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Tanks In The Great War, 1914-1918 [Illustrated Edition]
By Major-General J.F.C. Fuller DSO. 2014
Includes more than 30 maps, plans and diagramsThe world-renowned military expert Major-General J.F.C. Fuller DSO, noted for his many works…
on military strategy, tactics and history, turns his attention to the famed Royal Tank Corps of World War I. He was in a particularly good position to write such a work as he served from 1916 as part of the Tanks Corps and planned the famous tank attack at Cambrai in 1917, he also took a leading role in the planning of the 1918 autumn offensives that broke the back of German resistance and ended the War. He covers in comprehensively the development of the tank, mechanical characteristics of early British tanks, particularly the Mark I, as well as the early battles at the Somme and Ancre. He also describes the growth of the Tank Corps itself, tank tactics, tank engineering plus the tank battles in 1917-1918. There are also appreciations of German, French and American tank activities.This thesis will use a comparative study of the German Storm trooper battalions and the Canadian trench raiders in order…
to examine the dynamics of the World War I battlefield, the role of military culture in adaptation in order to acknowledge and act on the requirements of battlefield innovation. The purpose is to determine what key factors contributed to the tactical effectiveness of specialized assault units on the Western Front. The military cultures of these armies comprised the logical and innovative principles that were fundamental in the tactical effectiveness of these elite assault units by making revolutionary developments in force structure, institutional support, personnel selection, decentralized leadership, and training on small-unit tactics and advanced weaponry. Did these tactics create similar or different effects for each army? What factors did these armies use to organize and employ these assault units? To answer these questions, several areas will be examined: (1) force structure, (2) institutional support, (3) personnel selection, and (4) training on decentralized leadership, small unit infiltration tactics, and advanced weaponry. Both armies had different backgrounds and situations. The German Army's Sturm battalions represented an army-wide institutionalization of organization, selection and technique. The Canadian Corps' trench raiders were based on the Canadian Corps' homogeneous structure that separated itself from the BEF in developing its own doctrine, training schools, organization, and tactical innovations.Preparing For Battle: Learning Lessons In The US Army During World War I
By Lieutenant Commander Glen T Cullen. 1917
This thesis examines how well the United States Army of World War I prepared for battle by learning the lessons…
of modern combat from other nations engaged in war. Armies prepare for war during peace. However, the true validation of doctrine weapons, organization, and training developed in peacetime is war. Hostilities between the Allied and Central Powers raged for three years before the Unites States declared war. This period provided the US Army a unique opportunity to observe how technologies and techniques were effectively employed by French, British, and German commanders.The question this thesis attempts to answer is: How well did the United States Army apply the experiences of the belligerent nations from 1914 to 1917 in preparing the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) for combat in the European Theater? The thesis starts with a discussion of pre-war Army developments from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 through the last US military action before the declaration of war, the Punitive Expedition to Mexico. The evolution of warfare through French, British, and German experience is described followed by a discussion of the observations of modern warfare by military professionals and how US Army doctrinal publications and operations planning reflected these changes. The thesis then analyses US battlefield performance and influences upon the formation of US doctrine.When Elephants Clash - A Critical Analysis Of Major General Paul Emil Von Lettow-Vorbeck
By Major Thomas A. Crowson. 2014
For over four years during World War I, Lieutenant Colonel (Later Major General) Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of the…
German Schutztruppe led the men of the British East African Expeditionary Force on a chase over some of the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. As the commander of German forces in East Africa, he was the author of one of the most successful guerrilla fights in history. His innovative and creative solutions to daily problems proved to be the undoing of a succession of British commanders, allowing him to bleed Allied forces from European fronts. Although he never had more than 3,000 European and 15,000 native soldiers, von Lettow-Vorbeck consumed the efforts of over 250,000 Allied (mostly British) soldiers. Von Lettow-Vorbeck and the men of the Schutztruppe are little known outside of Germany, but they were never defeated and have the distinction of being the only Germans of World War I to occupy British soil. Despite their successes, their exploits remain obscured in the greater tragedy of the Great War.What Were The Causes Of The Delay Of The 79th Division Capturing Montfaucon?
By Major Paul B. Mitchell. 2014
On the opening day of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, the newly-created United States 79th Division was templated…
to advance nine kilometers through German-controlled terrain. However, the advance through the first four kilometers, which included the German strong point of Montfaucon, took two days. The slowed advance of the 79th Division is credited with slowing the progress of the entire American Expeditionary Forces' First Army, thus allowing time for Germans to react to the surprise American offensive. Thus, the central research question is: What were the factors that caused the delay of the 79th Division in their capture of Montfaucon? Little research has been completed on this subject, and most historians pinpoint the sole cause as inexperience on the part of the 79th Division. Therefore, an analysis will be conducted which takes into account the training received by the 79th Division in the United States, the training received in France, and other factors that influenced the outcome of the battle.Australian Light Horse: A Study Of The Evolution Of Tactical And Operational Maneuver
By Major Edwin L Kennedy. 2014
This study analyzes the actions of the Australian Light Horse in the Middle East campaign during World War I. It…
shows the basis for their approach to war and how these techniques were successful by adapting to the circumstances of the situation. The Australian Light Horse demonstrated the traits of initiative and flexibility during the campaign in Egypt and Palestine by changing their modus operandi from mounted infantry to cavalry, a seemingly minor shift semantically, a major shift doctrinally.Their adaptability to the situations in the desert was largely responsible for their tactical successes and played a major part in the success of the operational maneuver of the mounted forces under General Allenby during the last year of the war. Most importantly, the lessons learned from their actions sustained the advocates of horse cavalry doctrine long after the apparent usefulness of the horse on the modern battlefield had diminished in importance.American Observers On The Battlefields Of The Western Front
By Major James A. Vohr USMC. 2014
Although during World War I the United States employed observers on the battlefields of the Western Front, the information they…
provided lacked the substance and conclusions required to evolve the tactical doctrine of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). In initial engagements, the AEF was largely forced to rely, with predictable negative outcome, upon outdated concepts founded largely upon the prejudices of the Army's leadership.In August of 1914 the United States Army and Marine Corps demonstrated strong foresight, considering the isolationist perspective of the nation, in detailing officers to the battlefields of Europe. These officers were given little guidance, but their mission was clearly to report on military actions and developments in what was becoming the largest struggle in history. A significant military development of World War I noted by the U.S. was the advance of offensive infantry tactics to cope effectively with the characteristics and lethality of the modern battlefield.The United States, with a two and one-half year opportunity to observe tactics prior to the engagement of the AEF, arguably should have benefited from the experience of others. However, this was not the case. The AEF in its initial engagements, performed much as its European counterparts did at the onset of the war. Eventually the AEF performance improved, but only as U.S. soldiers and Marines gained personal battlefield experience.Birth Of Modern Counterfire - The British And American Experience In World War I
By Major William M. Campsey. 2014
This study investigates the original needs for and development of counterfire techniques in World War I. Concentrating on the experiences…
of the British and the Americans, the examination explores techniques of counterfire and their failures or successes.The first chapter investigates why World War I was the first war in which modern counterfire techniques were employed. Chapter 2 describes the British experience. Chapters 3 & 4 explain how the Americans trained for and fought in the war. The last chapter analyses those techniques and principles of action that had relevance for both nations.The study concludes that several techniques were necessary in World War I to suppress enemy artillery. First, efforts to destroy enemy artillery before battles were not as successful as efforts to neutralize it for the duration of the battle. Second, with the enormity of details necessary to collect intelligence, assign targets, preposition ammunition, and execute the program of fire, competent staff work became critical. Third, the intelligence procedures developed in position warfare were insufficient to suppress enemy artillery as the battle line moved progressively forward. Suppression of all terrain in the zone of operations that was capable of holding enemy artillery became necessary. Finally, artillery organization and control must be centralized.The study also identifies two techniques necessary to exploit successful counterfire. First, surprise over the enemy would invariably gain the initiative. The enemy guns would not recover from the surprise for the duration of time that neutralization fires continued. Second, counterfire must be integrated into the overall fireplan and the infantry scheme of maneuver. It did the commander no good if counterfire was successful only to fail to exploit that success with maneuver.Why Gallipoli Matters: Interpreting Different Lessons From History
By Lieutenant Colonel John M Sullivan Jr USMC. 2014
After careful study of the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915, why did the British and the Americans come up to contradictory…
operational conclusions regarding the future applicability of amphibious operations? Divergent views from the lessons of Gallipoli campaign are the result of three differing operational approaches to strategic considerations that Britain and the Unites States faced in the 1920s and 1930s. The first were different theater strategic objectives that required different operational campaigns necessary to achieve each. The second was different operational experiences, which caused one side to focus on the past while the other to the future. The final was the different means available to operational commanders to execute their campaign.History can often provide contradictory lessons to those who wish to use it to practically apply operational art. Using analogies correctly is important. For the operational commander, drawing the correct lessons learned is made even more difficult by the very nature of inter-service rivalry. Derived from an analysis of the operational art and at operational level of war, the lessons learned from this campaign led directly to the development of sound doctrine, which developed in peacetime was absolutely essential in wartime. Finally, we continue to learn from failure more often than through success, but we must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by failure either.A Regiment Like No Other: The 6th Marine Regiment At Belleau Wood
By LCDR J Wayne Hill. 2014
This thesis addresses the unique composition of the 6th U.S. Marine Regiment and the role they played in the battle…
of Belleau Wood. It analyzes composition of the 6th Marine Regiment: 60 percent were college men, many of whom were college athletes. With the exception of the Battalion's senior officers and a handful of senior non-commissioned officers, the Regiment was composed of volunteers. Although they were put through rigorous training, these young Marines were not fully prepared for the war that they would face. These young men overcame shortfalls, and became leaders who motivated others to follow. The argument is that these men were able to use their educational and athletic backgrounds to overcome adverse training and combat conditions and proceeded to shape both the outcome of the First World War as well as the Marine Corps for the remainder of the 20th Century.Grapes Of Wrath
By Boyd Cable. 2014
IT is possible that this book may be taken for an actual account of the Somme battle, but I warn…
readers that although it is in the bulk based on the fighting there and is no doubt colored by the fact that the greater part of it was written in the Somme area or between visits to it, I make no claim for it as history or as an historical account. My ambition was the much lesser one of describing as well as I could what a Big Push is like from the point of view of an ordinary average infantry private, of showing how much he sees and knows and suffers in a, great battle, of giving a glimpse perhaps of the spirit that animates the New Armies, the endurance that has made them more than a match for the Germans, the acceptance of appalling and impossible horrors as the work-a-day business and routine of battle, the discipline and training that has fused such a mixture of material into tempered fighting metal.For the tale itself, I have tried to put into words merely the sort of story that might and could be told by thousands of our men to-day. I hope, in fact, I have so "told the tale" that such men as I have written of may be able to put this book in your hands and say: "This chapter just describes our crossing the open," or "That is how we were shelled," or "I felt the same about my Blighty one."At The Front
By Lieutenant Alec Johnston. 2013
THE purpose of this little volume is to preserve, for his friends and the many others who cared for his…
writings, a record of the work which Alec Johnston contributed to Punch during the War. Written under all sorts of impossible conditions, they never pretended to be more than the gay and cynical banter of one who brought to the hardships and perils of life at the Front an incurable habit of humour. For several years Alec Johnston had been associated with Punch as an occasional contributor of light verse and prose. After leaving Oxford where, as at St. Paul's School, he had given promise of a brilliant career, he became a schoolmaster, but his inclinations lay elsewhere and he would probably have followed the profession of letters but for the outbreak of war. Within two days he enlisted in the Artists' Rifles-he was then twenty-five years old-and went out with their first draft in October, 1914. In February of the next year he received a commission in the 1st King's Shropshire Light Infantry, and was with them first at Armentières, and then upon the Ypres salient till his death. He was promoted Lieutenant in September, 1915.Clifford Almon Wells was born in Toronto, Canada, March 12th, 1892. His teaching career at Johns Hopkins University was bought…
to a end when he decided in the summer of 1915 that it was his duty to relinquish his position and take his part as a Canadian in the European war. In Sep. he enlisted as a Private in the 4th University Company, one of the reinforcing companies of the famous Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Although without previous military training his advancement was rapid, later he was transferred to the 8th Battalion as 2nd Lieutenant.His letters cover a period of eighteen months. They were written in railway cars and on board ship; in tents in England, Belgium and France; in huts, shacks, furnace rooms and ruined houses; in London boarding houses and hotels; in French farm-houses, and German dugouts; in the midst of the awful clamors and crashings and thunders of artillery, and within sound of the coughing of a sick German in the front line of enemy trenches.He wrote of things which others have written about; of things which pleased him, and of other things which displeased him, most of these relating to the commonplace of life. But in addition to the commonplace there will be found in these letters a surprising variety of topics, and withal such graphic descriptions, thrilling or amusing stories, and information on many matters of interest to all who have friends overseas that the letters will both entertain and enlighten.His last dated letter was written the 20th day of April, 1917, eleven days after the battle of Vimy Ridge. Thankful because he had had a part in that battle, exultant and confident in view of the great victory, but before this letter reached her she had received official notice that he had been killed in action the 28th day of April.The Irish Guards In The Great War – Vol. II. [Illustrated Edition]
By Rudyard Kipling. 2013
A Fantastic Regimental History of an Illustrious regiment, awarded two coveted stars by the renowned military historian and Times War…
Correspondent Cyril Falls:"One could be assured that when Mr Kipling turned his hand to a regimental history the result would be very different to the ordinary. The particular invention wherewith he has enriched this book is a sort of chorus--the comment of the private soldier upon the events narrated, which is witty and effective. Mr Kipling has also brought to bear his magic upon that most matter-of-fact of records, the battalion war diary, and has made it live. *** he has composed a noble tribute to the great regiment in the ranks of which he lost his son."-- Cyril Falls, War Books, London 1930.Illustrated with sumptuously detailed maps.The Irish Guards In The Great War – Vol. I. [Illustrated Edition]
By Rudyard Kipling. 2013
A Fantastic Regimental History of an Illustrious regiment, awarded two coveted stars by the renowned military historian and Times War…
Correspondent Cyril Falls:"One could be assured that when Mr Kipling turned his hand to a regimental history the result would be very different to the ordinary. The particular invention wherewith he has enriched this book is a sort of chorus--the comment of the private soldier upon the events narrated, which is witty and effective. Mr Kipling has also brought to bear his magic upon that most matter-of-fact of records, the battalion war diary, and has made it live. *** he has composed a noble tribute to the great regiment in the ranks of which he lost his son."-- Cyril Falls, War Books, London 1930.Illustrated with sumptuously detailed maps.YPRES 1914: An Official Account Published By Order Of The German General Staff
By The German General Staff. 2013
"An official German account, written close to the action, of the early Great War battles of the Yser and first…
Ypres in the autumn of 1914. Interesting revelation of German attitudes to the two battles that stopped their steamroller advance through Flanders.The full title of this book is "The Battle of the Yser and of Ypres in the Autumn 1914" and it gives equal coverage to both. It was written by a Captain Otto Schwink, a General Staff Officer, in 1917 - too close in time to the operations it describes to have permitted proper research and so provide a more objective account. It was intended primarily for public consumption and was how the German General Staff wished the campaign to be seen. Nevertheless, it is interesting to read the other side's point of view and balance is to some extent restored by the series of footnotes provided throughout the narrative by our own Historical Section (Military Branch)."--N&M Press ReprintThe War Story Of Dillwyn Parrish Starr
By Louis Starr, Dillwyn Parrish Starr. 2013
Dillwyn Parrish Starr led a short life but he lived it at a tremendous speed when the First World…
War broke out he was a star American Football Player and scholar at Harvard However spurred on by his convictions he sailed to the U K in a rush and signed up for service as soon as possible thereafter he saw a great deal of fighting with the Royal Navy Armored car detachment However as the war stagnated to the static bloody fighting in the trenches he felt compelled to transfer to the prestigious Grenadier Guards in the British Army Always heavily engaged Dillwyn fought with great courage in both Flanders and on the Gallipoli campaign before falling to the overwhelming fire of the Germans at Ginchy during the infernal Somme battle in 1916 His letters are a vivid memento to a man who was universally respected even in a regiment with such high standards as the Grenadiers Guards cheerful and upbeat snuffed out too soon in the hell of World War OneIncludes the World War One In The Desert Illustration Pack- 115 photos/illustrations and 19 maps spanning the Desert campaigns 1914-1918"Written…
by the foremost accredited London newspaper journalist in the Middle East during the Great War, William Massey covered the war in the Middle East as it was fought against the Ottoman Turkish Empire, its German ally and the tribes of the region who supported them. He was aware of the hardships suffered by the British and Colonial troops serving in the difficult climate and later became a champion of those who fought there. He writes of the complete conflict from the battles in the western desert with the Senussi to Aleppo and beyond to the borders of Turkey."-Print Ed.T. E. Lawrence: Theorist And Campaign Planner [Illustrated Edition]
By Major Lawrence W Moores. 2013
Includes World War One In The Desert Illustration Pack- 115 photos/illustrations and 19 maps spanning the Desert campaigns 1914-1918.This monograph…
analyzes T.E. Lawrence as a military theorist and campaign planner. It investigates whether Lawrence's development of his own theory of war assisted him in planning the Arab campaign during World War I. The monograph focuses in four areas. The first section discusses the historical background of Lawrence and the Arab revolt. This section establishes the basis for Lawrence's understanding of war and of the theater of operations. In addition, it identifies the aims of the Arab revolt and why Arab actions were important to the Allied cause. The second section focuses on Lawrence's theory of war. This section explains his theory and how he developed it. The third section deals with how Lawrence's theory addressed the Arab's ends (desired end state for the war), means (use of the resources available), and ways (the method for employing the means to attain the ends). In a fourth and concluding section. The monograph proposes that T. E. Lawrence's development of a theory of war did assist him in planning the Arab campaign during World War I. Lawrence's theory of war accomplished two functions. First. it clarified the past, what had happened in the Arab revolt to that point. Secondly, it helped Lawrence anticipate the future. A future that came to fruition because of Lawrence's ability to transcend his role as a theorist. Using his theory as a basis, Lawrence carried his rational approach to war into the development of an operational concept, the "war of detachment" and a fighting doctrine to fulfill it. With these means in hand, Lawrence devised a way to employ them. Logically, the way Lawrence devised was a campaign plan designed in accordance with his theory.The History Of The South African Forces In France [Illustrated Edition]
By Colonel John Buchan. 2013
Includes 22 maps and 18 illustrationsTens of thousands of men came from all round the Empire to aid the British…
war effort in the First World War; men from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa fought and died on battlefields far away from their homes. Although these soldiers fought across many different countries for the Allied cause; each of the Nations is linked with a single battle or campaign in which their sacrifice stood out even in the horrific bloodshed of the First World War. For the South Africans it was the heroic, bloody struggle for Delville wood during the battle of the Somme; during which they held their ground under a furious counter assault by the Germans, the South African 1st Brigade suffered 80% casualties in that action alone. Basil Liddell Hart called this engagement "...the bloodiest battle hell of 1916."However as the esteemed author and soldier, Colonel John Buchan points out in his introduction to this classic Official History, the South Africans fought with equal bravery and distinction wherever and whenever they took to the field. As he states his book "...is a tale to be proud of, for among the many brigades in that field the South African Infantry Brigade may be said, without boasting, to have had no superior and not many equals."A fitting tribute to the many brave South African soldiers who fought and conquered during the First World War written by an acclaimed author.