Author: David Owen
Publisher: Haus Publishing
ISBN: 1908323671
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
In 1905, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey agreed to speak secretly with his French counterparts about sending a British expeditionary force to France in the event of a German attack. Neither Parliament nor the rest of the Cabinet was informed. The Hidden Perspective takes readers back to these tense years leading up to World War I and re-creates the stormy Cabinet meetings in the fall of 1911 when the details of the military conversations were finally revealed. Using contemporary historical documents, David Owen, himself a former foreign secretary, shows how the foreign office’s underlying belief in Britain’s moral obligation to send troops to the Continent influenced political decision-making and helped create the impression that war was inevitable. Had Britain’s diplomatic and naval strategy been handled more skillfully during these years, Owen contends, the carnage of World War I might have been prevented altogether.
The Hidden Perspective
Author: David Owen
Publisher: Haus Publishing
ISBN: 1908323671
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
In 1905, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey agreed to speak secretly with his French counterparts about sending a British expeditionary force to France in the event of a German attack. Neither Parliament nor the rest of the Cabinet was informed. The Hidden Perspective takes readers back to these tense years leading up to World War I and re-creates the stormy Cabinet meetings in the fall of 1911 when the details of the military conversations were finally revealed. Using contemporary historical documents, David Owen, himself a former foreign secretary, shows how the foreign office’s underlying belief in Britain’s moral obligation to send troops to the Continent influenced political decision-making and helped create the impression that war was inevitable. Had Britain’s diplomatic and naval strategy been handled more skillfully during these years, Owen contends, the carnage of World War I might have been prevented altogether.
Publisher: Haus Publishing
ISBN: 1908323671
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
In 1905, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey agreed to speak secretly with his French counterparts about sending a British expeditionary force to France in the event of a German attack. Neither Parliament nor the rest of the Cabinet was informed. The Hidden Perspective takes readers back to these tense years leading up to World War I and re-creates the stormy Cabinet meetings in the fall of 1911 when the details of the military conversations were finally revealed. Using contemporary historical documents, David Owen, himself a former foreign secretary, shows how the foreign office’s underlying belief in Britain’s moral obligation to send troops to the Continent influenced political decision-making and helped create the impression that war was inevitable. Had Britain’s diplomatic and naval strategy been handled more skillfully during these years, Owen contends, the carnage of World War I might have been prevented altogether.
The Round Table Movement and the Fall of the 'Second' British Empire (1909-1919)
Author: Andrea Bosco
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443869996
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 565
Book Description
In spite of the general phobia of federalism, there is a strong federalist trend within British political culture. In three very different historical contexts, federalism inspired the action of political movements such as the Imperial Federation League, the Round Table and the Federal Union. Indeed, it was regarded as the solution to problems arising from the first signs of the possible collapse of Great Britain and its Empire. The Round Table Movement played a particularly interesting role in this regard, attempting to reverse the rapid and inexorable decline of the British Empire. It was a political organisation with roots in all the major peripheries of the Empire and almost unlimited financial resources. This volume discusses the strategies and means employed by the group in order to maintain the British Empire’s global prominence. The book’s main argument is that we did not have a “British century” – the nineteenth – and an “American century” – the twentieth – but, rather, four centuries of Anglo–Saxon supremacy, which witnessed the affirmation of the national principle – expression of the Continental political tradition – and its overcoming through its opposite, the federal principle, the expression of the insular political tradition.
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443869996
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 565
Book Description
In spite of the general phobia of federalism, there is a strong federalist trend within British political culture. In three very different historical contexts, federalism inspired the action of political movements such as the Imperial Federation League, the Round Table and the Federal Union. Indeed, it was regarded as the solution to problems arising from the first signs of the possible collapse of Great Britain and its Empire. The Round Table Movement played a particularly interesting role in this regard, attempting to reverse the rapid and inexorable decline of the British Empire. It was a political organisation with roots in all the major peripheries of the Empire and almost unlimited financial resources. This volume discusses the strategies and means employed by the group in order to maintain the British Empire’s global prominence. The book’s main argument is that we did not have a “British century” – the nineteenth – and an “American century” – the twentieth – but, rather, four centuries of Anglo–Saxon supremacy, which witnessed the affirmation of the national principle – expression of the Continental political tradition – and its overcoming through its opposite, the federal principle, the expression of the insular political tradition.
Fatal Fortnight
Author: Duncan Marlor
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1473838126
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
Much has been published about how Britain's ruling circle came to its decision for war in 1914 but little about what rank and file Members of Parliament thought and did as the continental 'Armageddon' drew closer. Fatal Fortnight tells the story of Arthur Ponsonby, and his backbench Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee. The book describes the suspense around Parliament as the skies darkened. It tells how, after the Foreign Secretary made his proposal that Britain should go in, Ponsonby's friend Philip Morrell stood up and called for a general debate, in the teeth of the fury of those who wanted Britain to get straight into the war. It describes how the neutralists, led by Ponsonby, made their passionate case in the fateful hours as Britain hung between peace and war.The book looks at the concealment from Parliament of the military understanding with France, and the issues of war and democracy which are still with us today. It re-examines the arguments and reflects on how the world might have been had the 1914 decision gone a different way.Alongside the political drama a human story emerges of how family support for Ponsonby and his allies sustained them as the world closed in.
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1473838126
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
Much has been published about how Britain's ruling circle came to its decision for war in 1914 but little about what rank and file Members of Parliament thought and did as the continental 'Armageddon' drew closer. Fatal Fortnight tells the story of Arthur Ponsonby, and his backbench Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee. The book describes the suspense around Parliament as the skies darkened. It tells how, after the Foreign Secretary made his proposal that Britain should go in, Ponsonby's friend Philip Morrell stood up and called for a general debate, in the teeth of the fury of those who wanted Britain to get straight into the war. It describes how the neutralists, led by Ponsonby, made their passionate case in the fateful hours as Britain hung between peace and war.The book looks at the concealment from Parliament of the military understanding with France, and the issues of war and democracy which are still with us today. It re-examines the arguments and reflects on how the world might have been had the 1914 decision gone a different way.Alongside the political drama a human story emerges of how family support for Ponsonby and his allies sustained them as the world closed in.
The British Army Regular Mounted Infantry 1880–1913
Author: Andrew Winrow
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317039947
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
The regular Mounted Infantry was one of the most important innovations of the late Victorian and Edwardian British Army. Rather than fight on horseback in the traditional manner of cavalry, they used horses primarily to move swiftly about the battlefield, where they would then dismount and fight on foot, thus anticipating the development of mechanised infantry tactics during the twentieth century. Yet despite this apparent foresight, the mounted infantry concept was abandoned by the British Army in 1913, just at the point when it may have made the transition from a colonial to a continental force as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Exploring the historical background to the Mounted Infantry, this book untangles the debates that raged in the army, Parliament and the press between its advocates and the supporters of the established cavalry. With its origins in the extemporised mounted detachments raised during times of crisis from infantry battalions on overseas imperial garrison duties, Dr Winrow reveals how the Mounted Infantry model, unique among European armies, evolved into a formalised and apparently highly successful organisation of non-cavalry mounted troops. He then analyses why the Mounted Infantry concept fell out of favour just eleven years after its apogee during the South African Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. As such the book will be of interest not only to historians of the nineteenth-century British army, but also those tracing the development of modern military doctrine and tactics, to which the Mounted Infantry provided successful - if short lived - inspiration.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317039947
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
The regular Mounted Infantry was one of the most important innovations of the late Victorian and Edwardian British Army. Rather than fight on horseback in the traditional manner of cavalry, they used horses primarily to move swiftly about the battlefield, where they would then dismount and fight on foot, thus anticipating the development of mechanised infantry tactics during the twentieth century. Yet despite this apparent foresight, the mounted infantry concept was abandoned by the British Army in 1913, just at the point when it may have made the transition from a colonial to a continental force as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Exploring the historical background to the Mounted Infantry, this book untangles the debates that raged in the army, Parliament and the press between its advocates and the supporters of the established cavalry. With its origins in the extemporised mounted detachments raised during times of crisis from infantry battalions on overseas imperial garrison duties, Dr Winrow reveals how the Mounted Infantry model, unique among European armies, evolved into a formalised and apparently highly successful organisation of non-cavalry mounted troops. He then analyses why the Mounted Infantry concept fell out of favour just eleven years after its apogee during the South African Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. As such the book will be of interest not only to historians of the nineteenth-century British army, but also those tracing the development of modern military doctrine and tactics, to which the Mounted Infantry provided successful - if short lived - inspiration.
The Role of Birds in World War One
Author: Nicholas Milton
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1399070576
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force sent to France in the late summer of 1914 has been referred to as ‘The Best British Army Ever Sent to War’ as it was one of the most highly trained and disciplined forces in the world. It was also the ‘Best Birdwatching Army Ever Sent to War’ for among its ranks were hundreds of both amateur and professional ornithologists. When not fighting many soldiers turned to birdwatching as a way of wiling away the long hours spent on guard duty or watching over ‘no man's land’. As a result, the hobby ranked as one of the most popular past-times for soldiers at the front, on a par with smoking, writing, games, gambling, sport and shooting rats. The list of birds seen by soldiers serving in all the theatres of war was truly impressive ranging from the common like sparrows, skylarks and swallows to the exotic like golden orioles, hoopoes and bee-eaters. It was not just at the battle front that birds found themselves in the firing line but also on the home front. Birds provided inspiration for politicians, poets and painters who carried on despite the terrible conflict raging all around them. For the Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, who worked tirelessly to preserve peace but ended up convincing the House of Commons to go to war, birds were his hinterland. But as well as declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914 the government also declared war on the humble house sparrow, farmers falsely accusing it of destroying Britain’s dwindling wheat and oat supplies. When the guns finally fell silent on the 11 November 1918 and the Great War came to an ignoble end, a generation of birdwatchers lay dead. Among them were scientists, researchers, lords, librarians, artists, authors, professors, poets, lawyers, surgeons and explorers, many barely having entered manhood. If they had lived the science of ornithology and the hobby of birdwatching would have undoubtedly been much the richer. A selection of them is included in the Ornithological Roll of honor at the back of this book.
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1399070576
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force sent to France in the late summer of 1914 has been referred to as ‘The Best British Army Ever Sent to War’ as it was one of the most highly trained and disciplined forces in the world. It was also the ‘Best Birdwatching Army Ever Sent to War’ for among its ranks were hundreds of both amateur and professional ornithologists. When not fighting many soldiers turned to birdwatching as a way of wiling away the long hours spent on guard duty or watching over ‘no man's land’. As a result, the hobby ranked as one of the most popular past-times for soldiers at the front, on a par with smoking, writing, games, gambling, sport and shooting rats. The list of birds seen by soldiers serving in all the theatres of war was truly impressive ranging from the common like sparrows, skylarks and swallows to the exotic like golden orioles, hoopoes and bee-eaters. It was not just at the battle front that birds found themselves in the firing line but also on the home front. Birds provided inspiration for politicians, poets and painters who carried on despite the terrible conflict raging all around them. For the Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, who worked tirelessly to preserve peace but ended up convincing the House of Commons to go to war, birds were his hinterland. But as well as declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914 the government also declared war on the humble house sparrow, farmers falsely accusing it of destroying Britain’s dwindling wheat and oat supplies. When the guns finally fell silent on the 11 November 1918 and the Great War came to an ignoble end, a generation of birdwatchers lay dead. Among them were scientists, researchers, lords, librarians, artists, authors, professors, poets, lawyers, surgeons and explorers, many barely having entered manhood. If they had lived the science of ornithology and the hobby of birdwatching would have undoubtedly been much the richer. A selection of them is included in the Ornithological Roll of honor at the back of this book.
Tangled Souls
Author: Jane Dismore
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750999861
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
Outrageously handsome, witty and clever, Harry Cust was reputed to be one of the great womanisers of the late Victorian era. In 1893, while a Member of Parliament, he caused public scandal by his affair with artist and poet Nina Welby Gregory. When she revealed she was pregnant, horror swept through their circle known as 'the Souls', a cultured, mostly aristocratic group of writers, artists and politicians who also rubbed shoulders with luminaries such as Oscar Wilde and H. G. Wells. For the rest of their lives, Harry and Nina would fight to rebuild their reputations and maintain the marriage they were pressurised to enter. In Tangled Souls, acclaimed biographer Jane Dismore tells the tumultuous story of the romance which threatened to tear apart this distinguished group of friends, revealing pre-war society at its most colourful and most conflicted.
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750999861
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
Outrageously handsome, witty and clever, Harry Cust was reputed to be one of the great womanisers of the late Victorian era. In 1893, while a Member of Parliament, he caused public scandal by his affair with artist and poet Nina Welby Gregory. When she revealed she was pregnant, horror swept through their circle known as 'the Souls', a cultured, mostly aristocratic group of writers, artists and politicians who also rubbed shoulders with luminaries such as Oscar Wilde and H. G. Wells. For the rest of their lives, Harry and Nina would fight to rebuild their reputations and maintain the marriage they were pressurised to enter. In Tangled Souls, acclaimed biographer Jane Dismore tells the tumultuous story of the romance which threatened to tear apart this distinguished group of friends, revealing pre-war society at its most colourful and most conflicted.
A Band with Built-In Hate
Author: Peter Stanfield
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1789142784
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Exploring the explosion of the Who onto the international music scene, this heavily illustrated book looks at this furious band as an embodiment of pop art. “Ours is music with built-in hatred,” said Pete Townshend. A Band with Built-In Hate pictures the Who from their inception as the Detours in the mid-sixties to the late-seventies, post-Quadrophenia. It is a story of ambition and anger, glamor and grime, viewed through the prism of pop art and the radical leveling of high and low culture that it brought about—a drama that was aggressively performed by the band. Peter Stanfield lays down a path through the British pop revolution, its attitude, and style, as it was uniquely embodied by the Who: first, under the mentorship of arch-mod Peter Meaden, as they learned their trade in the pubs and halls of suburban London; and then with Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, two aspiring filmmakers, at the very center of things in Soho. Guided by contemporary commentators—among them, George Melly, Lawrence Alloway, and most conspicuously Nik Cohn—Stanfield describes a band driven by belligerence and delves into what happened when Townshend, Daltrey, Moon, and Entwistle moved from back-room stages to international arenas, from explosive 45s to expansive concept albums. Above all, he tells of how the Who confronted their lost youth as it was echoed in punk.
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1789142784
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Exploring the explosion of the Who onto the international music scene, this heavily illustrated book looks at this furious band as an embodiment of pop art. “Ours is music with built-in hatred,” said Pete Townshend. A Band with Built-In Hate pictures the Who from their inception as the Detours in the mid-sixties to the late-seventies, post-Quadrophenia. It is a story of ambition and anger, glamor and grime, viewed through the prism of pop art and the radical leveling of high and low culture that it brought about—a drama that was aggressively performed by the band. Peter Stanfield lays down a path through the British pop revolution, its attitude, and style, as it was uniquely embodied by the Who: first, under the mentorship of arch-mod Peter Meaden, as they learned their trade in the pubs and halls of suburban London; and then with Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, two aspiring filmmakers, at the very center of things in Soho. Guided by contemporary commentators—among them, George Melly, Lawrence Alloway, and most conspicuously Nik Cohn—Stanfield describes a band driven by belligerence and delves into what happened when Townshend, Daltrey, Moon, and Entwistle moved from back-room stages to international arenas, from explosive 45s to expansive concept albums. Above all, he tells of how the Who confronted their lost youth as it was echoed in punk.
Mastering Modern British History
Author: Norman Lowe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137603887
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 636
Book Description
The new edition of this best-selling text includes a new section on the final years of the Labour government after Blair's resignation and a new chapter on the subsequent Coalition and Conservative governments. It is the ideal companion for students taking a first-level course in modern British History, as well as for undergraduates in history.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137603887
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 636
Book Description
The new edition of this best-selling text includes a new section on the final years of the Labour government after Blair's resignation and a new chapter on the subsequent Coalition and Conservative governments. It is the ideal companion for students taking a first-level course in modern British History, as well as for undergraduates in history.
Southern Thunder
Author: Steve R Dunn
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526726645
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
A history and analysis of the battle for the North Sea—and the crucial supplies needed by both Britain and Germany to fight the war. During World War I, the Scandinavian countries played a dangerous and sometimes questionable game; they proclaimed their neutrality but at the same time pit the two warring sides against one another to protect their import and export trades. Germany relied on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for food and raw materials—while Britain needed to restrict the flow of these goods and claim them for herself. And so the battle for the North Sea began. The campaign was ferociously fought, with the Royal Navy forced to develop new tactical thinking, including convoy, to combat the U-boat threat. Many parts of Scandinavia considered that the war had missed the region, and that it was just a distant “southern thunder.” Much of that thunder was over the North Sea. This new book tells this little-known, and often ignored, story from both a naval and a political standpoint, revealing how each country, including the USA, tried to balance the needs of diplomacy with the necessities of naval warfare. From the declaration of a British blockade to delicate negotiations, the work of Royal Navy and merchant marine sailors to Admiralty infighting over the development of a new system of convoyed vessels, this book tells the story—including a tense encounter between the US Navy and the German High Sea Fleet—and includes detailed analysis and firsthand accounts of those who were there.
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526726645
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
A history and analysis of the battle for the North Sea—and the crucial supplies needed by both Britain and Germany to fight the war. During World War I, the Scandinavian countries played a dangerous and sometimes questionable game; they proclaimed their neutrality but at the same time pit the two warring sides against one another to protect their import and export trades. Germany relied on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for food and raw materials—while Britain needed to restrict the flow of these goods and claim them for herself. And so the battle for the North Sea began. The campaign was ferociously fought, with the Royal Navy forced to develop new tactical thinking, including convoy, to combat the U-boat threat. Many parts of Scandinavia considered that the war had missed the region, and that it was just a distant “southern thunder.” Much of that thunder was over the North Sea. This new book tells this little-known, and often ignored, story from both a naval and a political standpoint, revealing how each country, including the USA, tried to balance the needs of diplomacy with the necessities of naval warfare. From the declaration of a British blockade to delicate negotiations, the work of Royal Navy and merchant marine sailors to Admiralty infighting over the development of a new system of convoyed vessels, this book tells the story—including a tense encounter between the US Navy and the German High Sea Fleet—and includes detailed analysis and firsthand accounts of those who were there.
Two Edwards
Author: Peter Hof
Publisher: TrineDay
ISBN: 1634241754
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
The Two Edwards is unique in that it concentrates on the leading role played by King Edward VII and Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, which is mentioned peripherally—if at all—by others. King Edward is acknowledged as the author of the Triple Entente, but his motive for doing so is rarely mentioned.
Publisher: TrineDay
ISBN: 1634241754
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
The Two Edwards is unique in that it concentrates on the leading role played by King Edward VII and Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, which is mentioned peripherally—if at all—by others. King Edward is acknowledged as the author of the Triple Entente, but his motive for doing so is rarely mentioned.