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Britain's War At Sea, 1914-1918: The war they thought and the war they fought (Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies Series)
by Greg KennedyIn Britain, memory of the First World War remains dominated by the trench warfare of the Western Front. Yet, in 1914 when the country declared war, the overwhelming expectation was that Britain’s efforts would be primarily focussed on the sea. As such, this volume is a welcome corrective to what is arguably an historical neglect of the naval aspect of the Great War. As well as reassessing Britain’s war at sea between 1914 and 1918, underlining the oft neglected contribution of the blockade of the Central Powers to the ending of the war, the book also offers a case study in ideas about military planning for ’the next war’. Questions about how next wars are thought about, planned for and conceptualised, and then how reality actually influences that thinking, have long been - and remain - key concerns for governments and military strategists. The essays in this volume show what ’realities’ there are to think about and how significant or not the change from pre-war to war was. This is important not only for historians trying to understand events in the past, but also has lessons for contemporary strategic thinkers who are responsible for planning and preparing for possible future conflict. Britain’s pre-war naval planning provides a perfect example of just how complex and uncertain that process is. Building upon and advancing recent scholarship concerning the role of the navy in the First World War, this collection brings to full light the dominance of the maritime environment, for Britain, in that war and the lessons that has for historians and military planners.
Britain's War: A New World, 1942-1947
by Daniel TodmanThe second volume in Daniel Todman's acclaimed history of Britain's experience of the Second World War'A historian of notable gifts' Max Hastings, Sunday TimesPart Two of Daniel Todman's epic history of the Second World War opens with one of the greatest disasters in British military history - the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Unlike the aftermath of Dunkirk, there was no redeeming narrative available here - Britain had been defeated by a far smaller Japanese force in her grandly proclaimed, invincible Asian 'fortress'.The unique skill of Daniel Todman's history lies in its never losing sight of the inter-connectedness of the British experience. The agony of Singapore, for example, is seen through the eyes of its inhabitants, of its defenders, of Churchill's Cabinet and of ordinary people at home. Each stage of the war, from the nadir of early 1942 to the great series of victories in 1944-5 and on to Indian independence, is described both as it was understood at the time and in the light of the very latest historical research.Britain's War is a triumph of narrative, empathy and research, as gripping in its handling of individual witnesses to the war - those doomed to struggle with bombing, rationing, exhausting work and above all the absence of millions of family members - as of the gigantic military, social, technological and economic forces that swept the conflict along. It is the definitive account of a drama which reshaped our country.
Britain's War: Into Battle, 1937-1941
by Daniel TodmanTHE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 'An energetic, ambitious, provocative work by a young historian of notable gifts, which deserves a wide readership' Max Hastings, The Sunday Times'Bold and breathtaking... I have never read a more daringly panoramic survey of the period' Jonathan Wright, Herald ScotlandThe most terrible emergency in Britain's history, the Second World War required an unprecedented national effort. An exhausted country had to fight an unexpectedly long war and found itself much diminished amongst the victors. Yet the outcome of the war was nonetheless a triumph, not least for a political system that proved well adapted to the demands of a total conflict and for a population who had to make many sacrifices but who were spared most of the horrors experienced in the rest of Europe.Britain's War is a narrative of these epic events, an analysis of the myriad factors that shaped military success and failure, and an explanation of what the war tells us about the history of modern Britain. As compelling on the major military events as he is on the experience of ordinary people living through exceptional times, Todman suffuses his extraordinary book with a vivid sense of a struggle which left nobody unchanged - and explores why, despite terror, separation and deprivation, Britons were overwhelmingly willing to pay the price of victory.This volume begins with the coronation of George VI and ends with the disasters in the Far East in December 1941. A second volume will tell the story from 1942 to Indian independence in 1947.
Britain's Two World Wars Against Germany: Myth, Memory And The Distortions Of Hindsight (PDF)
by Brian BondBritain's role and performance in the two World Wars continues to generate considerable debate but the wars are rarely considered together. Leading military historian Brian Bond here challenges the popular view of the First World War as catastrophic and futile in contrast to the Second World War as a well-conducted and victorious moral crusade. He focuses on the key issues which have caused controversy and distortion, to demonstrate how these views became deeply rooted in popular culture in the years since 1945. These issues range from policy and strategy, combat experience, the attritional strategies of naval blockade and strategic bombing to British generalship, and gains and losses in the aftermath of both wars. He also considers the learning process of the British Army in both world wars. He boldly concludes that in a number of important respects Britain was more successful in the First World War than in the Second.
Britain's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: From Before the V-Bomber to Beyond Trident
by Robert H. PatersonHaving served opposite Warsaw Pact forces in the 1950s and on Embassy duty in the 70s in Europe, the author offers a reasoned assessment of Britain's role in the so-called "nuclear club". He asks whether Britain really needs to be a member.
Britain's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: From Before the V-Bomber to Beyond Trident
by Robert H. PatersonHaving served opposite Warsaw Pact forces in the 1950s and on Embassy duty in the 70s in Europe, the author offers a reasoned assessment of Britain's role in the so-called "nuclear club". He asks whether Britain really needs to be a member.
Britain’s Soldiers: Rethinking War and Society, 1715–1815 (Eighteenth-Century Worlds #5)
by Kevin Linch Matthew McCormackThe British soldier was a fascinating and complex figure in the century between the Hanoverian accession and the Battle of Waterloo. The ‘war and society’ approach has shed much light on Britain’s frequent experience of conflict in this period, but Britain’s Soldiers argues that it is time to refocus our attention on the humble redcoat himself, and rethink historical approaches to soldiers’ relationship with the society and culture of their day. Using approaches drawn from the histories of the military, gender, art, society, culture and medicine, this volume presents a more rounded picture of the men who served in the various branches of the British armed forces. This period witnessed an unprecedented level of mass mobilisation, yet this was largely achieved through novel forms of military service outside of the regular army. Taking a wide definition of soldiering, this collection examines the part-time and auxiliary forces of the period, as well as looking at the men of the British Army both during their service and once they had been discharged from the army. Chapters here explore the national identity of the soldier, his sense of his rights within systems of military discipline, and his relationships with military hierarchies and honour codes. They also explore the welfare systems available to old and wounded soldiers, and the ways in which soldiers were represented in art and literature. In so doing, this book sheds new light on the processes through which soldiers were ‘made’ during this crucial period of conflict.
Britain's Secret Wars: How and Why the United Kingdom Sponsors Conflict Around the World
by T. J. ColesIn a devastating analysis, T. J. Coles reveals the true extent of Britain’s covert foreign policy that supports war, conflict and oppression around the world. Unbeknownst to the broad population, the Shadow State sponsors a ‘new world order’ that allies Britain with America’s quest for global power – what the Pentagon calls ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’. Coles documents how British operatives have interfered in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran and Yemen with the aim of deposing unwanted regimes. In doing so, they have helped create extensive terrorist networks across the Middle East, reviving previously-failing Jihadist groups such as ISIL, which has now transformed into an international terror franchise.In addition to waging clandestine wars in the Middle East, the secret services have used the military to run drugs by proxy in Colombia, train death squads in Bangladesh and support instability in Ukraine, where NATO’s strategic encroachment on Russia is drawing the world closer to terminal nuclear confrontation. Coles unearths Britain’s involvement in the recent ethnic cleansing of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan government, the invasion of Somalia by Somali and Ethiopian warlords, and Indonesia’s atrocities in Papua. He also exposes the extensive use of drones for murder and intimidation across the Middle East and elsewhere.Britain’s Secret Wars is essential reading for anyone who wants to dig beneath the surface of current events.
Britain’s Man on the Spot in Iraq and Afghanistan: Government and Diplomacy by Sir Henry Dobbs at the Apex of Empire
by Ann WilksThe newly discovered papers and colourfully-written letters of Anglo-Irish Sir Henry Dobbs, which form the backbone of this book, reveal his importance in the development of the modern Middle East. An influential civil servant and Britain's longest serving High Commissioner in Iraq at a time when the British empire was facing increasing challenges to its once dominant position, he describes the difficulties of governing first in India then in the formerly Ottoman Mesopotamia during WW1. Here, Dobbs had to devise administrative systems while often at odds with his superior, Sir Percy Cox. In the discussions that followed the Third Afghan War, Dobbs manoeuvred between the different views in London and Delhi with great dexterity to negotiate alone with the Amir of Afghanistan the enduring 1921 Anglo-Afghan treaty. Having accepted from the League of Nations the responsibility for taking the newly-created Iraq to sustainable independence in the aftermath of WW1, the cash-strapped British government came under great domestic pressure to abandon it. Key to British support continuing was Iraqi acceptance of the controversial 1922 treaty with Britain. This Dobbs achieved by disregarding the unhelpful approach recommended by London and, risking his career, he pressed on with his own wholly unauthorised tactics. In other initiatives, Dobbs ensured that Mosul province remained within Iraq. Dobbs consistently pressed for Iraq's early independence – granted in 1932, the first territory in the former Ottoman Empire to gain it.An early advocate of self-determination Dobbs was frequently at odds with the more traditional imperial approach of his superiors. He always endeavoured to balance the aspirations and needs of overseas communities for whom he was responsible with the interests of Britain which he represented.
Britain’s Man on the Spot in Iraq and Afghanistan: Government and Diplomacy by Sir Henry Dobbs at the Apex of Empire
by Ann WilksThe newly discovered papers and colourfully-written letters of Anglo-Irish Sir Henry Dobbs, which form the backbone of this book, reveal his importance in the development of the modern Middle East. An influential civil servant and Britain's longest serving High Commissioner in Iraq at a time when the British empire was facing increasing challenges to its once dominant position, he describes the difficulties of governing first in India then in the formerly Ottoman Mesopotamia during WW1. Here, Dobbs had to devise administrative systems while often at odds with his superior, Sir Percy Cox. In the discussions that followed the Third Afghan War, Dobbs manoeuvred between the different views in London and Delhi with great dexterity to negotiate alone with the Amir of Afghanistan the enduring 1921 Anglo-Afghan treaty. Having accepted from the League of Nations the responsibility for taking the newly-created Iraq to sustainable independence in the aftermath of WW1, the cash-strapped British government came under great domestic pressure to abandon it. Key to British support continuing was Iraqi acceptance of the controversial 1922 treaty with Britain. This Dobbs achieved by disregarding the unhelpful approach recommended by London and, risking his career, he pressed on with his own wholly unauthorised tactics. In other initiatives, Dobbs ensured that Mosul province remained within Iraq. Dobbs consistently pressed for Iraq's early independence – granted in 1932, the first territory in the former Ottoman Empire to gain it.An early advocate of self-determination Dobbs was frequently at odds with the more traditional imperial approach of his superiors. He always endeavoured to balance the aspirations and needs of overseas communities for whom he was responsible with the interests of Britain which he represented.
Britain’s Informal Empire in Spain, 1830-1950: Free Trade, Protectionism and Military Power (Britain and the World)
by Nick SharmanBased on five years of archival research, this book offers a radical reinterpretation of Britain and Spain’s relationship during the growth, apogee and decline of the British Empire. It shows that from the early nineteenth century Britain turned Spain into an ‘informal’ colony, using its economic and military dominance to achieve its strategic and economic ends. Britain’s free trade campaign, which aimed to tear down the legal barriers to its explosive trade and investment expansion, undermined Spain’s attempts to achieve industrial take-off, demonstrating that the relationship between the two countries was imperial in nature, and not simply one of unequal national power. Exploring five key moments of crisis in their relations, from the First Carlist War in the 1830s to the Second World War, the author analyses Britain’s use of military force in achieving its goals, and the consequences that this had for economic and political policy-making in Spain. Ultimately, the Anglo-Spanish relationship was an early example of the interaction between industrial power and colonies, formal and informal, that characterised the post-World War Two period. An insightful read for anyone researching the British Empire and its colonies, this book offers an innovative perspective by closely examining the volatile relationship between two European powers.
Britain's Historic Ships: A Complete Guide to the Ships that Shaped the Nation
by Paul BrownThe British Isles have a long, rich and celebrated seafaring history stretching from the earliest times through the victories of Drake and Nelson, the voyages of discovery of Cabot and Cook and the defence of the realm by vessels of all types in the present century. Much of this history is recorded in literature and in museums but reaches its most tangible form in the large number of historical ships that have been preserved and are continually restored as monuments to a proud past. This lavish book explores 20 of the most celebrated and accessible ships and offers a comprehensive history of each vessel's design, construction, active service and subsequent restoration and preservation. Presented in order of each ship's launch date, each entry is written by the acknowledged expert on a particular vessel, gives full specification details and is sumptuously illustrated with contemporary photographs, historical illustrations and a full set of scale plans. In addition to the featured entries, an appendix presents all of the necessary contact details and opening times where applicable. The appendix also lists (and provides details for) other vessels of historical importance including a small number of working replicas such as the Matthew and the recently commissioned eighteenth-century frigate The Grand Turk, featured in the recent Hornblower television series. Principal vessels include: Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, SS Great Britain, Cutty Sark, RRS Discovery, HMS Warrior, HMS Belfast, HMY Britannia, HMS Alliance, HMS Cavalier, Gypsy Moth IV and HMS Plymouth.
Britain's Historic Ships: A Complete Guide to the Ships that Shaped the Nation
by Paul BrownThe British Isles have a long, rich and celebrated seafaring history stretching from the earliest times through the victories of Drake and Nelson, the voyages of discovery of Cabot and Cook and the defence of the realm by vessels of all types in the present century. Much of this history is recorded in literature and in museums but reaches its most tangible form in the large number of historical ships that have been preserved and are continually restored as monuments to a proud past. This lavish book explores 20 of the most celebrated and accessible ships and offers a comprehensive history of each vessel's design, construction, active service and subsequent restoration and preservation. Presented in order of each ship's launch date, each entry is written by the acknowledged expert on a particular vessel, gives full specification details and is sumptuously illustrated with contemporary photographs, historical illustrations and a full set of scale plans. In addition to the featured entries, an appendix presents all of the necessary contact details and opening times where applicable. The appendix also lists (and provides details for) other vessels of historical importance including a small number of working replicas such as the Matthew and the recently commissioned eighteenth-century frigate The Grand Turk, featured in the recent Hornblower television series. Principal vessels include: Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, SS Great Britain, Cutty Sark, RRS Discovery, HMS Warrior, HMS Belfast, HMY Britannia, HMS Alliance, HMS Cavalier, Gypsy Moth IV and HMS Plymouth.
Britain's Forgotten Wars: Colonial Campaigns of the 19th Century
by Ian HernonThis is a collection of Ian Heron's three books, "Massacre and Retribution", "The Savage Empire" and "Blood in the Sand". Much has been written about the great British military triumphs of the 19th century, but there are many more astonishing stories which have been largely forgotten. These forgotten wars cannot hope to compete in history with the Crimean War or the Boer War, but for acts of sheer courage and endurance, they deserve to be remembered. Using the actual words of the soldiers themselves, Ian Hernon presents an account which evokes Victorian colonial warfare in all its barbarity and the self-righteous belief of the British in the rectitude of their cause.
Britain's Food Supplies in Peace and War (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #3)
by Charles SmithThis book, first published in 1940, is a systematic analysis of Britain’s principal food supplies and the means by which they are distributed to the people. Its calculates the total quantities of food required to feed the whole nation properly, examines pricing structures and the sources of the food stuffs. Both home produced and imported foods are covered in this survey, as are restrictions in the form of the wartime governmental controls.
Britain's Food Supplies in Peace and War (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #3)
by Charles SmithThis book, first published in 1940, is a systematic analysis of Britain’s principal food supplies and the means by which they are distributed to the people. Its calculates the total quantities of food required to feed the whole nation properly, examines pricing structures and the sources of the food stuffs. Both home produced and imported foods are covered in this survey, as are restrictions in the form of the wartime governmental controls.
Britain's Final Defence: Arming the Home Guard 1940-1944
by Dale ClarkeKnown affectionately as ‘Dad’s Army’, the Home Guard was Britain’s very serious attempt to protect our shores from invasion by Nazi Germany in the Second World War. In the ‘Spitfire summer’ of 1940, all that the 16 million unpaid, untrained part-timers of the Local Defence Volunteers (as the organisation was originally called) wanted was a service rifle for each man, but even that was too much for a country threatened by defeat to provide. Britain’s Final Defence is the first book to explore the efforts made to arm the home defence force between 1940 and 1944 and describe the full range of weaponry available for Britain’s last stand against invading Axis forces.
Britain's Entry into the European Community: Report on the Negotiations of 1970 - 1972 by Sir Con O'Neill (Whitehall Histories)
by Sir David HannayIn January 1972 Britain signed the Treaty of Acccession to the European Community. Sir Con O'Neill, a key figure in the negotiations, gives an analysis of negotiations which had an impact on Britain's relations with Europe, and insights into the processes of multilateral diplomacy.
Britain's Entry into the European Community: Report on the Negotiations of 1970 - 1972 by Sir Con O'Neill (Whitehall Histories)
by Sir David HannayIn January 1972 Britain signed the Treaty of Acccession to the European Community. Sir Con O'Neill, a key figure in the negotiations, gives an analysis of negotiations which had an impact on Britain's relations with Europe, and insights into the processes of multilateral diplomacy.
Britain’s Cold War in Cyprus and Hong Kong: A Conflict of Empires
by Christopher SuttonLinking two defining narratives of the twentieth century, Sutton’s comparative study of Hong Kong and Cyprus – where two of the empire’s most effective communist parties operated – examines how British colonial policy-makers took to cultural and ideological battlegrounds to fight the anti-colonial imperialism of their communist enemies in the Cold War. The structure and intentional nature of the British colonial system grants unprecedented access to British perceptions and strategies, which sought to balance constructive socio-political investments with regressive and self-defeating repression, neither of which Britain could afford in the Cold War conflict of empires.
Britain’s Cold War in Cyprus and Hong Kong: A Conflict of Empires
by Christopher SuttonLinking two defining narratives of the twentieth century, Sutton’s comparative study of Hong Kong and Cyprus – where two of the empire’s most effective communist parties operated – examines how British colonial policy-makers took to cultural and ideological battlegrounds to fight the anti-colonial imperialism of their communist enemies in the Cold War. The structure and intentional nature of the British colonial system grants unprecedented access to British perceptions and strategies, which sought to balance constructive socio-political investments with regressive and self-defeating repression, neither of which Britain could afford in the Cold War conflict of empires.
Britain’s ‘brown babies’: The stories of children born to black GIs and white women in the Second World War (G - Reference, Information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Lucy BlandThis book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children ‘brown babies’; the British called them ‘half-castes’. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children’s homes but few were adopted, thought ‘too hard to place’. There has been minimal study of these children and the difficulties they faced, such as racism in a (then) very white Britain, lack of family or a clear identity. The book will present the stories of over fifty of these children, their stories contextualised in terms of government policy and attitudes of the time. Accessibly written, with stories both heart-breaking and uplifting, the book is illustrated throughout with photographs.
Britain’s ‘brown babies’: The stories of children born to black GIs and white women in the Second World War (G - Reference, Information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Lucy BlandThis book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children ‘brown babies’; the British called them ‘half-castes’. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children’s homes but few were adopted, thought ‘too hard to place’. There has been minimal study of these children and the difficulties they faced, such as racism in a (then) very white Britain, lack of family or a clear identity. The book will present the stories of over fifty of these children, their stories contextualised in terms of government policy and attitudes of the time. Accessibly written, with stories both heart-breaking and uplifting, the book is illustrated throughout with photographs.
Britain’s Black Regiments: Fighting for Empire and Equality
by Barry RenfrewIn three global conflicts and countless colonial campaigns, tens of thousands of black West Indian soldiers fought and died for Britain, first as slaves and then as volunteers. These all but forgotten regiments were unique because they were part of the British Army rather than colonial formations. All were stepchild units, despised by an army that was loath to number black soldiers in its ranks, and yet unable to do without them; their courage, endurance and loyalty were repaid with bigotry and abuse. In Britain’s Black Regiments, Barry Renfrew shines a light on the experiences of these overlooked soldiers who travelled thousands of miles to serve the empire but were denied recognition in their lifetimes. From British campaigns in the Caribbean to the Second World War, this is a saga of war, bondage, hardship, mutiny, forlorn outposts and remarkable fortitude.