- Table View
- List View
From Midshipman To Field Marshal – Vol. I (From Midshipman To Field Marshal #1)
by Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood V.C. G.C.B., G.C.M.G.Autobiographies come in many shapes and forms, particularly those of the military genre. In this two-volume work, Field-Marshal Wood charts his remarkable career from the Navy to the highest rank in the British Army with wit, verve, honesty and no little depreciation. He served with distinction in the mud and misery of the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, Wolseley's Ishanti War, the Zulu War and in Egypt and the Sudan. His actions on attacking a gang of robbers intent on murdering a local merchant earned him the Victoria Cross - his second recommendation for the V.C. A man of considerable self-taught talents (he ran away from school), upright and forthright and of great personal courage, he survived multiple wounds during his military career to reach the pinnacle of rank. He was greatly concerned with the welfare of his troops and was at the forefront of the reforms that were to ensure the British Army's success in the First World War.Author -- Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood V.C. G.C.B., G.C.M.G., 1838-1919Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London : Methuen & co., 1906.Original Page Count - xiv and 322 pages.Illustrations -- numerous maps and plans
From Military to Civilian Rule (Routledge Revivals)
by Constantine P. DanopoulosMilitary disengagement from power in favour of a civilian government is not an uncommon phenomenon, especially in the developing world. First published in 1992, From Military to Civilian Rule is the first comparative study of the motives behind military withdrawal and the establishment of sustainable civilian rule.Using case studies from Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe written by regional specialists, the book looks at the future of civil–military relations in the post-disengagement state. It reviews the factors — organizational, societal, and international — necessary for maintaining civilian rule, and it establishes conceptual themes common to the countries discussed.This volume will appeal to academics and advanced students with interests in Third World Politics, Latin American Politics, and the role of the military in the State.
From Mons To Loos - The Diary Of A Supply Officer [Illustrated Edition]
by Major Herbert A. StewartIncludes with 21 illustrations and photos.A member of General French's "Contemptible" little army recounts his tales of the opening two years of the First World War. Under shot and shell in the front lines with the gallant Tommies of the BEF from the first engagements until the bloody battle of Loos."THIS little work does not profess to be a record of historical facts, but merely a series of impressions snap-shotted upon my mind as they occurred, and set down here in simple language; and if these snapshots can bring home to my readers some idea, however faint, of what war and its attendant miseries mean, then my labour will not have been in vain."To those who may imagine that the British fighting man of to-day is not the equal of his forebears, who fought from Crécy and Agincourt to Albuera and Waterloo, I trust the story of Mons, the Aisne, Neuve Chapelle, and Ypres will set all doubts at rest."STEWART, HERBERT ARTHUR, Major, was born 18 May, 1878, and was commissioned from the Militia 4 Jan. 1899, in the Suffolk Regt., from which he was transferred to the Army Service Corps 12 Feb. 1900. Capt. Stewart served in the South African War, 1899-1902, he received the Queen's Medal with three clasps, and the King's Medal with two clasps. He was Adjutant, Territorial Force, 1 Aug. 1911, to 31 July, 1914. He again saw active service in the European War from Aug. 1914, to the conclusion of hostilities, becoming Major the day war broke out. He was one of the very few British officers who entered Mons on Sunday, 23 Aug. 1914. For his services with the 3rd Division during the First Battles of Neuve Chapelle and Ypres in Oct. and Nov. 1914, he received a D.S.O. awarded "for services in connection with operations in the field."
From Mons To The First Battle Of Ypres [Illustrated Edition]
by Captain James G. W. Hyndson M.C.Includes The First World War On The Western Front 1914-1915 Illustrations Pack with 101 maps, plans, and photos.An exceptional and vivid account of the opening battles of the First World War with the B.E.F.. Captain Hyndson was with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment during the retreat from Mons until the First Battle of Ypres during which he was wounded and invalided back to Blighty. In recognition of his bravery he was awarded the Military Medal in 1915."As there has as yet been published no connected account of the first phase of the Great War from a Regimental Officer's point of view, I have been persuaded to put into book form the diary which I began on the first day of mobilization and kept up until I was invalided home from the French Front in 1915. As far as I am aware, there are only three or four platoon and company commanders still living who went through the Battle of, and Retreat from, Mons, as well as the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne and Ypres. This fact has emboldened me to add one more book to the already enormous bulk of war literature.It is also my desire to place on record the wonderful devotion to duty and the sterling fighting qualities of the men of Lancashire Nulli Secundus."- The Author.
From Mons To Ypres With General French; A Personal Narrative [Illustrated Edition]
by Frederic Abernethy ColemanWhen the British troops advanced into Belgium in 1914 to face the German foe, it was with a sure and steady confidence in the outcome. These same men trudged back, grumbling, along the same path toward France as the full weight of the German steamroller advanced toward the numerically small British Expeditionary Force. At Mons they turned at bay and gave the Germans a tough time, but little more than a check as two corps could not hold up two huge armies. As the static battlelines began to coalesce, from Switzerland to the English channel, the fierce fighting flared up for any advantageous town, and none more so than Ypres. The first battle of Ypres was a bitter, bloody affair which ended the German advance but at terrible cost to the last of the regular soldiers of the B.E.F.Along with these hardened professional soldiers went a handful of amateurs determined to help; these members of the Royal Automobile Club with their motor cars were attached to various headquarters to aid in transmission of orders. As the eyes and ears of the army, the two cavalry brigade were in need of the most help from the R.A.C. volunteers as they ranged far and wide. The author was attached to the cavalry during retreat from Mons to the first battle of Ypres; he admired and had grown fond of the men with whom he had shared much danger. His post enabled him to meet a great number of the high-ranking officers, and in his capacity as messenger would have been better informed than most. His book is excellently written and deserves reading and re-reading.Author -- Frederic Abernethy Coleman 1876-1931Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in New York, Dodd, Mead and company, 1916.Original Page Count - xvii and 381 pages.Illustrations - 50 illustrations.
From Mons to Mali: Fifty Extraordinary and Little-Known Vignettes of British and Commonwealth Airmen in Action since 1914
by Andrew ThomasAcclaimed author Andrew Thomas has chosen fifty fascinating cameos of individual actions or incidents across a wide variety of major and minor campaigns and scenarios ranging from the First World War to the present day. Each selection is accompanied by relevant, often rare, photographs. So, from the Battle of Mons in 1914 through shooting down a Zeppelin over Teeside, to WW2 Timor Ace ‘Butch’ Gordon in his Beaufighter in 1943 and a nightmare for Halifaxes over Nuremburg in 1944, to SAAF fighters over Angola in September 1985 and army support tasks in Mali in 2021, with many more in between, the author’s hand-picked personal choices make for gripping reading. A must for all those interested in the war in the air throughout history.
From Montreal To Vimy Ridge And Beyond; The Correspondence Of Lieut. Clifford Almon Wells, B.A.,: Of The 8th Battalion, Canadians, B.E.F., November, 1915-April, 1917
by Lieutenant Clifford Almon WellsClifford 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.
From Moscow to Stalingrad: The Eastern Front, 1941-1942 (Casemate Illustrated #Cis0005)
by Yves BuffetautA concise and entertaining history of the Roman legionary—from the age of Augustus through the heyday of the Roman Empire.The might of Rome rested on the back of its legions; the superbly trained and equipped fighting force with which the imperial Roman army conquered, subdued and ruled an empire for centuries. The legionary soldier served for 20 years, was rigorously trained, highly equipped, and motivated by pay, bonuses and a strong sense of identity and camaraderie. Legionaries wore full body-armor and carried a shield, as well as two javelins, a sword, and a dagger. In battle they hurled their javelins and then immediately drew their swords and charged to close combat with the enemy. They were the finest heavy infantrymen of antiquity, and a massed legionary charge was a fearsome sight.In The Roman Legionaries, Simon Elliott, author of Julius Caesar: Rome’s Greatest Warlord, provides an introduction to these elite soldiers, including their training, tactics, weapons, the men themselves, life on and off the battlefield, as well as significant triumphs and disasters in the great battles of the era.
From Munich To Pearl Harbor: Roosevelt's America And The Origins Of The Second World War (American Ways Series)
by David ReynoldsFour years before Pearl Harbor, the United States had turned in on itself, mired in the Great Depression and fearing entanglement in another European war. Four years after Pearl Harbor, it accounted for half the world's economic output and boasted a navy and air force second to none. The period from 1938 to 1941, David Reynolds argues in his brilliant new book, was a turning point in modern American history. Drawing upon his own research and the latest scholarship, Mr. Reynolds shows how Franklin Roosevelt led Americans into a new global perspective on foreign policy, one based on geopolitics and ideology. FDR insisted that in an age of airpower, U.S. security required allies far beyond the Western Hemisphere, and that in an era of dictatorships, American values could and should transform the world. Months before Pearl Harbor, he had popularized the term "second world war." Mr. Reynolds, in his succinct overview of American foreign policy from Munich to Pearl Harbor, shows how the president used his new perspective in responding to international shocks—the fall of France, Hitler's invasion of Russia, Japan's drive into Southeast Asia. But one of the signal accomplishments of From Munich to Pearl Harbor is also to explain how the main features of America's cold war posture (following World War II) were established in the years before the war—a new globalism, a bipolar worldview, the foundations of the military-industrial complex, and the origins of the "imperial presidency."
From Night Flak to Hijack: It's a Small World
by Reginald Levy Alex SchiphorstThis is the autobiography of Reginald Levy, a British pilot who reached a total of 25,090 flying hours in over 40 years of civil, military, and commercial aviation. He recounts his training and military operations as an RAF pilot during the Second World War. He flies 44 types of aircraft between 1941 and 1981. He takes part in the Berlin Airlift, and in 1952 joins Sabena airline. In 1972, he is hijacked by Black September terrorists, and plays a heroic part thanks to his professionalism and training. Not only does the book offer an insight into the hardships and camaraderie of the war and of the Cold War, it also gives a first-hand report of a Palestinian terrorist attempt. Two of the Israeli commandos who freed the hostages would go on to become Prime Ministers of Israel—Barak and Netenyahu! The epilogue is provided by his youngest grandson.
From Normandy to Auschwitz
by Paul Le GoupilThe odds on Paul le Goupil living to see the end of the Second World War let alone the 21st Century were negligible in 1944. Yet he did.As his extraordinary memoir describes, as a young man he found himself caught up in the maelstrom of the Second World War, active resistance to, and defiance of, the German occupation came naturally to Paul but led to his capture, beating and interrogation by the Gestapo and solitary incarceration in first French prisons. Worse still was to come and after an appalling journey and various labor camps he ended up in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He experienced starvation, slave labor, unbelievable hardship—death for many was a relief.Paul survived but his suffering was not over as he and others had to endure a nightmare march before being liberated by the advancing Russians. All this and far more make this memoir an unforgettable, moving and inspiring account.
From Normandy to the Baltic: The Story of the 44th Lowland Infantry Brigade of the 15th Scottish Division from D Day to the End of the War in Europe
by AdvocateThis is the story of the 44th Lowland Infantry Brigade of the 15th Scottish Division from D Day until the surrender of the German armies in May 1945.The story is written by one who had the very great honour to be a member of the Brigade HQ staff of the Lowland Brigade throughout the whole period. The writer had also been previously in the Brigade during the greater part of the war, while in the United Kingdom. The story is a catalogue of events as seen and experienced by one man; the indulgence of those who took part in the events described is, therefore, craved for the many inaccuracies which will no doubt be apparent. At the same time, Brigade HQ was probably the best place for getting a bird’s-eye view of operations as a whole, and the account may perhaps be found to be more objective than if the writer had been in one of the battalions. Use has been made of the records of Brigade HQ to check the facts, but not those of the battalions, and the writer has also had the benefit of the help and advice of many officers of the Brigade, to whom his thanks are due.
From North Africa to the Arakan: The Engrossing Memoir of WWII Spitfire Ace
by Alan McGregor PeartAn ace fighter pilot recounts his experiences fighting the Germans and the Japanese from Malta to Burma in this WWII combat memoir. Born in New Zealand in 1922, Alan Peart always dreamed of becoming a Spitfire pilot. During the Second World War, he volunteered for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and after distinguishing himself in training, joined the elite 610 Squadron. He served in numerous theaters of combat, from Italy and North Africa to India and Burma, where he took part of the Arakan Campaign. Operating from 'Broadway' airstrip, his was the only spitfire not destroyed during air strikes. In this lively account, Peart puts readers in the cockpit as he achieves ace status in heated combat against both German Luftwaffe and the Japanese Army Air Force. He also details the appalling living conditions and the issues the aircrew faced living far from civilization. After miraculously surviving World War II, Peart became president of the Burma Star Veterans association.
From Northern Ireland to Afghanistan: British Military Intelligence Operations, Ethics and Human Rights (Military and Defence Ethics)
by Jon MoranMoran concentrates on three aims: to provide an overview of British military intelligence operations in the last 30 years which concentrates on operational not strategic intelligence; to examine the debates over ethics and effectiveness that have followed these operations; and to examine the increasing attempts to place military intelligence under the same type of regulation that police and security intelligence operations have been subject to. As such, he provides a timely overview of intelligence effectiveness and ethics in this area of heightened interest and relevance in terms of the recent UK deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the light of the UK Strategic Defence Review. This book is not a philosophical discussion of military ethics; nor is it a study of operations alone. In the light of experiences from Northern Ireland to Afghanistan, it examines the debates over effectiveness which have surrounded British military intelligence activities whilst tying these debates closely to the ethical issues they raise. Each stage of operations is evaluated in context. Interest will cut across disciplines and as such this book will appeal to intelligence, counter-terrorism, military studies, politics, human rights and philosophy practitioners, scholars and students.
From Nowhere
by Julia NavarroWhich is harder? Killing? Or dying? Abir Nasr is a teenager that witnesses helpless the murder of his family during a mission of the Israeli Army, South of Lebanon. Before his mother and his little sister's dead bodies, he vows to hunt those responsible for the rest of his life. Night after night, Abir's threat disturbs Jacob Baudin's sleep. He was one of the soldiers that participated in the mission while doing his mandatory active service, facing the predicament to fight against enemies he never chose. Jacob, born to French parents, still feels like an immigrant in Israel and tries to reconcile an identity merely granted by his status as a Jew. After the tragedy, Abir moves to Paris to live with relatives, where he now feels trapped between two irreconcilable worlds-his asphyxiating family and an open society that offers freedom, incarnate in two young women, his cousin Noura, rebellious against the imposition of her father's religious fundamentalism, and Marion, a beautiful and vital teenager, for whom Abir falls obsessively in love. Out of nowhere is a journey to the bounds of the consciousness of two men forced to live by identities they didn't choose and can't escape from, whose lives intersect yet again in Brussels, years later, under the heavy smoke of bombing, while an Islamic organization called The Circle terrorizes the heart of Europe. It is a story rooted in human nature and its contrasts. Out of nowhere is a vibrant novel by Julia Navarro, that invites us to reflect upon each of our own certainties.
From October to Brest-Litovsk
by Leon TrotskyTrotsky's account of the revolutionary events in Russia in 1905. Trotsky's ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term coined as early as 1905 by his opponents in order to separate it from Marxism. Trotsky's ideas remain a major school of Marxist thought that is opposed to the theories of Stalinism.
From Omaha Beach to Dawson's Ridge
by Cole C. KingseedAn infantry company commander in the U.S. Army's heralded 1st Infantry Division, Capt. Joseph Turner Dawson led his men through some of the most brutal battles of World War II. From the invasion of North Africa in late 1942 through Sicily and the assault on Normandy to the push toward the German frontier late in 1944, his length of service on the frontlines was extraordinary, and his heroism while holding off the Germans on a ridge near Aachen, Germany, is legendary. Based on Dawson's own combat journal, this book focuses on leadership in combat during the greatest human drama of the twentieth century. Dawson is at the heart of the drama as he describes the strain of constant combat and its effect on the combat infantryman. His writings have been edited by the former chief military historian at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Col. Cole C. Kingseed, who succeeds masterfully in capturing the essence of combat leadership through the actions of this citizen-warrior. Although Dawson was an Army officer, the lessons his journal offer cut across service lines to help readers understand what makes a good frontline commander. The book is published in cooperation with the Association of the U. S. Army.
From Omaha to Okinawa
by William Bradford HuieIn this rousing sequel to his classic Can Do! The Story of the Seabees, William Bradford Huie continues the saga of the combat trained civilian plumbers, carpenters, heavy equipment operators, wharf builders, and civil engineers who served in the U.S. Navy construction battalions. The story begins in 1944 with the battle for Iwo Jima when the Seabees braved concentrated enemy fire and Iwo's daunting terrain to rig floating causeways, blow up wrecked landing craft, and drive their bulldozers up three terraces that rose from the ocean to secure the beachhead. This book fully chronicles their heroism, including the unforgettable efforts of the men of the 31st Battalion who crawled the length of a landing strip to pick up shrapnel as Japanese snipers fired away.Huie does equal justice to the historic actions of the Seabees on D-Day at Omaha Beach, where they manned fifteen hundred vehicles during the first wave of landings at Normandy. He provides fascinating accounts of the creation and testing of various pierheads, floating steel bridges, and "Rhino" ferries. His narrative of Seabee accomplishments is heavily laced with colorful stories of moonshining, brawling, and carousing juxtaposed with compassionate stories of the children in the prisoner of war camps. His enthusiasm for the Seabees gained instant acceptance when this book was first published in 1945 and is often cited as inspiring succeeding generations to rise to the same spirit of devotion and loyalty to their task.
From Pearl Harbor To Calvary
by Mitsuo FuchidaThe true story of the lead pilot of the Pearl Harbor attack and his conversion to Christianity."As I looked across at my companion, I marveled afresh at the goodness of God-this man was my enemy; now he is my brother! Such is the miracle of the grace of God."--Rev. Elmer Sachs, Director of Sky Pilots International.These words were written of Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first wave of the air attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 as a Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. After the war, Fuchida was introduced to the gospel through the testimony of Jacob DeShazer. He began reading the Bible and eleven years after Pearl Harbor, he became a Christian.Fuchida spoke boldly of his conversion in his native Japan, and a few years later, he was recruited by Rev. Elmer Sachs to join Sky Pilots International. He came to the United States where he had the opportunity to share his story across the country. From Pearl Harbor to Calvary is the story of Mitsuo Fuchida's conversion and ministry in his own words. Central to his narrative is the message that God works through even the most improbable of circumstances to further the gospel.
From Peenemünde To Canaveral
by Dieter HuzelDieter Huzel was an electronic engineer with his whole career ahead of him when Germany lurched into the Second World War, he was conscripted and destined for the Russian Front when fate intervened. He and many other scientists were re-assigned from combat duty to the top secret installation at Peenemünde Island off the Baltic coast as part of the Nazi search for "Wonder Weapons". Huzel describes how he became an integral part of the V weapon program which, despite the frequent Allied bombings, produced the feared V-1 and V-2 rockets that rained down on liberated parts of Europe during the later years of the war.As the tide turned against the Nazi regime, Huzel tells of the shifts in production of these weapons to central Germany and his team's rising fear that the rocket technology would fall into the hands of the Russians. However, Huzel and his team were captured by the West and offered re-location to Britain or America. Huzel and his former director, Werner Von Braun, opted for America where they would become part of the ground-breaking Rocketdyne research team and spearhead of the NASA push for space exploration.
From Pigeons To Tweets: A General Who Led Dramatic Changes in Military Communications
by Hank Cox Jr. Clarence E. Mcknight Jr.General Clarence E. McKnight led the US Army into the modern age of computer warfare developing portals through which new channels of digitalizations flowed to a welcoming civilian usage. A graduate of West Point Academy, McKnight rose to the rank of Commanding General of the US Army's Signal Corps developing technology used by all the military services. McKnight was made a distinguished graduate of West Point, an uncommon honor and is being inducted into the US Army War College Museum for distinguished alumnus. This book is about military communications and how they developed strategies over the years to what we now use in the most advanced technology, science and engineering.
From Pigeons To Tweets: A General Who Led Dramatic Changes in Military Communications
by Hank Cox Jr. Clarence E. Mcknight Jr.General Clarence E. McKnight led the US Army into the modern age of computer warfare developing portals through which new channels of digitalizations flowed to a welcoming civilian usage. A graduate of West Point Academy, McKnight rose to the rank of Commanding General of the US Army's Signal Corps developing technology used by all the military services. McKnight was made a distinguished graduate of West Point, an uncommon honor and is being inducted into the US Army War College Museum for distinguished alumnus. This book is about military communications and how they developed strategies over the years to what we now use in the most advanced technology, science and engineering.
From Private To Field-Marshal
by Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson, bart., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.C.V.O., D.S.O."Scarlet coat to red-tabsIt is a common aspect of uncommon men that their lives are so exceptional that they cannot be adequately described in a few words. So much the better then that the author of this autobiography left posterity his remarkable life story.William 'Wully' Robertson was born in Lincolnshire in 1860 and became a servant in the household of the Earl of Cardigan. In 1877 he decided upon a military career and enlisted as a trooper in the 16th (The Queen's) Lancers. He proved to be an outstanding soldier and encouraged by friends and especially the officers of his regiment, Robertson earned a commission in 1888. This was an incredible achievement at the time since only four or five 'rankers' were so promoted annually. Robertson transferred to the 3rd Dragoon Guards. Having no private means Robertson struggled to maintain the lifestyle of a Victorian cavalry officer and had to work hard to generate extra income. A posting to India gave him the opportunity to do so through proficiency in languages. By 1895 he was a captain serving in the Chitral Campaign and in 1998 attended the staff college at Camberley--the first 'ranker' to go there.The Boer War saw further promotion and during the First World War--after service in the B. E. F.--Robertson rose to become Chief of the Imperial Staff being appointed to full general in 1916. He became a baronet in 1919 and field-marshal in 1920-the first man who joined the British Army at its lowest rank and by his own abilities achieved its highest rank.This is nothing less than a fascinating account, touching as it does on many aspects of military life as well as minor campaigns and major conflicts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recommended."--Leonaur Print VersionAuthor -- Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson, bart., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.C.V.O., D.S.O., 1860-1933Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London, Constable and company ltd., 1921.Original Page Count - xix and 396 pages.Illustrations - 1 Portrait.
From Revolution to War: State Relations in a World of Change
by Patrick J. CongeIn the history of international relations, few events command as much attention as revolution and war. Over the centuries, revolutionary transformations have produced some of the most ruinous and bloody wars. Nevertheless, the breakdown of peace in time of revolution is poorly understood. Patrick Conge offers a groundbreaking study of the relationship between war and revolution. How can we best understand the effect of revolutionary transformations on the politics of war and peace? Conge argues that it is only by bringing in, first, the organizational capacity of revolutionary regimes to extract resources and convert them into military strength and, second, the power of transformative ideas to transcend national boundaries and undermine the ability of opposing regimes to compromise that we are best able to understand the effect of revolution on the origins and persistence of war. By incorporating such key elements, this book provides a new, more comprehensive explanation of the relationship between revolution, war, and peace. Conditions that lead to and sustain wars in general are identified and placed in the light of revolutionary transformations. Once the argument is presented, historical case studies are used to test its plausibility. Conge demonstrates the importance of the effect of revolutionary organization and ideas on the outcome of conflicts. Political scientists, historians, sociologists, and the general reader interested in the politics of war and peace in revolutionary times are given new perspectives on the relationship between revolution and war as well as on the implications of political organization for military power and the process of consolidation of new regimes.
From Revolutionaries to Citizens: Antimilitarism in France, 1870-1914
by Paul B. MillerFrom Revolutionaries to Citizens is the first comprehensive account of the most important antiwar campaign prior to World War I: the antimilitarism of the French Left. Covering the views and actions of socialists, trade unionists, and anarchists from the time of France's defeat by Prussia in 1870 to the outbreak of hostilities with Germany in 1914, Paul B. Miller tackles a fundamental question of prewar historiography: how did the most antimilitarist culture and society in Europe come to accept and even support war in 1914? Although more general accounts of the Left's "failure" to halt international war in August 1914 focus on its lack of unity or the decline of trade unionism, Miller contends that these explanations barely scratch the surface when it comes to interpreting the Left's overwhelming acceptance of the war. By embedding his cultural analysis of antimilitarist propaganda into the larger political and diplomatic history of prewar Europe, he reveals the Left's seemingly sudden transformation "from revolutionaries to citizens" as less a failure of resolve than a confession of commonality with the broader ideals of republican France. Examining sources ranging from police files and court records to German and British foreign office memos, Miller emphasizes the success of antimilitarism as a rallying cry against social and political inequities on behalf of ordinary citizens. Despite their keen awareness of the bloodletting that awaited Europe, he claims, antimilitarists ultimately accepted the war with Germany for the same reason they had pursued their own struggle within France: to address injustices and defend the rights of citizens in a democratic society.