The Mons Myth

The Mons Myth PDF Author: Terence Zuber
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752476289
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
Conventional histories of the Battles of Mons and Le Cateau describe how, although the British were massively outnumbered, precise and rapid rifle fire mowed down rows of German troops: the staggering casualties inflicted made both British victories, and set the stage for the Battle of the Marne. But neither encounter has ever been described in English from the German point of view. Using German tactics manuals and regimental histories, Terence Zuber re-examines the battles at Mons and Le Cateau, subjecting British tactics to a critique that goes beyond admiration for rapid rifle fire and presenting new and startling perspectives, showing how the Germans employed a high degree of tactical sophistication in conducting combined-arms operations. The odds were, in fact, even, and German casualties never reached the levels described in the standard histories. ' The Mons Myth' is the first history of these battles to take this approach in ninety years, and completely changes our understanding of what actually happened.

The Mons Myth

The Mons Myth PDF Author: Terence Zuber
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752476289
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
Conventional histories of the Battles of Mons and Le Cateau describe how, although the British were massively outnumbered, precise and rapid rifle fire mowed down rows of German troops: the staggering casualties inflicted made both British victories, and set the stage for the Battle of the Marne. But neither encounter has ever been described in English from the German point of view. Using German tactics manuals and regimental histories, Terence Zuber re-examines the battles at Mons and Le Cateau, subjecting British tactics to a critique that goes beyond admiration for rapid rifle fire and presenting new and startling perspectives, showing how the Germans employed a high degree of tactical sophistication in conducting combined-arms operations. The odds were, in fact, even, and German casualties never reached the levels described in the standard histories. ' The Mons Myth' is the first history of these battles to take this approach in ninety years, and completely changes our understanding of what actually happened.

Myths and Legends of the First World War

Myths and Legends of the First World War PDF Author: James Hayward
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752476300
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
During the First World War, a rich crop of legends sprouted from the battlefields and grew with such ferocity that many still excite controversy today. This book is the first to examine the roots of those stories and reveal the truth. Some myths remain well-known. Did an entire battalion of the Norfolk Regiment vanish without trace at Gallipoli in 1915? Did thousands of Russian troops actually pass through England with snow on their boots? In 1914, an acute spy mania gripped the British public, who imagined that the country was brimming with German spies. Xenophobia, denunciations and attacks on dachshunds were rampant. Amazingly, there was even talk of enemy aircraft dropping poisoned sweets to kill British children. Myths such as the Angel of Mons and the Comrade in White were more innocent creations. With no radio or television, rumours of disaster were rife, and the apparition of mystical guardian spirits gave hope to the civilian population at home. Other stories, such as the so-called Crucified Canadian, and the existence of a gruesome German corpse rendering factory, were more sinister. Yet in an age of new and startling technologies such as poison gas, submarine warfare and the tank, such tales appeared believable. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, James Hayward traces the story of each myth and examines the likely explanation. Supported by a selection of rare photographs and illustrations, the result is a refreshingly different perspective on the common 'mud and trenches' view of the First World War, shedding fascinating new light on many curious and unexplained wartime tales.

A Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography, Mythology, and Geography

A Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography, Mythology, and Geography PDF Author: William Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Classical dictionaries
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description


The Great War

The Great War PDF Author: Peter Hart
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190227354
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
Focusing on the decisive engagements of World War I, the author explores the immense challenges faced by the commanders on all sides, looking at the changing weapons and tactics and offering his own assessment on what brought about the war's outcome.

King Arthur

King Arthur PDF Author: N. J. Higham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134614284
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
This seminal new study explores how and why historians and writers from the Middle Ages to the present day have constructed different accounts of this well-loved figure. N. J Higham offers an in-depth examintaion of the first two Arthurian texts: the History of the Britons and the Welsh Annals. He argues that historians have often been more influenced by what the idea of Arthur means in their present context than by such primary sources King Arthur: Myth-making and History illuminates and discusses some central points of debate: * What role was Arthur intended to perform in the political and cultural worlds that constructed him? * How did the idea of King Arthur evolve? * What did the myth of Arthur mean to both authors and their audiences? King Arthur: Myth-making and History is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the origins and evolution of the Arthurian legend.

A Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography & Mythology & Geography

A Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography & Mythology & Geography PDF Author: William Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Classical biography
Languages : en
Pages : 588

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Book Description


World War I

World War I PDF Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593847539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
Discover the misery of life in the trenches -- and how the Great War devastated Europe. Here is an original and exciting guide to the grim challenge of life or death on the Western Front. Devastating first-hand reports and contemporary photographs of the battles that slaughtered millions, together with a clear account of how nation upon nation sent their men to join the carnage, combine to present a dramatic "eyewitness" view of this most terrible war. See the bullet-riddled car of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, everyday life in the dugout, sappers mining tunnels beneath the enemy, and Mata Hari learning the art of spying. Learn how people avoided gas attacks, when periscopes were used, what soldiers wrote home to their sweethearts and mothers, the best way to use a tank, how troops flattened a hillside, and the meaning of Armistice Day. Discover how it felt to go over the top, what happened to all the bodies, how people dealt with shell shock, why war led to revolution, and much, much more.

The World of Myth

The World of Myth PDF Author: David Adams Leeming
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199762724
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
Hercules, Zeus, Thor, Gilgamesh--these are the figures that leap to mind when we think of myth. But to David Leeming, myths are more than stories of deities and fantastic beings from non-Christian cultures. Myth is at once the most particular and the most universal feature of civilization, representing common concerns that each society voices in its own idiom. Whether an Egyptian story of creation or the big-bang theory of modern physics, myth is metaphor, mirroring our deepest sense of ourselves in relation to existence itself. Now, in The World of Myth, Leeming provides a sweeping anthology of myths, ranging from ancient Egypt and Greece to the Polynesian islands and modern science. We read stories of great floods from the ancient Babylonians, Hebrews, Chinese, and Mayans; tales of apocalypse from India, the Norse, Christianity, and modern science; myths of the mother goddess from Native American Hopi culture and James Lovelock's Gaia. Leeming has culled myths from Aztec, Greek, African, Australian Aboriginal, Japanese, Moslem, Hittite, Celtic, Chinese, and Persian cultures, offering one of the most wide-ranging collections of what he calls the collective dreams of humanity. More important, he has organized these myths according to a number of themes, comparing and contrasting how various societies have addressed similar concerns, or have told similar stories. In the section on dying gods, for example, both Odin and Jesus sacrifice themselves to renew the world, each dying on a tree. Such traditions, he proposes, may have their roots in societies of the distant past, which would ritually sacrifice their kings to renew the tribe. In The World of Myth, David Leeming takes us on a journey "not through a maze of falsehood but through a marvellous world of metaphor," metaphor for "the story of the relationship between the known and the unknown, both around us and within us." Fantastic, tragic, bizarre, sometimes funny, the myths he presents speak of the most fundamental human experience, a part of what Joseph Campbell called "the wonderful song of the soul's high adventure."

The Angel of Mons

The Angel of Mons PDF Author: Jerred Metz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780933439023
Category : Apparitions
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
In 1915, Harold Begbie wrote, " ... One of the most widely known events [of The Great War is] the appearance of St. George and angel-warriors fighting in defence of the British (at) Mons." After the battle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and W.B. Yeats determine the story is true, with enough evidence to satisfy Churchill. Soldiers from another time emerged from the very soil to support the British and were seen by British and Germans, alike. Among those who testified to their presence was the brother of Lady Doyle, Malcolm Leckie, in spirit, who had died from the wound he received there. The gathered testimony confirmed, even to the sceptic, Holmes, that England had the angels on her side.

The Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan PDF Author: Hans Ehlert
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813147476
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 597

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Book Description
With the creation of the Franco-Russian Alliance and the failure of the Reinsurance Treaty in the late nineteenth century, Germany needed a strategy for fighting a two-front war. In response, Field Marshal Count Alfred von Schlieffen produced a study that represented the apex of modern military planning. His Memorandum for a War against France, which incorporated a mechanized cavalry as well as new technologies in weaponry, advocated that Germany concentrate its field army to the west and annihilate the French army within a few weeks. For generations, historians have considered Schlieffen's writings to be the foundation of Germany's military strategy in World War I and have hotly debated the reasons why the plan, as executed, failed. In this important volume, international scholars reassess Schlieffen's work for the first time in decades, offering new insights into the renowned general's impact not only on World War I but also on nearly a century of military historiography. The contributors draw on newly available source materials from European and Russian archives to demonstrate both the significance of the Schlieffen Plan and its deficiencies. They examine the operational planning of relevant European states and provide a broad, comparative historical context that other studies lack. Featuring fold-out maps and abstracts of the original German deployment plans as they evolved from 1893 to 1914, this rigorous reassessment vividly illustrates how failures in statecraft as well as military planning led to the tragedy of the First World War.