A Wood Called Bourlon

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A Wood Called Bourlon

Author : William Moore
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 0850524822
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis A Wood Called Bourlon by : William Moore

Download or read book A Wood Called Bourlon written by William Moore and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the great victory in the famous tank battle at Cambrai in 1917 the church bells, having been silent for three years, rang out joyously all over Britain But within ten days triumph turned to disaster. How did this happen and why?William Moore, a distinguished First World War historian, attempts to explain what went wrong. All the advantages gained were thrown away; thousands of British troops were captured and hundreds of guns were lost. Seventy years after these events Mr Moore has studied the evidence (much of it previously unpublished) contained in the inevitable enquiry that followed the disaster and he seeks to answer a number of questions. Was Field-Marshal Haig really as dour as he has been portrayed or was he a reckless gambler and was General Byng, whose troops and guns were captured, really a brilliant planner or a haughty aristocrat dedicated to proving that cavalry still had a place on the battlefield? And why were they both obsessed with capturing Bourlon Ridge on which stood the sinister Bourlon Wood? A Highland Division, a Welsh Brigade, a Yorkshire Division (twice), the Guards, Ulstermen, Lancashire-men, Londoners and Midlanders- all were drawn into the maelstrom in an attempt to consolidate the Cambrai victory They failed. It was left to the Canadians to carry the Bourlon position in one of the finest feats of arms of the Great War. The British are always reputed to take a perverce interest in their own military blunders. This strange episode is one that most people have been happy to forget. All those involved in hight places sought to make excuses; some indulged in a profound exercise of duplicity implying that the soldiers themselves were to blame. Mr Moor's book throws new light on a dark episode in British Military History.

Bourlon Wood

Author : Jack Horsfall
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 0850528186
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis Bourlon Wood by : Jack Horsfall

Download or read book Bourlon Wood written by Jack Horsfall and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-03-05 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1917 Bourlon Wood on the Western Front was the scene of fierce back-and-forth fighting between the British and the Germans, with British gains on at least one occasion thrown away by lack of proper follow-up. The Wood formed the left flank of the massive British tank attack at Cambrai, the first of its kind, on November 20, 1917. Bourlon Wood once again came into prominence in September 1918 with the attack of the Canadian Corps against the German defenders, an action that rivaled the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge.

The Kensington Battalion

Author : G. I. S. Inglis
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 178346108X
Total Pages : 591 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis The Kensington Battalion by : G. I. S. Inglis

Download or read book The Kensington Battalion written by G. I. S. Inglis and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-02-23 with total page 591 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Raised by the Mayor of Kensington, the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (the Kensington Battalion) were a strange mixture of social classes (bankers and stevedores, writers and laborers) with a strong sprinkling of irreverent colonials thrown in. Such a disparate group needed a strong leader and, luckily, in Randle Barratt Barker, they found one, first as their trainer and then as the Commanding Officer.As this superb book reveals The Kensington Battalion had a unique spirit and given their ordeals they needed this. They suffered severely in the battles of 1917 and, starved of reinforcements, were disbanded in 1918. Yet thanks to a strong Old Comrades Association, a special magazine Mufti, welfare work and reunions the Battalions close spirit lived on.The author has successfully drawn on a wealth of first hand material (diaries, letters and official documents) as well as interviews from the 1980s to produce a fitting and atmospheric record of service and sacrifice.

The Battle of Cambrai 1917

Author : Jerry Murland
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 1399017446
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis The Battle of Cambrai 1917 by : Jerry Murland

Download or read book The Battle of Cambrai 1917 written by Jerry Murland and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-12-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1917 Battle of Cambrai featured the first massed tank attack in military history and provoked the biggest German counter-attack against the British since 1914. The British aimed to break through the German Hindenburg Line, then threaten the rear of the German positions to the north. The battle is one of the most famous and controversial episodes of the First World War, and the battlefield is one of the most commonly visited on the Western Front. Jerry Murland’s clearly written, highly illustrated guide is the ideal introduction to it. Visitors can trace for themselves the course of the battle across the modern landscape and gain a fascinating insight into the nature of the fighting – and the wider conflict across the Western Front – throughout the war. Included are a series of routes that can be walked, cycled or driven. Among the key sites covered are Haverincourt, Flesquières, Mœuveres, Graincourt, Cantaign, Marcoing and Masnières, Bourlon, La Vacquerie and Villers-Plouich, Gouzeaucourt and Gonnelieu. In each place Jerry Murland describes the fighting that occurred there, recording what happened, exactly where it happened and why, and he points out the sights that remain for the visitor to see. His guidebook is essential reading for visitors who wish to enhance their understanding of the Battle of Cambrai and the war on the Western Front.

Battle Story: Cambrai 1917

Author : Chris McNab
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752483714
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis Battle Story: Cambrai 1917 by : Chris McNab

Download or read book Battle Story: Cambrai 1917 written by Chris McNab and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cambrai 1917 was the battle that sowed the seeds of future combined-arms tank and infantry warfare, while remaining a battle of singular drama in its own right. If you truly want to understand what happened and why – read Battle Story. Detailed profiles explore the background of the generals of the two opposing forces, as well as what made up the average German and British soldier. First-person, contemporary sources bring the reader into the world of the Battle of Cambrai and show what it was like to be in the thick of battle. Detailed maps highlight key points in the battle and the surrounding area. Photographs place you on the front line of the unfolding action. Orders of battle reveal the composition of the two opposing forces' army in detail. Packed with fact boxes, this short introduction is the perfect way to explore this important battle.

Murderous Tommies

Author : Julian Putkowski
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783378522
Total Pages : 371 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis Murderous Tommies by : Julian Putkowski

Download or read book Murderous Tommies written by Julian Putkowski and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much has been written about the soldiers executed during WW1 for military offenses, all of whom were conditionally pardoned in 2006. However, until now very little attention has been paid to the cases of men who were tried under the Army Act and executed for murder. The British Army has always been reticent about publicizing courts martial and eighty years elapsed before the government was compelled to prematurely declassify the written proceedings of First World War capital courts martial. Even then, public attention tended to concentrate on cases involving soldiers who had been shot at dawn for offenses other than homicide, and virtually nobody was inclined to seek a posthumous pardon or judicial review for the murderous Tommies. This meant neither the victims nor the convicted mens families were able to discover details about the murder cases. Though readily identifiable online via much-visited war cemetery websites, until now there has been no readily accessible, historically reliable and balanced narrative about the activities and courts-martial of all the murderous Tommies of the Western Front. This book provides for a full account of the cases involving the fourteen soldiers and one officer whose homicidal misdeeds were committed in France and Flanders while hostilities were in progress.Drawing on contemporary records, this carefully researched work chronicles the circumstances in which each of these men either slaughtered one of their comrades or an unarmed civilian. It examines the murderers motives and presents a balanced analysis of each case, including a detailed assessment of the extent to which each condemned man was granted a fair hearing by officers who sat in uneasy judgment as well as those involved in confirming the death sentences.

The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-18

Author : Stephen Badsey
Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 1441112960
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (411 download)

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Book Synopsis The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-18 by : Stephen Badsey

Download or read book The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-18 written by Stephen Badsey and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-10-20 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this collection of essays of incomparable scholarship, Stephen Badsey explores in individual detail how the British Army fought in the First World War, how politics and strategy affected its battles and the decisions of senior commanders such as Douglas Haig, and how these issues were intimately intertwined with the mass media portrayal of the Army to itself and to the British people. Informative, provocative, and often entertaining, based on more than a quarter-century of research, these essays on the British Army in the First World War range through topics from a trench raid to modern television comedy. As a contribution to progressive military history, The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-1918 proves that the way the British Army fought and its portrayal through the media cannot be separated. It is one of a growing number of studies which show that, far from being in opposition to each other, cultural history and the history of battle must be combined for the First World War to be properly understood. For more information visit Stephen Badsey's website www.stephenbadsey.com .

Battle Tactics of the Western Front

Author : Paddy Griffith
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780300066630
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (666 download)

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Book Synopsis Battle Tactics of the Western Front by : Paddy Griffith

Download or read book Battle Tactics of the Western Front written by Paddy Griffith and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historians have portrayed British participation in World War I as a series of tragic debacles, with lines of men mown down by machine guns, with untried new military technology, and incompetent generals who threw their troops into improvised and unsuccessful attacks. In this book a renowned military historian studies the evolution of British infantry tactics during the war and challenges this interpretation, showing that while the British army's plans and technologies failed persistently during the improvised first half of the war, the army gradually improved its technique, technology, and, eventually, its' self-assurance. By the time of its successful sustained offensive in the fall of 1918, says Paddy Griffith, the British army was demonstrating a battlefield skill and mobility that would rarely be surpassed even during World War II. Evaluating the great gap that exists between theory and practice, between textbook and bullet-swept mudfield, Griffith argues that many battles were carefully planned to exploit advanced tactics and to avoid casualties, but that breakthrough was simply impossible under the conditions of the time. According to Griffith, the British were already masters of "storm troop tactics" by the end of 1916, and in several important respects were further ahead than the Germans would be even in 1918. In fields such as the timing and orchestration of all-arms assaults, predicted artillery fire, "Commando-style" trench raiding, the use of light machine guns, or the barrage fire of heavy machine guns, the British led the world. Although British generals were not military geniuses, says Griffith, they should at least be credited for effectively inventing much of the twentieth-century's art of war.

The Hindenburg Line

Author : Peter Oldham
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 0850525683
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis The Hindenburg Line by : Peter Oldham

Download or read book The Hindenburg Line written by Peter Oldham and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1997-01-28 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hindenburg Line, or Siegfriedstellung, achieved almost mythical status in the minds of the British public: the strongest defence system the world had then seen, scientifically designed by fortification experts with only one aim, to keep at bay the British Army. So pleased and delighted were the British that church bells were rung when the Line was pierced at Cambrai in November 1917. The new wonder-weapon, the Tank, had shown itself to be capable of great deeds and British Generals were seen to be capable of showing the Germans what Tommy could do when properly organised. The initial elation was followed by disappointment as the Germans fought back and the Hindenburg defences were retaken when the Germans used "defence-in-depth" and "elastic-defence", both new concepts to the British who were to learn from their mistakes. The British were to witness triumph and joy again, when, towards the end of the Great War, the Hindenburg Line was to be broken by men from the Midlands. This book examines the reasons for the German's decision to fall back to a strong defence line while their Navy starved Britain into submission, and the "burnt earth" policy of devastation in the area evacuated. The design and layout of the Hindenburg Line, and the Battles for its possession in 1917 and 1918, are given: with numerous maps covering different sectors and the struggles for each village and farm, together with the part played by many British Regiments. The maps contain information on how to find all remaining vestiges of both German and British defences in the region, most of which are rarely visited and many of which have not been seen by British eyes for many years. No book since the Great War has examined this area in such detail, nor has any single account contained so much for the battlefield visitor to see. The sites of individual acts of bravery, including the winning of many Victoria Crosses are featured, and existing locations of battle lines, headquarters, artillery observation and machine gun posts are also included, together with an absorbing narrative which also guides the armchair reader.

A History of the 9th (Highlanders) Royal Scots

Author : Neill Gilhooley
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 1526735288
Total Pages : 508 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of the 9th (Highlanders) Royal Scots by : Neill Gilhooley

Download or read book A History of the 9th (Highlanders) Royal Scots written by Neill Gilhooley and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This regimental history chronicles the Dandy Ninth Battalion Royal Scots from its first forays in the Boer War through the brutal fighting of WWI. After suffering the disastrous Black Week of the Second Boer War, the British Army formed a new Highland battalion, the kilted 9th Royal Scots, which became affectionately known as the Dandy Ninth. It sent volunteers to South Africa and established itself as Edinburgh’s kilted battalion, part of the Territorial Force of part-time soldiers. Mobilized in 1914 as part of the Lothian Brigade, the Dandy Ninth defended Edinburgh from the threat of invasion, and constructed part of the landward defenses around Liberton Tower. They were part-time soldiers and new recruits, drawn from the breadth of society, from lawyers to rugby players and artists, such as the Scottish Colorist F.C.B. Cadell, and William Geissler of the Edinburgh School. In the Great War they mobilized to France and Flanders and served in many of the major actions: in Ypres and on the Somme; at Arras and Cambrai in 1917; and during the 1918 German Spring Offensive at St Quentin. In the Advance to Victory, they were with the 15th (Scottish) Division.

A History of the British Cavalry

Author : Lord Anglesey
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473815053
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of the British Cavalry by : Lord Anglesey

Download or read book A History of the British Cavalry written by Lord Anglesey and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1995-04-19 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this last volume of a monumental chronicl e, the author shows the part played by the British cavalry i n the First World War. Drawing on material from a number of sources he demonstrates how the cavalry''s superior mobility saved the day time and again. '

British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918

Author : Simon Robbins
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134269684
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (342 download)

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Book Synopsis British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918 by : Simon Robbins

Download or read book British Generalship on the Western Front 1914-1918 written by Simon Robbins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-12-17 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the British Army's response on the Western Front to a period of seminal change in warfare. In particular it examines the impact of the pre-war emphasis on worldwide garrison, occupation and policing duties for the Empire's defence of the mindset of the Army's leadership and its lack of preparation for a continental war involving a massive, unplanned increase in men and material. The reasons for the poor performance in the early years of the war, notably professionalism within the British Army, including poor staff work, 'trade unionism', careerism within the high command, and the tendency of an overconfident hierarchy to ignore the need for reform to tackle the tactical stalemate prior to 1916, are analysed. The high command rapidly learnt from the defeats of 1915-16 and performed much better in 1916-18, an especially formative period resulting in the promotion of a younger, more professional leadership and the development of the first truly modern system of tactics which has dominated wars ever since. During 1917-18 the Army's commanders and staff evolved and improved these new methods; developing a doctrine of combined arms to overcome the tactical stalemate bedevilling Allied offensives.

The 51st (Highland) Division in the Great War

Author : Colin Campbell
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1526747049
Total Pages : 441 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis The 51st (Highland) Division in the Great War by : Colin Campbell

Download or read book The 51st (Highland) Division in the Great War written by Colin Campbell and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scotland provided two Territorial Force divisions at the outbreak of the First World War, in due course taking their place in the order of battle as the 51st (Highland) Division and the 52nd (Lowland) Division. 1066 and All That concluded that the war was won by the Americans, assisted by the Australians (AZTECS) and some Canadians, and 51 Highlanders. If nothing else, this ironic analysis showed that Major General George (Uncle, sometimes Daddy) Harper was a master of positive publicity and knew its value in building the Divisions image and morale. He commanded the Division from late September 1915 until shortly before the opening of the German Spring Offensive in March 1918, when he was promoted to the command of IV Corps; his name is firmly linked to the 51st.The Division arrived in France in May 1915 and took part in a limited (and unsuccessful) attack in French Flanders in June 1915, which revealed hardly surprising weaknesses in training. The next year was spent relatively quietly on the Somme and, from March 1916, the southern end of Vimy Ridge. Thereafter it fought on the Somme at High Wood and Beaumont-Hamel, at the Battle of Arras, at Third Ypres, Cambrai, faced two of the German spring offensives of 1918 and was then involved in the successful series of allied offensives that ended the war, in the Divisions case starting with an attack with the French and the Italians in the Champagne in July 1918.No history of the Division has been written since Brewshers in 1921. This book aims to cast a more objective light on its activities and to challenge its post war critics. It makes full use of official records and first hand accounts, including those provided by descendants with previously unpublished family records or illustrations. The books main purpose is to pay tribute to a generation that met hitherto unimagined horrors with fortitude, adaptability, resilience and humour and, despite the awful price in lives, broken bodies and minds, carried on until the job was done.

The Empire on the Western Front

Author : Geoffrey Jackson
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 0774860170
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (748 download)

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Book Synopsis The Empire on the Western Front by : Geoffrey Jackson

Download or read book The Empire on the Western Front written by Geoffrey Jackson and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Great Britain and its dominions declared war on Germany in August 1914, they were faced with the formidable challenge of transforming masses of untrained citizen-soldiers at home and abroad into competent, coordinated fighting divisions. The Empire on the Western Front focuses on the development of two units, Britain’s 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division and the Canadian 4th Division, to show how the British Expeditionary Force rose to this challenge. By turning the spotlight on army formation and operations at the divisional level, Jackson calls into question existing accounts that emphasize the differences between the imperial and dominion armies.

The Path to Blitzkrieg

Author : Robert M. Citino
Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 1461751934
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis The Path to Blitzkrieg by : Robert M. Citino

Download or read book The Path to Blitzkrieg written by Robert M. Citino and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2007-12-26 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essential background to the German blitzkrieg of World War II Complements the stories of panzer aces like Otto Carius and Michael Wittmann In the wake of World War I, the German army lay in ruins--defeated in the war, sundered by domestic upheaval, and punished by the Treaty of Versailles. A mere twenty years later, Germany possessed one of the finest military machines in the world, capable of launching a stunning blitzkrieg attack against Poland in 1939. Well-known military historian Robert M. Citino shows how Germany accomplished this astonishing reversal and developed the doctrine, tactics, and technologies that its military would use to devastating effect in World War II.

The Path to Blitzkrieg

Author : Robert Michael Citino
Publisher : Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9781555877149
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (771 download)

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Book Synopsis The Path to Blitzkrieg by : Robert Michael Citino

Download or read book The Path to Blitzkrieg written by Robert Michael Citino and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. This book was released on 1999 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deals with the military activities of the German Reichswehr in the interwar period. Traces the path by which the army not only managed to survive, but to lay the groundwork for its rebirth by preparing a veritable military revolution. Tells how the army reassessed its methods of making war, developed a new doctrine stressing the war of movement, and devised a realistic operation doctrine for tanks and other mechanized vehicles. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Second to None

Author : Julian Paget
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783379391
Total Pages : 721 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis Second to None by : Julian Paget

Download or read book Second to None written by Julian Paget and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2000-09-11 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Familiar to tourists at Buckingham Palace, the Coldstream Guards are also a fully operational combat unit. The regiment played a key role at Blenheim and Waterloo, fought at Monmouth in the American Revolution, served in both World Wars and is frequently deployed on short notice to the world's trouble spots even today. This lavishly illustrated volume has been produced to mark the regiment's 350th anniversary. Contributors include numerous distinguished British historians and past members of the regiment. Full details are given for both the Coldstream Guards' ceremonial duties and their participation in some of the key events in European history.