Author: Andrew Lucas
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473847788
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 481
Book Description
Personal accounts of the Great War experiences of British soldiers are well known and plentiful, but similar accounts from the German side of no man's land are rare. This highly original book vividly describes the wartime lives and ultimate fates of ten Saxon soldiers facing the British in Flanders, revealed through their intimate diaries and correspondence. The stories of these men, from front-line trench fighters to a brigade commander, are in turn used to illustrate the wider story of thousands more who fought and died in Flanders 'for King and Country, Kaiser and Reich' with the Royal Saxon Army. This ground-breaking work is illustrated with over 300 mostly unseen wartime photographs and other images, recording the German experience of the war in human detail and giving a rounded picture of how the Saxons lived and died in Flanders.
Fighting the Kaiser's War
Author: Andrew Lucas
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473847788
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 481
Book Description
Personal accounts of the Great War experiences of British soldiers are well known and plentiful, but similar accounts from the German side of no man's land are rare. This highly original book vividly describes the wartime lives and ultimate fates of ten Saxon soldiers facing the British in Flanders, revealed through their intimate diaries and correspondence. The stories of these men, from front-line trench fighters to a brigade commander, are in turn used to illustrate the wider story of thousands more who fought and died in Flanders 'for King and Country, Kaiser and Reich' with the Royal Saxon Army. This ground-breaking work is illustrated with over 300 mostly unseen wartime photographs and other images, recording the German experience of the war in human detail and giving a rounded picture of how the Saxons lived and died in Flanders.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473847788
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 481
Book Description
Personal accounts of the Great War experiences of British soldiers are well known and plentiful, but similar accounts from the German side of no man's land are rare. This highly original book vividly describes the wartime lives and ultimate fates of ten Saxon soldiers facing the British in Flanders, revealed through their intimate diaries and correspondence. The stories of these men, from front-line trench fighters to a brigade commander, are in turn used to illustrate the wider story of thousands more who fought and died in Flanders 'for King and Country, Kaiser and Reich' with the Royal Saxon Army. This ground-breaking work is illustrated with over 300 mostly unseen wartime photographs and other images, recording the German experience of the war in human detail and giving a rounded picture of how the Saxons lived and died in Flanders.
African Kaiser
Author: Robert Gaudi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698411528
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 450
Book Description
The incredible true account of World War I in Africa and General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the last undefeated German commander. “Let me say straight out that if all military histories were as thrilling and well written as Robert Gaudi’s African Kaiser, I might give up reading fiction and literary biography… Gaudi writes with the flair of a latter-day Macaulay. He sets his scenes carefully and describes naval and military action like a novelist.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post As World War I ravaged the European continent, a completely different theater of war was being contested in Africa. And from this very different kind of war, there emerged a very different kind of military leader.... At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with one another not just in the bloody trenches, but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history. With the now-legendary Schutztruppe (Defensive Force), von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought alongside their fanatically devoted native African allies as equals, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age. African Kaiser is the fascinating story of a forgotten guerrilla campaign in a remote corner of Equatorial Africa in World War I; of a small army of ultraloyal African troops led by a smaller cadre of rugged German officers—of white men and black who fought side by side. But mostly it is the story of von Lettow-Vorbeck—the only undefeated German commmander in the field during World War I and the last to surrender his arms.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698411528
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 450
Book Description
The incredible true account of World War I in Africa and General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the last undefeated German commander. “Let me say straight out that if all military histories were as thrilling and well written as Robert Gaudi’s African Kaiser, I might give up reading fiction and literary biography… Gaudi writes with the flair of a latter-day Macaulay. He sets his scenes carefully and describes naval and military action like a novelist.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post As World War I ravaged the European continent, a completely different theater of war was being contested in Africa. And from this very different kind of war, there emerged a very different kind of military leader.... At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with one another not just in the bloody trenches, but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history. With the now-legendary Schutztruppe (Defensive Force), von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought alongside their fanatically devoted native African allies as equals, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age. African Kaiser is the fascinating story of a forgotten guerrilla campaign in a remote corner of Equatorial Africa in World War I; of a small army of ultraloyal African troops led by a smaller cadre of rugged German officers—of white men and black who fought side by side. But mostly it is the story of von Lettow-Vorbeck—the only undefeated German commmander in the field during World War I and the last to surrender his arms.
No End Save Victory
Author: David Kaiser
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465062997
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
While Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first hundred days may be the most celebrated period of his presidency, the months before the attack on Pearl Harbor proved the most critical. Beginning as early as 1939 when Germany first attacked Poland, Roosevelt skillfully navigated a host of challenges -- a reluctant population, an unprepared military, and disagreements within his cabinet -- to prepare the country for its inevitable confrontation with the Axis. In No End Save Victory, esteemed historian David Kaiser draws on extensive archival research to reveal the careful preparations that enabled the United States to win World War II. Alarmed by Germany and Japan's aggressive militarism, Roosevelt understood that the United States would almost certainly be drawn into the conflict raging in Europe and Asia. However, the American populace, still traumatized by memories of the First World War, was reluctant to intervene in European and Asian affairs. Even more serious was the deplorable state of the American military. In September of 1940, Roosevelt's military advisors told him that the US would not have the arms, ammunition, or men necessary to undertake any major military operation overseas -- let alone win such a fight -- until April of 1942. Aided by his closest military and civilian collaborators, Roosevelt pushed a series of military expansions through Congress that nearly doubled the size of the US Navy and Army, and increased production of the arms, tanks, bombers, and warships that would allow America to prevail in the coming fight. Highlighting Roosevelt's deft management of the strong personalities within his cabinet and his able navigation of the shifting tides of war, No End Save Victory is the definitive account of America's preparations for and entry into World War II. As Kaiser shows, it was Roosevelt's masterful leadership and prescience that prepared the reluctant nation to fight -- and gave it the tools to win.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465062997
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
While Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first hundred days may be the most celebrated period of his presidency, the months before the attack on Pearl Harbor proved the most critical. Beginning as early as 1939 when Germany first attacked Poland, Roosevelt skillfully navigated a host of challenges -- a reluctant population, an unprepared military, and disagreements within his cabinet -- to prepare the country for its inevitable confrontation with the Axis. In No End Save Victory, esteemed historian David Kaiser draws on extensive archival research to reveal the careful preparations that enabled the United States to win World War II. Alarmed by Germany and Japan's aggressive militarism, Roosevelt understood that the United States would almost certainly be drawn into the conflict raging in Europe and Asia. However, the American populace, still traumatized by memories of the First World War, was reluctant to intervene in European and Asian affairs. Even more serious was the deplorable state of the American military. In September of 1940, Roosevelt's military advisors told him that the US would not have the arms, ammunition, or men necessary to undertake any major military operation overseas -- let alone win such a fight -- until April of 1942. Aided by his closest military and civilian collaborators, Roosevelt pushed a series of military expansions through Congress that nearly doubled the size of the US Navy and Army, and increased production of the arms, tanks, bombers, and warships that would allow America to prevail in the coming fight. Highlighting Roosevelt's deft management of the strong personalities within his cabinet and his able navigation of the shifting tides of war, No End Save Victory is the definitive account of America's preparations for and entry into World War II. As Kaiser shows, it was Roosevelt's masterful leadership and prescience that prepared the reluctant nation to fight -- and gave it the tools to win.
The Kaiser's Army
Author: David Stone
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1844862925
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 513
Book Description
In this comprehensive book, David Stone describes and analyses every aspect of the German Army as it existed under Kaiser Wilhelm II, encompassing its development and antecedents, organisation, personnel, weapons and equipment, its inherent strengths and weaknesses, and its victories and defeats as it fought on many fronts throughout World War I. The book deals in considerable detail with the origins and creation of the German army, examining the structure of power in German politics and wider society, and the nation's imperial ambitions, along with the ways in which the high command and general staff functioned in terms of strategy and tactical doctrine. The nature, background, recruitment, training and military experiences of the officers, NCOs and soldiers are examined, while personal and collective values relating to honour, loyalty and conscience are also analysed. There is also an evaluation of all aspects of army life such as conscription, discipline, rest and recuperation and medical treatment. In addition the army's operations are set in context with an overview of the army at war, covering the key actions and outcomes of major campaigns from 1914 to 1918 up to the signature of the Armistice at Compiègne. For anyone seeking a definitive reference on the German Army of the period – whether scholar, historian, serving soldier or simply a general reader – this remarkable book will prove an invaluable work.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1844862925
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 513
Book Description
In this comprehensive book, David Stone describes and analyses every aspect of the German Army as it existed under Kaiser Wilhelm II, encompassing its development and antecedents, organisation, personnel, weapons and equipment, its inherent strengths and weaknesses, and its victories and defeats as it fought on many fronts throughout World War I. The book deals in considerable detail with the origins and creation of the German army, examining the structure of power in German politics and wider society, and the nation's imperial ambitions, along with the ways in which the high command and general staff functioned in terms of strategy and tactical doctrine. The nature, background, recruitment, training and military experiences of the officers, NCOs and soldiers are examined, while personal and collective values relating to honour, loyalty and conscience are also analysed. There is also an evaluation of all aspects of army life such as conscription, discipline, rest and recuperation and medical treatment. In addition the army's operations are set in context with an overview of the army at war, covering the key actions and outcomes of major campaigns from 1914 to 1918 up to the signature of the Armistice at Compiègne. For anyone seeking a definitive reference on the German Army of the period – whether scholar, historian, serving soldier or simply a general reader – this remarkable book will prove an invaluable work.
The Kaiser's Battle
Author: Martin Middlebrook
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473819423
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
The author of The First Day on the Somme details what it was like during the 1918 Spring Offensive during World War I, which led to Germany’s defeat. At 9:30 AM on March 21, 1918, the last great battle of the First World War commenced when three German armies struck a massive blow against the weak divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. It was the first day of what the Germans called the Kaiserschlacht (the Kaiser’s Battle), the series of attacks that were intended to break the deadlock on the Western Front, knock the British Army out of the war, and finally bring victory to Germany… In the event, the cost of the gamble was so heavy that once the assault faltered, it remained for the Allies to push the exhausted German armies back and the war was at last over. Praise for The Kaiser’s Battle “The clever blending of written and oral accounts from some 650 surviving British and German soldiers makes the book an extremely convincing reconstruction.” —The Sunday Times (UK) “Mr. Middlebrook’s industry and patience are displayed in his amazing collection of eyewitness accounts, the compassion in his commentary, the good sense in his analysis.” —Daily Telegraphy (UK)
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473819423
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
The author of The First Day on the Somme details what it was like during the 1918 Spring Offensive during World War I, which led to Germany’s defeat. At 9:30 AM on March 21, 1918, the last great battle of the First World War commenced when three German armies struck a massive blow against the weak divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. It was the first day of what the Germans called the Kaiserschlacht (the Kaiser’s Battle), the series of attacks that were intended to break the deadlock on the Western Front, knock the British Army out of the war, and finally bring victory to Germany… In the event, the cost of the gamble was so heavy that once the assault faltered, it remained for the Allies to push the exhausted German armies back and the war was at last over. Praise for The Kaiser’s Battle “The clever blending of written and oral accounts from some 650 surviving British and German soldiers makes the book an extremely convincing reconstruction.” —The Sunday Times (UK) “Mr. Middlebrook’s industry and patience are displayed in his amazing collection of eyewitness accounts, the compassion in his commentary, the good sense in his analysis.” —Daily Telegraphy (UK)
For King and Kaiser
Author: Andrew Lucas
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526748657
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 549
Book Description
A detailed history of the Royal Saxon Army in Belgium during World War I, featuring photographs and personal letters. Following on from their pioneering account of the Saxon army in World War I—Fighting the Kaiser’s War—Andrew Lucas and Jürgen Schmieschek have compiled this remarkable sequel covering Saxony’s war in Flanders in much greater detail. Once again, they draw on vivid extracts from personal accounts and letters as well as regimental and documents from the Saxon archives, and they illustrate their powerful study with hundreds of previously unpublished personal photos that show every aspect of wartime experience in the front line and the rear areas. The role of the Saxon army in the three battles of Ypres is recorded in graphic detail, and rare photographs offer fresh perspectives on famous wartime locations on the Western Front including Ploegsteert Wood, the Menin Road, Bellewaarde, Wytschaete, and Passchendaele. The historic photographs—and the insights provided by the accompanying text—give us a fascinating inside view of the Saxon soldiers and their relations with the local population who were obliged to host them. The quality of the evocative personal material—text and images—collected by Andrew Lucas and Jürgen Schmieschek makes this exceptional work a major contribution to the literature on the German forces on the Western Front.
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526748657
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 549
Book Description
A detailed history of the Royal Saxon Army in Belgium during World War I, featuring photographs and personal letters. Following on from their pioneering account of the Saxon army in World War I—Fighting the Kaiser’s War—Andrew Lucas and Jürgen Schmieschek have compiled this remarkable sequel covering Saxony’s war in Flanders in much greater detail. Once again, they draw on vivid extracts from personal accounts and letters as well as regimental and documents from the Saxon archives, and they illustrate their powerful study with hundreds of previously unpublished personal photos that show every aspect of wartime experience in the front line and the rear areas. The role of the Saxon army in the three battles of Ypres is recorded in graphic detail, and rare photographs offer fresh perspectives on famous wartime locations on the Western Front including Ploegsteert Wood, the Menin Road, Bellewaarde, Wytschaete, and Passchendaele. The historic photographs—and the insights provided by the accompanying text—give us a fascinating inside view of the Saxon soldiers and their relations with the local population who were obliged to host them. The quality of the evocative personal material—text and images—collected by Andrew Lucas and Jürgen Schmieschek makes this exceptional work a major contribution to the literature on the German forces on the Western Front.
Politics and War
Author: David E. Kaiser
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781850432463
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 435
Book Description
David Kaiser looks at four hundred years of modern European history to find the political causes of war. In four distinct periods he shows how war became a natural function of politics.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781850432463
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 435
Book Description
David Kaiser looks at four hundred years of modern European history to find the political causes of war. In four distinct periods he shows how war became a natural function of politics.
Plunder
Author: Menachem Kaiser
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1328506460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291
Book Description
A New York Times Critics’ Best Nonfiction Book of 2021 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Biography From a gifted young writer, the story of his quest to reclaim his family’s apartment building in Poland—and of the astonishing entanglement with Nazi treasure hunters that follows Menachem Kaiser’s brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather’s former battle to reclaim the family’s apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as “The Killer.” A surprise discovery—that his grandfather’s cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex—leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance—material, spiritual, familial, and emotional.
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1328506460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291
Book Description
A New York Times Critics’ Best Nonfiction Book of 2021 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Biography From a gifted young writer, the story of his quest to reclaim his family’s apartment building in Poland—and of the astonishing entanglement with Nazi treasure hunters that follows Menachem Kaiser’s brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather’s former battle to reclaim the family’s apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as “The Killer.” A surprise discovery—that his grandfather’s cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex—leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance—material, spiritual, familial, and emotional.
All the Kaiser's Men
Author: Ian Passingham
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752472585
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 419
Book Description
Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914, confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan on which the anticipated German victory was based expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front. It was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But our perception of the conflict takes little or no account of the realities of life 'across the wire' in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance and reminds us how similar these young German men were to our own Tommies. Drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752472585
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 419
Book Description
Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914, confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan on which the anticipated German victory was based expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front. It was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But our perception of the conflict takes little or no account of the realities of life 'across the wire' in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance and reminds us how similar these young German men were to our own Tommies. Drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.
With the Kaiser's Army in 1914
Author: Sven Hardin
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473849446
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 646
Book Description
In 1914 Swedish professor, writer, illustrator and adventurer Sven Hedin was granted a car and escort and given a comprehensive tour of the German Armies fighting in Belgium and France during September and October 1914. Hedin was given unfettered access to German armies and leadership. The resulting book, With the German Armies in the West, was quickly finished and published, originally in Swedish, in 1914 then swiftly translated and printed in early 1915 by John Lane of The Bodley Head Press, London, at a time when the events described in the book were still fresh.During his battle-front tour, Hedin took the opportunity to roam around the Army's rear areas and to visit the frontline trench network. In the process he conducted many interviews, ranging from ordinary German privates to the most senior commanders and also with British and French POWs. He was an artist of great skill and was allowed to sketch many scenes depicting German infantry, cavalry, logistics and artillery batteries. He also documented the condition of post-August 1914 Belgium and described the situation in a very different light to the febrile tones of most neutral sources.This invaluable study of the Kaiser's Army in the early stages of the First World War is a great addition to the literature of the Great War providing a rare glimpse into the German Army of 1914.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473849446
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 646
Book Description
In 1914 Swedish professor, writer, illustrator and adventurer Sven Hedin was granted a car and escort and given a comprehensive tour of the German Armies fighting in Belgium and France during September and October 1914. Hedin was given unfettered access to German armies and leadership. The resulting book, With the German Armies in the West, was quickly finished and published, originally in Swedish, in 1914 then swiftly translated and printed in early 1915 by John Lane of The Bodley Head Press, London, at a time when the events described in the book were still fresh.During his battle-front tour, Hedin took the opportunity to roam around the Army's rear areas and to visit the frontline trench network. In the process he conducted many interviews, ranging from ordinary German privates to the most senior commanders and also with British and French POWs. He was an artist of great skill and was allowed to sketch many scenes depicting German infantry, cavalry, logistics and artillery batteries. He also documented the condition of post-August 1914 Belgium and described the situation in a very different light to the febrile tones of most neutral sources.This invaluable study of the Kaiser's Army in the early stages of the First World War is a great addition to the literature of the Great War providing a rare glimpse into the German Army of 1914.