First World War Books

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Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLER ? During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.?A wonderful clash of fire and ice?a book you won?t want to let go of.??Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander?Spectacular?a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.??Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly EducationONE OF BOOKPAGE?S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARJanuary 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie?s death in combat, along with his personal effects?but something doesn?t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something?or someone?else? November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura?s and Freddie?s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging?or better left behind entirely.

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Book SynopsisExplores how the Great War influenced the construction of identity and nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. This book broadens the discussion of nationalism to include both ideological and biological factors. It explores the social, demographic, psychological and medical impact of the Great War on the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Oxfordshire offers an intimate portrayal of the county and its people living in the shadowof the 'war to end all wars'.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Shropshire offers an intimate portrayal of the county and its people living in the shadow of the ''war to end all wars''. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war; charts the experience of individuals who enlisted; the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front; and concludes with a chapter dedicated to how the city and its people coped with the transition to life in peacetime once more. The Great War story of Shropshire is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated through evocative images from the archives of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Norfolk offers an intimate portrayal of the county and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war;

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Book SynopsisThe First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain Hull & the Humber offers an intimate portrayal of the city and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Derby offers an intimate portrayal of the city and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars . A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war; charts the experience of individuals who enlisted; the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front; and concludes with a chapter dedicated to how the city and its people coped with the transition to life in peacetime once more. The Great War story of Derby is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated through evocative images from the archives of Derby Museums.

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Book SynopsisPasschendaele 1917 is the story of one of the most pitiless and iconic battles of the First World War, known today as Third Ypres. Fought over three tortuous months in 1917, the fighting raged through some of the worst physical conditions of the entire war, across battlefields collapsing into endless mud and blood.

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Book SynopsisAs the First World War roared into its second year, 17-year-old Lawrence Ellis marched into his recruitment office and signed up, eager to fight for King and Country. A Signaller’s War includes a poignant selection of Ellis’ images, portraying the conditions, experiences and hopes of the common soldier in the trenches of the Western Front.

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Book SynopsisA moving account of Liverpool during the First World War, revealing what it was really like for those who lived through it

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Book SynopsisThe Great War story of Manchester is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated with evocative images.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to look holistically at the Leeds Pals and re-evaluate their place in history.

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Book SynopsisThe moving story of the 1918 Red Cross Pearl Necklace Appeal, and the women who donated pearls in soldiers’ memory

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisWith the centennial of the First World War rapidly approaching, historian and bibliographer James T. Controvich offers in The United States in World War I: A Bibliographic Guide the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference bibliography yet published. Organized by subject, this bibliography includes the full range of sources: vintage publications of the time, books, pamphlets, periodical titles, theses, dissertations, and archival sources held by federal and state organizations, as well as those in public and private hands, including historical societies and museums. As Controvich's bibliographic accounting makes clear, there were many facets of World War I that remain virtually unknown to this day. Throughout, Controvich's bibliography tracks the primary sources that tell each of these storiesand many others besidesduring this tense period in American history. Each entry lists the author, title, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, and page count as well as descriptive information concerning illustrations, plates, ports, maps, diagrams, and plans. The armed forces section carries additional information on rosters, awards, citations, and killed and wounded in action lists. The United States in World War I: A Bibliographic Guide is an ideal research tool for students and scholars of World War I and American history.Trade ReviewThe 100th Anniversary of World War I is quickly approaching and with will come renewed interest in the “war to end all wars.” James Controvich, an esteemed and seasoned writer of historical biographies offers the reader the United States in World War I: A Bibliographic Guide. Controvich has an excellent record of publishing bibliographies on military history and has even won several major awards for reference works. This book puts itself forward as “the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference bibliography (on the topic) published." It garners its information from vintage publications to federal and state materials, archival materials, to the most recent dissertations (primary and secondary). Organized by subject, each individual entry lists the author, title, place of publication, date of publication, and page. It covers Diplomatic, Economic, Government and Non-Government agencies, the different branches of the Armed Services, and State Histories just to name a few. The appendixes and index are most useful too. Overall, this reference book is a good value and definitely significant to the serious World War I scholar; it is also well organized and easy to use. This title is recommended. * American Reference Books Annual *The upcoming WW I centennial is stimulating renewed interest in and a wave of research and publication on the conflict that many say defined the 20th century. This new bibliography, which covers all aspects of the US experience in the war from 1914 to 1918, seeks to fill the need for finding aids that assist with original research and with identifying work already done. Controvich, a prolific bibliographer on 20th-century US military history, is well qualified for such an undertaking. Topically organized, the book's chapters cover American diplomacy, economic issues, the war's impact on American society, each branch of the armed forces, US government agencies, and nongovernmental service organizations. Entries list bibliographic information such as author, title, and publisher, and descriptive information on illustrations, maps, and more. This source will be particularly useful for readers with an interest in unit histories, the activities of service organizations, and the contributions of individual states. The book features a rich collection of contemporary government and organizational reports. Included is an alphabetical name/subject index by page numbers; an author index would have been helpful. This source is too ponderous and expensive for public libraries, but should be in every academic library that supports large military collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. * CHOICE *With many libraries purging their collections of World War I materials, only larger research facilities like the Library of Congress have retained older works. Just by helping researchers know what exists, Controvich hopes to facilitate hands-on research in libraries and wean researchers off their reliance on more easily available digitized resources… The guide offers multiple benefits, therefore, for academic scholars, genealogists, teachers, and students… Overall, it deserves a place on library shelves as a quality scholarly reference work that will aid researchers in producing new works to commemorate the war’s centennial. * Journal of Military History *[T]he author, award-winning researcher James Controvich, has dug up material I've not come across in almost a quarter of a century of my own digging. I have included the table of contents below for your own perusal. However, what is really a treat for the dedicated WWI enthusiast is flipping through the pages and discovering delicious works on such topics as: life aboard an American battleship assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet; the nuts and bolts of the Selective Service system; Elihu Root's mission to Russia; internment camps in the U.S.; and a list of titles on Pershing's Second Army and its aborted and overlooked offensive of November 1918. Great stuff! * WorldWar1.com *

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Book SynopsisAlthough tanks have become a symbol of military power, the first tanks were created as a temporary solution to the deadlock created by trench warfare. This book covers the design and development of tanks during the First World War, describing the types that were used in action and the most important battles in which they fought.Table of Contents1) The Landships Committee 2) The tank in action 3) French and German tanks 4) 1918 5) Conclusion 6) Further reading 7) Places to visit

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Book SynopsisSet during the heroism and heartbreak of World War I, and in an occupied France in an alternative timeline, Sarah Adlakha's Midnight on the Marne explores the responsibilities love lays on us and the rippling impact of our choices.France, 1918. Nurse Marcelle Marchand has important secrets to keep. Her role as a spy has made her both feared and revered, but it has also put her in extreme danger from the approaching German army.American soldier George Mountcastle feels an instant connection to the young nurse. But in times of war, love must wait. Soon, George and his best friend Philip are fighting for their lives during the Second Battle of the Marne, where George prevents Philip from a daring act that might have won the battle at the cost of his own life.On the run from a victorious Germany, George and Marcelle begin a new life with Philip and Marcelle's twin sister, Rosalie, in a brutally occupied France. Together, this self-made family naviga

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Book SynopsisOsprey is proud to reissue this historically significant publication, which offers a unique insight into perceptions of how to wage war in 1914.In this fascinating little book, Baden-Powell uses his extensive military experience and memories of service in Africa to distill soldiering down to ''the four C-s'': Courage, Common sense, Cunning and Cheerfulness. With observations gleaned from his campaigns against the Zulus, the Ashanti and the Boers during the period 18761910 (and even from conversations with the German Kaiser), B-P discusses all aspects of military service from digging trenches and earth-works to inculcating cheerfulness in your men. This period document gives a unique insight into the mindset of the British officer in 1914; advocating a training system that encapsulated Edwardian values,conventional military thinking and centuries of army tradition. Quick Training For War is a perfect example of the type of war the British expected to fig

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Book SynopsisThe inspiration for the film Testament of Youth, this book from Mark Bostridge (Vera Brittain''s biographer) tells the story of a remarkable woman and her extraordinary account of the destructive power of war.In the midst of her studies at Oxford when war broke out across Europe, Vera Brittain left university in 1915 to become a V.A.D (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse, treating soldiers in London, Malta and Etaples in France. The events of the First World War were to have an enormous impact on her life. Four of Brittain''s closest friends including her fiancé Roland Leighton and her brother Edward Brittain MC were killed in action, sparking a lifelong commitment to pacifism.In 1933 she published Testament of Youth, the first of three books dealing with her experience of war. In equal measures courageous, tragic and deeply fascinating, Testament of Youth is one of the most compelling and important works of war literature ever to have been written by a British Table of ContentsList of illustrations Foreword 1 Provincial Young Ladyhood 1893-1914 2 Love and War 1914-1915 3 To the Bitter End 1916-1918 4 Didn't Women Have Their War As Well? 1918-1933 5 From Book to Film 1934-2014 Afterword: Ipplepen 269: The Tragic Fate of Edward Brittain Chronology Gazetteer of Places Associated with Vera Brittain and Testament of Youth Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisJuly 1918. A band of Allied Royal Flying Corps airmen are determined to escape Germany's harshest POW camp. Their plan will become the most ambitious mass breakout attempt of the Great War.Trade ReviewEntertaining . . . very little is known about the escape artists of World War I, but Bascomb's suspenseful and well-researched book could change that * Daily Mail *Fascinating * Daily Express *Terrific . . . [a] stirring story * Mail on Sunday *A remarkable piece of hidden history, told perfectly . . . brims with adventure, suspense, daring, and heroism * David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon *It's riveting reading, but more than that, it's inspiring * Candice Millard, author of Hero of the Empire *Absorbing * Choice Magazine *A remarkable piece of hidden history, told perfectly...brims with adventure, suspense, daring, and heroism * David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon *

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Book SynopsisThis text is one of the few surviving eyewitness sources on the Assyrian genocide during the First World War, written by a seminarian living in greater Tur Abdin (the southeast of today's Turkish state). It is translated and annotated by a master of Syriac with an in-depth knowledge of modern Assyrian history.

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Book SynopsisMoving and inspired book ... An evocative and deeply affecting requiem for what might have been.' - Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin and Former PeopleA World on Edge reveals Europe in 1918, left in ruins by World War I. But with the end of hostilities, a radical new start seems not only possible, but essential, even unavoidable. Unorthodox ideas light up the age like the comets that have recently passed overhead: new politics, new societies, new art and culture, new thinking. The struggle to determine the future has begun.The sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, whose son died in the war, was translating sorrow and loss into art. Ho Chi Minh was working as a dishwasher in Paris and dreaming of liberating Vietnam, his homeland. Captain Harry S. Truman was running a men’s haberdashery in Kansas City, hardly expecting that he was about to go bankrupt – and later become president of the United States. Professor Moina Michael was about to invent the 'remembrance poppy', a symbol of sacrifice that will stand for generations to come. Meanwhile Virginia Woolf had just published her first book and was questioning whether that sacrifice was worth it, while the artist George Grosz was so revolted by the violence on the streets of Berlin that he decides everything is meaningless. For rulers and revolutionaries, a world of power and privilege was dying – while for others, a dream of overthrowing democracy was being born.With novelistic virtuosity, historian Daniel Schönpflug describes this watershed year as it was experienced on the ground – open ended, unfathomable, its outcome unclear. Told from the vantage points of people, famous and ordinary, good and evil, who lived through the turmoil and combining a multitude of acutely observed details, Schönpflug composes a brilliantly conceived panorama of a world suspended between enthusiasm and disappointment, and of a moment in which the window of opportunity was suddenly open, only to quickly close shut once again.Trade Review‘Outstanding . . . a wonderfully stimulating guide to a world that knew it had changed utterly but was fearful about where it was heading.’ * Evening Standard *With great care, a marvellous eye for detail and a highly accomplished style, [Daniel Schönpflug] reveals this time anew and allows readers to rediscover the twentieth century and themselves. A masterpiece. -- Philipp Blom, author of Fracture: Life and Culture in the West, 1918–1938Historian Daniel Schönpflug gives us a kaleidoscope of sparkling stories . . . elegantly composed and beautifully written. -- Alexander Gallus * Die Zeit *For a brief moment a century ago the end of the Great War offered peace and the prospect of a bright new social order to a dark, ravaged Europe. In his moving and inspired book, historian Daniel Schönpflug recreates how these days were experienced by the people who lived them—their struggles, dreams, and desires—and traces the elusive fate of their noble visions. An evocative and deeply affecting requiem for what might have been. -- Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin and Former PeopleThis turbulent era left its mark on the biographies of people fromall walks of life. Schönpflug introduces readers to all theseindividual stories so vividly you could almost think they onlyhappened a few moments ago. -- Sibylle Lewitscharoff, author of Blumenberg

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Book Synopsis1918 proved to be the Allies’ year of victory, but what a monumental effort it was! From the moment Germany launched its all-out Spring offensive to win the war, British and Empire troops fought a tenacious and often last-ditch rearguard action. The Germans gambled with their best, battle-hardened men in one desperate offensive after another, searching for a decisive breakthrough that never came. In those dark days of March, April and May 1918, Allied troops were tested as never before, their morale placed under microscopic scrutiny, their will to win examined and re-examined. Once again, the soldiers tell their story, giving their own perceptive thoughts and profoundly moving insights while never forgetting the humour that helped them survive. And when the tables were turned in August, there began a campaign that would throw the enemy across the old ruptured battlefields of 1916 and 1917 and beyond, into open untouched countryside in the full bloom of summer. It took a hundred days of relentless fighting to reach Mons, the Belgian town where it had all started four years before. A century on, best-selling First World War historian Richard van Emden builds on the success of his previous books, The Somme and The Road to Passchendaele, with this next volume including an extraordinary collection of soldiers’ photographs taken on their illegally-held cameras. Utilising an unparalleled collection of memoirs, diaries and letters written by the men who fought, Richard tells the riveting story of 1918, when decisive victory was grasped from near catastrophe.

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Book Synopsisn War Fever, celebrated sports historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith explore the monumental changes taking place in Boston during the Great War through the stories of three men: Karl Muck, the German conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Whittlesey, a Harvard Law Student who was called to service and became an unlikely leader; and perhaps the most famous baseball player of all time, the Red Sox's Babe Ruth. Each was cast into the turmoil of the war, and each emerged as a public figure of one sort or another: one a villain, one a hero, one an athlete.Throughout the war, Bostonians lived on high alert; fearing an attack on the city's harbor, mines were anchored in the bay and a wire net stretched across the channels to prevent German submarines from encroaching. In an ethnically diverse city, fraught with tension between interventionists and pacifists, the war unleashed intolerance, hostility, and xenophobia.Karl Muck, after allegedly refusing to perform the "Star-Spangled Banner" at a symphony concert, was detained by federal agents and accused of espionage. His arrest soon became a national scandal as he was labeled a "dangerous enemy alien" and sent to an internment camp in Tennessee. Across the Atlantic, on the Western Front, Charles Whittlesey won overnight fame when he refused to surrender the makeshift battalion he commanded to the Germans. Dubbed by newspapers as "the Lost Battalion," Whittlesey and his men symbolized their country's iron resolve in one of the war's bloodiest battles. And for George Herman Ruth, perhaps the most famous German-American at the time, the war was transformative, paving the way for his metamorphosis from the most dominant left-handed pitcher in the game to the sport's greatest slugger.Together, the stories of these three men reveal how a city and a nation confronted the havoc of a new world order, the struggle to endure the war, and all its unforeseen consequences. At once a gripping narrative of American culture in upheaval and a sweeping account of the conflict, War Fever is narrative history at its best.

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Book SynopsisIn War Fever, celebrated sports historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith explore the monumental changes taking place in Boston during the Great War through the stories of three men: Karl Muck, the German conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Whittlesey, a Harvard Law Student who was called to service and became an unlikely leader; and perhaps the most famous baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth. Each was cast into the turmoil of the war, and each emerged as a public figure of one sort or another: one a villain, one a hero, one an athlete.Throughout the war, Bostonians lived on high alert; fearing an attack on the city's harbor, mines were anchored in the bay and a wire net stretched across the channels to prevent German submarines from encroaching. In an ethnically diverse city, fraught with tension between interventionists and pacifists, the war unleashed intolerance, hostility, and xenophobia. Together, the stories of these three men reveal how a city and a nation confronted the havoc of a new world order, the struggle to endure the war, and all its unforeseen consequences. At once a gripping narrative of American culture in upheaval and a sweeping account of the conflict, War Fever is narrative history at its best.

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Book SynopsisTwentyoneyearold Leonhard Rempe volunteered to serve Germany in 1914. By the time World War One ended, he had seen action on both major fronts, witnessed the war from the back of a horse and the cockpit of plane, and amassed one of the more unique records of anyone in the Kaiser’s army. From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot is his remarkable story. Rempe initially served as a cavalryman in the 35th (1st West Prussian) Field Artillery of the XX ArmeeKorps, fighting in several bloody and significant battles against the Russians on the Eastern Front. In 1916, he exchanged his spurs for the cockpit and transferred to the Western front. Flying specially built planes for reconnaissance work was dangerous duty, but Rempe relished his time in the open cockpits, flying at altitudes high and low to provide detailed intelligence information for the German army. He met and knew many of the pilots who flew in both fighter and reconnaissance planes, including Manfred von Richthoven—the Red Baron. Unlike so many of his fellow pilots, Rempe survived several crashes, and was shot down over Reims, France, in March of 1918. At war’s end, Rempe returned to a defeated Germany in the midst of turmoil and revolution and served briefly in a Freikorps (Free Corps) regiment dedicated to preserving the new government in Weimar against German Communists. Seeking a new beginning, he arrived at Ellis Island in the spring of 1923 to start his life as an American. He brought with him flight reports, other miscellaneous documents, and scores of remarkable photographs documenting his wartime service, most of which are published here for the first time. During 1956, the last year of his life, Rempe penned a brief memoir of his World War One service which, together with the photographic record, forms the basis of From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot. Using primary and secondary sources Dr. Paul Rempe provides insight into the grim realities of Leonhard’s war while his father’s own memoir recalls his special comradeship with his fellow soldiers and airmen. From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot adds substantially to the growing literature of the First World War, and paints a unique and compelling portrait of a young German caught up in the deadly jaws of mass industrialized war.Trade ReviewIn an age where so many World War I histories simply rehash well-known material, From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot is a fresh and insightful look into those violent times by a man who lived them.” * Misc US Reviewer *

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Book SynopsisBy the end of World War I, 45,000 Australians had died on the Western Front. Some bodies had been hastily buried mid-battle in massed graves; others were mutilated beyond recognition. Often men were simply listed as 'Missing in Action' because nobody knew for sure.Lieutenant Robert Burns was one of the missing, and now that the guns had fallen silent his father wanted to know what had become of his son. He wasn't the only one looking for answers. A loud clamour arose from Australia for information and the need for the dead to be buried respectfully. Many of the Australians charged with the grisly task of finding and reburying the dead were deeply flawed. Each had his own reasons for preferring to remain in France instead of returning home. In the end there was a great scandal, with allegations of 'body hoaxing' and gross misappropriation of money and army possessions leading to two highly secretive inquiries. Untold until now, Missing in Action is the compelling and unexpected story of those dark days and darker deeds and a father's desperate search for his son's remains.

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Book SynopsisAdolf Hitler, writing in Mein Kampf, was scathing in his condemnation of German propaganda in World War I, declaring that Germany failed to recognise that the mobilization of public opinion was a weapon of the first order. This, despite the fact that propaganda had been regarded by the German leadership, arguably for the first time, as an intrinsic part of the war effort. In this book, David Welch fully examines German society - politics, propaganda, public opinion and total war - in the Great War. Drawing on a wide range of sources - posters, newspapers, journals, film, Parliamentary debates, police and military reports and private papers - he argues that the moral collapse of Germany was due less to the failure to disseminate propaganda than to the inability of the military authorities and the Kaiser to reinforce this propaganda, and to acknowledge the importance of public opinion in forging an effective link between leadership and the people.Trade Review"This is the most important book about German information policy, including censorship, 1914-18, ever written. David Welch has written a brilliant book about the uses of propaganda by Germany in World War I to instruct, uplift and control domestic opinion in a time of total war." David Culbert, Professor of History, Louisiana State University, USA. "..throws fresh light not only on the propaganda history of the Great War, but also on why the German people were able and willing to sustain their support for their government's war effort. David Welch has made yet another significant contribution to the history of the Twentieth Century - the people's century, the century of total war and of the communications revolution." Philip M. Taylor (1954-2010), Professor of International Communications, University of Leeds, UK ."..its contribution to the growing historiography of the First World War and its social, cultural and intellectual impact is clear. This book will appeal to general readers in European history as well as specialists in German history or the First World War and is now among the important works dealing with the origins of propaganda as a factor in modern politics." Vejas Liulevicius, "Journal of Modern History"."..[an] extraordinarily wide-ranging, intelligent and authoritative study...an outstanding piece of historical scholarship. Throughout the book, Welch sustains a complex and subtle analysis that provides his readers with an entirely new understanding of both the devastating German experience of the First World War on the home front and the ill-considered domestic policies that were, to such a large extent, responsible for their experience." Nicholas Reeves, "Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television"Table of ContentsPreface to the paperback edition Introduction Days of Decision: Germany on the Eve of War The Mobilization of the Masses War Aims The Crucible of War Dissenting Voices: Pacifism, Feminist Ferment and the Women’s Movement War Aims Again Civilians ‘Fall-In’ Defeat and revolution Conclusion: ‘The Sins of Omission’

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award 2019 By August 1918, the outcome of the Great War was not in doubt: the Allies would win. But what was unclear was how this defeat would play out - would the Germans hold on, prolonging the fighting deep into 1919, with the loss of hundreds of thousands more young lives, or could the war be won in 1918? In The Last Battle, Peter Hart, author of Gallipoli and The Great War, and oral historian at the Imperial War Museum, brings to life the dramatic final weeks of the war, as men fought to secure victory, with survival seemingly only days, or hours away. Drawing on the experience of both generals and ordinary soldiers, and dwelling with equal weight on strategy, tactics and individual experience, this is a powerful and detailed account of history's greatest endgame.Trade ReviewThis superbly written history demonstrates conclusively the skill and professionalism of the British Army in 1918. -- Simon Shaw * Mail on Sunday *A superb account of the tactics that finally brought victory on the Western Front. The Last Battle pays just tribute to the allied military achievement of 1918, too often forgotten in our preoccupation with earlier horrors. -- Max Hastings * The Times *Thought provoking, erudite, yet eminently readable and entertaining: Peter Hart is a historian and author at the peak of his powers -- Richard van EmdenA fantastic book...If you're going to read one book on 1918 for this centenary, there's no doubt that Peter's book is it. -- Paul Reed * World at War *A thoroughly readable, yet authoritative, account of one of the most dramatic periods of 20th Century history, one which deserves to be far better known. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the Great War and I cannot recommend it too strongly. -- Jack Sheldon, author of The Germany Army on the Somme 1914-1916Peter Hart has a happy knack of blending a high-level of abstraction (the politics, grand strategy and operational) with the personal and minute, and making it work for the reader... The narrative is highly educational and The Last Battle certainly makes for a good read. -- Chris Baker * The Long, Long Trail *Well written, with an exceptional collection of personal narratives, this book provides a fascinating look at the last four months of World War I. -- Jerry D. Lenaburg, Senior Military AnalystThis is an excellent highly readable book that should appeal to all students of military history and a worthy addition to the author's previous titles. -- Stephen McGreal, HistorianA consistent writer who has the skill of a fine storyteller...Hopefully we will see more from Peter in good time, and if you are wise enough to read The Last Battle, it should lead you to his earlier work. You will not be disappointed. -- Mark Barnes * War History Online *Arguably the most significant book produced in the centenary year of the Armistice and is a masterfully written and constructed work...a book which is not only more than praiseworthy but is one which will stand as the definitive work on perhaps the most important period of the entire war. -- Andy Saunders * Britain at War *A superb account of the tactics that won the First World War on the Western Front. * Sunday Times Culture *Peter Hart, in his commendable book...offers us a first-class analysis as to why the British Army succeeded operationally...One of the best books, among the very large number that the First World War centenary has produced, at describing how soldiers actually think and feel, written by a historian who has a rare intuition for his subject. -- Barney White-Spunner * Country Life *At last we have a book that really does these events justice...Hart skilfully navigates the reader through the rival national narratives that each claim credit as architects of the final victory...Hart has delivered a well balanced, enlightening history that enables the reader to make sense of an exciting but potentially confusing chapter of the war. -- Mike Peters * Soldier Magazine, Pick of the Month *Hart is an accomplished historian displaying a sound knowledge of the war, its challenges and difficulties, and the manner in which they were overcome. Like his other books, The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front,1918 embraces the human face of war within a largely operational narrative that is balanced and fair in its commentary, and gives credit where credit is due... Once picked up, it will be hard to put down. * Brigadier Chris Roberts *A superb account of the tactics that won the First World War on the Western Front. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen war broke out in 1914 conscription seemed unnecessary; there was no shortage of volunteers ready to lay down their lives for England. In this book Caroline Dakers explores exactly what 'England' meant to the men and women who fought, died, survived. She suggests that, with a little subliminal help from literature, art and propaganda, the British volunteer, whether factory worker, farm hand or public school boy, felt that he was fighting for a vision of 'old England' - village, church, meadow and carthorse, rather than city, factory, commerce and motor car. Drawing on a wide range of unpublished papers and family archives, Dakers recreates the world of the countryside at war, through chapters on agriculture (literally 'the home front'), and life and death in the manor house, vicarage, school and farm. And while all this was being fought for, the French countryside was being smashed into a quagmire. This is the most complete picture yet of the impact of the World War I on rural England; a war which, if only in the ubiquitous village war memorials, still reverberates today.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface to the Paperback Edition Introduction Over by Christmas Writers and Artists in the Countryside In the Manor House In the Village On the Farm: The Fight for Food In Foreign Fields Aftermath: The Countryside at Peace References Bibliography Inde

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