Author: Phillip Warner
Publisher: Class Warfare
ISBN: 9781859593950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
For as long as generalship in war is studied, there is certain to be controversy over the qualities, achievements and treatment of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. 'The Auk', as he was universally known, was born in India and raised in conditions near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished, in spite of his Indian Army background, and he was appointed Commander of the newly formed 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he was the first British general to defeat the Germans when he stopped Rommel's Africa Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became Commander-in-Chief India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity, he steadfastly and honourably refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising the roles of others such as Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten, even when his own abilities were, often shabbily, appraised. He always argued that history would be his judge. Drawing on unpublished transcripts of interviews, newly available papers and document and recollections of those who served with the subject, biographer and historian Philip Warner has succeeded in painting a superb and objective study of this remarkable, yet somehow tragic, figure. It remains for the reader to decide whether Auchinleck was the hapless victim of character assassination or as inadequate as his detractors claimed.
Phillip Warner - Auchinleck
Author: Phillip Warner
Publisher: Class Warfare
ISBN: 9781859593950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
For as long as generalship in war is studied, there is certain to be controversy over the qualities, achievements and treatment of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. 'The Auk', as he was universally known, was born in India and raised in conditions near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished, in spite of his Indian Army background, and he was appointed Commander of the newly formed 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he was the first British general to defeat the Germans when he stopped Rommel's Africa Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became Commander-in-Chief India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity, he steadfastly and honourably refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising the roles of others such as Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten, even when his own abilities were, often shabbily, appraised. He always argued that history would be his judge. Drawing on unpublished transcripts of interviews, newly available papers and document and recollections of those who served with the subject, biographer and historian Philip Warner has succeeded in painting a superb and objective study of this remarkable, yet somehow tragic, figure. It remains for the reader to decide whether Auchinleck was the hapless victim of character assassination or as inadequate as his detractors claimed.
Publisher: Class Warfare
ISBN: 9781859593950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
For as long as generalship in war is studied, there is certain to be controversy over the qualities, achievements and treatment of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. 'The Auk', as he was universally known, was born in India and raised in conditions near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished, in spite of his Indian Army background, and he was appointed Commander of the newly formed 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he was the first British general to defeat the Germans when he stopped Rommel's Africa Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became Commander-in-Chief India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity, he steadfastly and honourably refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising the roles of others such as Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten, even when his own abilities were, often shabbily, appraised. He always argued that history would be his judge. Drawing on unpublished transcripts of interviews, newly available papers and document and recollections of those who served with the subject, biographer and historian Philip Warner has succeeded in painting a superb and objective study of this remarkable, yet somehow tragic, figure. It remains for the reader to decide whether Auchinleck was the hapless victim of character assassination or as inadequate as his detractors claimed.
Auchinleck
Author: Philip Warner
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 178383272X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck was born in India and raised in conditions of near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished despite his Indian Army background and he was the first Commander of 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he stopped Rommel's Afrika Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became C in C India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity he refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising his tormentors be they Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten. He always argued that history would be his judge. This is a super piece of military biography by one of the most respected post war military historians.
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 178383272X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck was born in India and raised in conditions of near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished despite his Indian Army background and he was the first Commander of 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he stopped Rommel's Afrika Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became C in C India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity he refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising his tormentors be they Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten. He always argued that history would be his judge. This is a super piece of military biography by one of the most respected post war military historians.
Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War
Author: Raghu Karnad
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393248100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
“I have not lately read a finer book than this—on any subject at all. . . . A masterpiece.” —Simon Winchester, New Statesman The photographs of three young men had stood in his grandmother’s house for as long as he could remember, beheld but never fully noticed. They had all fought in the Second World War, a fact that surprised him. Indians had never figured in his idea of the war, nor the war in his idea of India. One of them, Bobby, even looked a bit like him, but Raghu Karnad had not noticed until he was the same age as they were in their photo frames. Then he learned about the Parsi boy from the sleepy south Indian coast, so eager to follow his brothers-in-law into the colonial forces and onto the front line. Manek, dashing and confident, was a pilot with India’s fledgling air force; gentle Ganny became an army doctor in the arid North-West Frontier. Bobby’s pursuit would carry him as far as the deserts of Iraq and the green hell of the Burma battlefront. The years 1939–45 might be the most revered, deplored, and replayed in modern history. Yet India’s extraordinary role has been concealed, from itself and from the world. In riveting prose, Karnad retrieves the story of a single family—a story of love, rebellion, loyalty, and uncertainty—and with it, the greater revelation that is India’s Second World War. Farthest Field narrates the lost epic of India’s war, in which the largest volunteer army in history fought for the British Empire, even as its countrymen fought to be free of it. It carries us from Madras to Peshawar, Egypt to Burma—unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world and swept up in its violence.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393248100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
“I have not lately read a finer book than this—on any subject at all. . . . A masterpiece.” —Simon Winchester, New Statesman The photographs of three young men had stood in his grandmother’s house for as long as he could remember, beheld but never fully noticed. They had all fought in the Second World War, a fact that surprised him. Indians had never figured in his idea of the war, nor the war in his idea of India. One of them, Bobby, even looked a bit like him, but Raghu Karnad had not noticed until he was the same age as they were in their photo frames. Then he learned about the Parsi boy from the sleepy south Indian coast, so eager to follow his brothers-in-law into the colonial forces and onto the front line. Manek, dashing and confident, was a pilot with India’s fledgling air force; gentle Ganny became an army doctor in the arid North-West Frontier. Bobby’s pursuit would carry him as far as the deserts of Iraq and the green hell of the Burma battlefront. The years 1939–45 might be the most revered, deplored, and replayed in modern history. Yet India’s extraordinary role has been concealed, from itself and from the world. In riveting prose, Karnad retrieves the story of a single family—a story of love, rebellion, loyalty, and uncertainty—and with it, the greater revelation that is India’s Second World War. Farthest Field narrates the lost epic of India’s war, in which the largest volunteer army in history fought for the British Empire, even as its countrymen fought to be free of it. It carries us from Madras to Peshawar, Egypt to Burma—unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world and swept up in its violence.
The Path to Victory
Author: Douglas Porch
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780374529765
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 840
Book Description
The Mediterranean theater in World War II has long been overlooked by historians who believe it was little more than a string of small-scale battles--sideshows that were of minor importance in a war whose outcome was decided in the clashes of mammoth tank armies in northern Europe. But in this ground-breaking new book, one of our finest military historians argues that the Mediterranean was World War II's pivotal theater. Douglas Porch examines the Mediterranean as an integrated arena, one in which events in Syria and Suez influenced the survival of Gibraltar. Without a Mediterranean alternative, the Western Allies would probably have committed to a premature cross-Channel invasion in 1943 that might well have cost them the war. Brilliantly argued, with vivid portraits of Churchill, Montgomery, FDR, Rommel, and Mussolini, this original, accessible, and compelling account of a little-known theater emphasizes the importance of the Mediterranean in the ultimate Allied victory in Europe in World War II.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780374529765
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 840
Book Description
The Mediterranean theater in World War II has long been overlooked by historians who believe it was little more than a string of small-scale battles--sideshows that were of minor importance in a war whose outcome was decided in the clashes of mammoth tank armies in northern Europe. But in this ground-breaking new book, one of our finest military historians argues that the Mediterranean was World War II's pivotal theater. Douglas Porch examines the Mediterranean as an integrated arena, one in which events in Syria and Suez influenced the survival of Gibraltar. Without a Mediterranean alternative, the Western Allies would probably have committed to a premature cross-Channel invasion in 1943 that might well have cost them the war. Brilliantly argued, with vivid portraits of Churchill, Montgomery, FDR, Rommel, and Mussolini, this original, accessible, and compelling account of a little-known theater emphasizes the importance of the Mediterranean in the ultimate Allied victory in Europe in World War II.
Destiny in the Desert
Author: Jonathan Dimbleby
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1480447382
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 745
Book Description
A “superior history of the North African campaign” and the British WWII victory that Winston Churchill called the end of the beginning (Booklist). It was the Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Churchill’s most famous aphorisms: “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And yet the true significance of this iconic episode remains unrecognized. In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942. It is a story of high drama, played out both in the war capitals of London, Washington, Berlin, Rome, and Moscow, and at the front, in the command posts and foxholes in the desert. Destiny in the Desert is about politicians and generals, diplomats, civil servants, and soldiers. It is about forceful characters and the tensions and rivalries between them. Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved at every level, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide—and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land.
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1480447382
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 745
Book Description
A “superior history of the North African campaign” and the British WWII victory that Winston Churchill called the end of the beginning (Booklist). It was the Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Churchill’s most famous aphorisms: “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And yet the true significance of this iconic episode remains unrecognized. In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942. It is a story of high drama, played out both in the war capitals of London, Washington, Berlin, Rome, and Moscow, and at the front, in the command posts and foxholes in the desert. Destiny in the Desert is about politicians and generals, diplomats, civil servants, and soldiers. It is about forceful characters and the tensions and rivalries between them. Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved at every level, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide—and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land.
Palestine Between Politics and Terror, 1945-1947
Author: Motti Golani
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 1611683882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
A fascinating look at the end of British rule in Palestine, through the eyes of its final high commissioner
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 1611683882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
A fascinating look at the end of British rule in Palestine, through the eyes of its final high commissioner
Blood, Oil and the Axis
Author: John Broich
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468314017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 446
Book Description
An “almost absurdly colorful” history of the WWII battle for the Levant: “In places . . . the material is like Casablanca meets The English Patient” (The Wall Street Journal). In the spring of 1941, the Allied forces had one last hope: that the Axis would run through its fuel supply. In Blood, Oil and the Axis, historian John Broich tells the vital story of Iraq and the Levant during this most pivotal time of the war. Four Iraqi generals staged a pro-German coup in Iraq, they established military cooperation between the Axis and the Middle East. The Allies responded with an improvised and unlikely coalition: Palestinian and Jordanian Arabs, Australians, American and British soldiers, Free French Foreign Legionnaires, and Jewish Palestinians. All shared a common desire to quash the formation of an Axis state in the region. Taking readers from a bombed-out Fallujah, to Baghdad, to Damascus, this definitive chronicle features numerous memorable figures, including Jack Hasey, a young American who fought with the Free French Foreign Legion; Freya Stark, a famous travel-writer-turned-government-agent; and even Roald Dahl, a young Royal Air Force recruit and future author of beloved children’s books.
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468314017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 446
Book Description
An “almost absurdly colorful” history of the WWII battle for the Levant: “In places . . . the material is like Casablanca meets The English Patient” (The Wall Street Journal). In the spring of 1941, the Allied forces had one last hope: that the Axis would run through its fuel supply. In Blood, Oil and the Axis, historian John Broich tells the vital story of Iraq and the Levant during this most pivotal time of the war. Four Iraqi generals staged a pro-German coup in Iraq, they established military cooperation between the Axis and the Middle East. The Allies responded with an improvised and unlikely coalition: Palestinian and Jordanian Arabs, Australians, American and British soldiers, Free French Foreign Legionnaires, and Jewish Palestinians. All shared a common desire to quash the formation of an Axis state in the region. Taking readers from a bombed-out Fallujah, to Baghdad, to Damascus, this definitive chronicle features numerous memorable figures, including Jack Hasey, a young American who fought with the Free French Foreign Legion; Freya Stark, a famous travel-writer-turned-government-agent; and even Roald Dahl, a young Royal Air Force recruit and future author of beloved children’s books.
A Very British Experience
Author: Andrew Stewart
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1836241429
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
In terms of the Second World War and Britain's wartime strategy three elements deserve close scrutiny: the paramount importance of defending the British mainland and its population; the challenges of building and maintaining coalitions and alliances; and the central role the African continent assumed in all British strategic planning. A concluding essay reflects upon the degree to which in the face of an often uncertain and unconvincing approach these critical themes underpinned the British experience of the conflict. Topics addressed include 1940 and the Defence of Britain; relations with the United States; the British Empire Air Training Plan; General (Boy) Browning and Operation Market Garden; the recall of General Alan Cunningham from Libya in 1941; plans for defending the Royal Family; Exercise Genesis, which turned west London into a battleground for a day in May 1942; and the role of the Eastern Fleet off Africa. Andrew Stewart provides a compelling chapter on the loss of the Tobruk garrison in June 1942 -- one of the worst military disasters suffered by the British Empire during the Second World War. The essay on Tobruk demonstrates how all three defining elements of wartime experience converged: the loss of public confidence about how the war was being conducted; its impact on the relationship with the Union of South Africa, a key partner in the Dominion wartime coalition; and the absolute necessity that existed for deep strategic planning on the African continent -- subsequently to be realised at the final battle at El Alamein.
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1836241429
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
In terms of the Second World War and Britain's wartime strategy three elements deserve close scrutiny: the paramount importance of defending the British mainland and its population; the challenges of building and maintaining coalitions and alliances; and the central role the African continent assumed in all British strategic planning. A concluding essay reflects upon the degree to which in the face of an often uncertain and unconvincing approach these critical themes underpinned the British experience of the conflict. Topics addressed include 1940 and the Defence of Britain; relations with the United States; the British Empire Air Training Plan; General (Boy) Browning and Operation Market Garden; the recall of General Alan Cunningham from Libya in 1941; plans for defending the Royal Family; Exercise Genesis, which turned west London into a battleground for a day in May 1942; and the role of the Eastern Fleet off Africa. Andrew Stewart provides a compelling chapter on the loss of the Tobruk garrison in June 1942 -- one of the worst military disasters suffered by the British Empire during the Second World War. The essay on Tobruk demonstrates how all three defining elements of wartime experience converged: the loss of public confidence about how the war was being conducted; its impact on the relationship with the Union of South Africa, a key partner in the Dominion wartime coalition; and the absolute necessity that existed for deep strategic planning on the African continent -- subsequently to be realised at the final battle at El Alamein.
The Indian Army and the End of the Raj
Author: Daniel Marston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521899753
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
A unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India in the run-up to Partition. Daniel Marston draws upon extensive archival research and interviews with veterans of the events of 1947 to provide fresh insight into the final days of the British Raj.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521899753
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
A unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India in the run-up to Partition. Daniel Marston draws upon extensive archival research and interviews with veterans of the events of 1947 to provide fresh insight into the final days of the British Raj.
Churchill's Generals
Author: John Keegan
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1780224982
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514
Book Description
John Keegan has assembled a cast of seventeen generals whose reputations were made (and some of them broken) by Churchill and the Second World War. Churchill's reputation as prime minister during the Second World War fluctuated according to the successes and failures of his generals. Most of them were household names, and often heroes, during the war years. All of them were prey to the intolerance, interference, irascibility - and the inspiration - of the man who wanted to be both the general in the field and the presiding strategic genius. He sacked his warlords ruthlessly, yet in the end he came to be served by perhaps the greatest generals this country has ever produced. Includes chapters on Wavell, Ironside, Ritchie, Auchinleck, Montgomery, Alexander, Percival, Wingate, Slim and Carton de Wiart. Note: The Publisher regrets that the biographical note for Gary Sheffield is incorrect in the book. Please refer to the Orion website (www.orionbooks.co.uk) for the correct version.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1780224982
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514
Book Description
John Keegan has assembled a cast of seventeen generals whose reputations were made (and some of them broken) by Churchill and the Second World War. Churchill's reputation as prime minister during the Second World War fluctuated according to the successes and failures of his generals. Most of them were household names, and often heroes, during the war years. All of them were prey to the intolerance, interference, irascibility - and the inspiration - of the man who wanted to be both the general in the field and the presiding strategic genius. He sacked his warlords ruthlessly, yet in the end he came to be served by perhaps the greatest generals this country has ever produced. Includes chapters on Wavell, Ironside, Ritchie, Auchinleck, Montgomery, Alexander, Percival, Wingate, Slim and Carton de Wiart. Note: The Publisher regrets that the biographical note for Gary Sheffield is incorrect in the book. Please refer to the Orion website (www.orionbooks.co.uk) for the correct version.