Author: Brian Izzard
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445676494
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388
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Book Description
The flawed characters of 27 men who were awarded the world’s most prestigious bravery award, some of whom ended up in prison or were shunned by officialdom and a once adoring public.
Author: Michael Scott
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1632208016
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433
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Book Description
“At all costs avoid blame.” Such is the creed of dictators and politicians, tycoons and company chairmen, media celebrities, and spin doctors the world over. But what about men at war, where the penalties for errors of judgment can be devastating? History is full of tales of those who have been wrongly castigated in the rush to find a culprit; only later, sometimes much later, when the real truth comes out, is the scapegoat exonerated. Exposed here are the real stories behind the myths that allow the reader to make a balanced judgment on history’s fairness to the individual, including those of: Captain Alfred Dreyfus, exiled and imprisoned on charges of treason in 1895 Lieutenant General James Longstreet, blamed for the failure of Pickett’s Charge in 1863 Major General Jackie Smyth, removed from the Army after ordering the destruction of the Sittang Bridge in 1942 Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire, let down by the United Nations over the Rwanda massacres of 1994 This superbly researched book by a former professional soldier uncovers what might be termed the most disgraceful miscarriages of military justice. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Author: Edited by Steven J Corvi
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844159183
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249
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Book Description
The senior British generals of the Victorian era - men like Wolseley, Roberts, Gordon and Kitchener - were heroes of their time. As soldiers, administrators and battlefield commanders they represented the empire at the height of its power. But they were a disparate, sometimes fractious group of men. They exhibited many of the failings as well as the strengths of the British army of the late nineteenth-century. And now, when the Victorian period is being looked at more critically than before, the moment is right to reassess them as individuals and as soldiers. This balanced and perceptive study of these eminent military men gives a fascinating insight into their careers, into the British army of their day and into a now-remote period when Britain was a world power.
Author: Ron Lock
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612000185
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329
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Book Description
“Good focused context” pinpoints the historical significance of the single bloodiest episode in the Second Boer War—from a Zulu warfare expert (FGS Forum). Spion Kop, just northeast of Ladysmith, South Africa, was the largest hill in the region, being over 1,400 feet high, and it lay almost exactly at the center of the Boer line. If the British could capture this position and bring artillery to the hill, they would then command the flanks of the surrounding Boer positions. On the night of January 23, 1900, a large British force under Maj. Gen. Edward Woodgate was dispatched to secure the height, with Lt. Col. Alexander Thorneycroft selected to lead the initial assault. However, the Boers refused to give up the position, and a bitter two days of fighting ensued . . . Ron Lock, esteemed author of many Zulu warfare histories, brings to life this bitter and previously overlooked campaign in vivid and complete detail, with supporting sources including then-journalist Winston Churchill’s battle report, as well as many previously unpublished illustrations and six newly commissioned maps. His account will be valuable to both historians and strategists wanting to better understand this difficult and devastating conflict. “An excellent read, well researched and incisive in his handling of the various protagonists involved. He succeeds in offering a fresh perspective.” —Al Venter, author of Barrel of a Gun
Author: Kevin Shillington
Publisher: eBook Partnership
ISBN: 1839523492
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 648
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Book Description
The life of Charles Warren Royal Engineer is a compelling story, full of action, conflict, triumph and disaster, with reputations gained and lost. All set against the background of an expanding British Empire. It is a tale of secrecy, Freemasonry and pioneering archaeology as the young Lt Warren, still only in his twenties, tunnelled under the Holy City of Jerusalem in search of evidence of the Temple of Solomon and Herod the Great. A man of high principle and dogged determination Warren thrived on a challenge: searching for lost British spies in the desert of the Exodus, or publically calling out the rapacious colonialism of Cecil Rhodes. Later, in different circumstances, he ordered the arrest of Winston Churchill. Although thrice knighted for his many achievements, Warren is most widely remembered as the controversial Metropolitan Police Commissioner who failed to catch Jack the Ripper . In the end he faced the supreme challenge in the Anglo-Boer War, becoming the scapegoat for one of Britain's greatest military disasters, the Battle of Spion Kop. In this new biography, the first for 80 years, historian and biographer Kevin Shillington delves into the records and presents a reassessment of Warren's reputation.
Author: Stephen Badsey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351943189
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 399
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Book Description
A prevalent view among historians is that both horsed cavalry and the cavalry charge became obviously obsolete in the second half of the nineteenth century in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower, and that officers of the cavalry clung to both for reasons of prestige and stupidity. It is this view, commonly held but rarely supported by sustained research, that this book challenges. It shows that the achievements of British and Empire cavalry in the First World War, although controversial, are sufficient to contradict the argument that belief in the cavalry was evidence of military incompetence. It offers a case study of how in reality a practical military doctrine for the cavalry was developed and modified over several decades, influenced by wider defence plans and spending, by the experience of combat, by Army politics, and by the rivalries of senior officers. Debate as to how the cavalry was to adjust its tactics in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower began in the mid nineteenth century, when the increasing size of armies meant a greater need for mobile troops. The cavalry problem was how to deal with a gap in the evolution of warfare between the mass armies of the later nineteenth century and the motorised firepower of the mid twentieth century, an issue that is closely connected with the origins of the deadlock on the Western Front. Tracing this debate, this book shows how, despite serious attempts to ’learn from history’, both European-style wars and colonial wars produced ambiguous or disputed evidence as to the future of cavalry, and doctrine was largely a matter of what appeared practical at the time.
Author: Harold E. Raugh Jr.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1576079260
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422
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Book Description
Capturing the strength of the British Army from 1815 to 1914, this groundbreaking reference presents the most recent research on the most significant wars, campaigns, battles, and leaders. The Victorians at War*, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History surveys the major wars, campaigns, battles, and expeditions of the British Army as well as its weaponry, tactics, and all other aspects of its operations from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the dawn of World War I. Containing numerous maps depicting various theaters of war, this all-encompassing volume explains why the numerous military operations took place and what the results were. Biographies reveal fascinating facts about British and Indian Army officers and other ranks, while other entries deal with recruitment, training, education and literacy, uniforms, equipment, pay and conditions, social backgrounds of the soldiers, diseases and wounds they fell victim to, and much more. This volume is indispensable to those wanting to gain information about the British Army during this remarkable imperial era.
Author: David Parker
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750969237
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
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Book Description
A century ago, Britain was locked in a devastating worldwide conflict that would change every aspect of society. This book explores life in Devon between 1900 and 1914, offering a revealing glimpse of a world now long-vanished before war broke out. Devon was no backwater; its railways and shipping were busy bringing tourists in and sending vast quantities of produce out. It was, though, a county of contrasts and change. Farming had reinvented itself after the late Victorian depression, but villages were in decline; churches and chapels were full but religion bitterly divided communities; the wealthy enjoyed extravagant lifestyles on great estates but their authority was under attack. Devon’s upper-, middle- and lower-class schools perfectly reflected the Edwardian social hierarchy, but as the county’s elections revealed, society was being torn asunder by bitter controversies over exactly who should have the vote, rule the country, and control the Empire.It was a worrying time overseas too: Great Britain’s supremacy was increasingly challenged, and the warships in Devon’s harbours and army manoeuvres on the moors drew many comments as the storm clouds began to gather over Europe.Using mainly contemporary sources, this engaging book examines the attitudes and experiences of people across all social classes in this tumultuous era.
Author: Spencer Jones
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806189614
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 383
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Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force at the start of World War I was tiny by the standards of the other belligerent powers. Yet, when deployed to France in 1914, it prevailed against the German army because of its professionalism and tactical skill, strengths developed through hard lessons learned a dozen years earlier. In October 1899, the British went to war against the South African Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State, expecting little resistance. A string of early defeats in the Boer War shook the military’s confidence. Historian Spencer Jones focuses on this bitter combat experience in From Boer War to World War, showing how it crucially shaped the British Army’s tactical development in the years that followed. Before the British Army faced the Boer republics, an aura of complacency had settled over the military. The Victorian era had been marked by years of easy defeats of crudely armed foes. The Boer War, however, brought the British face to face with what would become modern warfare. The sweeping, open terrain and advent of smokeless powder meant soldiers were picked off before they knew where shots had been fired from. The infantry’s standard close-order formations spelled disaster against the well-armed, entrenched Boers. Although the British Army ultimately adapted its strategy and overcame the Boers in 1902, the duration and cost of the war led to public outcry and introspection within the military. Jones draws on previously underutilized sources as he explores the key tactical lessons derived from the war, such as maximizing firepower and using natural cover, and he shows how these new ideas were incorporated in training and used to effect a thorough overhaul of the British Army. The first book to address specific connections between the Boer War and the opening months of World War I, Jones’s fresh interpretation adds to the historiography of both wars by emphasizing the continuity between them.
Author: Geoffrey Gore
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595466664
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
Geoffrey Gore, educator and inventor, was brought up in an English country schoolhouse in the early years of the twentieth century. His childhood was overshadowed by tension in his parents' marriage. William Gore, a widower, had married a woman twenty years his junior. When they lost their first child, Constance became over-protective of her surviving son Geoffrey and made him her partner in lifelong conflict with her husband. Both parents possessed considerable strength of character. William, born in 1853, remained very much a man of the nineteenth century. Constance was already married when Queen Victoria died, but she was entirely at home in the twentieth. Her experiences as a Red Cross VAD nurse during the First World War set the seal on her emancipation. The first forty of Geoffrey Gore's eighty years ended with his service in the Second World War. When he came to write this memoir for his descendants, he chose to close it at that point.
