Author: Peter Hart
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1780225717
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 479
Book Description
The story of the decimation of the Royal Flying Corps over Arras in 1917 As the Allies embarked upon the Battle of Arras, they desperately needed accurate aerial reconnaissance photographs. But by this point the Royal Flying Club were flying obsolete planes. The new German Albatros scouts massively outclassed them in every respect: speed, armament, ability to withstand punishment and manoeuverability. Many of the RFC's pilots were straight out of flying school - as they took to the air they were sitting targets for the experienced German aces. Over the course of 'Bloody April' the RFC suffered casualties of over a third. The average life expectancy of a new subaltern on the front line dropped to just eleven days. And yet they carried on flying, day after day, in the knowledge that, in the eyes of their commanders at least, their own lives meant nothing compared to the photographs they brought back, which could save tens of thousands of soldiers on the ground. In this book Peter Hart tells the story of the air war over Arras, using the voices of the men who were actually there.
Bloody April 1917
Author: James S. Corum
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472853040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Researched from original-language primary sources, this is a uniquely well-informed and multi-faceted history of the World War I air campaign of Bloody April. Researched from original German-, French-, and English-language sources, and written by an authority on both air and ground military operations, author, Dr James S Corum examines how Bloody April caused Allied forces to reassess their approach to the use of airpower. Considering well-known problems such as technology and training doctrine, but also how the artillery-aircraft combination ideally had to work in late-WW I ground offensives, Dr Corum analyses what each side got wrong and why. He describes little-known parts of the April campaigns, such as both sides' use of strategic bombing with heavy aircraft, and considers the German use of advanced high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft with oxygen and heated suits while detailing the exploits of the infamous 'Red Baron', Manfred von Richthofen. Lessons from Bloody April not only served to improve the coordination of Allied artillery and aircraft but subsequently aircraft played a much larger role in supporting ground troops in attack mode. Bloody April paved the way for the airpower revolution that, by 1918, would make the Allies masters of the sky on the Western Front.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472853040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Researched from original-language primary sources, this is a uniquely well-informed and multi-faceted history of the World War I air campaign of Bloody April. Researched from original German-, French-, and English-language sources, and written by an authority on both air and ground military operations, author, Dr James S Corum examines how Bloody April caused Allied forces to reassess their approach to the use of airpower. Considering well-known problems such as technology and training doctrine, but also how the artillery-aircraft combination ideally had to work in late-WW I ground offensives, Dr Corum analyses what each side got wrong and why. He describes little-known parts of the April campaigns, such as both sides' use of strategic bombing with heavy aircraft, and considers the German use of advanced high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft with oxygen and heated suits while detailing the exploits of the infamous 'Red Baron', Manfred von Richthofen. Lessons from Bloody April not only served to improve the coordination of Allied artillery and aircraft but subsequently aircraft played a much larger role in supporting ground troops in attack mode. Bloody April paved the way for the airpower revolution that, by 1918, would make the Allies masters of the sky on the Western Front.
Bloody April 1917
Author: Norman Franks
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1910690635
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
Book Description
“Nowhere will you find such an exhaustive book on the day-to-day events of the aerial war over the Western front in April 1917.” —A Wargamers Needful Things Even those people who know little of WWI’s air war will have heard of Bloody April. After more than eighteen months of deadly stalemate on the Western Front, by April 1917 the British and French were again about to launch yet another land offensive, this time on the Arras Front. This would be the first opportunity to launch a major offensive since the winter and would require enormous support from the Royal Flying Corps and French Air Force in, hopefully, improved weather. However, the air offensive was to be countered fiercely by the new German Jagstaffeln—Jastas—that had been the brainchild of Oswald Boelcke in 1916. By the spring of 1917, the first Jasta pilots, with new improved fighters—the nimble Albatros DIIIs—were just itching to get to grips with their opponents over the Western Front. What followed was a near massacre of British and French aircraft and crews, which made April the worst month for flying casualties the war had yet seen. Here is a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of these losses, profusely illustrated with original photographs and expertly told. “A highly detailed work that is meticulously peppered with eyewitness testimony, quality research, original photographs and accessible statistics. It also recreates the period for the reader and has a keen eye for accuracy and as a reference work it comes highly recommended.” —History of War “One of the most comprehensive overviews of early warfare ever published.” —Flypast
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1910690635
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
Book Description
“Nowhere will you find such an exhaustive book on the day-to-day events of the aerial war over the Western front in April 1917.” —A Wargamers Needful Things Even those people who know little of WWI’s air war will have heard of Bloody April. After more than eighteen months of deadly stalemate on the Western Front, by April 1917 the British and French were again about to launch yet another land offensive, this time on the Arras Front. This would be the first opportunity to launch a major offensive since the winter and would require enormous support from the Royal Flying Corps and French Air Force in, hopefully, improved weather. However, the air offensive was to be countered fiercely by the new German Jagstaffeln—Jastas—that had been the brainchild of Oswald Boelcke in 1916. By the spring of 1917, the first Jasta pilots, with new improved fighters—the nimble Albatros DIIIs—were just itching to get to grips with their opponents over the Western Front. What followed was a near massacre of British and French aircraft and crews, which made April the worst month for flying casualties the war had yet seen. Here is a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of these losses, profusely illustrated with original photographs and expertly told. “A highly detailed work that is meticulously peppered with eyewitness testimony, quality research, original photographs and accessible statistics. It also recreates the period for the reader and has a keen eye for accuracy and as a reference work it comes highly recommended.” —History of War “One of the most comprehensive overviews of early warfare ever published.” —Flypast
Shiloh: Bloody April
Author: Wiley Sword
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 554
Book Description
"Though the battle was crucial to the outcome of the American Civil War, the full story of Shiloh has never until now been told. Commonly considered a draw, Shiloh represented in fact a major reversal for the Confederacy -- a Confederacy that mounted at the outset one of the most incredible surprise attacks in American history and came within a hair's breadth of inflicting a major disaster upon the North. Yet circumstances common to war -- confusions, misjudgments, human frailities -- resulted in eventual defeat. Depending entirely upon original sources, Mr. Sword views this bitter conflict from both sides in a blow-by-blow, shot-by-shot account that is as dramatic as it is comprehensive and authoritative. Shiloh was a battle that took critical measure of two of America's most famous soldiers, Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Furthermore, Shiloh saw the death (perhaps at the hands of his own men) of one of the highest-ranking American generals ever to die on the battlefield, Albert Sidney Johnston, C.S.A., and cost the lives of nearly 4,000 other Americans. Despite the decisive importance of the battle of Shiloh, it has until now remained a virtually undiscovered subject for study. The reasons are not hard to find. They are simply that the bitterness of the controversy that Shiloh engendered plus the complexity of the battle itself resulted in contradictory currents that obsured both the facts and their significance. But now Wiley Sword has put it right in a masterful reconstruction that is also an original and valuable contribution to American history"--Jacket.
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 554
Book Description
"Though the battle was crucial to the outcome of the American Civil War, the full story of Shiloh has never until now been told. Commonly considered a draw, Shiloh represented in fact a major reversal for the Confederacy -- a Confederacy that mounted at the outset one of the most incredible surprise attacks in American history and came within a hair's breadth of inflicting a major disaster upon the North. Yet circumstances common to war -- confusions, misjudgments, human frailities -- resulted in eventual defeat. Depending entirely upon original sources, Mr. Sword views this bitter conflict from both sides in a blow-by-blow, shot-by-shot account that is as dramatic as it is comprehensive and authoritative. Shiloh was a battle that took critical measure of two of America's most famous soldiers, Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Furthermore, Shiloh saw the death (perhaps at the hands of his own men) of one of the highest-ranking American generals ever to die on the battlefield, Albert Sidney Johnston, C.S.A., and cost the lives of nearly 4,000 other Americans. Despite the decisive importance of the battle of Shiloh, it has until now remained a virtually undiscovered subject for study. The reasons are not hard to find. They are simply that the bitterness of the controversy that Shiloh engendered plus the complexity of the battle itself resulted in contradictory currents that obsured both the facts and their significance. But now Wiley Sword has put it right in a masterful reconstruction that is also an original and valuable contribution to American history"--Jacket.
Bloody April 1917
Author: Norman Franks
Publisher: Grub Street
ISBN: 9781910690413
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Even those people who know little of WWI's air war will have heard of Bloody April. After more than eighteen months of deadly stalemate on the Western Front, by April 1917 the British and French were again about to launch yet another land offensive, this time on the Arras Front. This would be the first opportunity to launch a major offensive since the winter and would require enormous support from the Royal Flying Corps and French Air Force in, hopefully, improved weather. However, the air offensive was to be countered fiercely by the new German Jagstaffeln - Jastas - that had been the brainchild of Oswald Boelcke in 1916. By the spring of 1917, the first Jasta pilots, with new improved fighters - the nimble Albatros DIIIs - were just itching to get to grips with their opponents over the Western Front. What followed was a near massacre of British and French aircraft and crews, which made April the worst month for flying casualties the war had yet seen. Here is a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of these losses, profusely illustrated with original photographs and expertly told.
Publisher: Grub Street
ISBN: 9781910690413
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Even those people who know little of WWI's air war will have heard of Bloody April. After more than eighteen months of deadly stalemate on the Western Front, by April 1917 the British and French were again about to launch yet another land offensive, this time on the Arras Front. This would be the first opportunity to launch a major offensive since the winter and would require enormous support from the Royal Flying Corps and French Air Force in, hopefully, improved weather. However, the air offensive was to be countered fiercely by the new German Jagstaffeln - Jastas - that had been the brainchild of Oswald Boelcke in 1916. By the spring of 1917, the first Jasta pilots, with new improved fighters - the nimble Albatros DIIIs - were just itching to get to grips with their opponents over the Western Front. What followed was a near massacre of British and French aircraft and crews, which made April the worst month for flying casualties the war had yet seen. Here is a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of these losses, profusely illustrated with original photographs and expertly told.
General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A.
Author: Samuel J. Martin
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786461942
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 537
Book Description
General Braxton Bragg is often described as a despicable, friendless man, the most hated general of the Confederacy. Historians have denigrated Bragg by accepting without challenge the self-serving accusations of prominent, disgruntled subordinates, each of whom sought to explain their own failures by assigning them to Bragg. This biography, without dodging Bragg's deficiencies, refutes much of this false testimony. The result is a balanced view of this controversial general, from his early rise to power in the Western theater to his subsequent fall from grace in the latter years of the Civil War.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786461942
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 537
Book Description
General Braxton Bragg is often described as a despicable, friendless man, the most hated general of the Confederacy. Historians have denigrated Bragg by accepting without challenge the self-serving accusations of prominent, disgruntled subordinates, each of whom sought to explain their own failures by assigning them to Bragg. This biography, without dodging Bragg's deficiencies, refutes much of this false testimony. The result is a balanced view of this controversial general, from his early rise to power in the Western theater to his subsequent fall from grace in the latter years of the Civil War.
Bloody Streets
Author: A. Stephan Hamilton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781912866137
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
On April 16th, 1945 the Red Army launched their fourth largest offensive along the Eastern Front during World War II. The objective was to seize Berlin before the Western Allies.Sixteen days later, the former capital of the Third Reich fell to the conquering armies of Generals Georgi Zhukov and his rival Ivan Koniev. The cost to capture the largest urban complex on mainland Europe from a handful of understrength Heer and Waffen-SS divisions, supported by Volkssturm and Hitlerjugend formations armed mainly with Panzerfaust anti-armour rockets, was exceptionally high. The Red Army suffered more casualties among its soldiers than during the six month siege of Stalingrad, and it lost more armoured vehicles than during the Battle of Kursk.Total losses among the defenders and civilian population remain unknown. Central Berlin was left a wasteland. The scars of the street fighting are still visible today, seventy-five years after the battle.When Bloody Streets was first published in 2008 it detailed the tactical street fighting in Berlin day-by-day for the first time through vivid first person accounts and period aerial imagery of the city. Ten years later this ground breaking study is back in print completely revised. Previously unpublished first person accounts from both the German and Soviet perspectives supplement archival documents that include new data from the operational war diaries of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. The book is highly illustrated throughout with period images of the city, aerial overviews, and wartime photos.Building on more than 15 years of research, the second edition of Bloody Streets is a capstone to the author's prior works on the final climatic battles along the Eastern Front. It will remain a benchmark study of the Battle of Berlin for years to come.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781912866137
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
On April 16th, 1945 the Red Army launched their fourth largest offensive along the Eastern Front during World War II. The objective was to seize Berlin before the Western Allies.Sixteen days later, the former capital of the Third Reich fell to the conquering armies of Generals Georgi Zhukov and his rival Ivan Koniev. The cost to capture the largest urban complex on mainland Europe from a handful of understrength Heer and Waffen-SS divisions, supported by Volkssturm and Hitlerjugend formations armed mainly with Panzerfaust anti-armour rockets, was exceptionally high. The Red Army suffered more casualties among its soldiers than during the six month siege of Stalingrad, and it lost more armoured vehicles than during the Battle of Kursk.Total losses among the defenders and civilian population remain unknown. Central Berlin was left a wasteland. The scars of the street fighting are still visible today, seventy-five years after the battle.When Bloody Streets was first published in 2008 it detailed the tactical street fighting in Berlin day-by-day for the first time through vivid first person accounts and period aerial imagery of the city. Ten years later this ground breaking study is back in print completely revised. Previously unpublished first person accounts from both the German and Soviet perspectives supplement archival documents that include new data from the operational war diaries of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. The book is highly illustrated throughout with period images of the city, aerial overviews, and wartime photos.Building on more than 15 years of research, the second edition of Bloody Streets is a capstone to the author's prior works on the final climatic battles along the Eastern Front. It will remain a benchmark study of the Battle of Berlin for years to come.
Shadow of Shiloh
Author: Gail Stephens
Publisher: Indiana Historical Society
ISBN: 0871953323
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 769
Book Description
Thirty-two years after the battle of Shiloh, Lew Wallace returned to the battlefield, mapping the route of his April 1862 march. Ulysses S. Grant, Wallace's commander at Shiloh, expected Wallace and his Third Division to arrive early in the afternoon of April 6. Wallace and his men, however, did not arrive until nightfall, and in the aftermath of the bloodbath of Shiloh Grant attributed Wallace's late arrival to a failure to obey orders. By mapping the route of his march and proving how and where he had actually been that day, the sixty-seven-year-old Wallace hoped to remove the stigma of "Shiloh and its slanders." That did not happen. Shiloh still defines Wallace's military reputation, overshadowing the rest of his stellar military career and making it easy to forget that in April 1862 he was a rising military star, the youngest major general in the Union army. Wallace was devoted to the Union, but he was also pursuing glory, fame, and honor when he volunteered to serve in April 1861. In Shadow of Shiloh: Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War, author Gail Stephens specifically addresses Wallace's military career and its place in the larger context of Civil War military history.
Publisher: Indiana Historical Society
ISBN: 0871953323
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 769
Book Description
Thirty-two years after the battle of Shiloh, Lew Wallace returned to the battlefield, mapping the route of his April 1862 march. Ulysses S. Grant, Wallace's commander at Shiloh, expected Wallace and his Third Division to arrive early in the afternoon of April 6. Wallace and his men, however, did not arrive until nightfall, and in the aftermath of the bloodbath of Shiloh Grant attributed Wallace's late arrival to a failure to obey orders. By mapping the route of his march and proving how and where he had actually been that day, the sixty-seven-year-old Wallace hoped to remove the stigma of "Shiloh and its slanders." That did not happen. Shiloh still defines Wallace's military reputation, overshadowing the rest of his stellar military career and making it easy to forget that in April 1862 he was a rising military star, the youngest major general in the Union army. Wallace was devoted to the Union, but he was also pursuing glory, fame, and honor when he volunteered to serve in April 1861. In Shadow of Shiloh: Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War, author Gail Stephens specifically addresses Wallace's military career and its place in the larger context of Civil War military history.