Using examples from the last two centuries, this collection of essays discusses the close links between technology and war. In the opening essay, distinguished historian William H. McNeill demonstrates the extent to which military technology has often led to differentiations among people, both within and between societies. The other studies examine various aspects of weapons technology, drawing on the history of the armed forces of Britain, Prussia, and Australia, among others. Some of these illustrate how the adoption of new weaponry frequently depended as much on national pride and...
Using examples from the last two centuries, this collection of essays discusses the close links between technology and war. In the opening essay, ...
The essays that comprise this volume clearly demonstrate that coalitions have dramatically altered the shape of war. Paul Kennedy's overview of coalitions over the past century shows that, with coalitions firmly established as viable in the minds of strategists, wars have become markedly lengthier, bloodier, and much more expensive. Three of the essays focus on explicitly military aspects of the two world wars: Norman Stone's on the Austro-German Alliance, 1914-18; Ulrich Trumpener's on the German-Ottoman Coalition, 1914-18; and Ian Nish's on the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. J....
The essays that comprise this volume clearly demonstrate that coalitions have dramatically altered the shape of war. Paul Kennedy's overview of coa...
Taking into account the scholarship of the last 20 years, this new edition rejects recent arguments that Britain went to war out of either weakness, fear of an "invented" German menace, or fears for the Empire. Instead, while placing greater emphasis than before on the role of Russia, Zara S. Steiner and Keith Neilson maintain the view that Britain was forced into the war in order to preserve the European balance of power and Britain's favorable position within it.
Taking into account the scholarship of the last 20 years, this new edition rejects recent arguments that Britain went to war out of either weakness, f...
This new study brings together leading experts to show how the modern world began with the coming of the railway. They clearly explain why it had a greater impact than any other technical or industrial innovation before and completely redefined the limits of the civilized world.
While the effect of railways on economic development is self-evident, little attention has been paid to their impact on international relations. This is unfortunate, for in the period from 1848 to 1945, railways were an important element in the struggle between the Great Powers. This took many forms. Often,...
This new study brings together leading experts to show how the modern world began with the coming of the railway. They clearly explain why it had a...
For too long military history has ignored the role of intelligence. As a result, many people do not realize that military intelligence has played a significant role in history. However, intelligence gathering, evaluation, and analysis has always been part of war. Lack of knowledge of how intelligence has been utilized in wars makes for an incomplete and inaccurate picture of historical events. While many are aware of such things as the Allied code-breaking efforts in World War II, few know that similar activities were undertaken as early as the beginning of recorded history. By examining a...
For too long military history has ignored the role of intelligence. As a result, many people do not realize that military intelligence has played a...
From Thermopylae to Belfast, elite military formations have been deployed against conventional or irregular forces. This study offers a superb analysis of elites in military history. A collection of brilliant studies by distinguished scholars, it illuminates, through a combination of overview and case study, a historical subject that has profound implications for the development of specialized forces in the post-Cold War Era. The study uses a comparative approach which investigates the topic over time and across culture.
From Thermopylae to Belfast, elite military formations have been deployed against conventional or irregular forces. This study offers a superb anal...
A major re-interpretation of international relations in the period from 1919 to 1939. Avoiding such simplistic explanations as appeasement and British decline, Keith Neilson demonstrates that the underlying cause of the Second World War was the intellectual failure to find an effective means of maintaining the new world order created in 1919. With secret diplomacy, alliances and the balance of power seen as having caused the First World War, the makers of British policy after 1919 were forced to rely on such instruments of liberal internationalism as arms control, the League of Nations and...
A major re-interpretation of international relations in the period from 1919 to 1939. Avoiding such simplistic explanations as appeasement and British...
These essays explore the link between the naval strength and global power of Great Britain and the United States from 1815 to the present. The British Way of Warfare assumed that the country with control of the sea could ensure safe and rapid communications for its commerce. The American theory of naval strategy, on the other hand, assumed that one had to engage the enemy in order to assure command of the sea. These case studies illustrate once again that naval history must include cultural, economic, political, and social contexts.
These essays explore the link between the naval strength and global power of Great Britain and the United States from 1815 to the present. The Brit...
