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Showing 2381 - 2400 of 3930 items
By Lt. Col. Frederick McKelvey Bell. 2013
Lt. Col. Frederick McKelvey Bell holds an eminent place among the Canadians that were engaged in the war effort in…
France; his medical unit was the first of the Canadians to land and set to work in France in 1914. A distinguished doctor and medical officer, the author recounts his adventures and japes among his comrades in a relaxed and almost comic tone during the passage across the Atlantic. It is surprising that the sang-froid of he and his friends remained intact as they approached the front and the carnage which they encountered at the military hospital. Bell and his comrades provided vital care to the wounded of the British forces, and even some of the captured German soldiers, of whom he paints vivid portraits.By Anon.. 2013
Two young officers write of their experiences at the only major naval engagement of the First World War -- the…
battle of Jutland in 1916. The first officer was writing to his parents in the immediate aftermath of the battle; the other, only 19 years of age, wrote to a wounded comrade of just 17, who had lost his leg in the war.By Anon.. 2013
The Retreat From Mons, or 'The Great Retreat', was a harsh lesson for both the British troops who were retreating…
in the face of the overwhelming forces of the German Armies, and the Germans themselves, with the stubborn tenacity and fighting abilities of the long-service British Tommies. The action in this volume begins with the mobilization of the British Expeditionary Force, to the beginning of the battle of the Marne. The book was officially endorsed and benefits from a foreword by Field Marshal French who was in command of the British Expeditionary Force at the time.By George Frederic Lees, Captain Ferdinand Belmont. 2013
The Chasseurs Alpins, trained to fight in the mountains that border France, were and are to this day considered among…
the elite of the French Army. It was in the mountains of the Alsace region during the First World War that Captain Ferdinand Belmont fell prey to German fire. He was a soldier of rare ability fighting, decorated with the Légion d'Honneur and mentioned in despatches three times, but does not truly paint the picture of the man. A doctor by profession, he volunteered for front-line service along with his brother and was described by his superiors only in the most glowing terms as both a man and a soldier. In his letters home, Captain Belmont provides a detailed and rich picture of his men, full of the thoughtful musings of an educated man on the strains of war. His encounters with the enemy were fairly numerous and are detailed from his first clashes on the Somme up to the mountain fighting in the Vosges, with not a little venom directed at his German foe. During the bitter struggles for the mountain peak at Hartmannswillerkopf, he and his men suffered heavy casualties, and during a barrage, Captain Belmont was wounded by a shell splinter that took off his right arm, a wound that proved fatal.By Field-Marshal Earl Haig, Elihu Root, James Brown Scott. 2013
Numerous portraits, prints and photographs throughout.Robert Bacon stands as one of the pivotal figures in the United States around the…
turn of the Twentieth Century. A native of Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard before becoming a senior figure at J.P. Morgan & Co, instrumental in brokering the deals that formed the U.S. Steel Corporation and the Northern Securities Company. Following a brief period of inactivity, he was named Assistant Secretary of State in 1905, a position he held until 1909. He was even acting Secretary of State in the absence of Elihu Root (who wrote the introduction to this book). After this, he was posted to the vital role of Ambassador to France in Paris as the storm clouds of the First World War started to appear, and, following a brief spell back in America, returned to work with the American Ambulance Service in France in 1914.Once America had committed to military involvement in the First World War, Bacon held various senior positions on General Pershing's staff. His post as Chief of the American Military Mission at British General Headquarters brought him into contact with Field Marshal Haig (who wrote a foreword to this book) and many of the other British generals.By Major Heber Maitland Alexander. 2013
Men from all around the far reaches of the British Empire flooded into the ranks of the British army for…
the titanic struggle against Germany and her allies during the First World War. Ghurkhas from Nepal, Men of the Punjab, Rajputs, Dogras and Pathans volunteered to fight in the Indian regiments destined for service across the wide oceans in Europe. The men found warm comradeship with the Tommies who fought beside them, cold climates in Flanders and Belgium, and hellishly hot fighting against the enemy.Major Maitland was an officer in the Indian Army attached to the supply corps bringing vital arms, ammunition and food to the front-line. The job was certainly not a sinecure as the supply depots were often not out of range of the enemy's guns, particularly at Gallipoli. He tells his story with great detail, probably based on a diary or notes that he took at the time. His book is particularly interesting regarding the hellish conditions at Gallipoli - in fact, so interesting that the official Australian Government Anzac site quotes from his book.Essential reading.By Field Marshal Count Maximilian Yorck von Wartenburg, Major Walter H. James. 2013
A complete analysis of Napoleon Bonaparte as a general. Possibly the best analysis ever written, and the source book for…
many later works.There are many books about Napoleon, and some of them attempt to analyse his particular brand of military genius. Almost all these books owe a tremendous debt to Colonel Count Yorck von Wartenburg. His book was published at the end of the nineteenth Century and is still as important today; indeed, Dr David Chandler acknowledges that he used the book as one of the primary works when researching his momentous history of Napoleon. After a brief look at Napoleon's youth and early career Wartenburg sets out Napoleon's military exploits chronologically, beginning with the campaign in Italy, and the battles for Mantua. The first volume then describes the campaigns in Egypt and Syria before giving an account of the first of Napoleon's great battles: Marengo. Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau and Friedland complete Volume I. Volume II covers Spain, Ratisbon, Wagram and the ill-fated invasion of Russia. After Moscow and the Beresina crossing came the armistice, and then Dresden and Leipzig. The book ends with the exile of Napoleon for the last time after his defeat at Waterloo. The writing is always clear and uncomplicated, suiting a description of twenty years in Europe which threw the political map into confusion, and had as legacy the mistrust between France and the remainder of the continent, and the growth of Prussian military might and British complacency in military matters.By Anon, Laure Junot duchesse d’Abrantès, S. M. Hamilton. 2013
Laure Junot, Duchesse d'Abrantes stands as one of the most influential figures in shaping the Napoleonic era: she was no…
statesman, military or civil leader, but she was a hugely well connected member of the court of Napoleon, and an inveterate gossip. An old family friend of the Bonaparte's from Corsica, she was married to one of Napoleon's oldest friends Andoche Junot, thus moving in the highest circles in Paris, known by and knowing everyone of note. Originally written at huge length (some editions run to more than 12 volumes), this English edition provides the highlights of her witty, irreverent, yet highly informative memoirs of the reign of Napoleon.By Anon, Laure Junot duchesse d’Abrantès, S. M. Hamilton. 2013
Laure Junot, Duchesse d'Abrantes stands as one of the most influential figures in shaping the Napoleonic era: she was no…
statesman, military or civil leader, but she was a hugely well connected member of the court of Napoleon, and an inveterate gossip. An old family friend of the Bonaparte's from Corsica, she was married to one of Napoleon's oldest friends Andoche Junot, thus moving in the highest circles in Paris, known by and knowing everyone of note. Originally written at huge length (some editions run to more than 12 volumes), this English edition provides the highlights of her witty, irreverent, yet highly informative memoirs of the reign of Napoleon.By Général Baron Jean-Nicolas Curély. 2013
Le général Curély. Itinéraire d'un cavalier léger de la Grande Armée (1793-1815), publié d'après un manuscrit authentique par le général…
Thoumas. Paris, Berger-Levrault, 1887, in-16, X-436 p., portr.« Malgré son titre, il s'agit bien de mémoires sur les campagnes de 1805, 1806, 1807 et 1809. La Russie, l'Allemagne, Waterloo sont également évoqués dans un panorama complet qui ne s'élève jamais au-dessus d'une stricte narration des aventures personnelles du brillant cavalier que fut Curély. » p 45 - Professeur Jean Tulard, Bibliographie Critique Des Mémoires Sur Le Consulat Et L'Empire, Droz, Genève, 1971.By Général Baron Auguste Bigarré. 2013
Mémoires du général Bigarré, aide de camp du roi Joseph. Paris, Kolb, 1893, in-80, XV-320 p.« Ces souvenirs ont été…
écrits en 1830. Entré à la garde consulaire, Bigarré assiste au sacre puis à la bataille d'Austerlitz. Son régiment ayant perdu un drapeau à Austerlitz, il se cabre sous les reproches de Napoléon (pp. 180-183) et passe aide de camp de Joseph qu'il suit à Madrid (chapitres IX-XI), le récit s'arrête en 1812. Racontées naïvement les conquêtes galantes et les infortunes conjugales de Bigarré donnent à ses souvenirs un ton plaisant. Malheureusement, l'appareil critique fait défaut. » p 18 - Professeur Jean Tulard, Bibliographie Critique Des Mémoires Sur Le Consulat Et L'Empire, Droz, Genève, 1971.By Général Baron Pierre Berthezène. 2013
« Souvenirs militaires de la République et de l'Empire. Paris, Dumaine, 1855, 2 vol. in-8°. Portr.Bon récit de la seconde…
campagne d'Italie (pp. 85-108) et surtout des opérations en Prusse et de l'occupation du pays : recensement des ressources (donations, problème de la monnaie... (pp. 111-168). Nombreux détails, mais des inexactitudes, sur la campagne d'Autriche (pp. 169-270), l'expédition d'Anvers (pp. 273-283). La guerre en Russie occupe les dernières pages du tome I et le début du tome II. La campagne de 1813 est également racontée de façon détaillée. A peu près rien en revanche sur la campagne de France. Les souvenirs s'achèvent sur les opérations de 1815. C'est par cette partie que Berthezène avait commencé la rédaction de ses mémoires en 1816. Malgré quelques erreurs, il a l'avantage sur d'autres généraux, de s'attacher à décrire les pays occupés ou envahis. » p 16 - Professeur Jean Tulard, Bibliographie Critique Des Mémoires Sur Le Consulat Et L'Empire, Droz, Genève, 1971By Captain Elzéar Blaze, E Jules Méras. 2013
Many memoirs of the Napoleonic period are recounting, more or less interesting dependant on the author, of the events of…
their service interspersed by anecdotes of interesting events, Elzéar Blaze eschewed that style of reminiscence and left a singular view of his time in the Grande Armée. His memoirs are highly stylised, divided into the 'themes' of military life, and eruditely written by an educated man of the era, who combined wit with an eye for an anecdote. He covers the different aspects of his military career with amusing stories and vivid recollections of the men with which he served, a number of the generals who commanded them, and the enemies that they were fought and were billeted on if they were in occupation; he covers the school of the Vélites, his military training, the marches, camp-life, bivouacs, active campaigning, and the battles fought under Napoleon. Blaze, like his brother, sought out a military life under the eagles of Napoleon, he enlisting in the Vélites of the Imperial Guard, his brother into the medical services of the army. The Vélites were founded as part of Napoleon's further, ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to sway the aristocracy to fall in line and support his rule. The military tutelage in the Vélites was to be supported by private means, which translated into their ranks being filled with the scions of the nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie. Blaze fought as part of Napoleon's invincibles from 1807 until the end of the empire, but continued his service under the returned Bourbons and retired as captain in 1828.An interesting and different view of the Grande Armée.By Freiherr von Christian Ompteda, Freiherr von Ludwig Ompteda. 2013
Colonel Baron Christian Ompteda, 1765-1815, was one of the most distinguished Hanoverian officers of the Napoleonic period. He served in…
the Netherlands in 1793-5 and was orderly to the Duke of York, but he was wounded and suffered the first of his mental breakdowns. One of the early members of the King's German Legion, he commanded the 1st Line Battalion and was exchanged after being shipwrecked on the Dutch coast in 1807. He sailed for the Peninsula in 1808 but a further bout of mental instability led to his retirement. His friend Scharnhorst helped his recovery, Ompteda rejoined the Legion as commander of the 1st Light Battalion in 1812, serving through the remainder of the Peninsular War which included the Battle of Vittoria, the storm of Tolosa, the siege of San Sebastian, fighting on the Nive, and the siege of Bayonne, 1814.In the Hundred Days campaign, he commanded the 2nd K. G. L. Brigade, which included his own 5th Line Battalion. At Waterloo, ordered by the Prince of Orange and Alten to make a suicidal attack, he calmly drew his sword, asked a friend to try to save his nephews, and rode off at the head of his men. As he had realised, the order resulted in the near destruction of his battalion but he carried it out without hesitation and was last seen surrounded by French troops. Shot through the neck, his body was recovered and buried near the gate of La Haye Sainte.By Field Marshal Count Maximilian Yorck von Wartenburg, Major Walter H. James. 2013
A complete analysis of Napoleon Bonaparte as a general. Possibly the best analysis ever written, and the source book for…
many later works.There are many books about Napoleon, and some of them attempt to analyse his particular brand of military genius. Almost all these books owe a tremendous debt to Colonel Count Yorck von Wartenburg. His book was published at the end of the nineteenth Century and is still as important today; indeed, Dr David Chandler acknowledges that he used the book as one of the primary works when researching his momentous history of Napoleon. After a brief look at Napoleon's youth and early career Wartenburg sets out Napoleon's military exploits chronologically, beginning with the campaign in Italy, and the battles for Mantua. The first volume then describes the campaigns in Egypt and Syria before giving an account of the first of Napoleon's great battles: Marengo. Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau and Friedland complete Volume I. Volume II covers Spain, Ratisbon, Wagram and the ill-fated invasion of Russia. After Moscow and the Beresina crossing came the armistice, and then Dresden and Leipzig. The book ends with the exile of Napoleon for the last time after his defeat at Waterloo. The writing is always clear and uncomplicated, suiting a description of twenty years in Europe which threw the political map into confusion, and had as legacy the mistrust between France and the remainder of the continent, and the growth of Prussian military might and British complacency in military matters.By Captain James Maccarthy. 2013
The situation for the Duke of Wellington and his British and Portuguese troops in 1812 was somewhat perilous. Although they…
had chased Masséna and his French Legions from Spain, overwhelming numbers of enemy troops were still in Spain despite being scattered through the provinces. For Wellington to move forward and take the fight to the enemy, he would have to take the two border fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos, and do so quickly before the bickering French marshals united against him. After capturing Ciudad Rodrigo in a bloody but short siege, the Iron Duke turned his attention on the much more formidable fortress of Badajos, a fortress that they had failed to take before.The few trained Allied engineers were bolstered by volunteer officers like the author Captain MacCarthy, who undertook the dangerous work of the engineers. However, a lack of artillery and shot meant that the task would be exceptionally difficult, and pressed by time Wellington orders an early assault by the best of his infantry over barely practicable breeches. As a diversion, he also orders an attempt to capture the castle of Badajos by escalade - the author himself being part of this diversionary effort. In the event, the breeches prove to be impregnable and after repeated murderous attempts, the defences of Badajos are only breached by the ladder borne assault on the castle.Captain MacCarthy's short narrative is vividly written filled with the blood and shot of the siege and the castle's final capture.By Anon, Laure Junot duchesse d’Abrantès, S. M. Hamilton. 2013
Laure Junot, Duchesse d'Abrantes stands as one of the most influential figures in shaping the Napoleonic era: she was no…
statesman, military or civil leader, but she was a hugely well connected member of the court of Napoleon, and an inveterate gossip. An old family friend of the Bonaparte's from Corsica, she was married to one of Napoleon's oldest friends Andoche Junot, thus moving in the highest circles in Paris, known by and knowing everyone of note. Originally written at huge length (some editions run to more than 12 volumes), this English edition provides the highlights of her witty, irreverent, yet highly informative memoirs of the reign of Napoleon.By Général Baron Pierre Berthezène. 2013
« Souvenirs militaires de la République et de l'Empire. Paris, Dumaine, 1855, 2 vol. in-8°. Portr.Bon récit de la seconde…
campagne d'Italie (pp. 85-108) et surtout des opérations en Prusse et de l'occupation du pays : recensement des ressources (donations, problème de la monnaie... (pp. 111-168). Nombreux détails, mais des inexactitudes, sur la campagne d'Autriche (pp. 169-270), l'expédition d'Anvers (pp. 273-283). La guerre en Russie occupe les dernières pages du tome I et le début du tome II. La campagne de 1813 est également racontée de façon détaillée. A peu près rien en revanche sur la campagne de France. Les souvenirs s'achèvent sur les opérations de 1815. C'est par cette partie que Berthezène avait commencé la rédaction de ses mémoires en 1816. Malgré quelques erreurs, il a l'avantage sur d'autres généraux, de s'attacher à décrire les pays occupés ou envahis. » p 16 - Professeur Jean Tulard, Bibliographie Critique Des Mémoires Sur Le Consulat Et L'Empire, Droz, Genève, 1971By Prince Aage of Denmark. 2013
Prince Aage could have lived a remarkably quiet, rich and privileged life as a hereditary prince to the throne of…
Denmark; however, none of these responsibilities seemed to sit well with the Prince. His thirst for action and danger were only sated by military and amorous adventures; his memoirs are concerned only with his service in the French Foreign Legion in the deserts of Morocco, where there were pitifully few opportunities for female companions.Prince Aage joined the elite Foreign legion in 1922 having already fought in the First World War as an artillery observer. His taste for adventure seems to be his prime motivator. At this time in the history of Morocco was a French protectorate, and was undergoing a rebellion of the Berbers and tribes of the Rif mountains. As always, the Legion was at the forefront of the fighting, including the author who amongst his numerous engagements would receive a Croix de Guerre for a leg wound sustained in the fighting.An interesting autobiography from the French Foreign Legion.By Légionnaire Russell A. Kelly. 2013
The French Army have had numerous foreign regiments in its service for centuries; however, few have the mystique and elite…
status of the French Foreign Legion. It became a haven for the rough, tough, and adventure-seeking crowds of all of Europe. Bred with a fierce and disciplined esprit de corps, these soldiers could expect to fight France's enemies even in the most desperate of circumstances.Like his American compatriot Henry Weston Farnsworth, Russell Kelly enlisted in the French Foreign Legion as soon as possible after the declaration of war was made and the start of the awful slaughter of the First World War began. After a scant two months of training, Kelly recounts that he and his fellow soldiers were shipped off to the Front. Within a mere three months, his letters tell of the vicious and confused fighting that he was involved in around Bouzy and then in the Arras sector. He and his unit were heavily engaged during the battle of Artois and after a short spell of rest and recruitment were back in the frontlines near Souchez, where Legionnaire Kelly met his end.These letters were thought of such quality and interest that they were published in the New York Evening Sun.