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Broken Sword: The Tumultuous Life of General Frank Crozier, 1897–1937
By Charles Messenger. 2013
Brigadier General Frank Crozier (1879- 1937) was a highly controversial figure in his day. As a young soldier he saw…
active service in the Boer War and West Africa before being forced to leave the British army because of financial irresponsibility. He tried to start a new life in Canada and then, on his return to Britain, joined the Ulster Volunteer Force.On the outbreak of the First World War he was appointed second-in-command of a battalion in 36th Ulster Division, becoming its commanding officer in autumn 1915 and leading it in action on 1 July 1916. He commanded a brigade with much success for the rest of the war.Forbidden to stay on in the British army after the war, he became inspector-general of the Lithuanian army in 1919, but resigned after six months. Made commandant of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary at the height of the Troubles, he resigned in highly controversial circumstances.After being declared bankrupt for a second time, he was involved in the League of Nations Union and then turned topacifism, becoming a founder member of the Peace Pledge Union. By now he had, through his best-selling writings, become a thorn in the side of the establishment. Charles Messenger's meticulously researched and highly readable biography of this maverick soldier is the first full account of his life and times.Haig's Medical Officer: The papers of Colonel Eugene 'Micky' Ryan CMG DSO RAMC
By Eugene Ryan. 1918
Despite countless conflicting assessments, Field Marshal Douglas Haig remains one of the most controversial and fascinating characters in British military…
history. To some he was a mindless butcher, to others a true patriot who masterminded Allied victory in the First World War under the most trying circumstances.The papers of Colonel Eugene 'Micky' Ryan, Haig's long serving doctor and confidant, are a significant find as they throw fresh and invaluable light on the life and character of this enigmatic man. Ryan studied medicine at Cork and Edinburgh. He was commissioned into the RAMC in 1901 and saw active service in South Africa. He first met Haig in 1912 and became Medical Officer to Haig's HQ 1st Corps in 1914 and moved with him to 1st Army that December. Ryan saw service commanding two Casualty Clearing Stations before being appointed Medical Officer to the C in C (Haig) in September 1916.Haig's and Ryan's relationship, while primarily professional, blossomed into a friendship of mutual respect and trust which lasted until Haig's death in 1928. Ryan delivered the Haigs' long awaited heir, Dawyck, in 1918 and advised during Dorothy Haig's illness in 1926.Fortunately Ryan kept meticulous diaries which, written from such a unique viewpoint and with constant reference to Haig and his family, are of historical importance: the Foreword, written by Professor Gary Sheffield a leading authority on Haig's life and work, attests to their significance.As seen in Britain at War Magazine, January 2014A Trenchard Brat at War: Stirling, Lancaster and Stalag IVB
By Stuart Burbridge, Thomas Lancashire. 2009
This is the story of Thomas Lancashire who joined the RAF in 1936 and became one of the famous 'Trenchard…
Brats' at RAF Halton to be educated and learn the trade of fitter. He was first posted to 7 Squadron in 1939, at that time flying Whitley bombers but decided to advance himself to become a flight engineer on the new Stirling heavy bomber. He was posted to 15 Squadron at Wyton and completed a full tour that included the famous Lbeck raid, the Thousand Bomber assault on Cologne and the follow up on Essen during which he was almost shot down over Antwerp. In July 1942 he was rested and became an instructor until being posted to 97 Squadron flying Lancasters. On his ninth raid of this tour, 11 August 1943, the aircraft was attacked by a night fighter over Belgium but he successfully baled out and was eventually picked up by the Resistance and handed to an escape line.Eventually the group of evaders was betrayed by a German agent and placed in captivity, ending up in Stalag Luft IV at Mhlberg. During this time he escaped but was eventually recaptured and he was forced to share the growing despair and hardships in late 1944, enduring overcrowding, hunger and cold, until the Russian Army liberated the camp and he was airlifted back to the UK.His post-war career took him to Canada where he was employed on the Avro Arrow project until it was abandoned and he was forced to seek work in the USA. He worked with Boeing until his retirement .3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands: No Picnic (Cassell Military Paperbacks Ser.)
By Julian Thompson. 2001
Major General Julian Thompson first wrote No Picnic when the momentous events of April - June 1982 were fresh in…
his mind. As Commander of 3 Commando Brigade, he was at the heart of the planning and conduct of the War. Under his direct command had been the Royal Marine Commandos and the two battalions of the Parachute Regiment who conducted the lion's share of the fighting.No-one therefore is better qualified to tell the extraordinary story of there-taking of the Falkland Islands from the Argentinians. The author, now a celebrated military historian, has revised his early book and added for this 25 Anniversary edition more of his own personal thoughts and impressions.It is all too easy to overlook just how perilous and risky a venture this expedition to the depths of the Southern Hemisphere was. Victory and defeat hung in the balance. Even those who feel they know about this most remarkable of wars will learn more from reading this classic account.Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome
By Ian Hughes. 2010
The period of history in which Stilicho lived was one of the most turbulent in European history. The Western Empire…
was finally giving way under pressure from external threats, especially from Germanic tribes crossing the Rhine and Danube, as well as from seemingly ever-present internal revolts and rebellions.Ian Hughes explains how a Vandal (actually Stilicho had a Vandal father and Roman mother) came to be given almost total control of the Western Empire and describes his attempts to save both the Western Empire and even Rome itself from the attacks of Alaric the Goth and other barbarian invaders.Stilicho is one of the major figures in the history of the Late Roman Empire and his actions following the death of the emperor Theodosius the Great in 395 may have helped to divide the Western and Eastern halves of the Roman Empire on a permanent basis. Yet he is also the individual who helped maintain the integrity of the West before the rebellion of Constantine III in Britain and the crossing of the Rhine by a major force of Vandals, Sueves and Alans - both in AD 406 - set the scene for both his downfall and execution in 408 and the later disintegration of the West. Despite his role in this fascinating and crucial period of history, there is no other full-length biography of him in print.Mithridates the Great: Rome's Indomitable Enemy
By Philip Matyszak. 2015
A military biography of Mithridates VI the Great of Pontus, Romes most persistent enemy. The Mithridiatic wars stretched over half…
a century and two continents, and have a fascinating cast of pirates, rebels, turncoats and poisoners (though an unfortunate lack of heroes with untarnished motives). There are pitched battles, epic sieges, double-crosses and world-class political conniving, assassinations and general treachery. Through it all, the story is built about the dominant character of Mithridates, connoisseur of poisons, arch-schemer and strategist; resilient in defeat, savage and vindictive in victory. Almost by definition, this book will break new ground, in that nothing has been written on Mithridates for the general public for almost half a century, though scholarly journals have been adding a steady trickle of new evidence, which is drawn upon here. Few enough leaders went to war with Rome and lived long to tell the tale, but in the first half of the first century BC, Mithridates did so three times. At the high point of his career his armies swept the Romans out of Asia Minor and Greece, reversing a century of Roman expansion in the region. Even once fortune had turned against him he would not submit. Upto the day he died, a fugitive drive to suicide by the treachery of his own son, he was still planning an overland invasion of Roman itself.The Jutland Scandal: The Truth About the First World War's Greatest Sea Battles
By John Harper. 2015
The Royal Navy had ruled the sea unchallenged for 100 years since Nelson triumphed at Trafalgar. Yet when the Grand…
Fleet faced the German High Seas Fleet across the grey waters of the North Sea near Jutland the British battleships and cruisers were battered into a draw, losing far more men and ships than the enemy. The Grand Fleet far outnumbered and outgunned the German fleet so something clearly had gone wrong. The public waited for the official histories of the battle to be released to learn the truth, but month after month went by with the Admiralty promising, but failing, to publish an account of Jutland. Questions were raised in Parliament (twenty-two times) yet still no official report was produced, due to objections from Admiral Beatty. This led to Admiral Bacon producing his own account of the battle, called The Jutland Scandal in 1925. Two years later the man instructed to write the official report, Rear-Admiral Harper, decided to publish his account independently, under the title The Truth About Jutland. Together, these two books lay bare the facts about Jutland and reveal the failings of senior officers and the distortions of the early historians. Produced as one volume for the first time, this book tells the truth about the scandal that developed following the largest battle ever fought at sea.With Winston Churchill at the Front: Winston on the Western Front, 1916
By Andrew Dewar Gibb. 2016
Following his resignation from the Government after the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, Winston Churchills political career stalled. Never one to give…
in, Churchill was determined to continue fighting the enemy.He was already a Major in the Territorial Reserve and he was offered promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and with it command of a battalion on the Western Front. On 5 January 1916, Churchill took up his new post with the 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers. The battalions adjutant was Captain Alexander Dewar Gibb who formed a close relationship with Churchill that lasted far beyond their few weeks together in the war.Dewar Gibb subsequently wrote an account of his and Churchills time together in the trenches. Packed with amusing anecdotes and fascinating detail, Gibbs story shows an entirely different side to Churchills character from the forceful public figure normally presented to the world. Churchill proved to be a caring and compassionate commander and utterly fearless. Despised on his arrival, by the time he departed he was adored by his men.Supplemented with many of Churchills letters, the observations of other officers and additional narrative this is the most unusual and absorbing account of this part of Churchill's life that has ever been told.A Passion for Flying: 8,000 hours of RAF Flying
By Tom Eeles. 2008
The story of Group Captain Tom Eeles who served in the RAF for 44 years and totaled over 8000 hours…
of flying in twenty-eight different aircraft types. Tom entered RAF College Cranwell in 1961, he gained his RAF wings in 1963.Victoria's Generals
By Steven J Corvi, Ian F.W Beckett. 2009
The senior British generals of the Victorian era - men like Wolseley, Roberts, Gordon and Kitchener - were heroes of…
their time. As soldiers, administrators and battlefield commanders they represented the empire at the height of its power. But they were a disparate, sometimes fractious group of men. They exhibited many of the failings as well as the strengths of the British army of the late nineteenth-century. And now, when the Victorian period is being looked at more critically than before, the moment is right to reassess them as individuals and as soldiers. This balanced and perceptive study of these eminent military men gives a fascinating insight into their careers, into the British army of their day and into a now-remote period when Britain was a world power.Private Beatson's War: Life, Death and Hope on the Western Front
By Edited by Shaun Springer. 1916
Until recently James Beatson was one of the millions of forgotten soldiers of the Great War. But after 90 years…
his diary has been rediscovered, perfectly preserved, and his story can now be told. It is a moving, intensely personal and beautifully written narrative by an extraordinary young man who witnessed one of the darkest episodes in European history. His experience gives us a telling insight into the thoughts and reactions of a self- educated, patriotic and religious individual confronted by the horrors of warfare on the Western Front. Indeed, after reading the diary of a dead German soldier, Beatson begins to identify more with the thoughts and fears of his enemy than he does with those he loves at home. Reminiscent of some of the greatest of the First World War authors, the diary is also the record of a gifted writer whose potential was tragically curtailed. For, shortly after marrying his childhood sweet heart, he was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme in one of the many failed attacks on High Wood. For this, the first publication of Beatsons diary, Shaun Springer and Stuart Humphreys have edited and illustrated the text and provided an introduction, describing Beatsons family background and the campaign on the Western Front in which he took part. James Beatson was the eldest of nine children. He was raised in Scotland by working-class parents. He was a civil engineer until, as with so many, the declaration of war offered him the chance of adventure. He enlisted in the first days of the war in the Royal Scots and was an eyewitness to the first poison gas attack by the Germans in 1915. Despite the horrors he experienced, Private Beatson never lost his love of humanity nor his faith. He now lies buried, lost somewhere on the Somme when in July 1916 he breathed his last in that infamous battle.Wings over the Waves: The Biography and Letters of Lieut. Com. Roy Baker-Falkner DSO DSC RN
By Graham Drucker. 2010
This is the biography of one of the Royal Navys legendary pilots. BF or Daddy as he was known, started…
his career at Dartmouth and then spent his early seagoing years in Hong Kong, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. His wartime experiences as a Fleet Air pilot aboard HMS Glorious included the historic air strike at Taranto and the search for the Graf Spee. In May 1940 he was loaned to Coastal Command and attacked German Panzer tanks in a biplane, defended Allied troops over Dunkirk and was one of only a few naval officers to fight in the Battle of Britain. After a period as a test pilot at Boscombe Down he became one of only four Wing Leaders in the Royal Navy. His successful leadership lead to many more successes, not least the crippling of Tirpitz as part of a diversionary plan in the lead up to D-Day.He was a superb pilot, loved by all the air and ground crew under his command. His reputation as a fearless and dynamic leader remains a legend today. The book contains detailed and graphic accounts of aerial sorties and strikes throughout the dark days over Nazi Europe. Tragically he was killed in action in July 1944, one week prior to promotion and a job ashore. The book includes many of his letters and extracts from his diary.The Real Falstaff: Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years' War
By Stephen Cooper. 2010
That trunk of humours, that bolting-hutch of beastliness, that swolen parcel of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed…
cloak-bag of guts, that roasted Manningtree-ox with the pudding in his belly, that reverend vice, that grey iniquity, that father ruffian, that vanity in years... wherein is he good but to taste sack and drink it... wherein worthy but in nothing. Prince Hal on Falstaff (Henry IV Part I, Act II, Scene 4) Sir John Fastolf was one of the most famous English knights and military commanders of the Hundred Years War, and is commonly thought to be a model for Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeares greatest characters. This book examines the link in full. Most of Fastolfs life was spent fighting the French, and he lived long enough to witness both the triumphs of Henry V, and the disasters of the 1450s. He was one of the last representatives of generations of brave but often brutal English soldiers who made their careers and their fortunes waging war in France. His story and the story of declining English fortunes during the last phase of the war are the subject of Stephen Coopers fascinating new study. He retraces the entire course of Fastolfs long life, but he concentrates on his many campaigns. A vivid picture of the old soldier emerges and of the French wars in which he played such a prominent part. But the author also explores Fastolfs legacy his connection to the Paston family, which is famous for the Paston letters, and the use Shakespeare made of Fastolfs name, career and character when he created Sir John Falstaff.Life of General George Monck: For King and Cromwell
By Peter Reese. 2008
General George Monck is famous for the key role he played in the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. His…
actions changed the course of British history, but his statesmanship in the dangerous time between the death of Cromwell and the bloodless return of Charles II distracts attention from his extraordinary career as a soldier and general, admiral, governor and administrator. During the confused, often bloody era of the English Civil Wars and the Protectorate he was one of the great survivors. Peter Reese, in this perceptive new study, follows Monck through his long, varied career, from his impoverished upbringing in the West Country and his military apprenticeship on the Continent, to his experience as a commander on both sides during the civil wars. He distinguished himself on the battlefields of Ireland and Scotland, and as a general-at-sea for both Cromwell and Charles II. His shrewdness and firmness of character, his skill as a leader, his high popularity with his troops and his occasional ruthlessness gained for him a formidable reputation. On Cromwell's death he was one of the few men in England with the power, personal authority and political skill to secure the restoration of Charles II and to bring to an end twenty years of conflict.Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia were all German allies in the Second World War, unlike the other countries of Europe…
which had either been forcibly occupied by the Nazis or remained neutral. SOE Missions mounted within their borders were thus doubly hazardous for they were conducted in enemy-populated territory, heavily policed by military forces and gendarmerie. Furthermore all these states had well developed and experienced security services, usually supplemented by Gestapo and Abwehr units. A further complication to the activities of SOE in these countries was that they had all been effectively conceded by Western Allies to Russia; not surprisingly therefore, operations in the Soviet sphere of influence were to prove diabolically difficult.This is a story about the courage of individuals in the face of overwhelming odds. Hunger, ill-health, exhaustion, cold and treachery all combined to make life for those members of SOE who parachuted into these Fascist outposts of Fortress Europe as insufferable as it was dangerous. For weeks on end, the SOE missions moved continually at night, chased by enemy troops, betrayed by local villagers, awaiting air drops that never came and listening out for orders that were rarely specific. Thus the picture that emerges of SOE activities in these countries is one of heroic proportions, with courage, dedication and daring displayed by every mission.Although nearly all SOE personnel were either killed or captured, the impact of their clandestine operations served as a persistent irritant, continuously undermining Germanys strategic and political assumptions about the loyalty of her allies.Tank Commander: The Memoirs of Bill Close
By Bill Close. 2013
Bill Close had a remarkable war. In campaign after campaign, from the defense of Calais in 1940 to the defeat…
of Germany in 1945, he served as a tank commander in the Royal Tank Regiment - and he survived. His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he bailed out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienced and resourceful of British tank commanders, and in later life, he set down his wartime experiences in graphic detail. His book is not only an extraordinary memoir - it is also a compelling account of the exploits of the Royal Tank Regiment throughout the conflict. As a record of the day-to-day experience of the tank crew of seventy years ago - of the conditions they faced and the battles they fought it has rarely been equaled.The Kaisers Reluctant Conscript
By Dominik Richert. 2012
As a conscript from Alsace, Dominik Richert realised from the outset of the First World War that his family would…
be at or near the front line. While he saw no alternative to performing his duty, he was a reluctant soldier who was willing to stand up to authority and to avoid risks - in order to survive. This thoughtful memoir of the conflict gives a lively picture of major events from the rare perspective of an ordinary German soldier.In 1914 Richert was involved in fighting on the French border and was then moved to northern France where he was in combat with Indian troops. In 1915 he was sent to the East and took part in the Battle for Mount Zwinin in the Carpathians and the subsequent invasion of the western parts of the Ukraine and of eastern Poland. In 1917 he took part in the capture of Riga before returning to the Western Front in 1918, where he saw German tanks in action at the battle of Villers-Brettoneux.No longer believing in the war, he subsequently crossed no-mans land and surrendered to the French, becoming a deserteur Alsacienne. The book ends with his return home early in 1919.This superb memoir gives a fascinating insight into the War as experienced by the Germans, and into the development of the authors attitude to it. Yes, Richert fights to survive, but he feels little respect for, or allegiance, to his own army or the society which sent him to war.The Sword of the Republic: A Biography of Marcus Claudius Marcellus
By Jeremiah McCall. 2012
Marcellus military exploits were largely unmatched by any other aristocrat of Roman Middle Republic. As a young soldier in the…
First Punic War, he won a reputation for his skill in single combat. In his first consulship, he earned a triumph for defeating a Gallic tribe, no small feat in and of itself, and also slew the Gallic chieftain Britomartus in single combat. Consequently, he earned the spolia opima, an honor, according to Roman antiquarians, which had only been earned twice before, once by Romulus himself. He went on to defeat the hitherto-invincible Hannibal in a small battle around the central Italian city of Nola, and subsequently led an army to subdue and plunder the powerful city of Syracuse in an epic 2 year siege (despite the ingenious defensive measures of the inventor Archimedes). Yet, despite his undeniable success as a warrior and commander, Marcellus met with considerable political opposition at Rome.Marcellus career not only makes exciting reading, but gives an excellent vantage point from which to view the military and political struggles of the period and the role of military successes in the aristocratic culture of the Roman Republic. His biography will be an important addition to existing works on Roman military history.The Diary And Letters Of A World War 1 Fighter Pilot
By Christopher M. Burgess. 2008
This is a first-hand account of the authors grandfather, Guy Mainwaring Knocker and his experiences as a pilot in the…
R.F.C. in the First World War written as a series of letters and diary entries. He wrote letters virtually every day to his family, while he trained in England and was in service in France, and often illustrated them with little sketches. Guy was a gifted artist, particularly pencil and Pen & ink, and also an excellent photographer. He flew with No 65 (Fighter) Squadron that was formed in June, 1916 as a fighter squadron, and flew to France in March 1917 in time to play a prominent part in the air operations during the Battles of Arras. In June 1917, the squadron moved to Calais for special patrol work in the Dover Straits area, to intercept enemy aircraft raiding England.Royal Navy and the Peruvian-Chilean War 1879–1881: Rudolf de Lisle's Diaries and Watercolors
By Gerard De Lisle. 2007
This beautifully presented book captures the spirit of a little known war where the Royal Navy played a peripheral but…
crucial role. The power of the British Empire was at its height, thanks to the reach of the Royal Navy and officers from that service who often found themselves far from home and in positions of power way beyond their rank.