Villers Bretonneux

Author: Dr Peter Pedersen
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844150615
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
Villers-Bretonneux was the key to the strategically important communications centre of Amiens, a principal objective of the German offensive that began in March 1918. Until the Germans took the town, Amiens would remain beyond their grasp. The successful defence of Villers-Bretonneux has come to be regarded as an Australian battle but British formations were heavily involved as wel

The Middlebrook Guide to the Somme Battlefields

Author: Martin Middlebrook
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783460490
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 623

Book Description
While best known as being the scene of the most terrible carnage in the WW1 the French department of the Somme has seen many other battles from Roman times to 1944. William the Conqueror launched his invasion from there; the French and English fought at Crecy in 1346; Henry Vs army marched through on their way to Agincourt in 1415; the Prussians came in 1870.The Great War saw three great battles and approximately half of the 400,000 who died on the Somme were British a terrible harvest, marked by 242 British cemeteries and over 50,000 lie in unmarked graves. These statistics explain in part why the area is visited year-on-year by ever increasing numbers of British and Commonwealth citizens. This evocative book written by the authors of the iconic First Day on the Somme is a thorough guide to the cemeteries, memorials and battlefields of the area, with the emphasis on the fighting of 1916 and 1918, with fascinating descriptions and anecdotes.

Villers-Bretonneux

Author: Peter Pedersen
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 147382026X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Mark IV vs A7V

Author: David R. Higgins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960069
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 187

Book Description
The German A7V and the British Mark IV were similar in weight, size, and speed, but differed significantly in armour, armament and maneuverability. The A7V had thicker armour, and had nearly double the horsepower per ton. The Mark IV's pair of side-mounted 6pdr cannons forced the vehicle to present its side arc to an enemy in order to fire one of its main guns. Possessing twice as many machine guns as the Mark IV, the A7V had a frontally mounted 57mm gun that proved capable of defeating the Mark IV's armour. The Mark IV's rhomboid design proved superior in crossing trenches, climbing obstacles and moving over rough terrain. As the first tank-versus-tank engagement in history, the fighting around Villers-Bretonneux showcased the British Mark IV and German A7V designs. Although not purpose-built to combat enemy armour, both vehicles proved the viability of such operations, which during the postwar period led to key advances in suspension, armour, gunsights, ammunition, and command and control. While the British continued to develop their armoured forces, German armour development never materialized, and only in the postwar period did they address the issue.

The Memorial to the Missing of the Somme

Author: Gavin Stamp
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847650600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
Edwin Lutyens' Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in Northern France, visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists, is arguably the finest structure erected by any British architect in the twentieth century. It is the principal, tangible expression of the defining event in Britain's experience and memory of the Great War, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and it bears the names of 73,000 soldiers whose bodies were never found at the end of that bloody and futile campaign. This brilliant study by an acclaimed architectural historian tells the origin of the memorial in the context of commemorating the war dead; it considers the giant classical brick arch in architectural terms, and also explores its wider historical significance and its resonances today. So much of the meaning of the twentieth century is concentrated here; the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing casts a shadow into the future, a shadow which extends beyond the dead of the Holocaust, to the Gulag, to the 'disappeared' of South America and of Tianenmen. Reissued in a beautiful and striking new edition for the centenary of the Somme.

From the Somme to Victory

Author: Peter Simkins
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781593124
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
Peter Simkins has established a reputation over the last forty years as one of the most original and stimulating historians of the First World War. He has made a major contribution to the debate about the performance of the British Army on the Western Front. This collection of his most perceptive and challenging essays, which concentrates on British operations in France between 1916 and 1918, shows that this reputation is richly deserved. He focuses on key aspects of the army's performance in battle, from the first day of the Somme to the Hundred Days, and gives a fascinating insight into the developing theory and practice of the army as it struggled to find a way to break through the German line. His rigorous analysis undermines some of the common assumptions - and the myths - that still cling to the history of these British battles.

The Sir John Monash Centre

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780648282402
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
The Sir John Monash Centre is a multi-media interpretive centre situated alongside the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France. Architecturally and conceptually innovative, the centre explores the story of the Australians who served on the Western Front during the First World War. This full colour soft cover edition documents the creation of the centre and gives the reader a window into the historical content that forms its core.

Tanks in the Great War, 1914-1918

Author: John Frederick Charles Fuller
Publisher: London : J. Murray
ISBN:
Category : Armored vehicles, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
This book presents the history of the British Tank Corps and the history of Great Britain's tanks. The author summarizes the campaigns of World War I emphasizing the role of the tanks during each of the battles.

Beaumont Hamel

Author: Nigel Cave
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473812321
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Book Description
Designed to act as a diversion to the 'big push', Gommecourt was an attempt to force the Germans to commit their reserves to the front line before the main battle took place. This Battlefield Guide tells the reader what happened and relates it to the ground as it now stands today.

Now It Can Be Told

Author: Philip Gibbs
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 492

Book Description
In 'Now It Can Be Told,' Philip Gibbs offers a candid and unvarnished portrait of World War I, which stands out in stark contrast to the sanitized versions that were permissible under wartime censorship. Gibbs masterfully employs a rich, journalistic prose style that captures the harrowing experiences and untold stories of soldiers on the Western Front. His work is not only a literary accomplishment but also a piece of historical journalism that has significantly contributed to the contemporary understanding of the Great War. Within the literary context, his narrative breaks free from the constraints of his time, providing a raw and essential account of the true costs of conflict. Philip Gibbs, an esteemed war correspondent, bore witness to the atrocities of the First World War, through which he experienced the indelible traumas and heroism of the battlefield firsthand. This direct exposure to the horrors of war informed his reflective and compassionate approach in documenting the lives of soldiers and civilians affected by the conflict. Gibbs's narrative is fuelled by an urgency to reveal the truths that wartime censorship had suppressed, a testament to his commitment to journalistic integrity and transparency. The book comes highly recommended for readers with an interest in military history, journalism, and the literature of war. Gibbs's 'Now It Can Be Told' transcends its own era to resonate with contemporary audiences seeking a deeper understanding of the human condition amidst the chaos of war. It is an essential read for anyone who wishes to grasp the reality of warfare beyond the romanticism and valor often depicted, unveiling the courage, tragedy, and sometimes the mundanity, of life on the front lines.