World War I has long captured the macabre imagination for the seemingly willful manner in which nations sent their young men to die in droves while fighting over essentially the same patch of land for four long years. The vision of those senseless deaths becomes even harsher and more depraved when we consider how many soldiers were killed by poison gas. In May 1915 the long and bloody Second Battle of Ypres gained notoriety for the participants’ use of poison gas, the first time the weapon had been used in battle. With both sides realizing the importance of victory in Ypres, moral considerations were set aside. Although other, more costly battles of World War I have often overshadowed the Second Battle of Ypres despite the unprecedented use of gas in the latter, that battle now receives an examination commensurate with its significance. In Trial by Gas, George H. Cassar focuses on the conflict’s second half: the battles at Frezenberg Ridge and Bellewaarde Ridge, both of which were fought primarily by British units, taking the reader inside the trenches and behind the desks of those making the decisions. Cassar’s intimate account offers an accurate, clear, and complete chronicle of a battle with a remarkably enduring impact despite its indecisive outcome.
On 22 April 1915, the men of the 1st Canadian Division faced chlorine gas, a new lethal weapon against which they had no defence. In defiance of a particularly horrible death, or, at the very least, severe lung injury, these untested Canadians fought almost continuously for four days, often hand-to-hand, as they clung stubbornly against overwhelming odds to a vital part of the Allied line after the French units on their left fled in panic. By doing so, they saved 50,000 troops in the Ypres salient from almost certain destruction, and, in addition, prevented the momentum of the war from tipping in favour of the Germans. In this new, deeply researched account, the distinguished military historian George H. Cassar skillfully blends into the history of the battle the graphic and moving words of the men on the front line. Illustrated with outstanding photographs and numerous maps, and drawing from diaries, letters, and documents from every level of planning, Hell in Flanders Fields is an authoritative, gripping drama of politics, strategy, and human courage.
Asquith was at the pinnacle of his success when the course of his life and that of his country was changed by the outbreak of the First World War. Instead of being over by Christmas 1914, the war became a stalemate, with opposing trenches extending from the Channel coast to the Swiss border. During the initial stages of the war Asquith's oratory, tact and skill, combined with his imperturbability and prestige, made him indispensable. As the war dragged on, his failure to show the ruthlessness needed to win at any cost made him ill-suited to direct the nation in total war. In December 1916 Asquith was manoeuvred out of Downing Street by Lloyd George. Asquith as War Leader is the first comprehensive study of this exceptionally talented Prime Minister's war record. In a thorough examination of British war policy, with its evolutionary shifts and internal dissensions, George H. Cassar has defined the precise nature of Asquith's involvement and responsibility. He describes Asquith's part in bringing Britain into the war, in shaping war aims and strategy, and in mobilising the nation's resources. Because he was not the Prime Minister who won in 1918, Asquith's achievements in dealing with the problems of fighting a war on an unprecedented scale have been insufficiently recognised.
The giant conflagration of the First World War created the world we live in today, and its history is replete with stirring battles, mind-boggling strategies, and geopolitical manoeuvring. However, the real story was lived in the trenches of Europe and the lonely households of those left behind. The stories of this period are full of tragedy, anger, and loss but also inspirational courage. This special five-book bundle presents some of these stories, from brave Canadian contributions to the battlefields at Ypres and Amiens, to the specific untold story of Canada’s unheralded 58th Division, to an analysis of the myth and legend of air ace Billy Bishop, to the voice of one single soldier, Deward Barnes, told through his diary. These books provide new and enlightening perspectives on the war. Amiens Hell in Flanders Fields It Made you Think of Home The Making of Billy Bishop Second to None
Lloyd George at War, 1916-1918' refutes the traditional view that Lloyd George was the person most responsible for winning the Great War. Cassar's careful analysis shows that while his work on the home front was on the whole good, he was an abysmal failure as a strategist and nearly cost Britain the war.
With The Forgotten Front, George H. Cassar intends to demonstrate Italy's vital contribution to the Allied effort in the First World War. His account of the war in Italy covers the strategic considerations as well as the actual fighting.
This book covers the tenure of Kitchener as Proconsul in Egypt in the years preceding the First World War. Based mostly on unpublished sources – including government records and private papers – it not only fills a gap in the life and career of Kitchener, the most famous soldier in Britain since Wellington, but it also deals with an important but practically unknown period in Egyptian history. George Cassar shows Kitchener to be an ardent imperialist, but one who had a sense of responsibility to the country he governed. Exchanging his field marshal’s uniform for the dress of a statesman, he arrived in Egypt when British prestige was at a low point on account of his predecessor’s policies. He restored political stability, created conditions that bolstered the economy, and introduced a wave of reforms. Kitchener as Proconsul of Egypt, 1911-1914 reveals how Kitchener’s interest extended beyond Egypt, and how throughout these years he worked quietly to prepare the ground in an attempt to create an Arab Empire under Britain’s suzerainty.
Lloyd George at War, 1916-1918' refutes the traditional view that Lloyd George was the person most responsible for winning the Great War. Cassar's careful analysis shows that while his work on the home front was on the whole good, he was an abysmal failure as a strategist and nearly cost Britain the war.
On April 22, 1915, Canadians fought almost continuously for five days, clinging stubbornly against overwhelming odds to a vital part of the Allied line and saved 50,000 troops. In this new, deeply researched account, George H. Cassar skillfully blends the history of the battle with the graphic and moving words of the men on the front line.
An autobiography by General George Armstrong Custer, written a few years before he departed for the Montana campaign and died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Covers the period of Custer's life from the end of the Civil War to his campaign against the Sioux and Cheyenne, culminating in the Battle of the Washita in 1868.
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