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The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory
by Robert V. ReminiThe Battle of New Orleans was the climactic battle of America's "forgotten war" of 1812. Andrew Jackson led his ragtag corps of soldiers against 8,000 disciplined invading British regulars in a battle that delivered the British a humiliating military defeat. The victory solidified America's independence and marked the beginning of Jackson's rise to national prominence. Hailed as "terrifically readable" by the Chicago Sun Times, The Battle of New Orleans is popular American history at its best, bringing to life a landmark battle that helped define the character of the United States.
The Battle of Normandy 1944
by Robin NeillandsA fresh and incisive examination of one of the Second World War's crucial campaigns, the battle for Normandy in the months after D-Day.What happened to the Allied armies in Normandy in the months after D-Day, 1944? Why, after the initial success of the landings, did their advance stall a few miles inland from the beaches? Why did the British take so long to capture Caen? Why did the US infantry struggle so much in the bocage south of Omaha beach? Who was right about the conduct of the land campaign - Eisenhower or Montgomery? How did the Germans, deprived of air support, manage to hold off such a massive Allied force for more than two months? And if Enigma was allowing the Allies to read German battleplans, why did things go wrong as often as they did?THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY re-examines the demands and difficulties of the campaign and sheds new light on both with the aid of accounts from veterans on both sides. (Oral history forms a large part of the book.) It also analyses in detail the plans and performance of the commanders involved: Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Montgomery, Crerar and, of course, Rommel. Controversial and at times catastrophic, the Battle of Normandy was the last great set-piece battle in history and is long overdue for reassessment.
The Battle of Normandy 1944: 1944 The Final Verdict (Sven Hassel War Classics)
by Robin NeillandsA fresh and incisive examination of one of the Second World War's crucial campaigns, the battle for Normandy in the months after D-Day.What happened to the Allied armies in Normandy in the months after D-Day, 1944? Why, after the initial success of the landings, did their advance stall a few miles inland from the beaches? Why did the British take so long to capture Caen? Why did the US infantry struggle so much in the bocage south of Omaha beach? Who was right about the conduct of the land campaign - Eisenhower or Montgomery? How did the Germans, deprived of air support, manage to hold off such a massive Allied force for more than two months? And if Enigma was allowing the Allies to read German battleplans, why did things go wrong as often as they did?THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY re-examines the demands and difficulties of the campaign and sheds new light on both with the aid of accounts from veterans on both sides. (Oral history forms a large part of the book.) It also analyses in detail the plans and performance of the commanders involved: Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Montgomery, Crerar and, of course, Rommel. Controversial and at times catastrophic, the Battle of Normandy was the last great set-piece battle in history and is long overdue for reassessment.
The Battle of North Cape: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles)
by Angus Konstam Christopher Summerville“The hunting down and sinking of the magnificent German battle cruiser Scharnhorst was one of the epic actions of World War II . . . stirring” (Work Boat). On December 25, 1943, the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst slipped out of Altenfjord in Norway to attack Arctic convoy JW55B which was carrying vital war supplies to the Soviet Union. But British naval intelligence knew of the Scharnhorst’s mission before she sailed, and the vulnerable convoy was protected by a large Royal Naval force including the battleship Duke of York. In effect the Scharnhorst was sailing into a trap. One of the most compelling naval dramas of the Second World War had begun. “Angus Konstam’s gripping account tells the story of this crucial but under-studied naval battle, and explains why the hopes of the German Kreigsmarine went down with their last great ship; only 37 of the German battle cruiser’s 1700 crew were saved.” —The Nautical Magazine “Angus Konstam has written the definitive masterpiece of the Battle of North Cape.” —Naval Historical Foundation “An excellent read and strongly recommended . . . thoughtful and totally engrossing. . . . If you are interested in the Royal Navy in the Second World War, the Arctic convoy campaign or capital ship actions, The Battle of the North Cape is well worth its cover price.” —The Naval Review
The Battle of Okinawa 1945: The Pacific War's Last Invasion (Images of War)
by Jon Diamond Dr.A pictorial history of one of World War II&’s most bitterly fought campaigns. The American campaign to capture Okinawa, codename Operation Iceberg, was fought from April 1 to June 22, 1945. Three hundred and fifty miles from Japan, Okinawa was intended to be the staging area for the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland. The Japanese Thirty-second Army defenders were on land and the Imperial Navy at sea fought tenaciously. They faced the US Tenth Army, comprising the US Army XXIV Corps and the US Marines&’ III Amphibious Corps. As this superb book reveals in words and pictures, this was one of the most bitterly fought and costly campaigns of the Second World War. Ground troops faced an enemy whose vocabulary did not include &“surrender,&” and at sea the US Fifth Fleet, supported by elements of the Royal Navy, had to contend with kamikaze attacks by air and over seven hundred explosive-laden suicide boats. The Okinawa campaign is synonymous with American courage and determination to defeat a formidably ruthless enemy.
The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer: Revolution in the Mohawk Valley (Military Ser.)
by Paul A BoehlertA gripping account of events before, during, and after this British defeat in New York&’s Mohawk Valley, and the man who led the Continental army to victory. During the critical Battle of Oriskany in August 1777, Continental forces led by General Nicholas Herkimer defeated the British army under St. Leger in the heart of New York&’s Mohawk Valley. It was a hard-won victory, but he and his brave troops prevented the British from splitting the colonies in two. Although they did not succeed in relieving the British siege of Fort Stanwix, Herkimer&’s citizen-soldiers turned back the British and protected Washington&’s northern flank from attack. The Continental army survived to fight the decisive Battle of Saratoga the next month. Herkimer was mortally wounded, but his heroism and leadership firmly placed him in the pantheon of Revolutionary War heroes. Paul Boehlert presents a gripping account of the events before, during and after this critical battle. Includes photos and illustrations
The Battle of Peach Tree Creek: Hood's First Effort to Save Atlanta (Civil War America)
by Earl J. HessOn July 20, 1864, the Civil War struggle for Atlanta reached a pivotal moment. As William T. Sherman's Union forces came ever nearer the city, the defending Confederate Army of Tennessee replaced its commanding general, removing Joseph E. Johnston and elevating John Bell Hood. This decision stunned and demoralized Confederate troops just when Hood was compelled to take the offensive against the approaching Federals. Attacking northward from Atlanta's defenses, Hood's men struck George H. Thomas's Army of the Cumberland just after it crossed Peach Tree Creek on July 20. Initially taken by surprise, the Federals fought back with spirit and nullified all the advantages the Confederates first enjoyed. As a result, the Federals achieved a remarkable defensive victory. Offering new and definitive interpretations of the battle's place within the Atlanta campaign, Earl J. Hess describes how several Confederate regiments and brigades made a pretense of advancing but then stopped partway to the objective and took cover for the rest of the afternoon on July 20. Hess shows that morale played an unusually important role in determining the outcome at Peach Tree Creek--a soured mood among the Confederates and overwhelming confidence among the Federals spelled disaster for one side and victory for the other.
The Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC): Caesar, Pompey & Their Final Clash in the Third Roman Civil War
by Gareth C. SampsonIn August 48 BC, following the earlier battle at Dyrrhachium, the two greatest Roman commanders of their generation met in battle again at Pharsalus in Greece. Julius Caesar, conqueror of Gaul, had been defeated at Dyrrhachium and forced to retreat but now stood at bay to face Pompey the Great, conqueror of the East. At stake lay the future of the ailing Roman Republic, each man believing he alone had the solution to restoring Republican government. Gareth Sampson examines the campaigns which led up to the battle as well as the role played by the various regional powers who got drawn into the Roman Civil War. The Battle of Pharsalus itself is analyzed in detail to determine the strengths and weakness of both armies and their various commanders, as well as the organization, equipment and tactics of the forces involved in the battle which culminated in a decisive victory for Caesar. The author concludes with consideration of the aftermath of the battle, which saw Pompey murdered in Egypt and Caesar distracted by the affairs of the East.
The Battle of Polygon Wood 1917 (Australian Army Campaigns #19)
by Jonathan PasslowBuoyed by the success of the 1st and 2nd Australian divisions in the Battle of Menin Road, the men of the 4th and 5th Australian divisions filed into the front line ready for the next phase of the battle. Ahead of them lay the blackened remnants of Polygon Wood, a desolate expanse of splintered stumps shattered by the devastating shellfire. The view across no man’s land revealed lines of German barbed wire and a criss-cross of heavily defended trenches. Here and there the Australians could also see solid concrete pillboxes dotted around the landscape. In the centre of the battlefield sat a huge man-made mound of earth — the Butte. Once the stop-butte for an old artillery range, this dominating feature was fortified with machine-guns, laced with barbed wire and riddled with tunnels and dugouts. The Battle of Polygon Wood was the second phase in the British forces’ advance on Passchendaele. Success at Polygon Wood would place Broodseinde Ridge within the Second Army’s reach. But the entire operation was almost blindsided by a German counter-attack on the eve of the battle. The critical situation on the Anzac Corps right was only saved by Pompey Elliott’s 15th Brigade whose desperate efforts to contain the German attack and seize the Second Army’s objectives turned a ‘fine success’ into a ‘splendid victory’. But, as author Jonathan Passlow describes in Polygon Wood 1917, this was a victory that was by no means assured and in which luck would play its part.
The Battle of Pozieres 1916 (Australian Army Campaigns #22)
by Meleah HamptonThe Battle of Pozières has reverberated throughout Australia’s military history, long regarded as a costly battle that produced little meaningful gain. Pozières was characterised by the most intense artillery bombardment the Australians had experienced in the war thus far and ‘the hell that was Pozières’ became the yardstick by which subsequent bombardments were measured. The 13th Battalion’s Frank Massey described men who became ‘blithering idiots … Crying and weeping and — absolutely useless as a fighting man.’ The object of the battle was Pozières Ridge, a low rise that offered a good view of the German positions. Heavily fortified, the ridge and the pulverised remains of the village were contested bitterly and, during its six-week campaign, 1st Anzac Corps advanced little more than two miles and suffered 23,000 casualties. Charles Bean wrote that ‘Australian troops … fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefield of the war.’ However, the first phase of the campaign was very successful, securing the fortified ruins of Pozières and the German second line. But follow-up operations failed to capitalise and subsequent assaults merely nibbled away at enemy positions without making significant headway. Yet the Battle of Pozières marks a significant achievement not only for 1st Anzac Corps, but for the British Expeditionary Force. In a war in which any advance was hard won, the wresting of the high ground from the Germans was crucial. For the battered Allied forces, the capture of Pozières Ridge provided faint hope of an end to a catastrophic war.
The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815
by Mike RobinsonMajor Richard Llewellyn, who fought at Quatre Bras, wrote in 1837 that, 'Had it not been so closely followed by the... victory of Waterloo, perhaps the gallant exploits and unexampled bravery that marked that day would... have excited even more admiration than was actually associated with it.'This book stands out from the wealth of Napoleonic literature in that it is the first English-language account to focus solely on the battle of Quatre Bras. It is based upon extensive research and in many cases unpublished personal accounts from all participating countries, as well as a detailed topographic, aerial survey of the battlefield. These combine to provide a highly personal, balanced and authoritative work. The author unravels the controversies of a battle where commanders made errors of omission and commission and where cowardice rubbed shoulders with heroism. This is the story of a battle that turned a campaign; of triumph and disaster. It is a story of two great generals, but more importantly, of the intense human experience of those that they led. It is a book that will appeal to both the scholar and the generalist.
The Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759: Hawke and the Defeat of the French Invasion
by Nicholas TracyRevered naval theorist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, thought the Battle of Quiberon Bay (20 Nov 1759) was as significant as Nelson's victory in 1805, calling it 'the Trafalgar of this war [the Seven Years War]'. Arguably it was even more vital. Britain in 1759 was much less well-defended, with virtually no regular troops at home, and the threat of French invasion was both more realistic and more imminent. When the British fleet under Admiral Hawke fell upon them, the French ships of the line under Admiral Conflans were actually on their way to rendezvous with the invasion troopships gathered at the mouth of the Loire. Yet the battle and the admiral remain relatively obscure—there is no Quiberon Square or Hawke's column. The battle itself was fought in terrible weather, the French attempting to exploit their local knowledge by heading for Quiberon Bay, assuming the British would not follow them among its treacherous shoals in such conditions. Hawke, however, pursued them under full sail and the French ships were destroyed, captured, run aground or scattered for the loss of only two British ships which ran aground. The invasion was thwarted. Professor Nicholas Tracy studies the battle and its strategic consequences, particularly upon the war for North America.
The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece and Western Civilization
by Barry StraussOn a late September day in 480 B.C., Greek warships faced an invading Persian armada in the narrow Salamis Straits in the most important naval battle of the ancient world. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, the Greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. More than two millennia after it occurred, the clash between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles ever fought. The Greek victory changed the course of western history -- halting the advance of the Persian Empire and setting the stage for the Golden Age of Athens. In this dramatic new narrative account, historian and classicist Barry Strauss brings this landmark battle to life. He introduces us to the unforgettable characters whose decisions altered history: Themistocles, Athens' great leader (and admiral of its fleet), who devised the ingenious strategy that effectively destroyed the Persian navy in one day; Xerxes, the Persian king who fought bravely but who ultimately did not understand the sea; Aeschylus, the playwright who served in the battle and later wrote about it; and Artemisia, the only woman commander known from antiquity, who turned defeat into personal triumph. Filled with the sights, sounds, and scent of battle, The Battle of Salamis is a stirring work of history.
The Battle of Savo
by Stanley E. SmithNight of Confusion…Down the “Slot”—that fabled channel between chains of islands in the Solomon group—steamed the task force of Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, Japanese Imperial Navy.His target: the Allied cruiser group gathered off Savo Island, near Guadalcanal.Three thousand Japanese guns were pointed at the destroyer Blue, on interception duty at the head of the Allied column. But no one aboard Blue noticed the enemy force churning past—so Blue roused no enemy fire.Not so lucky were the cruisers Quincy, Vincennes, Canberra and Astoria. This exciting factual book details the incredible confusion and horror that made the Battle of Savo a low point in American naval history.An American Naval TragedySo shocking was the defeat of American naval forces by the Japanese in Savo Sound, that the American public could not accept the true story until ten years afterward.On Guadalcanal, Marines were moving up the rugged Tenaru River country, ranging for battle and depending on the Navy for cover.On board the flagship McCawley, Admiral Turner was begging for carrier-based air support that never came.On the flag bridge of his heavy cruiser, Chokai, Admiral Gunichi Mikawa signalled the torpedo fire that opened “The Battle of Savo”.
The Battle of Sekigahara: The Greatest, Bloodiest, Most Decisive Samurai Battle Ever
by Chris GlennSekigahara was the greatest samurai battle in history. Japan had long been at civil war until brought under the rule of Oda Nobunaga, and then, following his death at the hands of a traitorous general, that of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It was Hideyoshi who completed the unification of Japan and ushered in a period of peace. After Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, a power struggle emerged between those loyal to the Toyotomi, and those who supported the second most powerful warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu. With Hideyoshi gone, Ieyasu made moves that brought the ire of a number of his contemporaries, and soon the entire country was divided into two great armies, East and West. Leading the loyalist cause was Ishida Mitsunari, who gathered a force of around 130,000 samurai, while the Tokugawa commanded just 80,000. Both sides hurried to seize strategically vital highways and castles. These attacks and sieges culminated in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. Fought on 21 October 1600, the battle lasted just six hours, but saw the deaths of an estimated 30,000 samurai, the destruction of a number of noble families and the creation of the Tokugawa Shogunate that was to rule Japan for 260 years of relative peace. The loyalist forces, despite their superior numbers and excellent battle formations, were defeated. In his exploration of the battle, Chris Glenn reveals the developments that led up to the outbreak of war, the characters involved, how the battle itself unfolded, and the aftermath. The weapons and armor of the time are also fully explained, along with little known customs of the samurai and their warfare.
The Battle of South Mountain (Civil War Series)
by John David Koptak&“A thorough account of the fighting . . . Not only appealingly written but a worthwhile addition to Maryland Campaign literature.&” —Historynet.com In September 1862, Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia north of the Potomac River for the time as part of his Northern invasion, seeking a quick end to the war. Lee divided his army in three, sending General James Longstreet north to Hagerstown and Stonewall Jackson south to Harper&’s Ferry. It was at three mountain passes, referred to as South Mountain, that Lee&’s army met the Federal forces commanded by General George B. McClellan on September 14. In a fierce day-long battle spread out across miles of rugged, mountainous terrain, McClellan defeated Lee but the Confederates did tie up the Federals long enough to allow Jackson&’s conquest of Harper&’s Ferry. Join historian John Hoptak as he narrates the critical Battle of South Mountain, long overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam. &“A remarkable work . . . The marches of both armies to South Mountain are presented with close attention to the men in the ranks. The combat is fully covered at each of the gaps in South Mountain.&” —Civil War Librarian &“A crisp, concise but comprehensive account of the battles at the four passes or &‘gaps&’ across South Mountain on September 14, 1862 . . . A truly scholarly effort that will satisfy both serious Civil War students and the general reading public. For Maryland Campaign aficionados, it is a must have addition to your library and is now the definitive account of the battle.&” —South from the North Woods
The Battle of St. Vith, Defense and Withdrawal by Encircled Forces: German 5th & 6th Panzer Armies Versus U.S. 7th Armored Division and Attachments, 17-23 December 1944
by Major Paul J. St. LaurentWhen the German Ardennes Offensive of December 1944 ruptured the front of the U.S. First Army, Major General Troy Middleton committed his VIII Corps to the defense of selected transportation bottlenecks in the path of the German advance. St. Vith, located in the central sector of the Ardennes battleground, was one of these. Although by passed by German spearheads bound for the Meuse River, the 7th Armored Division (plus major elements of three other divisions) held the position against major elements of two German Panzer armies. After six days of tenacious defense while practically encircled, the St. Vith force was ordered to withdraw. The defenders of St. Vith prevented the Germans from effectively supplying their armored spearheads, drew off their follow-on forces, and bought time for the U.S. First Army to consolidate its position on the north flank of the German penetration.
The Battle of Stalingrad: Then and Now
by Karel Margry"The combination of past and contemporary pictures regarding battle locations is of a great service for those of us with a passion for history." — Globe at War Stalingrad was not only the most-crucial battle on the Eastern Front, it was the main turning point of the whole Second World War in Europe. The Third Reich had suffered setbacks earlier, notably at El Alamein in North Africa in October 1942, but the scale of the fighting on the Eastern Front was incomparably larger than any of the other war fronts and it was the fate of the armies there that decided the outcome of the global conflict. After the demise of the German 6. Armee at Stalingrad in February 1943 it was clear that Nazi Germany would lose the war. This book brings together three After the Battle stories devoted to that historic struggle. It opens with a detailed account of the fight for the city of Voronezh. Lying on the great Don river, it was a prime initial objective of the German summer offensive towards the Caucasus launched on June 28, 1942. Possession of Voronezh would secure an eastern anchor point for a northern defensive line needed for the southward advance to Stalingrad. The city was taken with relative ease in early July but, when the Soviets launched a counter-offensive, the Heeresgruppe Süd commander, Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock, allowed his panzer and motorised divisions to be drawn into the protracted fight. This week-long delay – which infuriated Hitler – severely disrupted the timetable for the main offensive, and fatally contributed to the failure to seize Stalingrad in a surprise raid. The main part of the book is taken up by a comprehensive description of the gargantuan seven-month battle for Stalingrad itself. All stages are described in detail: the advance of the German armies to the city in August, the stubborn and heroic defense of the besieged Soviet 62nd Army against overwhelming German superiority in September-November; and the subsequent encirclement and annihilation of the doomed 6. Armee in the winter, ending in total capitulation on February 2, 1943. Due to the wholesale destruction of the embattled city, it was long thought impossible to apply After the Battle’s ‘then and now’ format to Stalingrad but with the help of a local expert and acknowledged student of the battle, Alexander Trofimov, we managed to match up numerous combat photos taken all over the city, giving full treatment to the months-long struggle for the city on the Volga. The same goes for Voronezh where we found another local expert, Sergey Popov, who achieved equally astounding comparisons. Without them, this book could not have been made. The German catastrophe at Stalingrad, with around 150,000 men killed or succumbing to the winter cold and around 100,000 taken prisoner (of whom only some 5,000 survived captivity), remained a national trauma in Germany. Coming to terms with the event proved difficult, the sorrow over the loss of so many German lives being surmounted by guilt over the fact that Germany had been the aggressor. In many ways, Stalingrad became a taboo, remembered in silence but avoided in public discussion. Illustrative of this is the fact that it took a full 50 years before a major feature film on Stalingrad could be produced in Germany. It was only in 1992 that the German film industry felt the time was ripe and produced and released Stalingrad, the first full-fledged war movie on the battle. We include the story of the making of this film as an epilogue to the main story.
The Battle of Tassafaronga
by Russell Crenshaw Jr.The Battle of Tassafaronga, November 30, 1942, was the fifth and last major night surface action fought off Savo Island during World War II s Guadalcanal campaign. It ended a string of Japanese victories, but it was also a horrible embarrassment to the U.S. Navy, which had three heavy cruisers damaged and one sunk to enemy torpedoes. After the battle, American commanders erroneously reported that multiple enemy ships had been sunk or seriously damaged, leading Admiral Nimitz to focus on training as the missing ingredient. Not until more than half a century later did Captain Russell S. Crenshaw, Jr., the destroyer Maury s gunnery officer during the battle, discover that the outcome hinged instead on critical shortcomings that had been built into the U.S. Navy before the war defective torpedoes, poor intelligence, blinding gunfire, over-confidence, and a tendency to equate volume of fire with effectiveness of fire factors that turned the battle into a crucible in which the very nature of the U.S. Navy and its weapons was tested [and] a miniature of what might have been, under other circumstances, a truly devastating defeat.
The Battle of The Nile: A Ladybird Expert Book (The Ladybird Expert Series #35)
by Sam WillisPart of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES- Why was the Battle of the Nile so decisive in the French Revolutionary Wars?- Why did the French believe they were unassailable?- And why did Nelson and the British win?TRACK the revolutionary roots and dramatic turning points of the British Royal Navy's glorious victory over the French naval expedition to Egypt. From Napoleon's rise to prominence to Nelson's celebrated tactical leadership, discover how this significant battle changed the face of the French Revolutionary Wars.THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED THE BALANCE OF POWER IN EUROPEWritten by historian, archaeologist, and broadcaster Sam Willis, Nelson: Battle of the Nile is a thrilling and accessible account of the naval battle that established Nelson's fame.
The Battle of Thermopylae: A Campaign in Context
by Rupert Matthews‘Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.’ One of the most remarkable actions in ancient or modern military history took place at Thermopylae in 480BC. Rupert Matthews has personally examined the battlefield in order to try to explain how 300 Spartans could hold at bay the hordes of the Persian Emperor Xerxes. This was no vain sacrifice; the delay gave breathing space for the Greek states to organise their defence, and ultimately defend successfully their homelands. Among other intriguing revelations the author explains the importance of the half-ruined wall that sheltered the Spartans against the onslaught. With concise diagrams and maps of the entire campaign, the reader can begin to understand the extraordinary, apparently impossible outcome of the war.
The Battle of Tsushima
by Phil CarradiceThe author of The First World War in the Air details the gripping 1905 naval battle during the Russo-Japanese War.In 1905 Japan and Russia were at war. With the Russian Far East Fleet destroyed, the Czar sent his Baltic Fleet halfway around the world to exact revenge. This mammoth journey took many months and was an amazing feat of seamanship. But, at the end of this adventure, the Russians were totally overwhelmed, and the majority of the fleet was underwater. There was no alternative for the Czar but to sue for an ignominious peace.The story of the journey and the final battle remain fascinating, the people involved behaving like characters from a novel. Russian Admiral Rozhestvensky was a gunnery expert but had never held active command in a major sea battle. Japanese Admiral Togo had trained in Britain, enlisting as a cadet on the Training Ship Worcester, even though he was far too old and was forced to lie about his age. Inept generalship on the part of the Russians, combined with brilliant seamanship from Togo, saw the complete destruction of the Russian fleet.The naval battle of Tsushima is one of the forgotten actions of the twentieth century, but it has a significance that is immense in world history.“An utterly compelling story, well told by Carradice. We really sympathize with the Russian sailors, trapped on their ironclad warships for months as they battled against the elements, a largely hostile world, and even each other. The result is an excellent book that reminds us of the human cost of these massive naval battles.” —History of War
The Battle of Verneuil 1424: A Second Agincourt
by Richard WadgeIn August 1424 the armies of England, Scotland and France met in the open fields outside the walls of Verneuil in a battle that would decide the future of the English conquests in France. The hero king, Henry V, had been dead for two years and the French felt that this was their chance to avenge their startling defeat at Agincourt, and recover the lands that Henry had won for England. Despite its importance, the battle is largely overlooked in accounts of the Hundred Years War. The Battle of Verneuil 1424 is the first proper account of the battle, and is also one of the first books to outline the important part the Scots played in the wars in France in the years between the two great battles of Agincourt and Verneuil.
The Battle of Vicksburg
by Michael B. BallardThe Vicksburg campaign was among the longest of the Civil War, lasting from 26 May 1862 to 4 July 1863. This Civil War Short provides a compelling narrative of the final six weeks of the campaign, excerpted from Michael Ballard's Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, which blends strategy and tactics with the human element, reminding us that while Gettysburg has become the focal point of the history and memory of the Civil War, the outcome at Vicksburg was met with as much celebration and relief in the North as the Gettysburg victory, and it should be viewed as equally important today.UNC Press Civil War Shorts excerpt rousing narratives from distinguished books published by the University of North Carolina Press on the military, political, social, and cultural history of the Civil War era. Produced exclusively in ebook format, they focus on pivotal moments and figures and are intended to provide a concise introduction, stir the imagination, and encourage further exploration of the topic. For in-depth analysis, contextualization, and perspective, we invite readers to consider the original publications from which these works are drawn.
The Battle of Waterloo
by Jeremy BlackThe name Waterloo has become synonymous with final, crushing defeat. Now thislegendary battle is re-created in a groundbreaking book by an eminent Britishmilitary historian making his major American debut.