For millennia, wars have raged across the world, splintering nations, creating empires, and triggering widespread human suffering. But why are countries propelled into battle? What determines victory or defeat? And how have key wars altered the course of history? In Wars that Changed the World, these questions are answered through the stories of 25 major world conflicts. Opening with the Great Peloponnesian War almost 2500 years ago, and closing with the ongoing War on Terror, these momentous clashes encompass every historical era, and stretch to all corners of the globe. Military historian Charles Messenger examines the historical background and the diverse reasons for the conflict - whether ideological, religious, or a personal struggle for power - and sheds light on the legacy of the war and its impact on the wider world. Complementing these compelling narratives are timelines detailing the period, maps of the region illustrating sites of major battles and theatres of war, and iconic images encapsulating the drama of the battle and the personalities involved. These enlightening accounts not only provide concise histories of particular campaigns and confrontations, but also add up to a fascinating and accessible overview of world history. Included are profiles of Alexander's Conquests, The Spanish Conquest of Mexico, The Seven Years War, The American War of Independence, The Napoleonic Wars, The American Civil War, The First and Second World Wars, Vietnam, and many other conflicts that have had a decisive impact on the world.
In early 1942 the Third Reich opened a maximum security prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Silesia for captured Allied airmen. Called Stalag Luft III, the camp soon came to contain some of the most inventive escapers ever known.The escapers were led by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, codenamed 'Big X'. In March 1944, Bushell masterminded an attempt to smuggle hundreds of POWs down a tunnel built right under the noses of their guards. In fact, 76 Allied airmen clambered into the tunnel and only three made successful escapes.This remarkable breakout would be immortalized in the famous Hollywood film The Great Escape, in which the bravery of the men was rightly celebrated. Behind the scenes photographs from the film are included in this definitive pictorial work on the most famous POW camp of World War II.
This is a comprehensive account of how the British Army coped with and adapted to the enormous challenges and pressures of the First World War -- the first major continental war that the army had had to fight for almost a hundred years. Following the course of the War, both on the Western Front and in other theatres, Charles Messenger tells how the British Army managed the challenges of command, training, technology and new weapons of war. He examines officer selection, medicine, discipline, the manpower crisis of 1918, the integration of women into the forces and many other topics. Based on years of original research, this will become the standard work of reference on the organization and administration of the biggest army Britain has ever put into the field.
How the British, ANZACs and Canadians finally broke the German army on the most decisive day of the Great War. The British attack at Amiens was the most decisive day of the Great War. In earlier offensives, a gain of a few hundred yards counted as a 'victory', but this time our troops advanced seven miles in a day and broke clean through the German defences. The long agony on the Western Front was nearly over. Spearheaded by tanks and armoured cars and supported by the RAF, the attack was led by the Australian and Canadian Corps, with British and French troops on the flanks. Elaborate deception measures were employed to ensure surprise. Drawing on both primary and secondary sources, as well as eyewitness accounts, this book describes how the attack was conceived, the preparations, and the actual assault itself, as well as what happened on the subsequent days and how Amiens paved the way for the final victorious Allied advance.
Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953) was one of the foremost German commanders of the Second World War. After service on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during 1914-1918 he rose steadily through the ranks before retiring in 1938. Recalled to plan the attack on Poland, he played a leading part in this and the invasion of France in 1940. Thereafter he commanded Army Group South in the assault on Russia before being sacked at the end of 1941. Recalled again, he was made Commander-in-Chief West and as such faced the 1944 Allied invasion of France, but was removed that July. He resumed his post in September 1944 and had overall responsibility for the December 1944 Ardennes counter-offensive. Captured by the Americans, he was handed over to the British, who wanted to try him for war crimes. Only his ill health prevented this from coming about.
The first book in the World Generals series chronicles the impressive rise and tragic fall of Hitler's most brilliant military tactician. Modeled on the acclaimed Great Generals series, which features the strategy and legacy of famous American generals, World Generals broadens the scope to include the world's finest military leaders. Each volume will include a foreword by Wesley K. Clark, and be co-edited by a different foreign general who will write an afterword. This exciting new series opens with "The Desert Fox," the most famous German field marshall in World War II, Erwin Rommel. A hero of the people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at Blitzkrieg warfare. Both in France and North Africa he consistently outwitted his adversaries through his ability to sense the weak spot in his enemy's deployment and the pace at which he conducted his operations. Rommel's serious wounding in France came just three days before the aborted attempt on Hitler's life. Rommel subsequently came under suspicion of being involved in the plot and, under pressure, he committed suicide. Rommel displayed an outstanding ability to seize the initiative and retain it, and here, Charles Messenger draws on the skills behind this ability for the benefit of modern day leaders.
The author explains how the tradition of loyalty to the regiment has served the British Army so well over the past 350 years and, in his vivid description of some of the major campaigns in which it has fought, shows what it was like at various times to have been an officer or a soldier in the British Army.
Brigadier General Frank Crozier (1879- 1937) was a highly controversial figure in his day. As a young soldier he saw active service in the Boer War and West Africa before being forced to leave the British army because of financial irresponsibility. He tried to start a new life in Canada and then, on his return to Britain, joined the Ulster Volunteer Force.On the outbreak of the First World War he was appointed second-in-command of a battalion in 36th Ulster Division, becoming its commanding officer in autumn 1915 and leading it in action on 1 July 1916. He commanded a brigade with much success for the rest of the war.Forbidden to stay on in the British army after the war, he became inspector-general of the Lithuanian army in 1919, but resigned after six months. Made commandant of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary at the height of the Troubles, he resigned in highly controversial circumstances.After being declared bankrupt for a second time, he was involved in the League of Nations Union and then turned topacifism, becoming a founder member of the Peace Pledge Union. By now he had, through his best-selling writings, become a thorn in the side of the establishment. Charles Messenger's meticulously researched and highly readable biography of this maverick soldier is the first full account of his life and times.
The author explains how the tradition of loyalty to the regiment has served the British Army so well over the past 350 years and, in his vivid description of some of the major campaigns in which it has fought, shows what it was like at various times to have been an officer or a soldier in the British Army.
The author explains how the tradition of loyalty to the regiment has served the British Army so well over the past 350 years and, in his vivid description of some of the major campaigns in which it has fought, shows what it was like at various times to have been an officer or a soldier in the British Army.
In this incisive, satirical collection of three autobiographical novels—which the New York Times hailed as “malevolent, bitter, glittering”—by Charles Wright, whom poet and novelist Ishmael Reed hailed as “Richard Pryor on paper,” a young, black intellectual from the South struggles to make it in New York City—with a foreword by Ishmael Reed. As fresh and poignant as when originally published in 1963 to 1973, The Messenger, The Wig, and Absolutely Nothing to Get Alarmed About form Charles Wright’s remarkable New York City trilogy. By turns brutally funny and starkly real, these three classic American novels create a memorable portrait of a young, working-class, black intellectual—a man caught between the bohemian elite of Greenwich Village and the dregs of male prostitution and drug abuse. Wright’s fiction is searingly original in bringing to life a special time, a special place, and the remarkable story of a man living in two worlds. With a foreword by acclaimed poet and novelist Ishmael Reed, this updated edition not only reintroduces Wright’s fans to his darkly humorous, satirical, and eloquent prose, but also brings his unique literary talent to a host of new readers, as it shines a spotlight once again on this important writer—a writer whose work is so crucial to our times. “Reading Wright is a steep, stinging pleasure.”—Dwight Garner
A glimpse into the mind of one of the world's intellectual giants The Autobiographies of Charles Darwin (1809-82) provide a fascinating glimpse into the mind and experiences of one of the world's intellectual giants. They begin with engaging memories of his childhood and youth and of his burgeoning scientific curiosity and love of the natural world, which led to him joining the expedition on the Beagle. Darwin follows this with survey of his career and ends with a reckoning of his life's work. Interspersed with these recollections are fascinating portraits - from his devoted wife Emma and his talented father, both bullying and kind, to the leading figures of the Victorian scientific world he counted among his friends, including Lyell and Huxley. Honest and illuminating, these memoirs reveal a man who was isolated by his controversial beliefs and whose towering achievements were attained by a life-long passion for the discoveries of science. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Brigadier General Frank Crozier (1879- 1937) was a highly controversial figure in his day. As a young soldier he saw active service in the Boer War and West Africa before being forced to leave the British army because of financial irresponsibility. He tried to start a new life in Canada and then, on his return to Britain, joined the Ulster Volunteer Force.??On the outbreak of the First World War he was appointed second-in-command of a battalion in 36th Ulster Division, becoming its commanding officer in autumn 1915 and leading it in action on 1 July 1916. He commanded a brigade with much success for the rest of the war.??Forbidden to stay on in the British army after the war, he became inspector-general of the Lithuanian army in 1919, but resigned after six months. Made commandant of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary at the height of the Troubles, he resigned in highly controversial circumstances.??After being declared bankrupt for a second time, he was involved in the League of Nations Union and then turned to?pacifism, becoming a founder member of the Peace Pledge Union. By now he had, through his best-selling writings, become a thorn in the side of the establishment. Charles Messenger's meticulously researched and highly readable biography of this maverick soldier is the first full account of his life and times.
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