Author: Ian Castle
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399093932
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 468
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Book Description
At the beginning of 1916, as the world entered the second full year of global conflict, the cities, towns and villages of Britain continued to lay vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Throughout that period German Zeppelin airships and seaplanes had come and gone at will, their most testing opposition provided by the British weather as the country’s embryonic defences struggled to come to terms with this first ever assault from the air. Britain’s civilians were now standing on the frontline — the Home Front — like the soldiers who had marched off to war. But early in 1916 responsibility for Britain’s aerial defence passed from the Admiralty to the War Office and, as German air attacks intensified, new ideas and plans made dramatic improvements to Britain’s aerial defence capability. While this new system could give early warning of approaching raiders, there was a lack of effective weaponry with which to engage them when they arrived. Behind the scenes, however, three individuals, each working independently, were striving for a solution. The results of their work were spectacular; it lifted the mood of the nation and dramatically changed the way this campaign was fought over Britain. The German air campaign against Britain in the First World War was the first sustained strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Despite this, it has become forgotten against the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, although for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids, the impact was every bit as devastating. In Zeppelin Inferno Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1916 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the second book in a trilogy that will reveal the complete story of Britain’s ‘Forgotten Blitz’.
Author: Priscilla Roberts
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 414
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Book Description
Bringing together a diverse collection of primary source documents, this book illuminates the events and experiences of World War I from a variety of perspectives, from soldiers on the front lines to civilians supporting the war effort at home. Part of Bloomsbury's Voices of an Era series, this carefully curated collection highlight the wartime experiences of a diverse array of individuals from around the globe. In addition to covering major military innovations and turning points, documents explore how issues of gender, race,diplomacy, and empire building impacted individuals' experience of the Great War. Each of the 42 documents includes contextual information and thought-provoking questions to guide readers in their exploration of the text. In addition to high-interest sidebars, in-text glossary definitions, biographical snapshots of key figures, and a comprehensive chronology of the war, the book also includes a guide to evaluating and interpreting primary sources that bolsters readers' analytical and critical thinking skills. Although it was nicknamed "the war to end all wars," World War I heralded the start of modern-day conflicts. The human toll of the Great War was immense-an estimated 9 million soldiers died on the battlefield, while more than 5 million civilians died as the result of military actions, disease, or famine. In the wake of World War I, empires crumbled and new nations won their independence. Although the events and aftermath of World War I happened on an epic scale, the conflict is best understood through the human lens provided by these primary sources.
Author: Ian Castle
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399049372
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 453
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Book Description
By the autumn of 1916, advances in Britain’s air defense capability had all but ended the Zeppelin menace, which had haunted the nation for almost two years. However, an emerging complacency regarding the aerial threat was immediately shattered by the introduction in 1917 of the Grosskampfflugzeug, better known as the Gotha bomber. Whereas Zeppelin airships had attacked individually and stealthily under the cover of darkness, the German Army now had a squadron of bomber aeroplanes capable of brazenly attacking London and south-east England in broad daylight, thereby unleashing a new wave of terror on the British population. Britain, having downgraded its aerial defenses after the apparent defeat of the Zeppelins, was forced to rethink. The improvements instigated compelled the German raiders to change their tactics too, as each side strived to gain the upper hand. And all the time the German Navy Zeppelins, whose campaign had not been abandoned entirely, continued to strike when opportunity allowed. The story of these dramatic air raids is told by incorporating numerous, never-before published, eye-witness accounts, revealing a personal view of the experiences shared by those who lived through the conflict, both on the ground and in the air. The German air campaign against the United Kingdom in the First World War was the first sustained, strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Yet it has become dwarfed by the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, but for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids the impact was every bit as devastating. In Gotha Terror Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1917 - 1918 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the final book in a trilogy, completing the story of Britain’s Forgotten Blitz.
Author: Richard B. Armstrong
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476612307
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 239
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Book Description
The first editon was called "the most valuable film reference in several years" by Library Journal. The new edition published in hardcover in 2001 includes more than 670 entries. The current work is a paperback reprint of that edition. Each entry contains a mini-essay that defines the topic, followed by a chronological list of representative films. From the Abominable Snowman to Zorro, this encyclopedia provides film scholars and fans with an easy-to-use reference for researching film themes or tracking down obscure movies on subjects such as suspended animation, viral epidemics, robots, submarines, reincarnation, ventriloquists and the Olympics ("Excellent" said Cult Movies). The volume also contains an extensive list of film characters and series, including B-movie detectives, Western heroes, made-for-television film series, and foreign film heroes and villains.
Author: Neil Faulkner
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750962577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210
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Book Description
This is the story of the first Blitz and the first Battle of Britain, featuring a full account of the first Zeppelin crash site excavation and also covering airfields, gun sites, searchlights, and radio listening posts. The book features contemporary accounts and archive photographs alongside the reports and photographs from the excavations, including Hunstanton, Monkhams, Chingford and North Weald Basset, the Lea Valley, Potters Bar and Theberton. Written in collaboration between academic archaeologists and aviation enthusiasts/metal detectorists, this fascinating project has also been the subject of a BBC2 Timewatch documentary.
Author: Neil Storey
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750963212
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 447
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Book Description
In 1907, H.G. Wells published a science fiction novel called The War in the Air. It proved to be portentous. In the early years of the First World War, German lighter-than-air flying machines, Zeppelins, undertook a series of attacks on the British mainland. German military strategy was to subdue Britain, both by the damage these raids caused and by the terrifying nature of the craft that carried them out.This strategy proved successful. The early raids caused significant damage, many civilian casualties and provoked terror and anger in equal measure. But the British rapidly learnt how to deal with these futuristic monsters. A variety of defence mechanisms were developed: searchlights, guns and fighter aircraft were deployed, the British learnt to pick up the airships’ radio messages and a central communications headquarters was set up. Within months aerial strategy and its impact on the lives of civilians and the course of conflict became part of human warfare. As the Chief of the Imperial German Naval Airship Division, Peter Strasser, crisply put it: ‘There is no such thing as a non-combatant any more. Modern war is total war.’Zeppelin Blitz is the first full, raid-by-raid, year-by-year account of the Zeppelin air raids on Britain during the First World War, based on contemporary official reports and documents.
Author: Ed Klekowski
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476614873
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
Belgium in the First World War--the first country invaded, the longest occupied, and when the war finally ended, the first forgotten. In 1914, Belgium was home to a large American colony which included representatives of American companies, artists, writers and diplomats with the American Legation. After the invasion, American journalists and adventurers flocked there to follow the action; military restrictions on travel were less stringent than in England or France. As the most industrialized country in Europe, Belgium depended upon trade and food imports to support its economy. The war isolated Belgium and wholesale starvation was imminent by the fall of 1914. Herbert Hoover and his Commission for Relief in Belgium raised funds to purchase and import food to sustain Belgium and, eventually, Occupied France as well. Idealistic American volunteers (including some Rhodes scholars) supervised food distribution in the occupation zone. Along the Western Front in Belgium, hundreds of Americans served (illegally) in the British and Canadian armies. This book tells the story of the German invasion, occupation and retreat from the perspective of Americans who were there.
Author: Amanda Dykes
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493431463
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 383
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Book Description
A mysterious song in the forest . . . A discovery in war-torn France . . . A journey toward hope. The trenches of the Great War are a shadowed place. Though Platoon Sergeant Matthew Petticrew arrived there with a past long marked by shadow, the realities of battle bring new wounds--carving within him a longing for light, and a resolve to fight for it. One night, Matthew and his comrades are enraptured by a sound so pure, a voice so ethereal, it offers reprieve--even if only for a moment. Soon, rumors sweep the trenches from others who have heard the lullaby too. "The Angel of Argonne," they call the voice: a mysterious presence who leaves behind wreaths on unmarked graves. Raised in the wild depths of the Forest of Argonne, Mireilles finds her reclusive world rocked when war crashes into her idyllic home, taking much from her. When Matthew and his two unlikely companions discover Mireilles, they must embark on a journey that will change each of them forever . . . and perhaps, at long last, spark light into the dark. On the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier comes an emotive tale inspired by the courageous soldiers of World War I.
Author: Mick Powis
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526701499
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
Mick Powis describes the novel threat posed to the British war effort by the raids of German airships, or Zeppelins, and the struggle to develop effective defenses against them. Despite their size and relatively slow speed, the Zeppelins were hard to locate and destroy at first. They could fly higher than existing fighters and the early raids benefited from a lack of coordination between British services. The development of radio, better aircraft, incendiary ammunition, and, above all, a more coordinated defensive policy, gradually allowed the British to inflict heavy losses on the Zeppelins. The innovative use of seaplanes and planes launched from aircraft carriers allowed the Zeppelins to be intercepted before they reached Britain and to strike back with raids on the Zeppelin sheds. July 1918 saw the RAF and Royal Navy cooperate to destroy two Zeppelins in their base at Tondern (the first attack by aircraft launched from a carrier deck). The last Zeppelin raid on England came in August 1918 and resulted in the destruction of Zeppelin L70 and the death of Peter Strasser, Commander of the Imperial German Navys Zeppelin force.
Author: Michael Belafi
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473854482
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 520
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Book Description
This authoritative history of the Zeppelin covers the entire course of the airship’s development “extensively illustrated with . . . photographs and drawings” (Toy Soldier & Model Figure). Named after the German Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, an early pioneer of rigid airship development, the Zeppelin was first flown commercially by Deutsch Luftschiffahrts (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid–1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1500 flights. When war hit, it was employed to military advantage, wreaking carnage upon Britain's towns and cities. German defeat in 1918 temporarily halted the airship business. Though it bounced back with the construction of the Graf Zeppelin in the thirties, a series of accidents signaled the demise of the Zeppelin. Following the Hindenburg disaster of 1937, and in the midst of numerous political and economic issues, the Zeppelin was soon to be consigned to the history books. This new publication explores each facet of its history, and concludes by assessing the legacy of rigid airship development, still felt to this day.
