British Armour Theory and the Rise of the Panzer Arm

British Armour Theory and the Rise of the Panzer Arm PDF Author: A. Gat
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 033398238X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
Utilizing hitherto untapped archival sources, Azar Gat overturns recent historiographical trends in the study of British and German armour developments between the two World Wars. He reinstates British pioneering theory and practice as the inspiration for the creators of the Panzer arm that made possible Germany's 'Blitzkrieg' victories in the opening stage of World War II.

British Armour Theory and the Rise of the Panzer Arm

British Armour Theory and the Rise of the Panzer Arm PDF Author: A. Gat
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 033398238X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
Utilizing hitherto untapped archival sources, Azar Gat overturns recent historiographical trends in the study of British and German armour developments between the two World Wars. He reinstates British pioneering theory and practice as the inspiration for the creators of the Panzer arm that made possible Germany's 'Blitzkrieg' victories in the opening stage of World War II.

A History of Military Thought

A History of Military Thought PDF Author: Azar Gat
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780199247622
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 916

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Book Description
From the ideas of Clausewitz to contemporary doctrines of containment and cold war, this is a definitive history of modern military thought. A one-volume collection of Azar Gat's acclaimed trilogy, it traces the quest for a general theory of war from its origins in the Enlightenment.Beginning with a provocative critique of Clausewitz's classic work On War, the author unravels the endemic difficulties in Clausewitz's work that have baffled scholars for so long, clearly explaining the development of his ideas against the background of the Napoleonic revolution in war and theRomantic critique of the Enlightenment. He continues the story through the strategic ideas of the Prussian-German military school during the nineteenth century, the factors that shaped the 'cult of the offensive' in the French Army before the First World War, and the competing doctrines whichdominated naval warfare during the ages of sail and steam. In the final part of the trilogy, he shows how theories of mechanized war emerged throughout the industrial world in the first decades of the twentieth century and explains why their leading exponents were associated with fascism.Drastically re-evaluating B.H. Liddell Hart's contribution to strategic theory, the author argues that in the wake of the trauma of the First World War, and in response to the Axis challenge, Liddell Hart developed the doctrine of containment and cold war long before the advent of nuclear weapons.He reveals Liddell Hart as a pioneer of the modern western liberal way in warfare which is still with us today.

On Flexibility

On Flexibility PDF Author: Meir Finkel
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804774897
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
On Flexibility presents a force planning concept that will enable armies to cope with the growing diversity of battlefield requirements, and especially with technological and doctrinal surprises, through applied adaptability and flexibility, minimizing the over dependence on intelligence and prediction involved in this process today.

Introduction to Global Military History

Introduction to Global Military History PDF Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042967161X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 423

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Book Description
Introduction to Global Military History provides a lucid and comprehensive account of military developments around the modern world from the eighteenth century up to the present day. Beginning with the background to the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary wars and ending with the recent conflicts of the twenty-first century, this third edition combines fully up-to-date global coverage with close analysis not only of the military aspects of war but also its social, cultural, political and economic dimensions and repercussions. The new edition includes a fully revised chapter on conflicts during the eighteenth century, updated coverage of events post-1990 and increased coverage of non-Western conflicts to provide a truly international account of the varied and changing nature of modern military history. Covering lesser-known conflicts as well as the familiar wars of history and illustrated throughout with maps, primary source extracts and case studies, it is essential reading for all students of modern military history and international relations.

Warfare in the Western World, 1882-1975

Warfare in the Western World, 1882-1975 PDF Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317489748
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
In this companion volume to "Western Warfare, 1775-1882," Jeremy Black takes his analysis of modern warfare into the twentieth century. As before, a distinctive feature of the author's approach is the coverage of both land and naval warfare as well as conflict within the West and between Western and non-Western powers. Beginning with the British conquest of Egypt in 1882, this book goes on to examine the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Boer War and the Balkan conflicts leading to world war in 1914. A revisionist account of the First World War is followed by a discussion of Western expansionism in the period to 1936. Chapters on the interwar years and the Second World War lead on to a discussion of the retreat from empire and the advent of Cold War. The narrative closes with the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and a discussion of the limitations of Western military technique, doctrine and technology. Throughout, the themes of military change and modernization are brought into sharp focus and the revolutionary characteristics of the machination of war in this period are questioned. Jeremy Black offers a new and challenging interpretation of modern warfare that will be required reading not only for students of military history but for all those interested in the impact of war in the making of the modern world.

World War Two

World War Two PDF Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134405472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Cutting through over half a century of historical build-up, this new and convincing account of World War II uses a global perspective to explain the complicated course in military terms. Black, a distinguished military historian , bucks the current trend to demilitarise and gives due weight to the campaigns and battles that made up the war. In doing so he challenges common interpretations and includes new insights to make this one of the most exciting new histories of the Second World War. Covering all the main areas of conflict, the chronological approach includes analysis of attacks at land, air and sea and a comparison of military resources. The focus is always operational, but social, cultural and political aspects are also included. Providing a crucial counterweight to previous histories, Jeremy Black's World War Two offers fresh insights into operations at the Eastern Front and during the war against Japan.

21 Days in Normandy

21 Days in Normandy PDF Author: Angelo Caravaggio
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 1473870739
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
“Right[s] some of the injustices done to the Canadians” on their maligned actions during the Invasion of Normandy. “An absorbing account” (Firetrench). The Canadian Fourth Armoured Division crossed the Channel in July 1944 to support the invading forces and assist in the Allied attempts to break out of the Normandy beachhead. They were heavily engaged in Operation Totalize and Operation Tractable but have been criticized for their failure to close the ‘Falaise gap’ and complete the entrapment of withdrawing German forces. Their commander, Major General George Kitching, was relieved of his command after just twenty-one days in action. Angelo Caravaggio reexamines the division’s performance and particularly that of its leadership. Using new information, he establishes that, despite entering battle for the first time during one of the most challenging phases of Allied operations in August 1944, the 4th Armoured Division, under Kitching’s leadership, proved resilient and adaptive in overcoming the volatile and unpredictable nature of warfare in Normandy. The combat operations of August 1944 transformed the division into a battle-hardened combat formation that would later distinguish itself through its ability to generate a sustained drive across France out of the chaos and destruction of the Normandy battles. “The author uses new information to demonstrate the unit did show flexibility and adapted to the battlefield quickly, despite being thrown into battle during one of the Normandy Campaign’s critical phases. His arguments are detailed and based upon in-depth research, and the book has many detailed maps to help the reader follow the action.” —Warfare History Network

From Tobruk to Tunis

From Tobruk to Tunis PDF Author: Neal Dando
Publisher: Helion
ISBN: 1912174421
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
This book focuses on the extent to which the physical terrain features across Egypt, Libya and Tunisia affected British operations throughout the campaign in North Africa during the Second World War. One main theme of the work analyses the terrain from the operational and tactical perspective and argues that the landscape features heavily influenced British operations and should now be considered alongside other standard military factors. The work differs from previous studies in that it considers these additional factors for the entire campaign until the Axis surrender in May 1943. Until now it has been widely assumed that much of the Western Desert coastal plateau was a broadly level, open region in which mobile armored operations were paramount. However this work concentrates on the British operations to show they were driven by the need to capture and hold key features across each successive battlefield. At the operational level planning was led by the need to hold key ground across Libya and especially the province of Cyrenaica during the crucial middle period of the campaign. A secondary theme of the work argues that British forces began to improvise certain tactical doctrines, which altered the early practice of combined arms assaults into one of the Infantry and Armored formations fighting largely separated battles until the autumn of 1942. Other developments in doctrine which were affected by the terrain included the practice of unit dispersal to hold key ground and the use of temporary units such as Jock columns to harass and engage the enemy. The two themes are inter-linked and contribute fresh insights to the debate on British methods of warfare. The author has consulted key primary documents, reports, war diaries and published memoirs, from major UK archives and compared these with the campaign historiography to develop the main themes of the work. These include the National Archives, the Churchill Archives Center, the Liddell-Hart Center for Military History, the National Army Museum, John Rylands Center, Imperial War Museum at London and Duxford and London and the Tank Museum Archives at Bovington. The sources include unit war diaries, after action reports, along with many of the key published and some unpublished memoirs. His text is supported by 24 pages of specially commissioned color maps.

South Africans versus Rommel

South Africans versus Rommel PDF Author: David Brock Katz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 081176608X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
After bitter debate, South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire at the time, declared war on Germany five days after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Thrust by the British into the campaign against Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps in North Africa, the South Africans fought a see-saw war of defeats followed by successes, culminating in the Battle of El Alamein, where South African soldiers made a significant contribution to halting the Desert Fox’s advance into Egypt. This is the story of an army committed somewhat reluctantly to a war it didn’t fully support, ill-prepared for the battles it was tasked with fighting, and sent into action on the orders of its senior alliance partner. At its heart, however, this is the story of men at war.

The Cambridge History of War: Volume 4, War and the Modern World

The Cambridge History of War: Volume 4, War and the Modern World PDF Author: Roger Chickering
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316175928
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1065

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Book Description
Volume IV of The Cambridge History of War offers a definitive new account of war in the most destructive period in human history. Opening with the massive conflicts that erupted in the mid nineteenth century in the US, Asia and Europe, leading historians trace the global evolution of warfare through 'the age of mass', 'the age of machine' and 'the age of management'. They explore how industrialization and nationalism fostered vast armies whilst the emergence of mobile warfare and improved communications systems made possible the 'total warfare' of the two World Wars. With military conflict regionalized after 1945 they show how guerrilla and asymmetrical warfare highlighted the limits of the machine and mass as well as the importance of the media in winning 'hearts and minds'. This is a comprehensive guide to every facet of modern war from strategy and operations to its social, cultural, technological and political contexts and legacies.