The Myriad Faces of War

The Myriad Faces of War
Author: Trevor Wilson
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Total Pages: 971
Release: 2012-10-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0571287638

'By far the best study of Britain and the First World War that has yet been written.' London Review of Books The Myriad Faces of War, first published in 1987, is a unique and compelling study of the First World War from the standpoint of British involvement. It explores the reasons for Britain's entry into the war, the nature and course of Britain's participation, and the far-reaching repercussions of the war on British society. The result is a rich and comprehensive chronicle of the social, political, diplomatic and military aspects of the 'Great War.' 'Professor Trevor Wilson's mighty work on the first world war... is a truly significant contribution to our understanding of what the war meant to the British people... a disciplined, unsentimental and thoughtful book - and it also retains strongly the human touch.' Spectator 'Wilson ranges impressively over all major aspects of the conflict... a judicious, readable overview of a monster subject.' New York Times

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)
Author: John J. Mearsheimer
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 572
Release: 2003-01-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0393076245

"A superb book.…Mearsheimer has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the behavior of great powers."—Barry R. Posen, The National Interest The updated edition of this classic treatise on the behavior of great powers takes a penetrating look at the question likely to dominate international relations in the twenty-first century: Can China rise peacefully? In clear, eloquent prose, John Mearsheimer explains why the answer is no: a rising China will seek to dominate Asia, while the United States, determined to remain the world's sole regional hegemon, will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. The tragedy of great power politics is inescapable.

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle: Britain's Forgotten Offensive of 1915

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle: Britain's Forgotten Offensive of 1915
Author: Paul Kendall
Publisher: Frontline Books
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2016-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473847192

Neuve Chapelle a lost battlefield is now opened up for the explorer to learn more about the actions that took place there.In Early 1915, the British decided to take the offensive for the first time in the war against German positions in Northern France. The initial objective was a bulge, about one mile across, in their lines at Neuve.Events which took place here early in 1915 are described in detail and show why this almost forgotten battle set the course of the war.

Airpower

Airpower
Author: John Gooch
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135208530

The nine contributors to this volume study the rapid development of airpower during the twentieth century as well as the methodological problems involved in assessing such change.

Passchendaele

Passchendaele
Author: Robin Prior
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300221215

No conflict of the Great War excites stronger emotions than the war in Flanders in the autumn of 1917, and no name better encapsulates the horror and apparent futility of the Western Front than Passchendaele. By its end there had been 275,000 Allied and 200,000 German casualties. Yet the territorial gains made by the Allies in four desperate months were won back by Germany in only three days the following March. The devastation at Passchendaele, the authors argue, was neither inevitable nor inescapable; perhaps it was not necessary at all. Using a substantial archive of official and private records, much of which has never been previously consulted, Trevor Wilson and Robin Prior provide the fullest account of the campaign ever published. The book examines the political dimension at a level which has hitherto been absent from accounts of "Third Ypres." It establishes what did occur, the options for alternative action, and the fundamental responsibility for the carnage. Prior and Wilson consider the shifting ambitions and stratagems of the high command, examine the logistics of war, and assess what the available manpower, weaponry, technology, and intelligence could realistically have hoped to achieve. And, most powerfully of all, they explore the experience of the soldiers in the light—whether they knew it or not—of what would never be accomplished.

Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I

Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I
Author: John Abbatiello
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2006-05-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135989540

Investigating the employment of British aircraft against German submarines during the final years of the First World War, this new book places anti-submarine campaigns from the air in the wider history of the First World War. The Royal Naval Air Service invested heavily in aircraft of all types—aeroplanes, seaplanes, airships, and kite balloons—in order to counter the German U-boats. Under the Royal Air Force, the air campaign against U-boats continued uninterrupted. Aircraft bombed German U-boat bases in Flanders, conducted area and ‘hunting’ patrols around the coasts of Britain, and escorted merchant convoys to safety. Despite the fact that aircraft acting alone destroyed only one U-boat during the war, the overall contribution of naval aviation to foiling U-boat attacks was significant. Only five merchant vessels succumbed to submarine attack when convoyed by a combined air and surface escort during World War I. This book examines aircraft and weapons technology, aircrew training, and the aircraft production issues that shaped this campaign. Then, a close examination of anti-submarine operations—bombing, patrols, and escort—yields a significantly different judgment from existing interpretations of these operations. This study is the first to take an objective look at the writing and publication of the naval and air official histories as they told the story of naval aviation during the Great War. The author also examines the German view of aircraft effectiveness, through German actions, prisoner interrogations, official histories, and memoirs, to provide a comparative judgment. The conclusion closes with a brief narrative of post-war air anti-submarine developments and a summary of findings. Overall, the author concludes that despite the challenges of organization, training, and production the employment of aircraft against U-boats was largely successful during the Great War. This book will be of interest to historians of naval and air power history, as well as students of World War I and military history in general.

The Origins of Air War

The Origins of Air War
Author: Robert F. Grattan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2009-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0857715348

Air power has come to be seen as a country's first line of defence; in the First World War views were vastly different. Aircraft were a novelty not always welcomed by the traditionalist military, and there were no tactics, doctrine or strategies available for the deployment of air power. Yet, within four years, proponents of the new force were making claims, often extravagant, of what aircraft could achieve. Here Robert Grattan traces the remarkable history of the emergence of air power as a force to reckon with, and its dramatic impact on military strategy. He discusses the details of aircrafts, their engines and manufacture - including the Fokker, Bristol Fighter, the Zeppelin and the DH2 - the weaponry and prominent figures, such as Albert Ball and Werner Voss. "The First Air War" is indispensable for military historians, aviation and military enthusiasts as well as those interested in strategy.

Biplanes and Bombsights: British Bombing in World War I

Biplanes and Bombsights: British Bombing in World War I
Author: George K. Williams
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2015-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 178625025X

This study measures wartime claims against actual results of the British bombing campaign against Germany in the Great War. Components of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and the Royal Air Force (RAF) conducted bombing raids between July 1916 and the Armistice. Specifically, Number 3 Wing (RNAS), 41 Wing of Eighth Brigade (RFC), and the Independent Force (IF) bombed German targets from bases in France. Lessons supposedly gleaned from these campaigns heavily influenced British military aviation, underpinning RAF doctrine up to and into the Second World War. Fundamental discrepancies exist, however, between the official verdict and the first-hand evidence of bombing results gathered by intelligence teams of the RAF and the US Air Service. Results of the British bombing efforts were demonstrably more modest, and costs in casualties and wastage far steeper, than previously acknowledged. A preoccupation with “moral effect” came to dominate the British view of their aerial offensives. Maj Gen Hugh M. Trenchard played a pivotal role in bringing this misperception to the forefront of public consciousness. After the Armistice, the potential of strategic bombing was officially extolled to justify the RAF as an independent service. The Air Ministry’s final report must be evaluated as a partisan manifestation of this crusade and not as a definitive final assessment, as it has been mistakenly accepted previously. This study develops and substantiates a comprehensive evaluation of British long-range bombing in the First World War. Its findings run directly counter to the generally held opinion. Natural limitations, technical shortfalls, and aircrews lacking proficiency acted in concert with German defenses to produce far less results than those claimed.