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The Western Desert Campaign 1940-41 (Australian Army Campaigns Series #2)
by Glenn WahlertWhile the North African campaign has been studied in detail over the years, much of this study has been dedicated to the battles between the British 8th Army and Rommel's Afrika Korps. There has been little serious study of Wavell's campaign against Italian forces in 1940- 41, nor of the role played by the Australian 6th Division in the eventual Italian defeat. Part of this can be attributed to wartime propaganda that labelled the Italian Army dilettantes and mocked their courage. The truth is much different. Many Italian units showed incredible bravery, and the Australian assaults on fortress towns such as Bardia were far from a walkover. Today's aspiring military commanders need look no further than the early Western Desert campaign for historical examples of brilliant leadership, detailed planning, deception, surprise, manoeuvre warfare and relentless pursuit, all against overwhelming odds.
The Western European and Mediterranean Theaters in World War II: An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Sources (Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies)
by Donal SextonThe Western European and Mediterranean Theaters in World War II is a concise, comprehensive guide for students, teachers, and history buffs of the Second World War. With an emphasis on the American forces in these theaters, each entry is accompanied by a brief annotation that will allow researchers to navigate through the vast amount of literature on the campaigns fought in these regions with ease. Focusing on all aspects surrounding the U.S. involvement in the Western European and Mediterranean theaters, including politics, religion, biography, strategy, intelligence, and operations, this bibliography will be a welcome addition to the collection of any academic or research library. Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies provide concise, annotated bibliographies to the major areas and events in American military history. With the inclusion of brief critical annotations after each entry, the student and researcher can easily assess the utility of each bibliographic source and evaluate the abundance of resources available with ease and efficiency. Comprehensive, concise, and current—Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies are an essential research tool for any historian.
The Western Front: A History Of The Great War, 1914-1918
by Nick Lloyd“A tour de force of scholarship, analysis and narration.… Lloyd is well on the way to writing a definitive history of the First World War.” —Lawrence James, Times The Telegraph • Best Books of the Year The Times of London • Best Books of the Year A panoramic history of the savage combat on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 that came to define modern warfare. The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War, a 400-mile combat zone stretching from Belgium to Switzerland where more than three million Allied and German soldiers struggled during four years of almost continuous combat. It has persisted in our collective memory as a tragic waste of human life and a symbol of the horrors of industrialized warfare. In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, acclaimed military historian Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918. Drawing on French, British, German, and American sources, Lloyd weaves a kaleidoscopic chronicle of the Marne, Passchendaele, the Meuse-Argonne, and other critical battles, which reverberated across Europe and the wider war. From the trenches where men as young as 17 suffered and died, to the headquarters behind the lines where Generals Haig, Joffre, Hindenburg, and Pershing developed their plans for battle, Lloyd gives us a view of the war both intimate and strategic, putting us amid the mud and smoke while at the same time depicting the larger stakes of every encounter. He shows us a dejected Kaiser Wilhelm II—soon to be eclipsed in power by his own generals—lamenting the botched Schlieffen Plan; French soldiers piling atop one another in the trenches of Verdun; British infantryman wandering through the frozen wilderness in the days after the Battle of the Somme; and General Erich Ludendorff pursuing a ruthless policy of total war, leading an eleventh-hour attack on Reims even as his men succumbed to the Spanish Flu. As Lloyd reveals, far from a site of attrition and stalemate, the Western Front was a simmering, dynamic “cauldron of war” defined by extraordinary scientific and tactical innovation. It was on the Western Front that the modern technologies—machine guns, mortars, grenades, and howitzers—were refined and developed into effective killing machines. It was on the Western Front that chemical warfare, in the form of poison gas, was first unleashed. And it was on the Western Front that tanks and aircraft were introduced, causing a dramatic shift away from nineteenth-century bayonet tactics toward modern combined arms, reinforced by heavy artillery, that forever changed the face of war. Brimming with vivid detail and insight, The Western Front is a work in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman and John Keegan, Rick Atkinson and Antony Beevor: an authoritative portrait of modern warfare and its far-reaching human and historical consequences.
The Western Front: Landscape, Tourism and Heritage (Modern Conflict Archaeology)
by Stephen MilesThe Western Front has become, once again, and after 100 years, an important and increasingly popular tourist destination. The Centenary is already encouraging large numbers of visitors to engage with this highly poignant landscape of war and to commemorate the sacrifice and loss of a previous generation. Interest is also being sharpened in the places of war as battle-sites, trench-systems, bunkers and mine craters gain a clearer identity as war heritage. For the first time this book brings together the three strands of heritage, landscape and tourism to provide a fresh understanding of the multi-layered nature of the Western Front. The book approaches the area as a rich dynamic landscape which can be viewed in a startling variety of ways: historically, materially, culturally, and perceptually. To illustrate these two dominant interpretations of the regions landscape commemorative and heritage are highlighted and their relationship to tourism explored. Tourism is a lens through which these layers can be peeled away, and each understood and interacted with according to the individuals own knowledge, motivation, and degree of emotional engagement. Tourism is not regarded here as a passive phenomenon, but as an active agent that can determine, dictate and inscribe this evocative landscape. The Western Front: Heritage, Landscape and Tourism is a timely addition to our increasing interest in the First World War and the places where it was fought. It will be indispensable to those who seek a deeper understanding of the conflict from previously undervalued perspectives.
Western Front, 1914–1916: Mons, Le Cataeu, loos, the Battle of the Somme (The\war Despatches Ser.)
by Martin Mace John GrehanFrom the moment the German army moved quietly into Luxemburg on 2 August 1914, to the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the fighting on the Western Front in France and Flanders never stopped. There were quiet periods, just as there were the most intense, savage, huge-scale battles.The war on the Western Front can be thought of as being in three phases: first, a war of movement as Germany attacked France and the Allies sought to halt it; second, the lengthy and terribly costly siege warfare as the entrenched lines proved impossible to crack (late 1914 to mid–1918); and finally a return to mobile warfare as the Allies applied lessons and technologies forged in the previous years.As with previous wars, British Commanders-in-Chief of a theatre of war or campaign were obliged to report their activities and achievements to the War Office in the form of a despatch and those written from the Western Front provide a fascinating, detailed and compelling overview of this part of the First World War.
Western Front, 1917–1918: Despatches From The Front (Despatches From The Front Ser.)
by Martin Mace John GrehanFrom the moment the German army moved quietly into Luxemburg on 2 August 1914, to the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the fighting on the Western Front in France and Flanders never stopped. There were quiet periods, just as there were the most intense, savage, huge-scale battles.The war on the Western Front can be thought of as being in three phases: first, a war of movement as Germany attacked France and the Allies sought to halt it; second, the lengthy and terribly costly siege warfare as the entrenched lines proved impossible to crack (late 1914 to mid–1918); and finally a return to mobile warfare as the Allies applied lessons and technologies forged in the previous years.As with previous wars, British Commanders-in-Chief of a theatre of war or campaign were obliged to report their activities and achievements to the War Office in the form of a despatch and those written from the Western Front provide a fascinating, detailed and compelling overview of this part of the First World War.This volume concludes with Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's fascinating despatch, originally published in 1919, on the execution of the fighting on the Western Front
The Western Front Companion: The Complete Guide To How The Armies Fought For Four Devastating Years, 1914-1918
by Mark AdkinTO COMPREHEND AND CHRONICLE the sheer scale of the conflict on the Western Front demands a book of similar scope. Now, published for the centenary of the start of World War I in August 2014, here is that book. Written by the author of the three previous bestselling Companions on Waterloo, Trafalgar and Gettysburg now acclaimed as the definitive work of reference on each battle The Western Front Companion is not a mere chronological account of the fighting. Rather, it is an astonishingly comprehensive and forensic anatomy of how and why the armies fought, of their weapons, equipment and tactics, for over four long and bloody years on a battlefield that stretched from the Belgian coast to the Swiss frontier a distance of 450 miles. Alongside the British Army, full coverage is given to Britains allies France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India and the United States as well as the Germans.The 350,000 words of text range over everything from the railways on the front to the medical corps and the chaplains. An introduction explaining why the world went to war is followed by a year-by-year enumeration of the critical events and battles and then sections examining all branches of the armies, including commanders, staff, infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, supply and transport, veterinary, tanks and aviation, followed by one on trench warfare and another on the pivitol Battle of Cambrai with its massed use of tanks. Information boxes throughout cover further aspects, from valiant winners of the VC to the unique squalor of front-line trench life. An epilogue on the Armistice and the cost of the war tells how the Unknown Warrior was selected and buried in Westminster Abbey. Like previous Companions, this book is equally distinguished by its magnificent visual resources, and above all its plethora of original and intricate maps and diagrams, all in full colour, illustrating particular offensives, battles, raids or tactics, the configurations of trench formations or the trajectory of mortar bombardments. But this conflict was also the first to be chronicled from the start by photography, and The Western Front Companion does it full justice, with over 200 resonant and remarkable archive images from the time, many rarely seen. These are complemented with modern colour photographs showing how historic battlefields look nowadays, and paying tribute to the magnificent and poignant cemeteries, monuments and ossuaries that mark the fallen for todays battlefield visitor. Every reader, no matter how well informed already on the history of World War I, will learn something new from this extraordinary and exhaustive volume. No one interested in the true story and sheer sweep of the Great War on the Western Front can afford to be without it.
Western Front First Year: Neuve Chapelle, First Ypres, Loos (Archive and Photographs of WWI)
by Joshua BiltonGermany in the Great War Illustrated Western Front First Year is the latest title in a serial publication by historian Joshua Bilton. Advancing the 'German' perspective (including the Ottoman, Bulgar and Austro-Hungarian), this pictorial account illustrates the order of the Central Powers in 1915. Arranged in six chapters, this book covers events in the west: Neuve Chapelle, First Ypres and Loos. The looting of stores, street demonstrations, riots and strikes on the Home Front, the war to the east and the war at sea and finally, one of the great what ifs of the First World War: Gallipoli a truly international campaign, costing the lives of 130,842 soldiers. For the Central Powers, 1915, was the year offense and quick victory turned to attrition and immobility.This informative text is complemented by over 500, fully captioned, mainly unpublished photographs, authors introduction and a 'German' chronology. A valuable tool for those seeking greater insight into the wider context and conduct of affairs beyond the Western Front and the British standpoint.
Western Front First Year: Neuve Chapelle, First Ypres, Loos (Archive and Photographs of WWI)
by Joshua BiltonGermany in the Great War Illustrated Western Front First Year is the latest title in a serial publication by historian Joshua Bilton. Advancing the 'German' perspective (including the Ottoman, Bulgar and Austro-Hungarian), this pictorial account illustrates the order of the Central Powers in 1915. Arranged in six chapters, this book covers events in the west: Neuve Chapelle, First Ypres and Loos. The looting of stores, street demonstrations, riots and strikes on the Home Front, the war to the east and the war at sea and finally, one of the great what ifs of the First World War: Gallipoli a truly international campaign, costing the lives of 130,842 soldiers. For the Central Powers, 1915, was the year offense and quick victory turned to attrition and immobility.This informative text is complemented by over 500, fully captioned, mainly unpublished photographs, authors introduction and a 'German' chronology. A valuable tool for those seeking greater insight into the wider context and conduct of affairs beyond the Western Front and the British standpoint.
The Western Front-North: 100th Anniversary Edition (Major & Mrs Holt's Concise Illustrated Battlefield Guide)
by Tonie Holt Valmai HoltFollowing 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 eat
Western Germany: From Defeat to Rearmament (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #43)
by Alfred GrosserThis book, first published in 1955, examines the total economic, political and social breakdown that Germany suffered in the last year of the Second World War and in its immediate aftermath, and the beginnings of the recovery in the Western half of the now-divided nation. The process of ‘denazification’ is analysed, as are the policies of the occupying powers and the subsequent political stability and economic expansion.
Western Intelligence and the Collapse of the Soviet Union 1980-1990: Ten Years that did not Shake the World
by David Arbel Ran EdelistIn 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. It was an event of major historic and global dimensions, yet it took the entire world totally by suprise. In this book, the authors interview dozens of people who dealt with Soviet affairs in the 1980s, all of who admit to having been caught off guard.
Western Military Interventions After The Cold War: Evaluating the Wars of the West (Cass Military Studies)
by Marek MadejThis book offers an examination of the effectiveness of Western military interventions in the post-Cold War era. It constitutes a comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis of the conditions, conduct and consequences of post-Cold War armed conflicts, in which Western states, acting as a multinational coalition, were engaged in a combat role as an intervening force, not as an impartial peacekeeper. The volume identifies and analyses the causes, justifications and goals of the interventions, as well as the results of such engagements. The main objective is to assess the effectiveness of the military actions of Western states in these armed conflicts. Apart from the chapters devoted to particular conflicts – such as the Gulf War, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya – it also includes chapters in which experts summarise the legal, political, military and economic implications of all such Western-led interventions. As a result, the book helps us to understand why these military interventions happened, how they were executed and what the results were. Taking into account the impact of these military expeditions on global security, the book offers an explanation for some of the central questions concerning the current shape of international order and power distribution on a global scale. This book will be of much interest to students of military and strategic studies, conflict studies, foreign policy and International Relations.
Western Responses to Terrorism
by Alex P. Schmid Ronald D. CrelinstenThis volume combines case studies of national responses to terrorism with analyses of conceptual, political, economic and data-collection problems surrounding the control of terrorism in democratic societies over the last 25 years.
The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
by Victor HansonThe Greeks of the classical age invented not only the central idea of Western politics--that the power of state should be guided by a majority of its citizens--but also the central act of Western warfare, the decisive infantry battle. Instead of ambush, skirmish, or combat between individual heroes, the Greeks of the fifth century B. C. devised a ferocious, brief, and destructive head-on clash between armed men of all ages. In this bold, original study, Victor Davis Hanson shows how this brutal enterprise was dedicated to the same outcome as consensual government--an unequivocal, instant resolution to dispute. Linking this new style of fighting to the rise of constitutional government, Hanson raises new issues and questions old assumptions about the history of war. A new preface addresses recent scholarship on Greek warfare.
The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
by Victor Davis HansonHistoric analysis.`
Westland and the British Helicopter Industry, 1945-1960: Licensed Production versus Indigenous Innovation (Studies in Air Power)
by Matthew R.H. UttleyThis study explains how Westland dominated British helicopter production and why government funding and support failed to generate competitive "all-British" alternatives. In doing so, the book evaluates broader historiographic assumptions about the purported "failure" of british aircraft procurement during the early post-war period and considers the scope and limitations of licensed production as a government-mandated procurement strategy.
Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
by Lewis Sorley&“A terrific book, lively and brisk . . . a must read for anyone who tries to understand the Vietnam War.&” —Thomas E. Ricks Is it possible that the riddle of America&’s military failure in Vietnam has a one-word, one-man answer? Until we understand Gen. William Westmoreland, we will never know what went wrong in the Vietnam War. An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in two wars and became Superintendent at West Point. Then he was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam for four crucial years. He proved a disaster. Unable to think creatively about unconventional warfare, Westmoreland chose an unavailing strategy, stuck to it in the face of all opposition, and stood accused of fudging the results when it mattered most. In this definitive portrait, prize-winning military historian Lewis Sorley makes a plausible case that the war could have been won were it not for General Westmoreland. An authoritative study offering tragic lessons crucial for the future of American leadership, Westmoreland is essential reading. &“Eye-opening and sometimes maddening, Sorley&’s Westmoreland is not to be missed.&” —John Prados, author of Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945–1975
Weston Fulton in Tennessee: Edison of the South
by Dewaine A. SpeaksBeing an inventor at the dawning of the twentieth century was an exciting time for Weston Fulton, Tennessee's most prolific. The Industrial Revolution was well underway, and technology was changing rapidly. Because of Fulton's numerous inventions and patent requests, the U.S. Patent Office dedicated a room solely to his applications, and the press began calling him the "Edison of the South." His most important invention, the seamless metal bellows, has gone to the bottom of the sea as the triggering device for the U.S. Navy's depth charges and to the surface of the Moon to help supply drinking water for the astronauts. Dewaine Speaks, a longtime employee of the company founded by Fulton, gives a detailed description of the many ways Fulton's inventions have influenced mankind.
Westwind: The classic lost thriller
by Ian RankinTHE CLASSIC LOST THRILLER FROM THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER'Shockingly good' The Sun'A prescient, high-octane thriller' Daily Express'Totally on the money - and ripe for this republication' i Newspaper * * * * *It always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the bigger ones.After his friend suspects something strange going on at the satellite facility where they both work - and then goes missing - Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term sick leave"...Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move. But why?The only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only journalist who will believe his story.But neither of them can believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden...DISCOVER THE CLASSIC LOST THRILLER FROM THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER.* * * * *'Rankin is a master storyteller'Guardian'Great fiction, full stop'The Times'Ian Rankin is a genius'Lee Child'One of Britain's leading novelists in any genre'New Statesman'A virtuoso of the craft'Daily Mail'Rankin is a phenomenon'Spectator'Britain's No.1 crime writer'Mirror'Quite simply, crime writing of the highest order'Express'Worthy of Agatha Christie at her best'Scotsman
Westwind: The classic lost thriller
by Ian RankinIt always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the bigger ones.After his friend suspects something strange going on at the launch facility where they both work - and then goes missing - Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term sick leave"...Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move.The only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only journalist who will believe his story.But neither of them can believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden...A gripping, page-turning suspense masterclass - experience the brilliance of the iconic Ian Rankin.
Weymouth, Dorchester & Portland in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
by Jacqueline WadsworthWhen war was declared in 1914, the people of South Dorset were taken by surprise. Initially, there was excitement as the garrison town of Dorchester sprang to life, and Britain's Grand Fleet steamed from Portland Harbour to its war stations in the North Sea. But when the fervour subsided, what was it like for ordinary people? This book describes how they settled down with purpose to a life at war.Traders made the most of new markets, and women learned to cope not only with food shortages and blackouts, but the constant fear that their loved ones wouldn't return. Many threw themselves into the war effort. An enormous prisoner of war camp was established on the edge of Dorchester; wounded Australian soldiers were sent to recover in Weymouth, where they became firm favourites with the ladies; and soldiers billeted in Portland homes didn't always treat their hosts with the respect they deserved. Included in the book are the stories of a German spy who slipped through the net at Wyke; a teenage soldier shot dead by his friend; a scandal at a local military hospital; the touching friendship that developed between a nurse and a wounded Belgian; and what everyday life was like at Weymouth Torpedo Works.This warm account of life in Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland during the Great War ensures that the people at home, who lived through those five dreadful years of conflict, are remembered, too.
Whale Hunt: The Narrative of a Voyage by Nelson Cole Haley, Harpooner in the Ship Charles W. Morgan 1849-1853
by Nelson Cole HaleyThe true story of a voyage to the South Pacific in search of sperm whales.The Charles W. Morgan was the last surviving whaler from the fleet sailing out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. She was retired in 1921, after 80 years of active service.In this book, first published in 1948, Nelson Cole Haley recaptures the high drama of the whale hunt, the character of his shipmates, and their adventures ashore on the exotic islands of the South Pacific.“This classic true story of a voyage on the CHARLES W. MORGAN is both a wonderful read and an excellent source of information about American whaling in the 19th century.”—Nathaniel Philbrick, author of IN THE HEART OF THE SEA
Whale Hunter (Seafarers' Voices)
by Nelson ColeThis is the narrative of a harpooner in the whale-ship Charles W Morgan, whose four-year voyage in 1849–1853 took him from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to the South Pacific and on around the world. Before the days of the whale-gun and its explosive warhead, whaling was a dangerous and far from one-sided pursuit indeed, one of Haleys earliest experiences was the destruction of his boat by a whale attack, and even when the harpoon hit the target, the whaleboat would be towed at speed until the wounded whale was exhausted, a terrifying experience that was known to whalemen as a Nantucket sleigh ride. Haleys narrative covers all the excitements and dangers of the business like trying to work on a slippery whale carcass, while the surrounding waters seethed with sharks but also encompasses the long hours of boredom, when sailors entertained each other with tall tales. Many are recounted, and, surprisingly, some of the least likely can be corroborated. In fact, Haleys anecdotes of the South Seas in transition form one of the great appeals of the book. On the one hand there were still hostile islands with murderous inhabitants, while others had been so strongly influenced by Christian missionaries that pleasures of the flesh were now entirely off-limits.Whaling was, in effect, the first oil industry, a high-risk business where huge fortunes were to be made. Haleys is the authentic voice of those that chose its dangers.
Whale Off!: The Story of American Shore Whaling [Revised Edition]
by Everett J. Edwards Jeannette Edwards RattrayFirst published in 1932 and revised in 1956 by Everett J. Edwards’ daughter Jeannette Edwards Rattray with a new Foreword, this is a well-researched account on American shore-whaling, with special focus on the small-boat whaling carried on off the eastern end of Long Island from 1640 to 1918—the first and last whaling of this sort done anywhere in America.