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A Nasty Little War: The Western Intervention into the Russian Civil War
By Anna Reid. 2023
The first comprehensive history of the failed Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, a decisive turning point in the…
relationship between Russia and the West Overlapping with and overshadowed by the First World War, the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War was one of the most ambitious military ventures of the twentieth century. Launched in the summer of 1918, it drew in 180,000 troops from fifteen different countries in theaters ranging from the Caspian Sea to the Arctic, and from Poland to the Pacific. Though little remembered today, its consequences stoked global political turmoil for decades to come. In A Nasty Little War, top Russia historian Anna Reid offers a sweeping and deeply researched account of the conflict. Initially launched to prevent Germany from exploiting the power vacuum in Eastern Europe left by the Russian Revolution, the Intervention morphed into a bid to destroy the Bolsheviks on the battlefield. But Allied armaments, supplies, and loans could not prevent Russia&’s anti-Bolshevik armies from collapsing, and the Allies were forced to retreat in defeat. The humiliation sapped British imperial swagger, chastened American idealism, and stoked militarism and nationalism in France and Germany. Combining immersive storytelling with deep research, A Nasty Little War reveals how the Allied Intervention reshaped the West&’s relations with Russia, and set a pattern for other interventions to come.You&’re no idiot, of course. You know that World War I was &“the Great War,&” and you&’re familiar with its…
images: muddy trenches, poison gas, and a no–man&’s–land of craters and barbed wire.But when it comes to understanding its causes, why it dragged on for four years, and how it set the stage for World War II, you&’re lost behind enemy lines. Don&’t wave the white flag just yet! The Complete Idiot&’s Guide® to World War I gives you a comprehensive overview of the first global war, from the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the Treaty of Versailles. In this Complete Idiot&’s Guide®, you get: • Broad coverage of the secret treaties and en-tangling alliances that led to war • Comprehensive analysis of some of history&’s bloodiest battles, including the Somme, Tannenburg, Gallipoli, and Belleau Wood • Expert commentary on the development of weapons such as the tank, the dreadnought battleship, poison gas, and the German U-boat • Valuable insights into the war&’s influence on this century&’s political and cultural developmentWork, Fight, or Play Ball: How Bethlehem Steel Helped Baseball's Stars Avoid World War I
By William Ecenbarger. 2024
In 1918, Bethlehem Steel started the world’s greatest industrial baseball league. Appealing to Major League Baseball players looking to avoid…
service in the Great War, teams employed “ringers” like Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, and Shoeless Joe Jackson in what became scornfully known as “safe shelter” leagues. In Work, Fight, or Play Ball, William Ecenbarger fondly recounts this little-known story of how dozens of athletes faced professional conflicts and a difficult choice in light of public perceptions and war propaganda. Some players used the steel mill and shipyard leagues to avoid wartime military duty, irking Major League owners, who saw their rosters dwindling. Bethlehem Steel President Charles Schwab (no relation to the financier) saw the league as a means to stave off employee and union organizing. Most fans loudly criticized the ballplayers, but nevertheless showed up to watch the action on the diamond. Ecenbarger traces the 1918 Steel League’s season and compares the fates of the players who defected to industry or continued to play stateside with the travails of the Major Leaguers, such as Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Grover Cleveland Alexander, who served during the war. Work, Fight, or Play Ball reveals the home field advantage brought on by the war, which allowed companies to profit from Major League players.When the United States officially entered World War I in 1917, it was woefully underprepared for chemical warfare, in which…
the British, French, and Germans had been engaged since 1915. In response, the U.S. Army created an entirely new branch: the Chemical Warfare Service. The army turned to trained chemists and engineers to lead the charge—and called on an array of others, including baseball players, to fill out the ranks.The Gas and Flame Men is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven—Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa &“Jeptha&” Rixey—are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. The son of a sixth Hall of Famer, player and manager Ned Hanlon, was a young officer killed in action in France with the First Gas Regiment. Prominent chemical soldiers also included veteran Major League catcher and future manager George &“Gabby&” Street and Boston Braves president and former Harvard football coach Percy D. Haughton.The Gas and Flame Men explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health—and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports. The Gas and Flame Men also addresses historical inaccuracies and misperceptions surrounding Christy Mathewson&’s early death from tuberculosis in 1925, long attributed to wartime gas exposure.The BEF Campaign on the Aisne 1914: 'In the Company of Ghosts'
By Jerry Murland. 2012
The river Aisne featured prominently in August 1914 during the Retreat from Mons and in September was the scene of…
bitter fighting when the BEF re-crossed it in their unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the German Army entrenched along the Northern Crest.The fighting was hugely costly to the BEF, which had already fought three major engagements and marched over 200 miles in a month. The three British Corps lost over 700 officers and some 15,000 men. Little wonder one officer wrote that he felt he was in the company of ghosts.Historian Jerry Murland places the Aisne battles in their context, both from the BEF and German viewpoints. He highlights the early deficiencies and unpreparedness of the British Army staff and logistics organization as well as friction among the command structure, all of which hampered effective operations.The Harwich Force has made its name and will not be forgotten during the future annals of history’; so said…
Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt on Armistice Day 1918. But that fame has not endured. Yet for the whole duration of the First World War, the Harwich Striking Force was the front line of the Royal Navy, a force of cruisers and destroyers defending the seas for the Allies. Under a charismatic and aggressive leader, Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, U-boats, German cruisers, destroyers and light craft all met their ends at the hands of the Force, as did enemy seaplanes and Zeppelin airships. The Harwich ships were at sea almost daily throughout the war, haunting the German coast and the Friesian Islands, pioneering aerial attack from the sea, developing naval carrier aviation and combined air/sea operations, and hunting for enemy submarines and minelayers in the North Sea. The Harwich Force also took part in major naval battles alongside the Grand Fleet’s battlecruisers, and protected merchant ships operating in the dangerous waters around Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain. The author also assesses the role played by the other Royal Navy formations at Harwich: submarines, auxiliary minesweeping and patrol vessels, the Felixstowe seaplane base and the town itself. And when the war was finally won, the Force gained further fame when the German U-boat fleet was surrendered there. Lavishly illustrated, this book is an enthralling account of the men of the Harwich Force, of their grit and brave sacrifice and the key part that they played in the final Allied victory against Germany.Magnificent but Not War: The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915
By John Dixon. 2009
The book is a detailed account of the fighting around Ypres during April and May 1915. It is essentially a…
day-by-day record of the Second Battle of Ypres which draws heavily upon personal accounts, regimental histories and war diaries to present a comprehensive study of the battle in which Germany became the first nation to use poisonous gas as a weapon. Each phrase of the battle (the Battle of Gravenstafel; the Battle of St. Julien; the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge and the Battle of Bellewarde Ridge) is discussed in detail with maps and photographs where appropriate. the main text is accompanied by a number of appendices including officer casualties; Victoria Cross winners and the British Order of Battle for Hill 60 and the Second Battle of Ypres.The Last Cruise of a German Raider: The Destruction of SMS Emden
By Wes Olson. 2018
The story of the German light cruiser SMS _Emden_ has been the subject of over a dozen books since her…
destruction at the hands of the Australian light cruiser HMAS _Sydney_ on 9 November 1914. Accounts of _Emden_s raiding activities, her loss on the Cocos Islands, and the escape of her landing party have also appeared in official histories and books on the First World War at sea. No English-language book, however, has pieced together a comprehensive account of the action and the events before and after.In this detailed and riveting new book, Wes Olson has made extensive use of a wealth of first-hand accounts from letters, diaries, memoirs and German survivor statements to produce a detailed reconstruction of the battle at Cocos. By breaking the one-and-a-half-hour action down into ten-minute blocks an accurate, chronological and credible picture has been created, and the extensive use of quotations gives the story a unique vividness.But the book is much more than the account of one naval battle. _The Emden_s activities as a raider at the beginning of the war are outlined; the significance of the departure of the first ANZAC troop convoy, and _Sydneys_ involvement explained. The Cocos raid and the landing of von Mckes party and the dispatch of _Sydney_ to investigate are covered, and Captain Glossops controversial decision to open fire on the wreck of the _Emden_ is analysed. And drawing on the reports produced by Sydneys surgeons, the book presents a facet of naval action often overlooked namely the effect of high explosive shells on the human body.Employing the wealth of archival and photographic material, as well as the numerous first-hand accounts of the German, British and Australian participants, the author has written a work that takes the reader right to the centre of the action and brings alive the immediacy and horror of naval warfare for those who took part.The Home Front: Final Blows and the Year of Victory (The Great War Illustrated)
By David Bilton. 2015
Many books have looked at the effect of the war on the Home Front, but this is the first book…
to take a look at civilian life at home photographically from an international perspective: covering both Allied and enemy countries, juxtaposing the same situations in different countries to show a similar response.This fifth and final volume chronicles the events of the last year of the war and looks briefly at the beginnings of peace. At the start of the year the civilians on both sides were resigned to another year of pain and further belt-tightening as the shortages grew. Food and materials were in short-supply and the military had first-call on just about everything. People had to learn to make do with what they had. Although the U-boat campaign had been beaten by the introduction of the convoy, rationing needed to be introduced in Britain and France to even out the distribution of essential foods. No one would starve but many went hungry. However, throughout the Central Powers, because of the Allied blockade, the situation was far worse: everything was scarce or difficult to get hold of; some goods were unobtainable except from the Black Market. However, as neither side was prepared to give in, and with no end in sight, civilians just had to get on with their lives as best they could.The book follows the same format as the previous four providing the reader with a brief overview of the events of the year on the Home Front at home and abroad, a detailed timeline and a wealth of photographs, divided into themes: raids, life on the Home front, Christmas, propaganda, casualties and captivity, and home defense. Many of the, over two hundred photos, have not been seen since they were published during the war and some are published here for the first time. The photos are international and give a flavor of what life was like for the civilian during the most turbulent year of the war.This unique series of international photographic books fits in with the authors more textual books on the Home Front: Hull in the Great War, Reading in the Great War volumes 1 and 2, and The Home Front in the Great War.Stafford in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
By Nick Thomas. 2017
Stafford in the Great War tells the fascinating story of a county town and its people between the catastrophic years…
of 1914–18 .The title was written as a companion volume to the author's earlier work, Stafford at War 1939-45, and adopts the same successful formula. The book examines the work of local men and women on the Home Front, before providing details of the towns contribution in every theatre of the war. Early chapters examine the role of Staffordians who served in the British Expeditionary Force, nicknamed The Contemptible Little Army by Kaiser Wilhelm II, and who took part in the Christmas Truce, 1914. The story of the Stafford Territorials of the Stafford Battery, the Staffordshire Yeomanry and the North and South Staffordshire Regiments is also explained, along with the fate of Kitcheners Volunteer Army.The events surrounding the service of a number of local men are recorded in some detail, along with the exploits of men who fought in all of the armed services and support units. Collectively, their stories help outline the course of the war.Staffordians won 120 gallantry awards during the conflict, and those that are not referred to in the main body of the text may be found in an appendix. Also listed are the names and service details of over 400 men whose names were omitted from the towns war memorial.Ironbridge in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
By Christopher W. Owen. 2017
Famed as the birthplace of modern industry and the first cast iron metal single span bridge, Ironbridge is venerated the…
world over yet its social history is at times unfamiliar.One hundred years ago this sleepy town, set by the river Severn, willingly volunteered its lifeblood to a war that everyone confidently believed would be a short-lived, adventurous romp. Misled by government propaganda, they soon discovered through fighting relative's letters and various official news reports, many of which are unearthed for the first time throughout this book, that it had rapidly degenerated into an endless morass of bloody violence with the probability of their men meeting a painful death on a daily basis thrown in for good measure.The town's wartime heritage is one of enterprise and hard work as the majority of the Great War gun-fodder comprised working-class men drawn from prestigious local companies. Maw & Co, the world-famous ceramic tile maker, raised its own company of enlisted fighting men, in common with other businesses nationwide, that were known as Pals Battalions. As in most instances across the land, it subsequently paid a heavy price for this mass act of patriotism. Ironbridge also became a cradle of the fledgling women's wartime workforce, who helped produce vital heavy munitions components at another famous local company's works.Ironbridge in the Great War is the story of the town's great sacrifice, as evidenced by the numerous and diverse war monuments that populate the town and its surrounding hamlets. This is detailed work that includes fascinating facts about the town, which, despite being constantly under the world spotlight, remained, until now, a part of its hidden wartime social history.Amiens 1918: From Disaster to Victory
By Gregory Blaxland. 2018
Gregory Blaxland has written a superb account of 1918, the final year of the war when the balance of advantage…
between the combatants changed so dramatically in a matter of weeks that summer.As the realities of the changing nature of warfare by late 1917 made the retention of static lines, no matter how sophisticated, no longer a long term viable option for the defence; and with Russia knocked out of the war, the Germans under Hindenburg and Ludendorff determined on a bold series of major offensives, the first of which was aimed at the British Fifth Army with the objective of seizing Amiens, a crucial rail head and the city that marked the boundary between the BEF and the French. Capture this and the Germans had a good chance of separating the key allied powers. Despite almost destroying Fifth Army and advancing within ten miles of Amiens, the Germans failed in their objective; they turned to a number of other hard thrusts along the line but were foiled on each occasions.Reinforced by substantial numbers of American troops, the allies launched their first, French led, counter attack on 18 July, which many considered the turning point of the 1918 campaign and, indeed the whole war. Shortly afterwards, on 8 August, the BEF (with some French support) attacked with Fourth Army before Amiens and was stunningly successful what Ludendorff described as the Black Day of the German Army. There followed a sequence of blows by all the allies along the Western Front, pushing the Germans back to the borders; with her allies collapsing and with the Imperial Navy in a state of mutiny,The book largely concentrates on the British and Dominion troops of the BEF. The first half is taken up with the attack on Amiens (and, to a lesser extent, on Arras). In the second half of the book the author provides a cohesive account of the British response in retaking the initiative from the Germans, though not failing to give allied nations their due.Besides giving a full narrative account, he also provides a useful critical commentary of the performance of armies and generals.This is a welcome reprint of an accessible account of the crucial year of the war, when on the Western Front the conflict broke free of its entrenched deadlock. Despite the extraordinary achievements of the BEF in 1918, they still remain remarkably little known and even less appreciated.Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
By Craig Armstrong. 2015
With the large number of troops stationed in and around the area and its position as a major industrial city,…
which focused on armaments production, shipbuilding and heavy engineering, the realities of the war were always prominently felt in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The city played a key role in the nation's war effort, as it was a key port and the nation's major exporter of coal a vital link in keeping the war effort going.The proud tradition of military service in the region was reflected in the huge numbers of Newcastle men and women who came forward to serve in the military or in roles such as nursing. The city was the recruitment centre and driving force for the formation of numerous 'Pals' Battalions and the Northumberland Fusiliers, which raised more battalions than any other regiment during the war.For many of those left behind the war was a time of fear and hardship. This book documents the struggle that many suffering families faced in coping with rising wartime prices, longer working hours, endless worry, wartime policies and severe shortages. These issues are brought to light throughout, with a view to how they affected the people of Newcastle and how, with audacity and courage, Newcastle's citizens overcame them. By the end of the war so many Newcastle men had been killed, and others faced an uncertain future in a shattered post-war economy. Despite this, the workers of Newcastle continued to provide incredible charitable support until the end of the war in addition to their already momentous efforts. These efforts are considered greatly in this enlightening book, which is a testimony to the bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Newcastle-upon-Tyne during the Great War.Now the War Is Over: Britain, 1919–1920
By Simon Fowler, Daniel Weinbren. 2018
How did Britain respond to the momentous events of 1919 and 1920 as it adjusted to peace after four years…
of war? What were the challenges the British people faced and how did they cope with the profound changes that confronted them? Now the War Is Over seeks to answer these questions. It looks at what happened in every sphere of life and it shows how, even today, we are still dealing with the consequences of those years of transition.Across Europe there were revolutions, a war for independence occurred in Ireland, and on mainland Britain there were widespread race riots. However, most servicemen simply wanted to come home to their families and a secure job. Some hoped for a return to the certainties of a pre-war world, but this was impossible too much had happened. As they explore the troubled state of Britain immediately after the war Simon Fowler and Daniel Weinbren give us a fascinating insight into how the global conflict changed the direction of the nation.Following in their best-selling series of Battlefield Guides this is a companion volume to the Holts Western Front South Guide.…
Between the two, they cover the main WW1 Western Front battlefields. This book covers 15 of the most significant battles of the northern area from Nieuwport to just north of The Somme.Whether travelling on the ground or in the mind, the reader is carefully guided through the battlefields with a mixture of succinct military history, cameo memories and stories of VCs and other personalities, interspersed with references to the literature and poetry of the war.This guidebook is based on Tonie and Valmai Holt's 30 years experience of researching, guiding tours and writing about the area, with their unique blend of male and female points of view. It is written to the high standards that have come to be expected of these highly respected authors who are credited with pioneering the modern battlefield tour and whose guide books are referred to as 'The Bibles' . This new edition contains: Brief Historical Background and Summary of each battle, Opening Moves and What Happened, with appropriate quotations Sketch Map for each battle showing battle lines, routes etc and all points of interest described on each timed itinerary Large Sketch Map putting the battlefields (north and south) into perspective Memorials, Museums, Sites of Interest (bunkers, craters etc) War Grave Cemeteries Allied and German GPS Location for every recommended stop War Graves and Commemorative Associations Cameos about individual personalities Useful Tourist Information Where to stay and eatThe Journeys End Battalion: The 9th East Surrey in the Great War
By Michael Lucas. 2012
R.C. Sherriff, author of Journeys End, the most famous play of the Great War, saw all his front line service…
with the 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. This intense experience profoundly affected his writing and, through his play, it continues to have a powerful influence on our understanding of the conflict. Yet the story of his battalion has never been told in full until now. In The Journeys End Battalion, Michael Lucas gives a vivid account of its history. Using official and unofficial sources, diaries, letters, and British and German wartime records, he describes the individuals who served in it and the operations they took part in. He identifies the inspiration for Journeys End and considers how Sherriff delved into his experiences and those of his fellow soldiers in order to create his drama. So not only does the book shed new light on the wartime career of R.C. Sherriff, but it is a valuable record of the operation of a British battalion on the Western Front during the Great War.The Passchendaele Campaign, 1917 (British Expeditionary Force)
By Andrew Rawson. 2017
This is an account of the British Expeditionary Forces battles in the summer and autumn of 1917. It begins with…
the Allied plan to free up the Flanders coast, to limit German naval and submarine attacks on British shipping.The opening offensive began with the detonation of nineteen mines on 7 June and ended with the capture of the Messines Ridge. The main offensive started with success on 31 July but was soon bogged down due to the August rains. Three huge attacks between 20 September and 4 October had the Germans reeling, but again the weather intervened and the campaign concluded with futile attacks across the muddy slopes of the Passchendaele Ridge.Each large battle and minor action is given equal treatment, giving a detailed insight into the most talked about side of the campaign, the British side. There are details on the planning of each offensive and the changing tactics used by both sides. There is discussion about how the infantry, the artillery, the cavalry, the engineers and Royal Flying Corps worked together. Over sixty new maps chart the day-by-day progress of each battle and action.Together the narrative and maps provide an insight into the British Armys experience during this important campaign. The men who made a difference are mentioned; those who led the advances, those who stopped the counterattacks and those who were awarded the Victoria Cross. Discover the Passchendaele campaign and learn how the British Armys brave soldiers fought and died fighting for their objectives.My Escape from Donington Hall: Preceded By An Account Of The Siege Of Kiao-chow In 1915
By Gunther Plüschow. 2015
It was an escape from a PoW camp as daring and fraught with danger as any immortalised by Hollywood. Yet…
the story is less familiar than most as it concerns the only German prisoner of war to escape from captivity in mainland Britain and make it home during either World War.After being caught in Gibraltar during an earlier attempt to return to his homeland, Pluschow and other captured Germans were shipped to Plymouth and then on to the PoW camp at Donington Hall, where he arrived in May 1915.On July 4 he and fellow prisoner Oskar Trefftz broke out by climbing over two 9ft barbed wire fences, before changing clothes and walking 15 miles to Derby where they caught a train to London.By the next morning the men's escape was featured in the Daily Sketch newspaper with both names and descriptions of the pair. They went their separate ways but Trefftz was recaptured at Millwall Docks. Realising he had to alter his appearance, Pluschow removed his smart tie and handed his coat in at the cloakroom at Blackfriars station. The German then used scraped-up coal dust, boot polish and Vaseline to change his fair hair to greasy black and covered himself in soot to make him appear as a dock worker. Pluschow then stowed away on a Dutch steamer ship at Tilbury docks, talked his way past a policeman in Holland before travelling to Germany by train. Upon his return home he received a hero's welcome and was presented with the Iron Cross First Class.This extraordinary story is told in Gunther's own words for the first time in English.Haig's Generals
By Steven J. Corvi. 2009
An in-depth study of Douglas Haig's army commanders on the Western Front during the First World War. Assesses their careers…
and characters, looks critically at their performance in command and examines their relationship with their subordinates and with Haig himself. Chapters are devoted to Allenby, Byng, Birdwood, Gough, Horne, Monro, Plumer, Rawlinson and Smith-Dorrien. Offers a fascinating insight into the mentality of these men and into their methods as they sought a solution to the problem of war on the Western Front. A fascinating and original contribution to the history of the war in the trenches.Contributors include: John Bourne, Matthew Hughes, John Lee, William Philpott, Simon Robbins, Gary Sheffield, Peter Simkins, Ian F. W. Beckett, Steven J. Corvi.The Struggle for the Dardanelles: The Memoirs of a German Staff Officer in Ottoman Service
By Major Erich Prigge. 2017
This is a detailed eye-witness account of the Dardanelles/Gallipoli campaign from the perspective of the Turks, through the eyes of…
Major Erich Prigge an adjutant to Marshal Liman von Sanders, the German commander-in-chief of the Ottoman forces in the Dardanelles. The focus is overwhelmingly on combat but includes related matters such as reconnaissance and logistics. Packed with specific information and technical detail as well as action, it should be of great interest to historians and enthusiasts. Prigge actually wrote two accounts of the campaign. The first, published in January 1916 while the fighting continued, revealed so much information that the Ottoman government asked the German authorities to suppress it. The other, published later that year, included coverage of the British evacuation. Although Prigge had removed many of the sensitive details of unit names, casualties etc., he had substantially rewritten and augmented many passages with lively descriptive material. Philip Rance here presents the first English translations of both versions, which together form one of the most complete and valuable accounts of this campaign available from the Turkish perspective.