Building The Old Contemptibles: British Military Transformation And Tactical Development From The Boer War To The Great War, 1899-1914

Building The Old Contemptibles: British Military Transformation And Tactical Development From The Boer War To The Great War, 1899-1914

Author: Major Andrew J. Risio

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1782898859

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Impressed with the tactical lessons of the Boer War, the British Army reformed its doctrine and training from 1899 to 1914, deploying a combat ready force, the “Old Contemptibles” of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1914. Because of these changes, the BEF played a crucial role in Belgium and France in 1914. The lessons of the Boer War guided the British Army and its interwar reforms. The doctrine and training developed from 1902-1914 was a significant improvement over the pre-Boer War British colonial warfare tactics. With Haldane’s organizational reforms and Robert’s new doctrine, the British Army built the Old Contemptibles of the BEF. The battles of 1914 showed the BEF was the equal of any European contemporary in quality of its tactics and doctrine. The comparison of the BEF to the other combatants in 1914 does not stand in stark contrast. The BEF performed well but no better or worse than comparable German or French units did. What does stand in stark contrast is the BEF in 1914 when compared with the expedition to South Africa in 1899. The years of reform between these two expeditions were truly a crucible that built the Old Contemptibles.


The Oxford Companion to British History

The Oxford Companion to British History

Author: John Cannon

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-10-15

Total Pages: 2448

ISBN-13: 0191044814

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Here, in a single convenient volume, is the essential reference book for anyone with an interest in British history. First published in 1997, under the editorship of the late John Cannon and in consultation with over 100 distinguished contributors, this Companion has now been updated by Robert Crowcroft to include the very latest scholarship and research. It describes and analyses the people and events that have shaped and defined life in Britain over more than 2,000 years of political, social, and cultural change, encompassing topics as diverse as the War of the Roses, the Blitz, Stonehenge, Henry VIII, the suffragettes, the industrial revolution, the NHS, the Suez Crisis, the TUC, and the Afghan campaign. Over 4,500 entries provide a wealth of fact and insight on all aspects of the subject and from a variety of perspectives, including social, political, military, cultural, economic, scientific, and feminist. Entries cover not only monarchs, battles, and political events, but also the wider aspects of British history over the centuries. New entries on topics such as alternative vote, the 2008 financial crisis, Olympics in Britain, and the Scottish Independence Referendum, and UKIP ensure that the Companion remains relevant and current. Useful appendices include maps and genealogies, as well as a subject index. Coverage includes authors, composers and musicians, legal and technical terms, newspapers and periodicals, ranks and orders, sport and leisure, and scholarship and education. For those who like to explore history on the ground, there are also entries on individual counties, cathedrals, and churches, palaces and royal residences, and a range of other sites of historical significance. As well as providing reliable factual information, the Companion also offers detailed interpretation and analysis, giving readers a sense of how events and personalities relate to each other, whilst its multi-disciplinary approach places topics in a wide context. Whether you need to check the date of the Peasants' Revolt, understand what happened at the Battle of Imphal, find out about the history of maypoles, or compare the careers of successive Princes of Wales, The Oxford Companion to British History is a book no home reference shelf should be without.


Colonial Empires and Armies, 1815-1960

Colonial Empires and Armies, 1815-1960

Author: Victor Gordon Kiernan

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780773517677

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Beginning with the post-Napoleonic era, this volume presents all the major episodes of an often dramatic story in which the military agents of European imperialism met the peoples of the rest of the world in armed conflict.


The British Officer

The British Officer

Author: Anthony Clayton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-11

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 1317864441

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An Army officer must lead men into frightening and dangerous situations and sometimes make them do things that they never thought they could do. This book recounts how British officers have led their men, and commanded their respect, from the days of Marlborough to the Second Iraq war of 2003. Anthony Clayton explores who the officers, men and now women, have been and are, where they came from, what ideals or traditions have motivated them, and their own perceptions of themselves. His account tells the fascinating story of how the role of the military officer evolved, illustrated by a selection of captivating images, and the personal memoirs, biographies and autobiographies of officers.


War and Society in Europe, 1870-1970

War and Society in Europe, 1870-1970

Author: Brian Bond

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780773517639

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As Europe descended into an era of war and 19th century hopes for peace faded, warfare was itself transformed by the growth of nationalism and technological advances. This study assesses the influence of war on European society between 1870 and 1970.


Truce:

Truce:

Author: Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc

Publisher: Mercier Press Ltd

Published: 2016-01-22

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1781173869

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On 8 July 1921 a Truce between the IRA and British forces in Ireland was announced, to begin three days later. However, in those three days at least sixty people from both sides of the conflict were killed. In 'Truce', Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc goes back to the facts to reveal what actually happened in those three bloody days, and why. •What sparked Belfast's 'Bloody Sunday' in 1921, the worst bout of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland's troubled history? • Why were four unarmed British soldiers kidnapped and killed by the IRA in Cork just hours before the ceasefire began? •Who murdered Margaret Keogh, a young Dublin rebel, in cold blood on her own doorstep? •Were the last spies shot by the IRA really working for British intelligence or just the victims of anti-Protestant bigotry? This book answers these questions for the first time and separates fact from fiction to find out what really happened in the final battles between the IRA and the British forces.


Dictionary of Battles and Sieges [3 volumes]

Dictionary of Battles and Sieges [3 volumes]

Author: Tony Jaques

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2006-11-30

Total Pages: 1428

ISBN-13: 0313027994

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Lead Reviewer: Dr. Daniel Coetzee, Independent Scholar, London, UK Review Board: Jeremy Black, University of Exeter, UK Dr. Frances F. Berdan, Professor of Anthropology, California State University, San Bernardino David A. Graff, Associate Professor, Department of History, Kansas State University Dr. Kevin Jones, University College London Dr. John Laband, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Dr. Carter Malkasian, Center for Naval Analysis Mr. Toby McLeod, Lecturer in Modern History, University of Birmingham, UK Dr. Tim Moreman, Independent Scholar, London, UK Professor Bill Nasson, Department of Historical Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dr. David Nicolle, Honourary Research Fellow, Nottingham University, UK Dr. Kaushik Roy, Lecturer, Department of History, Presidency College, Kolkata, India Dennis Showalter, Professor of History, Colorado College Dr. Stephen Turnbull, Lecturer in Japanese Religious Studies, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Leeds University, UK Professor Michael Whitby, Professor of Classics and Ancient History, University of Warwick, UK Over 8,500 battles and sieges are covered-easily the most exhaustive reference source on this basic aspect of military history. Thoroughly vetted by an expert board of period and regional experts, this dictionary offers easy to find A-Z entries that cover conflicts from practically every era and place of human history. In addition to exhaustive coverage of World War II, World War I, the American Civil War, medieval wars, and conflicts during the classical era, this dictionary covers battles fought in pre-modern Africa, the Middle East, Ancient and Medieval India, China, and Japan, and early meso-American warfare as well. Going well beyond the typical greatest or most influential battle format, The Dictionary of Battles and Sieges offers readers information they would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. Entries were reviewed by area and period experts to ensure accuracy and to provide the broadest coverage possible. Jaques's Dictionary is truly global in scope, covering East Asia, South Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Africa, Mesoamerica, and North and South America. Battles from wars great and small are in the dictionary, including battles from this very brief sampling of wars covered, listed to give an idea of the book's deep coverage: Egyptian-Syrian Wars (1468 BC); the Assyrian Wars (724 - 648 BC); Greco-Persian Wars (498 - 450 BC); the Conquests of Alexander the Great (335-326 BC); Rome's Gallic Wars (121-52 BC); Han Imperial Wars (208); Hun-Ostrogoth Wars (454-68); Sino-Vietnamese Wars (547-605); Mecca-Medina War (624-30); Jinshin War (672); Berber Rebellion (740-61); Viking Raids on, and in, Britain (793-954); Sino-Annamese War (938); Byzantine Military Rebellions (978-89); Afghan Wars of Succession (998-1041); Russian Dynastic Wars (1016-94); Reconquista (1063-1492); Crusader-Muslim Wars (1100- 1179); Swedish Wars of Succession (1160-1210); Conquests of Genghis Khan (1202-27); William Wallace Revolt (1297-1304); Hundred Years War (1337-1453); War of Chioggia (1378-80); Vijayanagar-Bahmani Wars (1367-1406); Ottoman Civil Wars (1413-81); Mongol-Uzbek Wars (1497-1512); German Knights' War (1523); Burmese-Laotian Wars (1574); Cambodian-Spanish War (1599); King Philip's War (1675-77); Franco-Barbary Wars (1728); Bengal War (1763-65); French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1801); Chilean War of Independence (1813-26); Boer-Zulu War (1838); Indian Mutiny (1858-59); Mexican-French War (1862-67); Sino-Japanese War (1894-95); World War I (1914-18); Anhwei-Chihli War (1920); World War II (1939-45) Mau Mau Revolt (1955); 2nd Indo-Pakistani War (1965); Angolan War (1987-88); 2nd Gulf War (2003- ).


Voices of Guinness

Voices of Guinness

Author: Tim Strangleman

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0190645091

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Introduction: the imagined garden -- The machine in the garden -- Creating industrial citizens -- The garden in the machine -- Remembering the work of the long boom -- Change at work -- The ghost in the machine -- The ruined garden -- Conclusion: reimagining work


War and Society in Revolutionary Europe, 1770-1870

War and Society in Revolutionary Europe, 1770-1870

Author: Geoffrey Best

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780773517615

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Armed force was used to make and prevent revolution in modern Europe, and as it spread it came to determine the affairs and fates of all the European nations. Beginning with the eve of the French Revolution, Geoffrey Best explains in lively detail the vast armed forces and militarized societies of the Napoleonic age. He then proceeds to analyse the contest between Europe's continuing revolutionary underground and the armies of reactionary and alien governments that culminated with the revolutions and wars of national liberation of 1848?66. Under the banners of Napoleon Bonaparte and other warrior heroes of the epoch, a military stamp was set on the European mind, the consequences of which Best critically assesses.