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Before Jutland
By James Goldrick. 2015
Before Jutland is an effort to understand what happened at sea in northern European waters in 1914-15 when the German…
High Sea Fleet faced the Grand Fleet in the North Sea and the Russian Fleet in the Baltic. The book is an extensively revised and extended version of the author’s 1984 work The King’s Ships Were at Sea. It covers the first six months of the First World War because very important things occurred in that time and, despite the loose ends that inevitably remain with four more years of conflict to follow, important things can be said. The focus is primarily on the British, but both the Germans and the Russians are integral to the study because neither the British nor the Germans’ North Sea activities can be fairly assessed without giving due weight to the Baltic theatre of operations. This is an operational history, which balances coverage of the major incidents with treatment of the continuum of activity. The intent within the scene setting chapters is not to attempt a complete survey of the events of the previous decade, but to situate each navy within the environment of 1914. Before Jutland includes the battles of Heligoland Bight and the Dogger Bank, as well as the shock of the submarine and its effect on the operations of all the protagonists. In analyzing these events, it seeks to provide the context within which the protagonists were actually working, without the application of excessive hindsight, because in 1914 so much was new and experimental. Observers are inclined to consider what is known as the 'Fisher Era’ as a continuum from Admiral Fisher’s accession as First Sea Lord in the British Admiralty in 1904; in reality the pace of operational development not only accelerated but became truly multi-lane only after about 1909, just before the great reformer went into his first retirement. The pressures at all levels within navies were therefore intensifying in the years immediately before the outbreak of the war in ways that were not fully understood, nor necessarily recognized. In short, those involved were struggling to learn a new language of naval operations and warfare with an incomplete dictionary and very little grammar. In all, Before Jutland tries to show not only what happened, but how the services evolved to meet the challenges that they faced at the opening of the Great War and whether or not that evolution was successful.Britain's Two World Wars Against Germany
By Brian Bond. 2014
Britain's role and performance in the two World Wars continues to generate considerable debate but the wars are rarely considered…
together. Leading military historian Brian Bond here challenges the popular view of the First World War as catastrophic and futile in contrast to the Second World War as a well-conducted and victorious moral crusade. He focuses on the key issues which have caused controversy and distortion, to demonstrate how these views became deeply rooted in popular culture in the years since 1945. These issues range from policy and strategy, combat experience, the attritional strategies of naval blockade and strategic bombing to British generalship, and gains and losses in the aftermath of both wars. He also considers the learning process of the British Army in both world wars. He boldly concludes that in a number of important respects Britain was more successful in the First World War than in the Second.The Blocking of Zeebrugge - Operation Z-O 1918
By Giuseppe Rava, Stephen Prince. 2010
On the night of 22-23 April 1918 the Royal Navy carried out a raid on the German held ports of…
Zeebrugge and Ostend - Operation Z-O. Under the cover of clouds and smoke, over 70 ships and an assault force of 1,800 Royal Marines embarked on a daring mission which involved a vicious battle of incredible intensity. However, despite the gallant and courageous efforts of the attackers, 11 of whom were later awarded the Victoria Cross, the raid was only partly successful. Discover the successes and failures of this dramatic raid in this in-depth account, complete with specially commissioned battlescene artwork. The author reveals how despite failure, the raid demonstrated to Germany that Britain was still capable of offensive action, even as its armies were being forced back.Striking The Hornets' Nest: Naval Aviation And The Origins Of Strategic Bombing In World War I
By Thomas Wildenberg, Geoffrey L. Rossano. 1914
Striking the Hornets’ Nest provides the first extensive analysis of the Northern Bombing Group (NBG), the Navy’s most innovative aviation…
initiative of World War I and one of the world’s first dedicated strategic bombing programs. Very little has been written about the Navy’s aviation activities in World War I and even less on the NBG. Standard studies of strategic bombing tend to focus on developments in the Royal Air Force or the U. S. Army Air Service. This work concentrates on the origins of strategic bombing in World War I, and the influence this phenomenon had on the Navy’s future use of the airplane. The NBG program faced enormous logistical and personnel challenges. Demands for aircraft, facilities, and personnel were daunting, and shipping shortages added to the seemingly endless delays in implementing the program. Despite the impediments, the Navy (and Marine Corps) triumphed over organizational hurdles and established a series of bases and depots in northern France and southern England in the late summer and early fall of 1918. Ironically, by the time the Navy was ready to commence bombing missions, the German retreat had caused abandonment of the submarine bases the NBG had been created to attack. The men involved in this program were pioneers, overcoming major obstacles only to find they were no longer needed. Though the Navy rapidly abandoned its use of strategic bombing after World War I, their brief experimentation directed the future use of aircraft in other branches of the armed forces. It is no coincidence that Robert Lovett, the young Navy reserve officer who developed much of the NBG program in 1918, spent the entire period of World War II as Assistant Secretary of War for Air where he played a crucial role organizing and equipping the strategic bombing campaign unleashed against Germany and Japan. Rossano and Wildenberg have provided a definitive study of the NBG, a subject that has been overlooked for too long.Best Little Stories from World War I
By C. Brian Kelly, Ingrid Smyer. 2014
Behind the tangled alliances, feuding royals, and deadly battles are the nearly 100 riveting true stories of the men and…
women who lived, fought, and survived the first Great War. Based on the writings of soldiers, politicians, kings, nurses, and military leaders, Best Little Stories from World War I humanizes their foibles, triumphs, and tragedies--and chronicles how the emergence of fervent national pride led not only to ruthless combat, but a critical turning point in the twentieth century.Fascinating characters come to life, including:Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnavon, who turned her husband's Highclere Castle into a luxurious military hospital for British officers (and inspired the hit television show Downton Abbey). Otto Roosen, the high-flying German reconnaissance pilot, who was shot down not only one but twice--first by the Canadian ace Billy Bishop and then by a fellow German--and survived.Arthur Guy Empey, the American who volunteered for the British Army after the sinking of the Lusitania, then wrote a bestselling memoir about life in the muddy trenches of the western front.Psychological Trauma and the Legacies of the First World War
By Peter Leese, Jason Crouthamel. 2016
This transnational, interdisciplinary study of traumatic neurosis moves beyond the existing histories of medical theory, welfare, and symptomatology. The essays…
explore the personal traumas of soldiers and civilians in the wake of the First World War; they also discuss how memory and representations of trauma are transmitted between patients, doctors and families across generations. The book argues that so far the traumatic effects of the war have been substantially underestimated. Trauma was shaped by gender, politics, and personality. To uncover the varied forms of trauma ignored by medical and political authorities, this volume draws on diverse sources, such as family archives and narratives by children of traumatized men, documents from film and photography, memoirs by soldiers and civilians. This innovative study challenges us to re-examine our approach to the complex psychological effects of the First World War.The Czech Legion 1914-20
By Ramiro Bujeiro, David Bullock. 2009
The Czech Legion was not just a single military unit, but a volunteer army that fielded up to 100,000 troops…
on the Allied side on all three main fronts in World War I (1914-1918). Since only the defeat of Austro-Hungary and Germany offered any hope of Czech national independence, they were amongst the most motivated and steadfast of the Allied forces in France, the Italian Alps and Russia. In one of the most colorful and extraordinary episodes of the 20th century they fought their way across Russia in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, captured the Russian national gold reserves in Kazan, and used this as a bargaining chip to force the Bolsheviks to allow them to return home, in an epic journey closely followed by the Western press. The Legion played a central part in the foundation of the Czechoslovakian nation with the leaders of independent Czechoslovakia - Masaryk, Benes and Stefanik - all emerging from the Legion's ranks. Today the Legion is recognized as the founding fathers of Czech nationhood and are idolized by the US Czech community as a result.The Belgian Army in World War I
By Patrice Courcelle, Ronald Pawly. 2009
While small in numbers, the Belgian Army played a vital role in World War I (1939-1945) that is often overlooked.…
Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium, which led Britain to declare war in August 1914, should have been swift and fierce yet the unexpected heroic defense, against great odds, of Belgian fortresses, frustrated the German Schlieffen Plan for a thrust to Paris and a lightning victory. The plucky Belgian resistance proved successful in buying time for French and British troops to mobilize and report to the front, where the Belgians would then go on to fight, stubbornly defending the northern end of the Allied trench line for the rest of the war. Discover the story of this determined Army, from their organization and commanders, to their uniforms and equipment. The only main combatant army of World War I not previously covered by Osprey, this volume will be an important addition to any enthusiast's collection, accompanied by detailed artwork and archive photographs.Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare: Patriotism and Citizenship in the First World War
By Melissa Kirschke, Stockdale. 2016
The First World War had a devastating impact on the Russian state, yet relatively little is known about the ways…
in which ordinary Russians experienced and viewed this conflict. Melissa Kirschke Stockdale presents the first comprehensive study of the Great War's influence on Russian notions of national identity and citizenship. Drawing on a vast array of sources, the book examines the patriotic and nationalist organizations which emerged during the war, the role of the Russian Orthodox Church, the press and the intelligentsia in mobilizing Russian society, the war's impact on the rights of citizens, and the new, democratized ideas of Russian nationhood which emerged both as a result of the war and of the 1917 revolution. Russia's war experience is revealed as a process that helped consolidate in the Russian population a sense of membership in a great national community, rather than being a test of patriotism which they failed.The Last Great War
By Adrian Gregory. 2008
What was it that the British people believed they were fighting for in 1914–18? This compelling history of the British…
home front during the First World War offers an entirely new account of how British society understood and endured the war. Drawing on official archives, memoirs, diaries and letters, Adrian Gregory sheds new light on the public reaction to the war, examining the role of propaganda and rumour in fostering patriotism and hatred of the enemy. He shows the importance of the ethic of volunteerism and the rhetoric of sacrifice in debates over where the burdens of war should fall as well as the influence of religious ideas on wartime culture. As the war drew to a climax and tensions about the distribution of sacrifices threatened to tear society apart, he shows how victory and the processes of commemoration helped create a fiction of a society united in grief.The Lee-Enfield Rifle
By Peter Dennis, Martin Pegler. 2012
The Lee-Enfield is one of the 20th century's most recognizable and longest-serving military rifles. It was adopted by the British…
Army in 1895 and only replaced by the L1A1 SLR in 1957; even then a sniper variant, the L42A1, was used until 1989, giving a service life of nearly a century. It saw combat from the Boer War onwards, and thousands are still in use today, notably by the Taliban in Afghanistan; it is estimated that 17 million have been produced. The Lee-Enfield featured an innovative detachable ten-round magazine; this large capacity, together with the weapon's revolutionary bolt-action operation, made it possible for well-drilled shooters to fire 20 to 30 rounds in 60 seconds (the 'mad minute'). This extraordinary speed gave rise to mistaken German reports of being opposed by massed machine guns in 1914. The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE), introduced in 1903, set a new precedent in military rifles, being neither a carbine nor a full-length rifle but an ingenious compromise that was soon copied by other countries.The Lee-Enfield equipped British, Commonwealth and other forces throughout the world wars and well into the 1960s, giving excellent service in every kind of terrain and weather. Soldier's recollections of the rifle are overwhelmingly affectionate (it was known as the Smellie); today it remains a very popular target rifle for competitive shooting, and modern copies are being manufactured to meet demand.Featuring first-hand accounts, brand-new full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, many in colour, this is the story of the Lee-Enfield, the innovative, reliable and long-lived rifle that equipped British and other forces through the world wars and beyond.The Kaiser's Warlords
By Patrice Courcelle, Ronald Pawly. 2003
Osprey's study of the German commanders of World War I (1914-1918). The turn of the 20th century saw Imperial Germany…
as essentially a militarist state, whose growing industrial resources and wealth were harnessed to the task of increasing German military power, at a time of aggressive expansionist diplomacy in competition with Britain and France. After her victories over Austria in the 1860s and France in 1870, Germany's General Staff enjoyed tremendous professional prestige throughout Europe, and was the model for all aspects of command and control. The German army was essentially that of Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony with smaller contingents from the lesser states. Its generals were the men who planned, initiated, and to a large extent controlled the course of World War I.German Battlecruisers 1914-18
By Tony Bryan, Gary Staff. 2006
This book discusses the concept of the Battlekreuzer. The German Großerkreuzers, as they were known, were built to strict financial…
limits, and therefore the German designs were always a compromise between the factors listed under design philosophy. Individual ship histories are detailed with particular emphasis upon their battle experience and deployment in conflict, and author Gary Staff includes a variety of official records and personal first-hand accounts will be used. The battlekreuzer had a remarkable ability to withstand battle damage, as demonstrated by the Goeben, which suffered five mine hits on one occasion. Full colour artwork plates and detailed line drawings and photographs support the and enrich the engaging text.Churchill, Borden and Anglo-Canadian Naval Relations, 1911–14
By Martin Thornton. 2013
In 1911, Winston S. Churchill and Robert L. Borden became companions in an attempt to provide naval security for the…
British Empire as a naval crisis loomed with Germany. Their scheme for Canada to provide battleships for the Royal Navy as part of an Imperial squadron was rejected by the Senate with great implications for the future.German Battleships 1914-18
By Paul Wright, Gary Staff. 2010
Supported by official documents, personal accounts, official drawings and specially commissioned artwork, this volume is an enlightening history of the…
key classes of Kaiser, K¿nig and Bayern that formed the backbone of the German Imperial Navy throughout World War I. It details the technological revolution that had taken place to ensure the building of these largest dreadnought classes, in particular the developments in size and armament as well as the steps taken to prevent battle damage as Germany readied herself for war. This account of design and technology is supplemented by individual ship histories detailing combat experience complete with first-hand accounts. The specially commissioned artwork also brings this history to life with a cutaway recreation of the fleet's flagship and the Battle of Moon Sound in the Baltic in 1917 where the battleship Konig caused the destruction of the Russian battleship Slava.British Postcards of the First World War
By Peter Doyle. 2011
Postcards sent by men on the front, and to them by their families, are among the most numerous, and most…
telling, surviving artifacts of World War I. They tell us much about attitudes towards the war, and provide a great insight into men's lives, and into the thoughts and emotions of those left behind. Very different in their illustration, and in their writing, between the beginning of the war and the end, the postcard provides a social history of the war in microcosm. Illustrated with a wide range of postcards, this book is a perfect introduction to the subject for the collector, and will help any family or social historian to gain a better understanding of the postcards in his possession.From the Trade Paperback edition.The Greater War
By Jonathan Krause. 2014
The Greater War is an international history of the First World War. Comprising of thirteen chapters this collection of essays…
covers new aspects of the French, German, Italian and American efforts in the First World War, as well as aspects of Britain's colonial campaigns.US Submarines 1900/35
By Peter Bull, Jim Christley. 2011
This book introduces the reader to the early years of US submarine development and operation during the first third of…
the 20th century. It was in this period of growth and change that the submarine moved from a small vessel of limited range and tactical strength to a far ranging force. It also covers the little-told story of the United State's submarine force during World War I, and the lessons they learned that would be passed on to future generations of submariners.The First World War in Computer Games
By Chris Kempshall. 2015
The First World War in Computer Games analyses the depiction of combat, the landscape of the trenches, and concepts of…
how the war ended through computer games. This book explores how computer games are at the forefront of new representations of the First World War.Kitchener as Proconsul of Egypt, 1911-1914
By George. H. Cassar. 2016
This book covers the tenure of Kitchener as Proconsul in Egypt in the years preceding the First World War. Based…
mostly on unpublished sources - including government records and private papers - it not only fills a gap in the life and career of Kitchener, the most famous soldier in Britain since Wellington, but it also deals with an important but practically unknown period in Egyptian history. George Cassar shows Kitchener to be an ardent imperialist, but one who had a sense of responsibility to the country he governed. Exchanging his field marshal's uniform for the dress of a statesman, he arrived in Egypt when British prestige was at a low point on account of his predecessor's policies. He restored political stability, created conditions that bolstered the economy, and introduced a wave of reforms. Kitchener as Proconsul of Egypt, 1911-1914 reveals how Kitchener's interest extended beyond Egypt, and how throughout these years he worked quietly to prepare the ground in an attempt to create an Arab Empire under Britain's suzerainty.