Author: E. Smalley
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781349504787
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
The British Expeditionary Force, 1939-40
Author: E. Smalley
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781349504787
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781349504787
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Building the Gort Line
Author: Dave Thurlow
Publisher: Helion
ISBN: 9781911628767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The main theme of this book is the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the defenses it constructed in France during September 1939-May 1940. Although there have been many books written about the BEF, virtually all deal with the campaign in France and Flanders that cumulated in the evacuation from Dunkirk. No detailed account has ever been published on the defenses the BEF built in the Secteur Défensive de Lille - the front allocated to it by the French - along the Franco-Belgium border. This account of the Gort Line aims to fill this gap in our knowledge of Second War defences. The book's objective is to broadly answer four questions: What events led to the Gort Line being built? What defenses were built and what were the ideas behind them - did they reflect a flawed 'Maginot' mentality? What exactly did the BEF do in France during the Sitzkrieg? How relevant was the Gort Line to what was done in Britain in respect of the anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk? The book starts by looking at the historical context, with a review of how the inter-war years shaped the grand strategy of Britain, France and Germany. In doing so, it can be understood why the BEF dug in along the Franco-Belgian border alongside their French allies. Having set the historical context, the book will describe how the Gort Line was set out with reference to British principles governing the employment of all arms in positional warfare. Chapters will deal with the construction of the Gort Line and its defenses: the pillboxes, field works, obstacles and demolitions. A chapter will describe the activities of the BEF - including training - and a glimpse at what life was like for the ordinary soldier while 'holding' the Gort Line. Allied higher strategy, determined by the French as the senior partner, is outlined in a chapter and this gives the context as to why the BEF did not fight on the Gort Line. Instead, French strategy committed it to rush into Belgium alongside the French Army and the Gort Line was in effect relegated to a reserve position. The Sitzkrieg ended violently with the German Blitzkrieg and the events of those three weeks are described, when the Gort Line was actually occupied - albeit briefly - by the BEF and French. Finally, the book will look at Britain's anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk and the influence the Gort Line had on these.
Publisher: Helion
ISBN: 9781911628767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The main theme of this book is the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the defenses it constructed in France during September 1939-May 1940. Although there have been many books written about the BEF, virtually all deal with the campaign in France and Flanders that cumulated in the evacuation from Dunkirk. No detailed account has ever been published on the defenses the BEF built in the Secteur Défensive de Lille - the front allocated to it by the French - along the Franco-Belgium border. This account of the Gort Line aims to fill this gap in our knowledge of Second War defences. The book's objective is to broadly answer four questions: What events led to the Gort Line being built? What defenses were built and what were the ideas behind them - did they reflect a flawed 'Maginot' mentality? What exactly did the BEF do in France during the Sitzkrieg? How relevant was the Gort Line to what was done in Britain in respect of the anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk? The book starts by looking at the historical context, with a review of how the inter-war years shaped the grand strategy of Britain, France and Germany. In doing so, it can be understood why the BEF dug in along the Franco-Belgian border alongside their French allies. Having set the historical context, the book will describe how the Gort Line was set out with reference to British principles governing the employment of all arms in positional warfare. Chapters will deal with the construction of the Gort Line and its defenses: the pillboxes, field works, obstacles and demolitions. A chapter will describe the activities of the BEF - including training - and a glimpse at what life was like for the ordinary soldier while 'holding' the Gort Line. Allied higher strategy, determined by the French as the senior partner, is outlined in a chapter and this gives the context as to why the BEF did not fight on the Gort Line. Instead, French strategy committed it to rush into Belgium alongside the French Army and the Gort Line was in effect relegated to a reserve position. The Sitzkrieg ended violently with the German Blitzkrieg and the events of those three weeks are described, when the Gort Line was actually occupied - albeit briefly - by the BEF and French. Finally, the book will look at Britain's anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk and the influence the Gort Line had on these.
The British Expeditionary Force, 1939-40
Author: E. Smalley
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137494204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137494204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287
Book Description
Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.
Air Force Combat Units of World War II
Author: Maurer Maurer
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915850
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915850
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
Toward Combined Arms Warfare
Author: Jonathan Mallory House
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915834
Category : Armies
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915834
Category : Armies
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
Hitler's Soldiers
Author: Ben H. Shepherd
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300219520
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 681
Book Description
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture. For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and military occupation. This was a true people’s army, drawn from across German society and reflecting that society as it existed under the Nazis. Without the army and its conquests abroad, Shepherd explains, the Nazi regime could not have perpetrated its crimes against Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied countries. The author examines how the army was complicit in these crimes and why some soldiers, units, and higher commands were more complicit than others. Shepherd also reveals the reasons for the army’s early battlefield successes and its mounting defeats up to 1945, the latter due not only to Allied superiority and Hitler’s mismanagement as commander-in-chief, but also to the failings—moral, political, economic, strategic, and operational—of the army’s own leadership.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300219520
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 681
Book Description
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture. For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and military occupation. This was a true people’s army, drawn from across German society and reflecting that society as it existed under the Nazis. Without the army and its conquests abroad, Shepherd explains, the Nazi regime could not have perpetrated its crimes against Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied countries. The author examines how the army was complicit in these crimes and why some soldiers, units, and higher commands were more complicit than others. Shepherd also reveals the reasons for the army’s early battlefield successes and its mounting defeats up to 1945, the latter due not only to Allied superiority and Hitler’s mismanagement as commander-in-chief, but also to the failings—moral, political, economic, strategic, and operational—of the army’s own leadership.
Phantom at War
Author: Andy Parlour
Publisher: Cerberus Publishing
ISBN: 9781841451183
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This is the story of perhaps one of the British Army’s least known regiments of World War Two – The General Headquarters Liaison Regiment, code-named Phantom. Every commander in the field or at rear headquarters needs to have up to the minute information on the progress of the battle to enable him to plan his strategy. Communication, or lack of it, can sometimes decide the outcome. One man had the foresight and inspirational thinking to realize this. Lieutenant-Colonel George Frederick Hopkinson served in France and Belgium in 1939/40 with the British Expeditionary Force until he was evacuated from Dunkirk. His experiences convinced him of the need for a special communication service. Immediately on his return to England, Hopkinson wasted no time in presenting his ideas to the War Office and the Ministry of Defense, and, with their approval, the General Headquarters Liaison Regiment, Phantom, was born. Phantom was to serve in many theatres of World War Two, in Greece, North Africa, Italy and the Mediterranean, and its role was to be of paramount importance in the liberation of Europe. When General Urquart was trapped at Arnhem in September 1944, it was the Phantom radio patrol serving with him that provided the only radio link to the outside world. This elite regiment worked with all the Allied forces and a special Phantom squadron served with the SAS behind enemy lines. This book is about the men of Phantom and the memories of some of those who served in this elite regiment, both officers and other ranks. Some of the reminiscences are funny, some are sad, but hopefully the readers will enjoy reading the stories as much as the writers did writing them. Many of those who served with Phantom went on to achieve distinction in public life after the war.
Publisher: Cerberus Publishing
ISBN: 9781841451183
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This is the story of perhaps one of the British Army’s least known regiments of World War Two – The General Headquarters Liaison Regiment, code-named Phantom. Every commander in the field or at rear headquarters needs to have up to the minute information on the progress of the battle to enable him to plan his strategy. Communication, or lack of it, can sometimes decide the outcome. One man had the foresight and inspirational thinking to realize this. Lieutenant-Colonel George Frederick Hopkinson served in France and Belgium in 1939/40 with the British Expeditionary Force until he was evacuated from Dunkirk. His experiences convinced him of the need for a special communication service. Immediately on his return to England, Hopkinson wasted no time in presenting his ideas to the War Office and the Ministry of Defense, and, with their approval, the General Headquarters Liaison Regiment, Phantom, was born. Phantom was to serve in many theatres of World War Two, in Greece, North Africa, Italy and the Mediterranean, and its role was to be of paramount importance in the liberation of Europe. When General Urquart was trapped at Arnhem in September 1944, it was the Phantom radio patrol serving with him that provided the only radio link to the outside world. This elite regiment worked with all the Allied forces and a special Phantom squadron served with the SAS behind enemy lines. This book is about the men of Phantom and the memories of some of those who served in this elite regiment, both officers and other ranks. Some of the reminiscences are funny, some are sad, but hopefully the readers will enjoy reading the stories as much as the writers did writing them. Many of those who served with Phantom went on to achieve distinction in public life after the war.
Henrietta's War
Author: Joyce Dennys
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 160819177X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
Spirited Henrietta wishes she was the kind of doctor's wife who knew exactly how to deal with the daily upheavals of war. But then, everyone in her close-knit Devonshire village seems to find different ways to cope: there's the indomitable Lady B, who writes to Hitler every night to tell him precisely what she thinks of him; the terrifyingly efficient Mrs Savernack, who relishes the opportunity to sit on umpteen committees and boss everyone around; flighty, flirtatious Faith who is utterly preoccupied with the latest hats and flashing her shapely legs; and then there's Charles, Henrietta's hard-working husband who manages to sleep through a bomb landing in their neighbour's garden. With life turned upside down under the shadow of war, Henrietta chronicles the dramas, squabbles and loyal friendships that unfold in her affectionate letters to her 'dear childhood friend' Robert. Warm, witty and perfectly observed, Henrietta's War brings to life a sparkling community of determined troupers who pull together to fight the good fight with patriotic fervour and good humour. Henrietta's War is part of The Bloomsbury Group, a new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 160819177X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
Spirited Henrietta wishes she was the kind of doctor's wife who knew exactly how to deal with the daily upheavals of war. But then, everyone in her close-knit Devonshire village seems to find different ways to cope: there's the indomitable Lady B, who writes to Hitler every night to tell him precisely what she thinks of him; the terrifyingly efficient Mrs Savernack, who relishes the opportunity to sit on umpteen committees and boss everyone around; flighty, flirtatious Faith who is utterly preoccupied with the latest hats and flashing her shapely legs; and then there's Charles, Henrietta's hard-working husband who manages to sleep through a bomb landing in their neighbour's garden. With life turned upside down under the shadow of war, Henrietta chronicles the dramas, squabbles and loyal friendships that unfold in her affectionate letters to her 'dear childhood friend' Robert. Warm, witty and perfectly observed, Henrietta's War brings to life a sparkling community of determined troupers who pull together to fight the good fight with patriotic fervour and good humour. Henrietta's War is part of The Bloomsbury Group, a new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers.
World War II: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Gerhard L. Weinberg
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191008761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153
Book Description
The enormous loss of life and physical destruction caused by the First World War led people to hope that there would never be another such catastrophe. How then did it come about that there was a Second World War causing twice the 30 million deaths and many times more destruction as had been caused in the previous conflict? In this Very Short Introduction, Gerhard L. Weinberg provides an introduction to the origins, course, and impact of the war on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting by looking at the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events, including the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, The German Invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944-45. Exploring the costs and effects of the war, Weinberg concludes by considering the long-lasting mark World War II has left on society today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191008761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153
Book Description
The enormous loss of life and physical destruction caused by the First World War led people to hope that there would never be another such catastrophe. How then did it come about that there was a Second World War causing twice the 30 million deaths and many times more destruction as had been caused in the previous conflict? In this Very Short Introduction, Gerhard L. Weinberg provides an introduction to the origins, course, and impact of the war on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting by looking at the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events, including the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, The German Invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944-45. Exploring the costs and effects of the war, Weinberg concludes by considering the long-lasting mark World War II has left on society today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
The War in France and Flanders
Author: Lionel Frederic Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781845740566
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Covering the 1939-40 Phoney War in a single chapter, the focus of Major L.F. Ellis s official history of the campaign in France and Flanders falls on the role of the British Expeditionary Force in attempting to defend Belgium and France from the fury of the German Blitzkrieg in May-June 1940. He describes the BEF s advance into Belgium in response to the German attack in accordance with the pre-arranged Anglo-French Dyle Plan , and its rapid retreat as the Germans broke through on the River Meuse. Despite an attempted counter-attack around Arras, Ellis shows how the BEF and their French allies were forced back on the Channel Ports by the swift advance of the German armoured columns. The history culminates in the confusion caused by Belgium s sudden surrender, the failed British stand on the Somme, and the momentous decision to evacuate the BEF from Dunkirk. Illustrated by 7 general maps, 14 situation maps and 17 sketch maps, the book has eleven photographs, and additional appendices detailing the German planning of their spectacularly successful campaign, and listing the British and German forces engaged.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781845740566
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Covering the 1939-40 Phoney War in a single chapter, the focus of Major L.F. Ellis s official history of the campaign in France and Flanders falls on the role of the British Expeditionary Force in attempting to defend Belgium and France from the fury of the German Blitzkrieg in May-June 1940. He describes the BEF s advance into Belgium in response to the German attack in accordance with the pre-arranged Anglo-French Dyle Plan , and its rapid retreat as the Germans broke through on the River Meuse. Despite an attempted counter-attack around Arras, Ellis shows how the BEF and their French allies were forced back on the Channel Ports by the swift advance of the German armoured columns. The history culminates in the confusion caused by Belgium s sudden surrender, the failed British stand on the Somme, and the momentous decision to evacuate the BEF from Dunkirk. Illustrated by 7 general maps, 14 situation maps and 17 sketch maps, the book has eleven photographs, and additional appendices detailing the German planning of their spectacularly successful campaign, and listing the British and German forces engaged.