; soldiers' attitudes toward death and feelings about the enemy; the plight of the wounded; the difficulty of surrendering; and the way victories were finally decided. He discusses the mechanics of musketry, artillery, and cavalry charges and shows how they influenced the morale, discipline, and resolution of the opposing armies. This is a volume that will fascinate all readers with an interest in military history, European history, or the psychology of combat.

Eamonn Ceannt was executed at Kilmainham Gaol on 8 May 1916, along with Con Colbert, Sean Heuston and Michael Mallin, for their part in the Easter Rising. Ceannt was one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic read by Patrick Pearse outside the GPO on that Easter Monday. He had led the rebel occupation of the South Dublin Union, and despite having been vastly outnumbered his volunteers were not overpowered but ordered to surrender by Pearse. Eamonn Ceannt, together with Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett, was instrumental in planning the rebellion. He had joined the Gaelic League in 1899, where he met Pearse and Eoin MacNeill. He became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1912 and became a founding member of the Irish Volunteeers the following year. This is the only biography of this brilliant military tactician and key player in the story of 1916.

Through colourful illustrations and accounts of actual sieges in every chapter, you'll discover how armies from medieval times up to the English Civil War attacked and besieged British castles and how changing weaponry shaped the defences we see the remains of today. As castle design developed, attackers had to change their tactics and introduce new siege methods to bring the walls down. The weapons, siege engines and mining techniques used are described in detail here, alongside diagrams showing how they worked and details of the defensive structures erected to counter them.

The post-9/11 world has witnessed a rebirth of irregular and asymmetrical warfare, which, in turn, has led to an increase in conflicts between conventional armies and non-state armed groups. In their haste to respond to the threat from insurgencies, nations often fail to plan effectively not only for combat operations but also for withdrawal, which is inevitable, win or lose. In order to answer the question of how to withdraw from engagement with an insurgency, Gleis examines how insurgencies are conducted and what, if anything, is unique about an Islamist insurgency. He then proposes ways to combat these groups successfully and to disentangle one’s military forces from the war once strategic objectives have been met—or once it is clear that they cannot be. Because this type of warfare is dynamic and ever-changing, this book is not meant to suggest a set of cookie-cutter solutions for how to withdraw from insurgencies. Rather, the author analyzes six counterinsurgency operations that have taken place in the past, with the intention of gleaning from them as many lessons as possible to better prepare for future withdrawals.The literature on how wars end has failed to explore irregular warfare.This much needed reexamination serves as an indispensable starting point.

This is the story of the two divisions: the American 29th and the British 3rd. After describing the agonies suffered by the Americans on Omaha, and the difficulties that faces the British in overcoming strongpoints at Sword Beach on D-Day, the author traces both divisions as they try to break through the German defences.It was to take the GI's nearly six weeks to reach their objective, whilst the Tommies were forced into a concurrent holding operation redolent of the trench warfare experience of World War One. The main part of Caen, the central communication point and respective objective was eventually captured on the 9th July, but by this point, the two Allied divisions had suffered more than 10,000 casulaties, and several thousands of French civilians had been killed.Michael Reynolds has written extensively on the Second World War and has had a profound military career.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1927. Contents Include Foreword Diary-July 11, 1871, to July 17, 1871 Preface Text Appendix Index "The Daily Impressions Received during the Campaign of 1870, 1871 and only Cursorily Jotted down in my Diary under Stress of Military Duties I have Supplemented and Completed since my Subsequent return Home by Extracts from the Correspondence Regularly Maintained between my Wife and Myself. On Principle, however, I was Firmly Resolved to Set down only my Actual, Personal Experiences and Feelings from Day to Day Consequently no Improvement or Alteration has been made under the Influence of Later Events. Thus my Diary is a Contribution to the History of that Great and Memorable War, Containing also much Information, Hardly to be found elsewhere, Throwing Light on the Events of which the outside World takes a View Differing Widely from the Reality. Similarly, the Character of Prominent Personages will often wear another aspect than that in which the Present Age and History represent it. But Revelations of this kind are not for Contemporaries to know I therefore direct that no one else but my Wife and my Grown-up Children is to examine my Diary till the year 1922 is ended. After that there is nothing to Hinder it's Publication." Illustrated with photographs. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

After the Surge: The Case for U.S. Military Disengagement from Iraq is premised on the judgment that the United States is not succeeding in Iraq and that Iraq itself is more divided and violent than ever. It concludes that the administration's decision to increase U.S. force levels will fail to prevent further deterioration in the situationand that there is no alternative policy with the potential to turn things around.

The last days of World War Two in Europe is on one level the story of great statesmen and supreme commanders vying for power and fighting for what each felt was the correct resolution. Whiting sets the final stage of the war against the background of the struggle between Churchill and Truman, and between Marshall and Eisenhower. But while statesmen exchanged telegrams, others kept up the exchange of fire. Mr Whiting vividly portrays the final collapse of the German army, which had fallen into the hands of the aged and the very young, their manic dread of the Russians, and the dissolution of the German High Command. 'Hitler's Defeat' is high drama, but also gives the reader an understanding of the Grand Strategy which led to the reshaping of Europe in 1945. CHARLES WHITING, the author, is Britain's most prolific military writer with over 250 books to his credit. He saw active service in the Second World War, serving in an armoured reconnaissance regiment attached to both the US and British Armies. He is therefore able to write with the insight and authority of someone who, as a combat soldier, actually experienced the horrors of World War II.

In "Preemption" one of our nation s foremost legal scholars puts forward a controversial new theory on crime and punishment in the postmodern world. Using the American government s 2003 invasion of Iraq as a starting point, Alan M. Dershowitz tracks our society s increasing reliance on preemptive action. In "Preemption," which Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals calls lucid, sober, courageous, and historically informed, Dershowitz has brought together all of his diverse and considerable talents and experiences to confront the idea of preemptive action as it applies to some of our most urgent political and moral dilemmas."

"In 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait using several specific strategies. Schwarzkopf established a temporary supply base in the Saudi Arabian desert to form a base of operations for the U.S. Seventh Corps and then used Marine and Arab coalition allies in a pinning operation against Iraqi troops in Kuwait while the Seventh Corps made a turning movement into the Iraqi rear. Having captured its limited, geographic objective, the coalition called a halt to the war. Schwarzkopf's strategies came straight from Antoine-Henri Jomini's The Art of War, which is the foundation of professional military education in the Western world." - from the new introduction....Antoine Henri de Jomini's The Art of War is considered by many to be the definitive work on military strategy and tactics. His impact on professional military thinking, doctrine and vocabulary is unparalleled by any other military theoretician. Though authors like Clausewitz may be better known to some, few can match the breadth of practical advice offered by the man who served both Napoleon and the Russian Tsar....This edition faithfully reproduces Jomini's seminal work, beautifully reformatted and typeset and includes a new introduction and brief chapter by chapter commentary.

In recent years, the nature of conflict has changed. Through asymmetric warfare radical groups and weak state actors are using unexpected means to deal stunning blows to more powerful opponents in the West. From terrorism to information warfare, the Wests air power, sea power and land power are open to attack from clever, but much weaker, enemies.

In this clear and engaging introduction, Rod Thornton unpacks the meaning and significance of asymmetric warfare, in both civilian and military realms, and examines why it has become such an important subject for study. He seeks to provide answers to key questions, such as how weaker opponents apply asymmetric techniques against the Western world, and shows how the Wests military superiority can be seriously undermined by asymmetric threats. The book concludes by looking at the ways in which the US, the state most vulnerable to asymmetric attack, is attempting to cope with some new battlefield realities.

This is an indispensable guide to one of the key topics in security studies today.

There are numerous "order of battle" books on the market. So what makes this series so special? Why should one decide on this particular book? For one thing, most orders of battle usually deal with only the armies of the country/countries; and then only at the division and corps level. Most higher echelons of commands are not covered. This book deals with all the branches of a country's military, giving a breakdown of all the major echelons of command, from theatre down to division. Under each major component, in the book (army group, armies, corps and divisions), the equivalent commands of the other military branches of the country's armed forces are included.
Second, it attempts to give an overall command structure of the country's military showing the central headquarters command structure. The command structure for military theatres, army groups, naval commands, armies, fleets, corps and/or equivalent command is also listed.
Third, most order of battle list the commanders and their dates of tenure. This one includes those, but, also lists their next duty assignment, where they went after leaving this post. One can literally trace a general officer's career through the upper echelons of command with this book. This makes it completely different from all other books on the market.
Fourth, this book lists all the major warships of the country's navy. each major warship of carrier, battleship and cruiser is listed plus a list of the ship's commanders.
Fifth, military unit and/or ship insignia, crest, emblem, or patch is pictured next to the unit/ship, whenever it was found.
This is the second book in a series that I plan to write covering all the nations who wereinvolved in this world conflict.

What is Israel hoping to achieve with its recent pull-out from Gaza? Journalist Jonathan Cook, who spent five years reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, presents a lucid account of the motivations and implications behind the Gaza withdrawal and the building of Israel's 700km fence-cum-wall around the West Bank. At the heart of the issue, he argues, is demography. The wars of 1948 and 1967 brought hundreds of thousands of Palestinians under Israeli rule. The biggest obstacle to a two-state solution comes not from Palestinians living under occupation, but from Israel's own Palestinian citizens - one in five of the population. Since the outbreak of the Second Intifada, they have been campaigning for democratic reforms to transform Israel from a Jewish state into a state of all its citizens. predicament over the course of the Intifada: its lethal military repression of Palestinian dissent on both sides; its claims that Palestinian citizens and the Palestinian Authority have been secretly conspiring to subvert the Jewish state from within; its banning of marriages between Palestinian citizens and Palestinians living under occupation to prevent a right of return through the back door; its plans to redraw the Green Line to exclude the heartlands of its Palestinian citizens from Israel; and the nascent alliance between Israel's secular leadership and its zealous settlers against the country's Palestinian minority. The path of unilateral separation will lead to more and greater abuses of the rights of Israel's Palestinian citizens. And ultimately, argues the author, it will lead to a third, far deadlier Intifada.

My Way of strategy is the sure method to win when fighting for your life one man against five or ten. There is nothing wrong with the principle "one man can beat ten, so a thousand men can beat ten thousand." You must research this. Of course you cannot assemble a thousand or ten thousand men for everyday training. But you can become a master of strategy by training alone with a sword, so that you can understand the enemy's stratagems, his strength and resources, and come to appreciate how to apply strategy to beat ten thousand enemies.

In this concise and penetrating study, Roger Barnett illuminates the effect of operational, organisational, legal, and moral constraints on the ability of the U.S. to use military force. As the tragic events of September 11 demonstrated, potential adversaries can take advantage of these limitations, thus spawning "asymmetrical warfare." Barnett defines asymmetrical warfare as not simply a case of pitting one's strength against another's weakness but rather of taking the calculated risk to exploit an adversary's inability or unwillingness to prevent, or defend against, certain actions. For instance, launching chemical, biological, or suicide attacks; taking indiscriminate actions against critical infrastructure; using hostages or human shields; deliberately destroying the environment; and targeting non-combatants all constitute possible asymmetrical warfare scenarios. Against these acts, the U.S. has not prepared any response in kind. Indeed it either cannot or will not undertake such responses, thus making these attacks especially difficult to counter. This refusal to retaliate in an "eye for an eye" fashion complicates the dilemma of American policy makers who seek to wield power and influence on the world stage while simultaneously projecting a peaceful and benign image. Barnett concludes that the U.S. must create a formal system of selectively eliminating the constraints that dictate their response to certain situations or scenarios. Failure to make such changes will only increase paralysis and, when the use of force is required, contribute to the already heightened risks.

The Allied victory at Omaha Beach was a costly one. A direct infantry assault against a defense that was years in the making, undertaken in daylight following a mere thirty-minute bombardment, the attack had neither the advantage of tactical surprise nor that of overwhelming firepower. American forces were forced to improvise under enemy fire, and although they were ultimately victorious, they suffered devastating casualties. Why did the Allies embark on an attack with so many disadvantages? Making extensive use of primary sources, Adrian Lewis traces the development of the doctrine behind the plan for the invasion of Normandy to explain why the battles for the beaches were fought as they were. Although blame for the Omaha Beach disaster has traditionally been placed on tactical leaders at the battle site, Lewis argues that the real responsibility lay at the higher levels of operations and strategy planning. Ignoring lessons learned in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters, British and American military leaders employed a hybrid doctrine of amphibious warfare at Normandy, one that failed to maximize the advantages of either British or U.S. doctrine. Had Allied forces at the other landing sites faced German forces of the quality and quantity of those at Omaha Beach, Lewis says, they too would have suffered heavy casualties and faced the prospect of defeat. |A soldier-scholar reveals the flaws in the Allied invasion at Omaha Beach. Reanalyzing military records and battle plans, Adrian Lewis traces the evolution of combined operations (more than one nation) and joint operations (more than one service) to explain how the plan for swift victory at Omaha Beach went terribly wrong and turned into the bloodiest of the Allied invasions.

In Waging Modern War , General Wesley K. Clark recounts his experience leading NATO's forces to a hard-fought and ultimately successful victory in Kosovo in 1999. As the American military machine has swung into action in the months following the attacks on the World Trade centre and the Pentagon, it has become clear that the lessons of Kosovo are directly applicable to the war against terrorism and the nations that sponsor it. The problems posed, and overcome, in the war in Kosovo-how to fight an air war against unconventional forces in rough terrain and how to coordinate U.S. objectives with those of other nations-are the problems that America increasingly faces in the today's world. As the Los Angeles Times noted in late September of 2001, this book's "lessons are highly relevant now, . We need to think about exactly what steps will lessen, rather than increase, the terrorist threat. And we also need innovative commanders willing to improvise to meet a new kind of threat, more determined political leadership, a more flexible outlook in the Pentagon, . Gen. Clark has performed another service by highlighting these problems at a crucial moment in American history." Waging Modern War is history, memoir, guidebook, and forecast, essential reading for those who want to know how modern war is fought, and won.

"An astute military historian's appraisal of what separates the sheep from the wolves in the great game of war."—Kirkus Reviews

If a key to military victory is to "get there first with the most," the true test of the great general is to decide where "there" is—the enemy's Achilles heel. Here is a narrative account of decisive engagements that succeeded by brilliant strategy more than by direct force. The reader accompanies those who fought, from Roman legionaries and Mongol horsemen to Napoleonic soldiery, American Civil War Rebels and Yankees, World War I Tommies, Lawrence of Arabia's bedouins, Chinese revolutionaries, British Desert Rats, Rommel's Afrika Korps, and Douglas MacArthur's Inchon invaders.

However varied their weapons, the soldiers of all these eras followed a commander who faced the same obstacles and demonstrated the strategic and tactical genius essential for victory. "All warfare is based on deception," wrote Sun Tzu in The Art of War in 400 BCE. Bevin Alexander shows how great generals have interpreted this advice, and why it still holds true today. Maps, illustrations.

Based on previously unused French and German sources, this challenging and controversial new analysis of the war on the Western front from 1914 to 1918 reveals how and why the Germans won the major battles with one-half to one-third fewer casualties than the Allies, and how American troops in 1918 saved the Allies from defeat and a negotiated peace with the Germans.

This case study analysis of three recent urban operations is intended to update the lessons learned from prior military experience. The three cases examined - Panama in 1989, Somalia in 1992-1993, and Chechnya in 1994-1995 - all occurred within the last ten years and capture the range of political constraints that military forces must operate under in urban environments. The author discusses how ongoing technological, social, and political changes are increasing the significance of certain elements of urban operations. These include the presence of the media; the presence of noncombatants; rules of engagement; and information-operation tools such as psychological operations, public affairs, civil affairs, and political-military strategy.

Little Round Top, the Railroad Cut, Pickett’s Charge—these are the turning points within the most important battle of the Civil War. Even careful students of Gettysburg, however, can find themselves disoriented when visiting the site itself. Here, finally, is a convenient guide for serious student and casual visitor alike that makes plain the sweep of events and the geography of the battlefield. This invaluable guidebook was created by scholars who have walked the battlegrounds, consulted with local experts and park guides, and studied the testimony left behind by the participants. Gettysburg will help you find all the important locales and understand what the participants saw in 1863, even if you have no prior knowledge of the battle. Designed to enhance the experience of both first-time and returning visitors, this guide can be used alone or as a supplement to a tour. Clearly written and illustrated with maps and photographs, this is the book to have when you explore Gettysburg.

The hard-fought and dramatic battles of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863) and Chattanooga (November 23-25, 1863) changed the course of the Civil War. These battles sounded the death knell of the Confederacy and put Ulysses S. Grant on the road to final victory. For the first time in one convenient guide, Steven E. Woodworth provides an overview of the battles and an on-site tour to help both serious students and casual visitors get the most out of a visit to Chickamauga and Chattanooga. The guide emphasizes how the opposing armies used terrain and how that terrain shaped the course of each battle. Easy-to-follow directions to specific locations enable you to view the field from the historic perspectives of the combatants. Whether used alone or as a supplement to a tour, this guide will enhance your visit. Clearly written and illustrated with maps and photographs, it is an invaluable tool for both knowledgeable Civil War enthusiasts and first-time visitors to Chickamauga and Chattanooga.

This book covers many topics that are crucial to military planning but often receive only passing mention in histories or briefings. Collins, a former Army officer, stresses land geography, but he does not stint oceans, the atmosphere, or interplanetary space. His discussions of urban areas are too brief, given the increasing amount of large-scale violence in cities since the end of World War II.