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The motorised wheels of war begin to turn
In 1914 as the B. E. F was quickly hurried to the battle lines-by
whatever means possible-British troops were amused to see familiar
commercial vehicles trundle past, resplendent with their colourful
advertisements for household products. The French civilian
population was equally amused, bemused and occasionally confused by
this incongruous sight. The Great War, with powered flying
machines, submarines, motor transport and tanks, was the first
major mechanised war. The invention of the internal combustion
engine metamorphosed the waging of war. Motor transport could
efficiently move both men and materials, the dispatch rider was no
longer the glittering aide-de-camp but a drab, goggled corporal on
a motorcycle, and weapons of destruction could be carried behind
the steel plating of motorised armoured cars and tanks. This
subject fascinates those interested in the history of modern
warfare and to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First
World War in 1914, the Leonaur Editors have compiled this special
three-in-one book about the Great War from the perspective of 'the
motor.' The first title here is an excellent overview of the
subject, accompanied by useful illustrations and diagrams, which
covers each aspect of the motor at war. Next is a manufactures
catalogue with detailed views and elevations of the very commercial
vehicles that carried British troops to the front in 1914. The
final piece is an extract about motor transport and armoured
vehicles in the first decades of the 20th century. This is a useful
reference guide for all military vehicle enthusiasts.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
The opening shots of a great conflict
The German plan of attack in 1914 involved a giant 'hooking'
movement commencing within Germany itself and then advancing
through Luxembourg and neutral Belgium towards the Continental
channel ports before arcing south-east to embrace the French
heartland. France would be taken from the rear of Verdun on the
River Meuse to Orleans on the Loire. Paris-caught squarely in the
middle of this giant sweep-would be literally enveloped. History
shows that the plan did not go the way the Germans intended and
their advance, stopped by the French and the B. E. F, meant the war
became stalemate of trenches, wire and mud, a war of attrition that
led to the eventual defeat of Germany. Initially, however, it
seemed as though nothing could prevent the advance of the vast
juggernaut of that was the German army. The first stages of the
Great War went very much according to plan and the first nation
casualty was Belgium. The war quite literally rolled over this
small nation and students of the conflict have tended to overlook
these important events as a tiny nation fought to defend itself
against hopeless odds. The author of this book was an American
journalist who was present in Europe at the time these events were
taking place, he saw the campaign unfold with his own eyes and has
recorded what he saw for posterity. This is an interesting book,
about the outbreak of hostilities to the arrival on the field of
battle of the British Army, told from an unusual perspective.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
""Nothing is more unwise, on general principles, than to attempt to
write about a war before that war is finished and before history
has given it the justice of perspective. The campaign which began
with the flight of the Belgian Government from Brussels and which
culminated in the fall of Antwerp formed, however, a separate and
distinct phase of the Greatest of Wars, and I feel that I should
write of that campaign while its events are still sharp and clear
in my memory and before the impressions it produced have begun to
fade."" This book is part of the World War One Centenary series;
creating, collating and reprinting new and old works of poetry,
fiction, autobiography and analysis. The series forms a
commemorative tribute to mark the passing of one of the world's
bloodiest wars, offering new perspectives on this tragic yet
fascinating period of human history. Each publication also includes
brand new introductory essays and a timeline to help the reader
place the work in its historical context.
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1919 Edition.
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