The legendary German general of the bush war in Africa For many the Great War means the Western Front, that gruelling, slogging stalemate of attrition that was the mud and blood of trench warfare. Yet this was truly a 'world war' fought between nations, many of whom were imperial powers with footholds, interests or colonies across the globe which were often in close proximity to those who were now their enemies. Conflicts took place on land, sea and in the air; the battlegrounds could be tropical jungle or bleached desert. For many of those interested in the war of 1914-18 these so called 'side-show' campaigns are, liberated from the standstill of the European theatre, of special interest. These were mobile wars where the talents of good commanders found the potential for expression and where often exotic terrain and colonial troops brought unique colour and singular events into being. Never was this more applicable than in East Africa where British and German territories lay 'cheek by jowl'. The men who fought these campaigns included Africans, both black and white, who knew the bush well and were equal to its challenges. The author of this book was one of the most remarkable commanders in the entire war not only in the East African Campaign, for he was never truly beaten in battle though quite often the odds were decidedly against him. This was a German with a genius for guerrilla warfare whose achievements could rival the exploits of Lawrence of Arabia. Inevitably, his account of his experiences during the First World War, originally published shortly thereafter, make essential and riveting reading for all those interested in the subject. Available in softcover and hardcover with dustjacket.
Collected first-hand accounts of British men and women serving their country during World War I, as discovered through the Herts At War community project. In Hertfordshire Soldiers of The First World War the authors explore a series of individual case studies of Hertfordshire men who served in various theaters during the First World War, all of which had been uncovered as part of the Herts At War community project. This unique collection of largely unknown accounts includes stories from the Western Front, Gallipoli, Salonika, Mesopotamia, East Africa, Egypt, and even Russia in the fight against the Bolsheviks in 1919. The Herts At War team uncovered many letters and objects in the course of their research, including men who were Victoria Cross winners to those whose courage or bravery went unrecognized, as well as stoicism on the Home Front. One of the most moving of these surrounds a photograph which was found in the hands of Sergeant Percy Buck as he lay fatally wounded in a shell hole in 1917. On the back of the photograph of his wife and young son he had written his address and asked for whoever found the image to post it to his loved ones in the event of his death. Sergeant Buck would have assumed it would be a British comrade who would find the photograph, but the person who recovered it was a German soldier who subsequently sent it on to the grieving, but grateful, family. The war memorials of Hertfordshire contain the names of over 23,000 men and women who gave their lives whilst in the service of their country during the Great War; some of their tales are uncovered here. Indeed, the poignant collection of stories, anecdotes, and artifacts revealed in this book bring the First World War to life in an unusual and highly moving fashion.
Nuclear technology has long been recognized as capable of both tremendous benefits and tremendous destruction. With this in mind, countries have devised international arrangements intended to promote peaceful nuclear applications while preventing the spread of materials, equipment, and technologies useful for producing nuclear weapons. Today, however, it is clear that this global nonproliferation regime is falling short. North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 and has since tested two nuclear devices. Iran, while still a party to the NPT, has developed the capacity to enrich significant amounts of uranium; many believe it is seeking to build nuclear weapons or at least attain the ability to do so. In addition, there is the challenge of facilitating the expansion of nuclear energy, something that could help reduce carbon emissions, while preventing countries from using related technologies for military purposes. Finally, the prevalence of nuclear materials only intensifies the fear that terrorist groups could acquire them through theft or a deliberate transfer from a state.Given these challenges, it is fitting that nuclear issues are near the top of today's foreign policy agenda. President Barack Obama organized a nuclear security summit in April to discuss ways to secure nuclear materials and reduce the threat of terrorism, and NPT signatories will gather in May for the five-yearly NPT review conference. The United States and Russia have reached a successor agreement calling for further reductions in their nuclear arsenals. And the United States and others continue to pursue both sanctions and negotiations with the aim of limiting Iran's nuclear capabilities.In this Council Special Report, Paul Lettow examines the shortcomings of the nonproliferation regime and proposes a comprehensive agenda to shore it up. He first explores the challenges facing current arrangements, chief among them the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies needed to produce fissile material. Lettow then makes a variety of recommendations. First, he calls for tighter sanctions on Iran with the goal of dissuading it from continuing its nuclear advances and discouraging others from following Tehran's path. To combat the spread of enrichment and reprocessing, the report urges the United States to lead nuclear suppliers in developing a system that would allow the sale of relevant equipment and technology only to countries that meet demanding criteria. As regards a potential multilateral nuclear fuel bank, the report argues for limiting participation to states that have a strong nonproliferation record and agree not to make their own nuclear fuel. Lettow further recommends a larger budget, more authority, and various policy changes for the International Atomic Energy Agency so that it can better detect dangerous violations of nonproliferation agreements. Finally, he urges a series of steps in the United Nations Security Council to punish violators and deal with countries that seek to withdraw from the NPT while in noncompliance with their obligations.Strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime provides an authoritative look at today's nuclear-related concerns and what can be done to address them. With its thoughtful analysis and comprehensive recommendations, it makes a strong contribution on a subject of vital importance. And given the challenges now testing the nonproliferation regime, as well as the issue's prominence in the foreign policy debate, the report could not come at a better time.
The welcome given to refugees from fascist Europe is part of our fond nostalgia for Britain's role in the Second World War, nestling in our imagination next to images of evacuees clutching teddy bears, and milkmen picking their way through bomb rubble during the Blitz. But there is a darker side to this story. Then, as now, there was great suspicion, resentment and fear towards new arrivals, much of it kindled by the tabloid press. Then, as now, politicians dealt with a reluctance to accommodate refugees by hiding behind bureaucratic hurdles and obfuscation. Many of the 10,000 Kindertransport children who arrived here in the late 1930s have warm memories of the kindness they were shown, but half a million refugees were refused entry and most of them died as a result. And those who were accepted found their troubles far from over. While Britain fearfully awaited invasion in 1940, 30,000 Jews were interned as 'enemy aliens' and some were sent off to the colonies on dangerous and sometimes fatal voyages. Nor were Jews the only refugees clamouring for the thin gruel of public sympathy. Those fleeing fascism and civil war elsewhere in Europe found that whether they were met with kindness or hostility depended on the locals' political affiliations and newspapers of choice. Interweaving personal testimonies with historical sources, Paul Dowswell casts a fresh eye on the wartime era, painting a vivid picture of what life was really like for Britain's refugees.
Weaving together a number of disparate themes relating to Holocaust perpetrators, this book shows how Nazi Germany propelled a vast number of Europeans to try to re-engineer the population base of the continent through mass murder. A comprehensive introductory essay, along with a detailed chronology, reference entries, primary sources, images, and a bibliography provide crucial information that readers need in order to understand Hitler's plan, as carried out through legislation and armed violence. The book also demonstrates that both within Nazi Germany, and in other parts of Europe, all sectors of society played a role in planning, facilitating, and executing the Final Solution. In addition to entries on nearly 150 perpetrators, the book includes 25 primary source documents, ranging from government memoranda to first-hand observations of Nazi killing activities to field reports from senior officers on the scene of Holocaust killing sites. Also included are excerpts from literary memoirs. Students and researchers will find these documents to be fascinating statements as well as excellent source material for further research.
This illustrated WWI battlefield guide explores the heroic acts honored with Victoria Crosses—and the sites where they took place—in 1918 France. Historian and battlefield tour guide Paul Oldenfield spent years researching the Victoria Cross actions of the First World War and accurately locating where each event took place. He now shares his remarkable findings with battlefield visitors and armchair historians in this fascinating series of guidebooks. This volume in the Victoria Crosses on the Western Front series covers the first Battles of the Somme in 1918, the Battle of the Lys, and other combat operation in western France. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants, while photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. Oldfield also includes a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering their families, education, civilian employment, military career, death, and commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.
“For anyone seeking a full understanding of the end of the Napoleonic era this book is a must read . . . [a] tour de force of research.” —Clash of Steel On the morning of 3 July 1815, the French General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, at the head of a brigade of dragoons, fired the last shots in the defense of Paris until the Franco-Prussian War sixty-five years later. Why did he do so? Traditional stories of 1815 end with Waterloo, that fateful day of 18 June, when Napoleon Bonaparte fought and lost his last battle, abdicating his throne on 22 June. But Waterloo was not the end; it was the beginning of a new and untold story. Seldom studied in French histories and virtually ignored by English writers, the French Army fought on after Waterloo. Many commanders sought to reverse that defeat—at Versailles, Sevres, Rocquencourt, and La Souffel, the last great battle and the last French victory of the Napoleonic Wars. Marshal Grouchy, much maligned, fought his army back to Paris by 29 June, with the Prussians hard on his heels. On 1 July, Vandamme, Exelmans and Marshal Davout began the defense of Paris. Davout took to the field in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris along with regiments of the Imperial Guard and battalions of National Guards. For the first time ever, using the wealth of material held in the French Army archives in Paris, along with eyewitness testimonies from those who were there, Paul Dawson brings alive the bitter and desperate fighting in defense of the French capital. The 100 Days Campaign did not end at Waterloo, it ended under the walls of Paris fifteen days later.
One of the enduring controversies of the Waterloo campaign is the conduct of Marshal Grouchy. Given command of a third of Napoleons army and told to keep the Prussians from joining forces with Wellington, he failed to keep Wellington and Blcher apart with the result that Napoleon was overwhelmed at Waterloo. Grouchy, though, was not defeated. He kept his force together and retreated in good order back to France.Many have accused Grouchy of intentionally holding back his men and not marching to join Napoleon when the sound of the gunfire at Waterloo could clearly be heard, and he has been widely blamed for Napoleons defeat.Now, for the first time, Grouchys conduct during the Waterloo campaign is analyzed in fine detail, drawing principally on French sources not previously available in English. The author, for example, answers questions such as whether key orders did actually exist in 1815 or were they later fabrications to make Grouchy the scapegoat for Napoleons failures? Did General Grard really tell Grouchy to march to the sound of the guns? Why did Grouchy appear to move so slowly when speed was essential?This is a subject which is generally overlooked by British historians, who tend to concentrate on the actions of Wellington and Napoleon, and which French historians choose not to look at too closely for fear that it might reflect badly upon their hero Napoleon.Despite the mass of books written on Waterloo, this is a genuinely unique contribution to this most famous campaign. This book is certain to fuel debate and prompt historians to reconsider the events of June 1815.
The end of the Second World War may have heralded peace in Europe but conflicts in Southern Africa were about to begin. The imperial powers were weakened by the cost of war and a string of wars challenged colonial rule in countries such as Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia. Once independence was achieved, civil wars between rival factions unfamiliar with democratic principles resulted. Liberation movements such as those in South Africa demanded self-rule and end to Apartheid. Tribal feuds, corruption and the ambitions of dictators led to more conflicts such as the protracted fighting in the Congo. These were wars that ran on until both sides were exhausted often only to be re-kindled after short periods of uneasy peace. The cost in human and material terms has been devastating and in too many cases remain so. Economic development has been frustrated and the result is often poverty, abuse and genocide. The Author who knows Southern Africa as a native is superbly equipped to tell this fascinating if tragic record.
This chronologically-arranged collection of articles demonstrates the complex and multifaceted nature of the Holocaust. From January 1933 and the ascent to office of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, through to October 1945 and the opening of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, The Holocaust in 100 Histories takes an episodic approach to consider some of the people, ideas, groups, and events that characterized the genocide which unfolded against the backdrop of the Nazi period and the Second World War. Paul R. Bartrop shines a light on Nazi perpetrators, Righteous Gentiles who helped save Jews during the Holocaust, Jewish resisters, as well as movements, events, and developments during the Third Reich and the war years. The 100 entries included in the book provide both a series of snapshots and a pathway to understanding how the Holocaust was manifested-or defied -during the years between 1933 and 1945. Its structure enables readers to access the Holocaust in or out of sequence, reading individual entries as appropriate, while the book also contains key primary source documents, further reading suggestions and discussion questions designed to prompt debate and further study.
This first English compilation of political texts by Paul Levi, who successfully led the KPD until forced out by the pressure for Bolshevisation, offers a new perspective on the early history of German Communism.
There have been a number of studies published on the activities of British and German navies during World War I, but little on naval action in other arenas. This book offers for the first time a balanced history of the naval war as a whole, viewed from the perspective of all participants in all major theaters. The author's earlier examination The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1914-1918, centered on submarine activities and allied efforts to counteract this new menace. With this welcome sequel he again takes the reader beyond those World War I operations staged on the North Sea. Halpern's clear and authoritative voice lends a cohesiveness to this encompassing view of the Italians and Austrians in the Adriatic; the Russians, Germans, and Turks in the Baltic and Black Seas; and French and British in the Mediterranean. Important riverine engagements--notably on the Danube--also are included, along with major colonial campaigns such as Mesopotamia and the Dardanelles. The role of neutral sea powers, such as the Swedes in the Baltic and the Dutch in the East Indies, is examined from the perspective of how their neutrality affected naval activity. Also discussed is the part played by the U.S. Navy and the often overlooked, but far from negligible, role of the Japanese navy. The latter is viewed in the context of the opening months of the war and in the Mediterranean during the height of the submarine crisis of 1917.
Still None the Wiser is the final instalment of a memoir sub-titled A Mid-Century Passage, 1932 1967. Part travel, part biographical memoir, part history. It is as much a social and political record of the closing period of colonial West Africa as an account of the quirks and foibles of the British (and other) expatriates at the end of Empire. In 1954 the author aged 22, thwarted in love in London, joined an often eccentric group of expatriates who ran the oldest colonial Bank in West Africa. In Ghana and in Nigeria he experienced the passing of an era. Eric Robson the TV presenter wrote of None the Wiser and its sequel set against an historical background of Britain at war and mislaying an Empire (he) gives us a fascinating glimpse of a lost world. This final part of that memoir ends as Harold MacMillans Winds of Change blow the white man out of Africa. The setting is a long-gone Africa which at its passing was known to few. In earlier centuries of European contact the West African Coast became The White Mans Grave, when the author arrived it had become The White Mans Headache. As the author rightly says, this book is not for the faint-hearted or the nervously disposed. It is probably unsuitable for vegetarians and political correctness remained an unknown concept when many of the incidents he describes occurred. It took many years in the writing and perusing of old notes and diaries, names had to be changed not so much to protect the innocent (who as always are few in number) as much as to avoid offending the survivors among that fast dwindling band of those who were once known as Old Coasters. It perhaps describes a more honest world than we live in today.
Provides an engaging narrative account of modern European history, featuring new chapters on modern Europe and the post-Cold War world Twentieth-Century Europe: 1900 to the Present provides a concise and accessible review of the significant themes and major events that shaped European history from the beginning of the twentieth century. This student-friendly textbook places Europe in a global context as it explores key themes such as the slow unraveling of European colonial and political power throughout the world, the emergence of the United States as a major influence on European politics, the different postwar approaches to European cooperation, and competing perspectives on political, economic, and social questions. Each of the book’s four parts opens with a brief overview, summarizing the main themes of the period and providing historical context to the upcoming chapters. The text is organized chronologically, with each chapter including a brief chronology. Maps, tables, Illustrations, and photographs are scattered throughout. The fourth edition of Twentieth-Century Europe: 1900 to the Present offers an extensive revision of all chapters, including new and updated content on Brexit; terrorist attacks in France, Belgium, Germany, and Britain; the Covid-19 pandemic; the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the rise of right-wing parties in Italy and Hungary; and much more. Discussions of intellectual and cultural trends are included, enabling readers to examine political and economic developments in their historical context. Provides brief chapters suitable for both traditional and non-traditional courses The text is divided into four chronological sections and 12 logically organized and easy to read and comprehend chapters Includes an extensive index and a useful appendix of abbreviations and acronyms Features useful maps, illustrations, and other visual aids to reinforce learning of key themes in European history Twentieth-Century Europe: 1900 to the Present, Fourth Edition is an ideal textbook for undergraduate history courses and an excellent introduction to modern European history for general readers with an interest in the subject.
The consequences of Napoleon’s most famous defeat are explored in this “highly readable, richly anecdotal retelling of the battle’s devastating results” (Kirkus). In the early morning hours of June 19, 1815, more than 50,000 men and 7,000 horses lay dead and wounded on a battlefield just south of Brussels. In the hours, days, weeks, and months that followed, news of the battle would begin to shape the consciousness of an age; the battlegrounds would be looted and cleared, its dead buried or burned, its ground and ruins overrun by tourists; the victorious British and Prussian armies would invade France and occupy Paris. And for Napoleon, there was no avenue ahead but surrender, exile and captivity. In this dramatic account of the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, Paul O'Keeffe employs a multiplicity of contemporary sources and viewpoints to create a reading experience that brings into focus as never before the sights, sounds, and smells of the battlefield, of conquest and defeat, of celebration and riot.
Winner of the American Philosophical Society’s 2021 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History From an award-winning historian, a panoramic account of Europe after the depravity of World War II. In 1945, Europe lay in ruins. Some fifty million people were dead, and millions more languished in physical and moral disarray. The devastation of World War II was unprecedented in character as well as in scale. Unlike the First World War, the second blurred the line between soldier and civilian, inflicting untold horrors on people from all walks of life. A continent that had previously considered itself the very measure of civilization for the world had turned into its barbaric opposite. Reconstruction, then, was a matter of turning Europe's "civilizing mission" inward. In this magisterial work, Oxford historian Paul Betts describes how this effort found expression in humanitarian relief work, the prosecution of war crimes against humanity, a resurgent Catholic Church, peace campaigns, expanded welfare policies, renewed global engagement and numerous efforts to salvage damaged cultural traditions. Authoritative and sweeping, Ruin and Renewal is essential reading for anyone hoping to understand how Europe was transformed after the destruction of World War II.
In Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Paul Lettow explores the depth and sophistication of President Ronald Reagan’s commitment to ridding humankind permanently of the threat of nuclear war. Lettow’s narrative spans the start of Reagan’s presidency and the 1986 Reykjavík summit between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, during which America’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a defining issue. Lettow reveals SDI for what it was: a full-on assault against nuclear weapons waged as much through policy as through ideology. While cabinet members and advisers played significant roles in guiding American defense policy, it was Reagan himself who presided over every element, large and small, of this paradigm shift in U.S. diplomacy. Lettow conducted interviews with several former Reagan administration officials, and he draws upon the vast body of declassified security documents from the Reagan presidency; much of what he quotes from these documents appears publicly here for the first time. The result is the first major work to apply such evidence to the study of SDI and superpower diplomacy. This is a survey that doesn’t merely add nuance to the existing record, but revises our very understanding of the Reagan presidency.
Hero. A word used and abused in football, but for those who fought for their country in Britain's armed forces during the brutal conflicts of the twentieth century, there can be no better description. And over the years, Rangers Football Club has produced its share of true heroes. The club's traditional motto, 'Aye Ready', has applied on the pitch for well over a century, but for a generation of Ibrox stars, those words were carried onto the battlefields on foreign shores as they fought for their country. Some emerged to once again to pull on their football boots, others were less fortunate and paid the ultimate price for their loyalty to the cause. All will forever be remembered as Rangers heroes. Aye Ready profiles the stories of a selection of the club's war veterans - their life and times in football, along with the battles they fought, in a lasting tribute to a band of men who represented Rangers with distinction.
A comprehensive yet concise introduction to Western Civilization, designed to interest and engage contemporary students Western Civilization: A Brief History is a concise one-volume survey that covers the subject’s ancient origins through to the early 21st century. Stressing social and intellectual history, rather than merely listing names and dates, this stimulating resource offers a more consistent and reader-friendly narrative than traditional textbooks. The author, with 40 years’ experience teaching college-level Western Civilization and World History courses, emphasizes topics that stimulate student interest and encourage classroom participation. A mixture of Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman, Germanic traditions, Western Civilization first appeared in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. The text explores key events, figures, themes, and characteristics in the history of Western Civilization. Grouped into six parts, chapters include brief chronologies of events, maps, and illustrations. Topics include Europe in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, the rise of medieval Christianity, Darwin and the Theory of Evolution, the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, the World Wars of the 20th century, the Cold War, and many others. Written with the needs of today’s students in mind, this textbook: Offers accessible and straightforward coverage of the history of Western Civilization Provides a consistent style of writing and organizational theme Includes chronological overviews of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East Western Civilization: A Brief History is an ideal introductory textbook for both traditional and non-traditional programs and Western Civilization courses at universities and colleges, as well as for those in dual enrollment and home school settings.
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