The Fateful Battle Line

The Fateful Battle Line
Author: Michael Glover
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2014-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 147381927X

The diaries of front-line soldiers of the Great War are relatively commonplace; contemporary drawings and paintings, other than those by the official war artists, are less so. What is extraordinary, even unique, about The Fateful Battle Line is that it combines a journal of infantry service on the Western Front with sketches and finished work made at the time, often illustrating places, people and incident from the text. Henry Ogle was a trained artist, and one who, in his writing, fused the vividness of the painter's eye for detail with a writer's precision and awareness. Commissioned from the ranks, twice wounded, his gallantry rewarded with the Military Cross, he endured four years of war; if the experience seared him, it never took from him his humanity. Front-line, support and reserve trenches; raids, patrols and work details; outposts and piquets; hospitals and base areas; French and Belgian towns and villages; leave back home in England ; the tragic landscape of Flanders; weapons, artillery, transport, draft and riding animals; above all his fellow soldiers - Henry Ogle faithfully, and often wittily, recorded the day-to-day minutiae, as well as the sudden shattering moments, of vast industrial armies locked in the last of the great siege wars. In doing so, and in his accompanying text, he demonstrated that the enduring legacy of the Great War lay in the spirit of the men who fought it. Skillfully edited and annotated by the late Michael Glover, The Fateful Battle Line is perhaps the most remarkable and enduring original work to have come out of the First World War in the last fifty years.

Trench

Trench
Author: Stephen Bull
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472808614

A complete guide to trench warfare on the Western Front from an authority on the subject. Even now, 100 years on from the conflict, the image of trenches stretching across Western Europe – packed with young men clinging to life in horrendous conditions – remains a powerful reminder of one of the darkest moments in human history. In this excellent study of trench warfare on the Western Front, expert Dr Stephen Bull reveals the experience of life in the trenches, from length of service and coping with death and disease, to the uniforms and equipment given to soldiers on both sides of the conflict. He reveals how the trenches were constructed, the weaponry which was developed specifically for this new form of warfare, the tactics employed in mass attacks and the increasingly adept defensive methods designed to hold ground at all cost. Packed with photographs, illustrations, annotated trench maps, documents and first-hand accounts, this compelling narrative provides a richly detailed account of World War I, providing a soldier's-eye-view of life in the ominous trenches that scarred the land.

The Battles of the British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1915

The Battles of the British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1915
Author: Fred R. van Hartesveldt
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2005-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0313068437

In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, resulting in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, and it results in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. The volume includes four chapters of historiographical essays discussings the interpretations and controversies that surround the performance and leadership of the BEF in 1914-1915. The essays direct readers to the major sources that support various ideas and indicate gaps in the historiography of the subject. Following the historiographical essays is an annotated bibliography of more than 1,000 sources that are relevant to the study of the BEF.

The Territorial Force at War, 1914-16

The Territorial Force at War, 1914-16
Author: W. Mitchinson
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2014-10-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1137451610

William Mitchinson analyses the role and performance of the Territorial Force during the first two years of World War I. The study looks at the way the force was staffed and commanded, its relationship with the Regular Army and the War Office, and how most of its 1st Line divisions managed to retain and promote their local identities.

The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War, Book Two

The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War, Book Two
Author: Jaroslav Hašek
Publisher: Good Soldier Švejk
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2009-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1438916701

A picaresque series of tales about an ordinary man's successful quest to survive, and a funny but unrelentingly savage assault on the very idea of bureaucratic officialdom as a human enterprise conferring benefits on those who live under its control, and on the various justifications bureaucracies offer for their own existence.

Tales From The Trenches

Tales From The Trenches
Author: Mary Cole
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2014-08-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1291960120

The First World War Stories of Corporal Alexander Norman 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment As told to his daughter, Mary Cole Growing up during the Second World War, Mary Cole's father Alexander Norman would tell her tales of his own experiences in the trenches of the First World War. After his death in 1974, Mary set about researching the background to the stories she had heard her entire life, making pilgrimages to the battlefields he fought on as she did, to create this volume recording his stories and experiences.

Leadership in the Trenches

Leadership in the Trenches
Author: G. Sheffield
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2000-07-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0230596983

Why, despite the appalling conditions in the trenches of the Western Front, was the British army almost untouched by major mutiny during the First World War? Drawing upon an extensive range of sources, including much previously unpublished archival material, G. D. Sheffield seeks to answer this question by examining a crucial but previously neglected factor in the maintenance of the British army's morale in the First World War: the relationship between the regimental officer and the ordinary soldier.

Theatre at War, 1914-18

Theatre at War, 1914-18
Author: L. Collins
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1997-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0230372228

A lively study of the function of theatre entertainment in the First World War, 1914-18. The theatre's role as unofficial government aide in the form of recruiter, propagandist and fund raiser is examined; so too its use as morale booster and provider of a war-related role for the aristocracy, female and military over-aged male artists. The organization of theatre for and by the military and civilian concert parties for troops in training and at the Front is analysed.

Tea, Rum and Fags

Tea, Rum and Fags
Author: Alan Weeks
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2011-11-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752475827

It is said that 'an army marches on its stomach,' but histories of the First World War usually concentrate on its political and military aspects. The gargantuan task of keeping the British Expeditionary Force fed and watered is often overlooked, yet without adequate provision the soldiers would never have been able to fight. Tommy couldn't get enough tea, rum or fags, yet his commanders sent him bully beef and dog biscuits. But it was amazing how 2 million men did not usually go short of nourishment, although parcels from home, canteens and estaminets had a lot to do with that. Incredibly, Tommy could be in a civilised town supping, beer, wine, egg and chips, and a few hours later making do with bully beef in a water-filled trench. Alan Weeks examines how the army got its food and drink and what it was like.