On 23 April 1918 a force drawn from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines launched one of the most daring raids in history. The aim was to block the Zeebrugge Canal, thereby denying U-boats access, although this mean assaulting a powerfully fortified German naval base. The raid has long been recognised for its audacity and ingenuity but, owing to the fact that the official history took too much notice of the German version of events, has long been considered only a partial success. In this stirring account Philip Warner exposes the error of that interpretation by providing evidence from many...
On 23 April 1918 a force drawn from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines launched one of the most daring raids in history. The aim was to block the Zeebru...
Very few living men have taken part in a battle, and many must wonder how they would acquit themselves if ever they had to. A medieval battle was a very complex affair; it was far from being a simple kill or be killed. It could be won or lost at any stage; it could turn on the action of one man, and it could settle nothing, or alternatively the fate of a nation. But for the majority, when thinking of a battle, the overriding question would be: how would I behave? What would happen to me? Would I emerge unscathed and join in the celebrations, or would I be left wounded on the battlefield...
Very few living men have taken part in a battle, and many must wonder how they would acquit themselves if ever they had to. A medieval battle was a ve...
Douglas Haig is probably the most controversial figure in British military history. No previous commander ever oversaw such enormous casualties. By 1917 Haig commanded the largest army Britain had ever put into the field; over two million men. The horrors of the First World War still stun the imagination and make it almost impossible for the ordinary reader to reach a calm appraisal of Haig, particularly since opinions among military historians and biographers have varied widely. He has been condemned by critics as a butcher who condoned mass slaughter, while sympathetic writers have shown...
Douglas Haig is probably the most controversial figure in British military history. No previous commander ever oversaw such enormous casualties. By 19...
At the end of the First World War the victors decided to punish the aggressors and while doing so to establish free, democratic governments of ethnic groups which would, supposedly, have no reason to go to war. A League of Nations was established with the main aim of confronting potential aggressors with overwhelming force, and with the secondary aim of eradicating possible causes of war such as injustice and economic hardship. But it failed. Hundreds of books have been written about various aspects of the First World War: official and unofficial histories, specialist books in medicine,...
At the end of the First World War the victors decided to punish the aggressors and while doing so to establish free, democratic governments of ethnic ...
'Truth is stranger than fiction. Some incidents of the war are so bizarre or so brave that no reputable fiction writer would have dared to invent them. War brings out the worst and the best in human beings'. So said Philip Warner the author of World War Two - The Untold Story. Until the official account of Second World War British Intelligence activities was published, myth, propaganda and misrepresentation had combined to confuse our view of the war. We did not - could not - fully understand what had happened, or why. The distinguished military historian Philip Warner based this history of...
'Truth is stranger than fiction. Some incidents of the war are so bizarre or so brave that no reputable fiction writer would have dared to invent them...
Today the castle is only too often a romantic ruin; but in the Middle Ages it was an important military and administrative centre, essentially utilitarian in its design and in the purposes it served. Inevitably, the castle played a leading role in mediaeval history. Using the wealth of material available Philip Warner has focused his study on English sieges undertaken in the period from the Norman Conquest to the end of the War of the Roses, a field that includes many dramatic actions fought in the continental dominions of the English Crown. Warner is equally concerned with the evolution of...
Today the castle is only too often a romantic ruin; but in the Middle Ages it was an important military and administrative centre, essentially utilita...
The term 'regiment' was first used in the British army as late as the seventeenth century when small companies were grouped together to form more convenient battle units. Since then while our army as a whole has continued to maintain an unsurpassed record, single regiments have frequently gained fame for their individual achievements in the field of battle. Phillip Warner, drawing upon contemporary diaries and reports of campaigns ranging from the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, South Africa and India to the First and Second World Wars, has recreated some of the many acts of heroism performed by...
The term 'regiment' was first used in the British army as late as the seventeenth century when small companies were grouped together to form more conv...
Firepower is an absorbing and stimulating study of methods of winning wars. Firepower does not invariably mean what comes out of the barrel of a gun; it comprises everything from morale to tactics, strategy to logistics, and subversion to diplomacy. Written by the leading military historian Philip Warner, Firepower examines weapons from slings and poisoned arrows to their modern counterparts - rockets and chemical weapons. Many weapons now thought to be ultra modern were derived from less sophisticated versions to use in pre-Christian and medieval times. Some of the secrets of early terror...
Firepower is an absorbing and stimulating study of methods of winning wars. Firepower does not invariably mean what comes out of the barrel of a gun; ...
The Crimean War is famous as a source of heroic and horrific legend. Philip Warner's concern in his reassessment of the campaign has been to uncover the true course of the war, to place the heroics in their proper context and to show how General Simpson's description of the assault on the Redan can be applied to the whole war. Warner also brings together the initial strands of the conflict and its escalation to involve many of the Great Powers of the day. He is also able to bring in the other locations of the conflict as the two sides poured men and resources into containing the other. The...
The Crimean War is famous as a source of heroic and horrific legend. Philip Warner's concern in his reassessment of the campaign has been to uncover t...
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...
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 C...