Official History Of The Otago Regiment In The Great War 1914-1918 [Illustrated Edition]
Official History Of The Otago Regiment In The Great War 1914-1918 [Illustrated Edition]

Author: Lieutenant A. E. Byrne

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2014-06-13

Total Pages: 634

ISBN-13: 1782892435

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Contains over 55 photos and 10 maps. “The record of a New Zealand infantry regiment in Egypt, at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, from formation to disbandment....When the force sailed on 14 October 1914, the embarkation strength of the Otago Battalion was 34 officers and 1,076 other ranks....In April 1915 the division sailed for Gallipoli via Mudros, and on the 25th of that month the Otago Battalion landed with the brigade near Anzac Cove. The battalion was eight months at Gallipoli, fighting in several actions, particularly the second battle of Krithia and the battle of Sari Bair. It was evacuated in December 1915 and returned to Egypt where a 2nd Battalion was formed for each of the four original battalions and the combined New Zealand and Australian Division was reorganized as an all New Zealand Division which crossed to France in April 1916...On the Western Front the New Zealand Division was an elite formation and the regiment was involved in most of the major operations - the Somme, Messines, Third Ypres and the battles of 1918. Two VCs were won including one of the most famous, that awarded to Sgt Travis (real name Savage) of the 2nd Battalion, known as the king of No Man’s Land, who was killed in Rossignol Wood in July 1918 and is buried in Couin New British Cemetery; the divisional commander attended his funeral. He gets a chapter to himself in the book. This is a good, authoritative history as the title suggests, in which personalities are identified in the narrative, casualty figures and reinforcements noted; minor actions are described as well as the bigger picture."—N&M Print ed.

Pillars of Fire
Pillars of Fire

Author: Ian Passingham

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2012-02-29

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 075248365X

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'Gentleman, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography.' So said General Plumer the day before 600 tons of explosives were detonated under the German position on Messines Ridge. The explosion was heard by Lloyd George in Downing Street, and as far away as Dublin. Until 1918, Messines was the only clear cut Allied victory on the Western Front, coming at a time when Britain and her allies needed it most: boosting Allied morale and shattering that of the Germans. Precisely orchestrated, Messines was the first true all-arms modern battle which brought together artillery, engineers, infantry, tanks, aircraft and administrative units from a commonwealth of nations to defeat the common enemy. So why is its name not as familiar as the Somme, Passchendaele or Verdun? This book examines the battle for the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge from the British, ANZAC and German perspectives. Illustrated with archive photographs and maps, it is a major contribution to our understanding of one of the seminal battles of the First World War.

Our Friend the Enemy
Our Friend the Enemy

Author: David W. Cameron

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-10-01

Total Pages: 667

ISBN-13: 1922132756

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Our Friend the Enemy is the first detailed history of the Gallipoli campaign at Anzac since Charles Bean’s Official History. Viewed from both sides of the wire and described in first-hand accounts. Australian Captain Herbert Layh recounted that as they approached the beach on 25 April that, once we were behind cover the Turks turned their .. [fire] on us, and gave us a lively 10 minutes. A poor chap next to me was hit three times. He begged me to shoot him, but luckily for him a fourth bullet got him and put him out of his pain. Later that day, Sergeant Charles Saunders, a New Zealand engineer, described his first taste of battle, The Turks were entrenched some 50-100 yards from the edge of the face of the gully and their machine guns swept the edges. Line after line of our men went up, some lines didn’t take two paces over the crest when down they went to a man and on came another line. Gunner Recep Trudal of the Turkish 27th Regiment wrote of the fierce Turkish counter-attack on 19 May designed to push the Anzac’s back into the sea, It started at morning prayer call time, and then it went on and on, never stopped. You know there was no break for eating or anything … Attack was our command. That was what the Pasha said. Once he says “Attack”, you attack, and you either die or you survive.

Gardens of Hell
Gardens of Hell

Author: Patrick Gariepy

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.

Published: 2014-05-15

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1612346839

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Gardens of Hell examines the human side of one of the great tragedies of modern warfare, the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. In February 1915, beginning with a naval attack on Turkey in the Dardanelles, a combined force of British, Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and French troops invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula only to face crushing losses and an ignominious retreat from what seemed a hopeless mission. Both sides in the battle suffered huge casualties, with a combined 127,000 servicemen killed during the action. Patrick Gariepy has pieced together the battle from combatantsÆ own words. Drawn from diaries and letters and from stories passed down through generations of families, these firsthand accounts offer an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes painful testimony to a doomed campaign fought by the men who lived through the fury, terror, and grief that was Gallipoli. Gardens of Hell is a sensitive acknowledgment of the enormous human cost of military folly and failure.

The Gallipoli Experience Reconsidered
The Gallipoli Experience Reconsidered

Author: Peter Liddle

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2015-02-27

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1473851092

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The Gallipoli Campaign is generally viewed as a disastrous failure of the First World War, inadequately redeemed by the heroism of the soldiers and sailors who were involved in the fighting. But before the first landings were made, the concept of a strike at the Dardanelles seemed to offer a short cut to victory in a war without prospect of end. The venture, and what was required of the men undertaking it who were enduring heavy casualties, eminently deserve reconsideration in the centenary year of the campaign. What fuelled and what drained morale during the eight months of extraordinary human endeavour? A balanced evaluation of the Gallipoli gamble, and of the political and military leadership, are the challenging tasks which Peter Liddle sets himself in his new study of the campaign and the experience of the men who served in it.

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front - Somme 1916
Victoria Crosses on the Western Front - Somme 1916

Author: Paul Oldfield

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military

Published: 2016-08-30

Total Pages: 1024

ISBN-13: 1473874564

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In the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – Somme 1916 is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient covering every aspect of their lives ‘warts and all’ – parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/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.