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Author: William Moore Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473820898 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 403
Book Description
After the great victory in the famous tank battle at Cambrai in 1917 the church bells, having been silent for three years, rang out joyously all over Britain But within ten days triumph turned to disaster. How did this hapPen & why?William Moore, a distinguished First World War historian, attempts to explain what went wrong. All the advantages gained were thrown away; thousands of British troops were captured and hundreds of guns were lost. Seventy years after these events Mr Moore has studied the evidence (much of it previously unpublished) contained in the inevitable enquiry that followed the disaster and he seeks to answer a number of questions. Was Field-Marshal Haig really as dour as he has been portrayed or was he a reckless gambler and was General Byng, whose troops and guns were captured, really a brilliant planner or a haughty aristocrat dedicated to proving that cavalry still had a place on the battlefield? And why were they both obsessed with capturing Bourlon Ridge on which stood the sinister Bourlon Wood? A Highland Division, a Welsh Brigade, a Yorkshire Division (twice), the Guards, Ulstermen, Lancashire-men, Londoners and Midlanders- all were drawn into the maelstrom in an attempt to consolidate the Cambrai victory They failed. It was left to the Canadians to carry the Bourlon position in one of the finest feats of arms of the Great War. The British are always reputed to take a perverce interest in their own military blunders. This strange episode is one that most people have been happy to forget. All those involved in hight places sought to make excuses; some indulged in a profound exercise of duplicity implying that the soldiers themselves were to blame. Mr Moor's book throws new light on a dark episode in British Military History.
Author: Bryan Cooper Publisher: Pen & Sword Military ISBN: 9781399019880 Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
When tanks, the newly invented British weapon, were used for the first time in a mass attack on November 20 1917, they not only achieved one of the most remarkable successes of the First World War but set the pattern for the future of mechanized warfare. For the first time in three years of bloody trench warfare, epitomized by the slaughter at Passchendaele which was then reaching its climax, tanks brought about a breakthrough of the massive German defense system of the Hindenburg Line, followed up by British infantry and cavalry divisions. They were supported for the first time by low flying fighter aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps. The initial victory at Cambrai brought cheering crowds into the streets of London and the ringing of church bells in celebration. It seemed possible that the success might bring about the final defeat of Germany. But the British High Command failed to exploit the success. Generals who still dreamt of massive cavalry charges had not had much faith in this strange new weapon that had been brought to them funded initially by the Royal Navy at the behest of Winston Churchill who was then First Lord of the Admiralty and did see its value. The High Command did not really believe the breakthrough was possible and tragically miscalculated the necessary steps to follow it up. Within days the Germans counter-attacked and regained much of the ground that the British had won. What could have been the final victory was delayed for another year.
Author: Chris McNab Publisher: Battle Story ISBN: 9780752479774 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
The author explores how new techniques of sound-ranging and artillery strategy played a greater part during the Battle of Cambrai than the tanks which have dominated previous histories of the battle.
Author: Michael Locicero Publisher: Helion ISBN: 9781911628729 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 520
Book Description
The Third Battle of Ypres was officially terminated by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig with the opening of the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917. Nevertheless, a comparatively unknown set-piece attack - the only large-scale night operation carried out on the Flanders front during the campaign - was launched twelve days later on 2 December. This volume is a necessary corrective to previously published campaign narratives of what has become popularly known as 'Passchendaele'. It examines the course of events from the mid-November decision to sanction further offensive activity in the vicinity of Passchendaele village to the barren operational outcome that forced British GHQ to halt the attack within ten hours of Zero. A litany of unfortunate decisions and circumstances contributed to the profitless result. At the tactical level, a novel hybrid set-piece attack scheme was undermined by a fatal combination of snow-covered terrain and bright moonlight. At the operational level, the highly unsatisfactory local situation in the immediate aftermath of Third Ypres' post-strategic phase (26 October-10 November) appeared to offer no other alternative to attacking from the confines of an extremely vulnerable salient. Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the affair occurred at the political and strategic level, where Haig's earnest advocacy for resumption of the Flanders offensive in spring 1918 was maintained despite obvious signs that the initiative had now passed to the enemy and the crisis of the war was fast approaching. A Moonlight Massacre provides an important contribution and re-interpretation of the discussion surrounding Passchendaele, based firmly on an extensive array of sources, many unpublished, and supported by illustrations and maps.
Author: Alan Warren Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1538143119 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 269
Book Description
What went wrong for British forces in 1917? Relive the key battles through first-hand accounts and little-known incidents of World War I. This book offers a fresh, critical history of the 1917 campaign in Flanders. Alan Warren traces the three major battles fought by the British Expeditionary Force in the final months of 1917, from the mines of Messines to the mud of Passchendaele and the tanks at Cambrai. Drawing on a rich array of sources, Warren provides a vivid account of two tragically mismanaged battles, showing that Cambrai further underlined what went wrong for British forces at Passchendaele and thus more fully explains the course of events on the Western front. His compelling narrative history features first-hand accounts, little-known dramatic incidents, and portraits and assessments of the main generals. All readers interested in World War I and the tragic mistakes that led, in the words of Winston Churchill, to “a forlorn expenditure of valour and life without equal in futility” will find this an invaluable military history.
Author: Gavin Hughes Publisher: Merrion Press ISBN: 1785370499 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
Fighting Irish is a meticulous and engaging account of the First World War from the perspective of the men of the Irish Regiments of the British Army, revealing the extent of the Irish military commitment to the Great War effort from 1914-1918. Startling and sympathetic matters, from campaign strategy to the soldiers’ intimate war experiences, are addressed with fascinating documentary evidence and poignant eye-witness accounts. Persisting humour and unexpected trials; mounting reputations and the mundane drudgery of routine military life – all is touched upon in the lives of these men, and undercut by the pervasive loss of life. Whether fighting at Ypres, the Somme, Gallipoli, Kostorino or Nablus, the story of the Irish Regiments is compelling and evocative, with reasons for enlistment as varied as the men themselves. Though entrenched in warfare, many minds were set on the increasing unrest at home, swaying their interests and shaping the communications they left to posterity. Fighting Irish defines the diverse backgrounds of all those who served with the Irish regiments in these years, recounting their deeds through exacting historical research within a gripping and affecting narrative.
Author: Michael Howard Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0199205590 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 161
Book Description
This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the Great War--from the state of Europe in 1914, to the role of the US, the collapse of Russia, and the eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Examining how and why the war was fought, as well as the historical controversies that still surround the war, Michael Howard also looks at how peace was ultimately made, and describes the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany.
Author: Bryn Hammond
Author: Bryn Hammond
Author: William Moore
Author: Bryan Cooper
Author: Chris McNab
Author: Williamson R. Murray
Author: Michael Locicero
Author: Jonathan Mallory House
Author: Alan Warren
Author: Gavin Hughes
Author: Michael Howard