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Masters of Warfare: Fifty Underrated Military Commanders from Classical Antiquity to the Cold War
By Eric G. Pinzelli. 2022
In Masters of Warfare, Eric G. L. Pinzelli presents a selection of fifty commanders whose military achievements, skill or historical…
impact he believes to be underrated by modern opinion. He specifically does not include the household names (the "Gods of War" as he calls them) such as Alexander, Julius Caesar, Wellington, Napoléon, Rommel or Patton that have been covered in countless biographies. Those chosen come from every period of recorded military history from the sixth century BC to the Vietnam War. The selection rectifies the European/US bias of many such surveys with Asian entries such as Bai Qi (Chinese), Attila (Hunnic), Subotai (Mongol), Ieyasu Tokugawa (Japanese) and Võ Nguyên Giáp (Vietnamese). Naval commanders are also represented by the likes of Khayr al-Din Barbarossa, Francis Drake and Michiel de Ruyter. These 50 "Masters of War" are presented in a chronological order easy to follow, with a concise overview of their life and career. Altogether they present a fascinating survey of the developments and continuities in the art of command, but most importantly their contribution to the evolution of weaponry, tactic and strategy through the ages.Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There, Volume 1: Eyewitness British and Zulu Accounts
By Lee Stevenson, Ian Knight, Alan Baynham-Jones. 2022
“The great host came steadily on, spreading out spreading out - spreading out till they seemed like a giant pair…
of nut-crackers opening round the little nut of Rorke’s Drift.” – Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds V.C., Army Medical Department On 22 January 1879, during the final hour of the Battle of iSandlwana – one of the greatest disasters ever to befall British troops during the Victorian era – a very different story was about to unfold a few miles away at the mission station of Rorke’s Drift. When a Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors turned their attention to the small outpost, defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops, the odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low. The British victory that ensued, therefore, would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time, and has enraptured military history enthusiasts for decades. Featuring a wide range of first-hand accounts and testimonies from those present during the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, Rorke’s Drift By Those Who Were There is a remarkable work of Anglo-Zulu military history by those who know the topic best, Lee Stevenson and Ian Knight. This updated edition of the classic work of the same name includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Providing personal, microscopic accounts of events, while at the same time presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety, readers will gain an impressive, unique breadth of knowledge about one of the most awe-inspiring battles in British history.The Men of Wellington’s Light Division: Unpublished Memoirs from the 43rd Light Infantry in the Peninsular War
By Gareth Glover, Robert Burnham. 2022
Some of the most famous memoirs of Britain’s long war against Napoleon have come from the pens of members of…
Wellington’s Light Division, but many wonderful accounts were never published and have sat in archives, libraries, museums, and private collections, forgotten for 200 years. The regiments of the Light Division, and its predecessor, the Light Brigade, were involved in almost every major battle and skirmish fought by Wellington and Sir John Moore in the Peninsular War. Unlike the line infantry, these men were encouraged to think and fight independently and were, often, of a higher educational standard, resulting in vivid descriptions of warfare and campaign life. However, these memoirs do not simply cover old ground. Many of these accounts were produced within hours, or at most days, after the incidents they describe, and they often portray a very different view of many famous events and cause us to question numerous claims made in those later published memoirs. Never intended to be published, the memoirs in this book were written only for the men themselves and their families, being penned without the dreaded influence of ‘hindsight’ to alter and temper their views. Consequently, they provide brutally honest assessments of their senior officers, how operations were handled and who made mistakes that have subsequently been quietly covered over. The Men of Wellington’s Light Division is certain to be welcomed by historians and enthusiasts alike, providing a glimpse into the past that has not been seen before.Congo Mercenary
By Michael Hoare. 2022
‘I make no apologies for being a mercenary soldier. Quite the reverse. I am proud to have led 5 Commando.…
I am proud to have fought shoulder to shoulder with the toughest and bravest band of men it has ever been my honor to command. I am proud that they stood when all else failed.’ In July 1964, four years after gaining independence from Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came under threat from an armed rebellion that spread rapidly through the country. To suppress the rebels and bring the unrest and bloodshed in the country under control, Congolese officials enlisted the help of mercenary leader Mike Hoare. Working alongside military officials, Hoare assembled a band of several hundred men that became known as ‘5 Commando’. In Congo Mercenary, Hoare tells the story of the role that these men played in the rebellion, describing in gripping detail how this band of mercenaries were recruited, trained, and how they swept through the country. His team undertook four campaigns in just 18 months during which they fought rebels, liberated Stanleyville, freed European hostages and brought order back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hoare’s experiences in the Congo and his involvement in suppressing the Simba rebellion were hugely significant from a political and a military standpoint. His influence, however, did not stop there. This account of his time in the Congo was first published in 1967 and had a huge cultural impact, as well, contributing to the glorification of the mercenary lifestyle in magazines and pulp novels, and even inspiring the 1978 war film The Wild Geese starring Richard Burton and Roger Moore.Geoffroy of Villehardouin, Marshal of Champagne by Theodore Evergates traces the remarkable life of Geoffroy of Villehardouin (c. 1148–c. 1217)…
from his earliest years in Champagne through his last years in Greece after the crusade. The fourth son of a knight, Geoffroy became marshal of Champagne, principal negotiator in organizing the Fourth Crusade, chief of staff of the expedition to and conquest of Constantinople, garrison commander of Constantinople and, in his late fifties, field commander defending the Latin settlement in the Byzantine empire against invading Bulgarian armies and revolting Greek cities. Known for his diplomatic skills and rectitude, he served as the chief military advisor to Count Thibaut III of Champagne and later to Emperor Henry of Constantinople.Geoffroy is remarkable as well for dictating the earliest war memoir in medieval Europe, which is also the earliest prose narrative in Old French. Addressed to a home audience in Champagne, he described what he did, what he saw, and what he heard during his eight years on crusade and especially during the fraught period after the conquest of Constantinople. His memoir, The Book of the Conquest of Constantinople, furnishes a commander's retrospective account of the main events and inner workings of the crusade—the innumerable meetings and speeches, the conduct (not always commendable) of the barons, and the persistent discontent within the army—as well as a celebration of his own deeds as a diplomat and a military commander.God Is a Grunt: And More Good News for GIs
By Logan M Isaac. 2022
This eye-opening book invites readers of all political and denominational stripes into a more meaningful conversation and community with soldiers…
and veterans. If Jesus is God, then God is a grunt—the humble, hardy folk placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy who are relied on to accomplish the dirtiest, most difficult (and most thankless) work. This is good news for millions of Christian soldiers and veterans in the U.S. because they have had to make an impossible choice, with no perceivable middle ground, between patriot and pacifist. In his new book, God Is a Grunt, Logan Isaac offers an opportunity for GIs, veterans, and those close to them to read Christian traditions as a soldier would—by and through the lived experiences of military service. This well-researched, meditative guide for Christians who have served their country delves deep into the Bible, while Isaac shares his own beliefs and thoughts on the life-altering experiences of battle. He attempts to fill the void most Christians in the military feel by providing theological resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs, affirming the nuance and complexity of armed service and the gifts GIs extend to Christians around the world.Churchill's Colonel: The War Diaries of Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Barne
By Anthony Barne. 2019
A British officer&’s day-to-day observations throw &“interesting light on life and soldiering during the Second World War.&” —The NYMAS Review…
Anthony Barne started his diary in August 1939 as a young, recently married captain in the Royal Dragoons stationed in Palestine. He wrote an entry for every day of the war, often with great difficulty, sometimes when dog-tired or under fire, sometimes when things looked dark and desperate, but more often in sunshine and optimism—&“surrounded by good fellows who kept one cheerful and helped one through the sad and difficult times.&” His diary ends in July 1945, by which time he was commanding officer of the 4th Hussars, having recently visited Downing Street for lunch alone with the Churchills. The diaries have an enormous scope, covering time in Palestine and Egypt before he joins the Eighth Army, describing the retreat back to El Alamein, the battle and its aftermath. He ends the campaign commanding his regiment. He often graphically details the physical realities of war: the appalling conditions in the desert, the bombardments of the regiment from the air, the deaths and serious injuries of fellow soldiers. In 1943, he flies down to Rhodesia to see his wife and infant son before returning to Cairo to join Churchill&’s regiment, the 4th Hussars. Arriving in Italy in 1944, he recounts the campaign as the Allies push north. With a tone that varies wildly—often witty, sometimes outrageous, but also poignant and philosophical—this is not just a memoir of war but a portrait of another time that showcases the author&’s warmth and keen eye for the absurd.War Stories of the Battle of the Bulge
By Michael Green, James D. Brown. 2010
“Told by those who lived during . . . Hitler’s last gasp attack in the West . . . a riveting book for anybody with an…
interest in the Second World War.” —CurledUpThe powerful German counteroffensive operation codenamed “Wacht am Rhein” (Watch on the Rhine) launched against the American First Army in the early morning hours of December 16, 1944, would result in the greatest single extended land battle of World War II. To most Americans, the fierce series of battles fought in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg that winter is better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Here are the first-person stories of the American soldiers who repelled the powerful German onslaught that had threatened to turn the tide of battle in Western Europe during World War II.The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)
By Admiral William H. McRaven. 2023
THE INSTANT #1 New York Times BESTSELLER From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Make Your Bed—a short, inspirational book of advice and leadership lessons…
that Admiral McRaven collected over his four decades as a Navy SEAL. The title &“Bullfrog&” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty. Admiral McRaven was honored to receive this honor in 2011 when he took charge of the United States Special Operations Command. When McRaven retired in 2014, he had 37 years as a Navy SEAL under his belt, leading men and women at every level of the special operations community. In the ensuing four years, he served as Chancellor to the entire University of Texas System, with its 230,000 students and 100,000 faculty and health care workers. During those four decades, Admiral McRaven dealt with every conceivable leadership challenge, from commanding combat operations—including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Phillips, and the raid for Osama bin Laden. THE WISDOM OF THE BULLFROG draws on these and countless other experiences from Admiral McRaven&’s incredible life, including crisis situations, management debates, organizational transitions, and ethical dilemmas, to provide readers with the most important leadership lessons he has learned over the course of his forty years of service. Each chapter provides a Make Your Bed-like parable, rich with insights like those featured in his bestselling memoir, Sea Stories, about the specific leadership traits required to be at the top of your game, including: Who Dares, Wins Run to the Sound of the Guns No Plan Survives First Contact with the Enemy THE WISDOM OF THE BULLFROG is Admiral McRaven&’s clear-eyed treatise on the leadership qualities that separate the good from the truly great.After Stalingrad: Seven Years as a Soviet Prisoner of War
By Adelbert Holl. 2019
This WWII memoir of a Nazi infantryman captured at Stalingrad offers a rare firsthand account of life inside Soviet POW…
camps. The Battle of Stalingrad has been studied and recalled in exhaustive detail ever since the Red Army trapped the German 6th Army in the ruined city in 1942. But most of these accounts finish at the end of the battle, with columns of tens of thousands of German soldiers disappearing into Soviet captivity. Their fate is rarely described. But in After Stalingrad, German infantryman Adelbert Holl vividly recounts his seven-year ordeal as a prisoner in the Soviet camps. As Holl moves from camp to camp across the Soviet Union, he provides an unsparing view of the prison system and its population of ex-soldiers. The Soviets treated German prisoners as slave laborers, working them exhaustively, in often appalling conditions. He describes the daily life in the camps: the crowding, the dirt, the cold, the ever-present threat of disease, the forced marches, and the indifference or outright cruelty of the guards.La batalla que conmocionó Europa: Poltava y el nacimiento del Imperio Ruso
By Peter Englund. 1988
Poltava y el nacimiento del Imperio Ruso. La batalla de Poltava en 1709 marca el nacimiento del Imperio ruso de…
Pedro el Grande. En 1700, el zar, de acuerdo con Dinamarca, Sajonia y Polonia, decidió acabar con la hegemonía sueca del norte de Europa. Cuando estas fuerzas internacionales consiguieron derrotar a las tropas del rey Carlos XII en Poltava, Ucrania, empezó el principio del declive y colapso del Imperio sueco y el ascenso de Rusia.Junio de 1709. La guerra dura ya nueve largos años, y el ejército de Carlos XII sitia la ciudad de Poltava, en Ucrania. La caravana a Moscú se ha detenido, y el ejército ruso bajo las órdenes del zar Pedro está solo a cuatro kilómetros de distancia. Los suecos se han estado preparando para la batalla y las tropas, que habían estado desperdigadas por las llanuras de Ucrania, se han congregado. El plan consiste en marchar al amparo de la oscuridad y pillar a los rusos por sorpresa, pero cuando sale el sol todo el plan se desbarata.En este libro se retrata el golpe fatal, hora tras hora, la catástrofe que sesgó 10000 vidas. Se analizan las estrategias en el campo de batalla, los detalles que hacen la historia comprensible, real. A través de los diarios y cartas de los testigos, lo sucedido se llena de las voces de los que estaban allí: el general, sus sirvientes, soldados, el capellán y la viuda de un soldado...A Muddy Trench: Hamish Mann, Black Watch, Officer-Poet, 1896–1917
By Jacquie Buttriss. 2018
The recent discovery of a wooden chest, unopened for 100 years revealed a treasure trove of eloquent trench diaries, letters…
and poetry. The author was Hamish Mann, a young Black Watch subaltern killed in France in 1917 just five days after his 21st birthday.Thanks to Manns outstanding literary gifts and prodigious output, this book re-lives his fateful journey from the declaration of war, his voluntary work at a military hospital, his training and commission and, finally, his service with 8th Black Watch on the Somme.The daily hardship and trauma he experienced at the Front were shared with countless thousands of his comrades. But Hamishs extraordinary gift was his ability to record the traumatic events and the range of his emotions, writing often in his dug-out by the light of a guttering candle.A century on, thanks to the Familys discovery and Jacquie Buttrisss sensitive commentary, Hamishs tragically short life can be celebrated and his literary legacy given the recognition it so richly deserves.Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
By Hampton Sides. 2001
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • &“The greatest World War II story never told&” (Esquire)—an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue…
the last survivors of the Bataan Death March—from the author of Blood and Thunder. On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation. In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.Red Road from Stalingrad: Recollections of a Soviet Infantryman
By Mansur Abdulin. 2019
A Soviet infantryman offers a raw and candid look at life and death on the Eastern Front of WWII in…
this harrowing military memoir. While the average Soviet infantryman survived the battlefield for mere weeks before being killed or wounded, Mansur Abdulin fought on the front ranks for an entire year—and survived to tell his remarkable story. His extensive service pitted him against the German invaders at Stalingrad, Kursk and on the banks of the Dnieper. He therefore saw and engaged in some of the most bitter fighting in all of World War II. Abdulin&’s vivid inside view of the ruthless war on the Eastern Front gives a rare insight into the reality of the fighting as well as the tactics and mentality of the Soviet army. In his own words and with a remarkable clarity, Abdulin describes what combat was like on the ground, face to face with a skilled, deadly and increasingly desperate enemy.Military Sexual Trauma Current Knowledge and Future Directions
By Carolyn B. Allard, Melissa Platt. 2012
Military Sexual Trauma: Current Knowledge and Future Directions showcases the work of several prominent military sexual trauma (MST) researchers, scholars,…
and clinicians from across the United States. A review of existing research and original empirical findings converge to indicate that MST contributes to a range of physical health problems, complex posttraumatic responses, and other mental health consequences above and beyond the effects of other types of traumatic experiences. This collection also presents evidence suggesting that MST is often difficult to identify both within the individual military member and within the military population as a whole. Recommendations are offered for addressing this problem. In addition to the research review and empirical findings, an evolutionary framework for understanding sexual assault of women in the military is presented. Taken together, this collection of works may inform MST intervention and prevention efforts. This book was originally published as a special issue of Journal of Trauma & Dissociation.The preeminent Wellington biographer presents a fascinating reassessment of the Duke&’s most famous victory and his political career after Waterloo.…
The Duke of Wellington&’s momentous victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo was the culminating point of a brilliant military career. Yet Wellington&’s achievements were far from over. He commanded the allied army of occupation in France to the end of 1818, returned home to a seat in Lord Liverpool&’s cabinet, and became prime minister in 1828. He later served as a senior minister in Robert Peel&’s government and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Army for a decade until his death in 1852. In this richly detailed work, the second and concluding volume of Rory Muir&’s definitive biography, the author offers a substantial reassessment of Wellington&’s significance as a politician and a nuanced view of the private man behind the legendary hero. Muir presents new insights into Wellington&’s determination to keep peace at home and abroad, achieved by maintaining good relations with the Continental powers, resisting radical agitation, and granting political equality to the Catholics in Ireland. Countering one-dimensional image of Wellington as a national hero, Muir paints a nuanced portrait of a man whose austere public demeanor belied his entertaining, gossipy, generous, and unpretentious private self.Turncoat: Benedict Arnold and the Crisis of American Liberty
By Stephen Brumwell. 2018
A historian examines how a once-ardent hero of the American Revolutionary cause became its most dishonored traitor. General Benedict Arnold&’s…
failed attempt to betray the fortress of West Point to the British in 1780 stands as one of the most infamous episodes in American history. In the light of a shining record of bravery and unquestioned commitment to the Revolution, Arnold&’s defection came as an appalling shock. Contemporaries believed he had been corrupted by greed; historians have theorized that he had come to resent the lack of recognition for his merits and sacrifices. In this provocative book Stephen Brumwell challenges such interpretations and draws on unexplored archives to reveal other crucial factors that illuminate Arnold&’s abandonment of the revolutionary cause he once championed. This work traces Arnold&’s journey from enthusiastic support of American independence to his spectacularly traitorous acts and narrow escape. Brumwell&’s research leads to an unexpected conclusion: Arnold&’s mystifying betrayal was driven by a staunch conviction that America&’s best interests would be served by halting the bloodshed and reuniting the fractured British Empire. &“Gripping… In a time when charges of treason and disloyalty intrude into our daily politics, Turncoat is essential reading.&”—R. R. B. Bernstein, City College of New York &“The most balanced and insightful assessment of Benedict Arnold to date. Utilizing fresh manuscript sources, Brumwell reasserts the crucial importance of human agency in history.&”—Edward G. Lengel, author of General George Washington &“An incisive study of the war and the very meaning of the American Revolution itself…. The defining portrait of Arnold for the twenty-first century.&”—Francis D. Cogliano, author of Revolutionary AmericaAll American: Why I Believe in Football, God, and the War in Iraq
By Robert P McGovern. 2007
Here, Right Matters: An American Story
By Alexander Vindman. 2021
“Compelling . . . . Even those who know the details of Trump’s impeachment will find it chilling to hear…
them related by one of the event’s chief figures. . . . The story of an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances who did the right thing.” — New York Times Book Review“Vindman reminds us of what genuine patriotism can look like. . . . Vindman’s regional knowledge allows him to unpack the reasons that so many Democrats thought Trump’s phone conversation should be the basis of the nation’s third presidential impeachment. In meticulous fashion, he details the stunning number of high-ranking officials—such as Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union—who were in on the game.” — Washington Post“An important book from a true patriot whose oath to the Constitution could not allow him to look away.” — Kirkus Reviews"Compelling." — Christian Science MonitorZumwalt: The Life and Times of Admiral Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt, Jr.
By Larry Berman. 2014
Admiral Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr., the charismatic chief of naval operations (CNO) and "the navy's most popular leader since WWII"…
(Time), was a man who embodied honor, courage, and commitment. In a career spanning forty years, he rose to the top echelon of the U.S. Navy as a commander of all navy forces in Vietnam and then as CNO from 1970 to 1974. His tenure came at a time of scandal and tumult, from the Soviets' challenge to the U.S. for naval supremacy and a duplicitous endgame in Vietnam to Watergate and an admirals' spy ring.Unlike many other senior naval officers, Zumwalt successfully enacted radical change, including the integration of the most racist branch of the military—an achievement that made him the target of bitter personal recriminations. His fight to modernize a technologically obsolete fleet pitted him against such formidable adversaries as Henry Kissinger and Hyman Rickover. Ultimately, Zumwalt created a more egalitarian navy as well as a smaller modernized fleet better prepared to cope with a changing world.But Zumwalt's professional success was marred by personal loss, including the unwitting role he played in his son's death from Agent Orange. Retiring from the service in 1974, Zumwalt spearheaded a citizen education and mobilization effort that helped thousands of Vietnam veterans secure reparations. That activism earned him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Today Zumwalt's tombstone at the U.S. Naval Academy is inscribed with one word: "Reformer." Admiring yet evenhanded, Larry Berman's moving biography reminds us what leadership is and pays tribute to a man whose life reflected the best of America itself.