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The Four Feathers
by A. E. W. MasonThis classic adventure story -- first published in1902 -- gains new life in a blockbuster motion picture epicfrom Paramount Pictures and Miramax Films and remainsa timeless novel of love, honor, and courage. A Soldier's Shame. . . It is 1882 and British officer Harry Feversham has it all: a loving fiancée, the camaraderie of fellow soldiers, a bright future in a nation at the height of its imperial power. But before he is deployed to battle in Africa, he resigns -- and receives white feathers, symbols of cowardice, from three friends. . . and then a fourth from his fiancée. A Love Lost. . . Ethne Eustace has pushed Harry out of her life, but not out of her mind. Still, when another suitor comes calling she makes a decision that could destroy Harry. . . and alter her life forever. A Heroic Redemption. . . His world in tatters, Harry goes undercover in Africa to win back the respect of his comrades. From the bustling markets of Cairo to the sizzling sands of Omdurman prison, he fights with everything he has to bring honor back to his name. . . and Ethne back to his heart.
The Four Feathers
by A.E.W. MasonThis classic adventure story -- first published in1902 -- gains new life in a blockbuster motion picture epicfrom Paramount Pictures and Miramax Films and remainsa timeless novel of love, honor, and courage. A Soldier's Shame. . . It is 1882 and British officer Harry Feversham has it all: a loving fiancée, the camaraderie of fellow soldiers, a bright future in a nation at the height of its imperial power. But before he is deployed to battle in Africa, he resigns -- and receives white feathers, symbols of cowardice, from three friends. . . and then a fourth from his fiancée. A Love Lost. . . Ethne Eustace has pushed Harry out of her life, but not out of her mind. Still, when another suitor comes calling she makes a decision that could destroy Harry. . . and alter her life forever. A Heroic Redemption. . . His world in tatters, Harry goes undercover in Africa to win back the respect of his comrades. From the bustling markets of Cairo to the sizzling sands of Omdurman prison, he fights with everything he has to bring honor back to his name. . . and Ethne back to his heart.
The Four Geniuses of the Battle of Britain: Watson-Watt, Henry Royce, Sydney Camm & RJ Mitchell
by David Coles Peter Sherrard"Had it not been for the vital contributions of the four men and their inventions described in this book the Battle of Britain could not have been won by the Royal Air Force. Each of these brilliant men contributed enormously to the aircraft and equipment upon which the gallant RAF fighter pilots depended to take on and defeat the hitherto overpowering Luftwaffe during Hitlers European onslaught. Watson Watt was the moving force behind Britains vital early warning radar network that allowed Allied fighter aircraft to intercept the incoming German bomber raids. Henry Royce was the driving force throughout the development of the Merlin engine that powered both the Hurricane and Spitfire.Sydney Camm persevered with the design of the Hawker Hurricane which was to destroy more Luftwaffe bombers in the Battle than any other type. It was amazingly resilient and provided an extremely stable gun platform. Never living long enough to see the success of his beautiful Spitfire, RJ Mitchell was the designer of the only British aircraft that could outperform the Nazi Bf 109s fighters and which allowed the attacking Hurricanes a little more safety while doing their job below. This is the story of those men behind the scene of the greatest air battle in history. "
The Four Symbols: The Black Sun Series, Book 1
by Giacometti RavenneFrom multi-million copy bestselling authors Giacometti & Ravenne comes a Nazi spy thriller for fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry and Wilbur Smith"I couldn't put it down ... the authors write like Dan Brown!" -Anthony, 5-Star NetGalley reviewer*** RATED 5 STARS BY REAL READERS *** *** GET BOOK 2, GOOD & EVIL, NOW: https://amz.run/3tyl ****** PREORDER BOOK 3, HELLBOUND, NEXT: https://amz.run/3tyk ***A secret Nazi organisation.Four swastikas with occult powers.A spy.What readers think:"I can't wait to read the next book in the series!" -Sens Critique"A spellbinding read from start to finish." -5-Star Amazon Review"There are twists aplenty" -5-Star Netgalley Review"A real page turner." -Art Six Mic"If you like books with lots of action and cliff hangers, this is for you." -5-Star Netgalley Review"The authors' best book so far." -5-Star Amazon Review"A book full of action and mystery." -Au Detour d'un LivreIn a Europe on the verge of collapse, the Nazi organisation Ahnenerbe is pillaging sacred landmarks across the world. Their aim is to collect treasures with occult powers, which will help them establish the Third Reich. The organisation's head, Himmler, has sent SS officers to search a forgotten sanctuary in the Himalayas, while he tries to track down a mysterious painting. Which ancient power do the Nazis believe they hold the key to?Meanwhile, in London, Churchill has discovered that the war against Germany will also be a spiritual one: their light must fight the occult if they are to win . . .
The Four Symbols: The Black Sun Series, Book 1 (The Black Sun Series #1)
by Giacometti RavenneFrom multi-million copy bestselling authors Giacometti & Ravenne comes a Nazi spy thriller for fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry and Wilbur Smith"I couldn't put it down ... the authors write like Dan Brown!" -Anthony, 5-Star NetGalley reviewer*** RATED 5 STARS BY REAL READERS *** *** GET BOOK 2, GOOD & EVIL, NOW: https://amz.run/3tyl ****** PREORDER BOOK 3, HELLBOUND, NEXT: https://amz.run/3tyk ***A secret Nazi organisation.Four swastikas with occult powers.A spy.What readers think:"I can't wait to read the next book in the series!" -Sens Critique"A spellbinding read from start to finish." -5-Star Amazon Review"There are twists aplenty" -5-Star Netgalley Review"A real page turner." -Art Six Mic"If you like books with lots of action and cliff hangers, this is for you." -5-Star Netgalley Review"The authors' best book so far." -5-Star Amazon Review"A book full of action and mystery." -Au Detour d'un LivreIn a Europe on the verge of collapse, the Nazi organisation Ahnenerbe is pillaging sacred landmarks across the world. Their aim is to collect treasures with occult powers, which will help them establish the Third Reich. The organisation's head, Himmler, has sent SS officers to search a forgotten sanctuary in the Himalayas, while he tries to track down a mysterious painting. Which ancient power do the Nazis believe they hold the key to?Meanwhile, in London, Churchill has discovered that the war against Germany will also be a spiritual one: their light must fight the occult if they are to win . . .
The Four Symbols: The Black Sun Trilogy, Book 1 (The Black Sun Series #1)
by Giacometti RavenneFrom multi-million copy bestselling authors Giacometti & Ravenne comes a Nazi spy thriller for fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry and Wilbur Smith."I couldn't put it down ... the authors write like Dan Brown!" -Anthony, 5-Star NetGalley reviewer*** RATED 5 STARS BY REAL READERS *** *** GET BOOK 2, GOOD & EVIL, NOW: https://amz.run/3tyl ****** PREORDER BOOK 3, HELLBOUND, NEXT: https://amz.run/3tyk ***A secret Nazi organisation.Four swastikas with occult powers.A spy.What readers think:"I can't wait to read the next book in the series!" -Sens Critique"A spellbinding read from start to finish." -5-Star Amazon Review"There are twists aplenty" -5-Star Netgalley Review"A real page turner." -Art Six Mic"If you like books with lots of action and cliff hangers, this is for you." -5-Star Netgalley Review"The authors' best book so far." -5-Star Amazon Review"A book full of action and mystery." -Au Detour d'un LivreIn a Europe on the verge of collapse, the Nazi organisation Ahnenerbe is pillaging sacred landmarks across the world. Their aim is to collect treasures with occult powers, which will help them establish the Third Reich. The organisation's head, Himmler, has sent SS officers to search a forgotten sanctuary in the Himalayas, whilst he tries to track down a mysterious painting. Which ancient power do the Nazis believe they hold the key to?Meanwhile, in London, Churchill has discovered that the war against Germany will also be a spiritual one: their light must fight the occult if they are to win . . .(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
The Four Winds of Heaven
by Monique Raphel HighAs one prominent Jewish family, the Gunzburgs fight for their principles, the rest of Russia adheres to the malicious and unfaltering laws of the Tsar. Torn between what is expected of them and what their hearts truly want, the Gunzburgs begin to forge a new path--in search of their own identity and place in a world full of forbidden love, shattering betrayals, and war. Can they find where they truly belong and where their passion lies while the dynasty crumbles around them? Inspired by the diaries of Monique Raphel High's grandmother, this epic saga will take readers on a journey through Russian history through one woman's eyes.
The Fourteenth of September: A Novel
by Rita DragonetteA Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist and Best Book Awards Finalist * Featured in Ms. Magazine, Brit + Co, Hypertext Magazine, BookTrib, Publishers Weekly, Writer's Digest and more! An enthralling historical novel about brave women set during the peak of the Vietnam War and told through the rare perspective of a young woman, who traces her path to self-discovery and a “Coming of Conscience.”If you loved Kristin Hannah's latest novel The Women, this one's for you.On September 14, 1969, Private First Class Judy Talton celebrates her nineteenth birthday by secretly joining the campus anti-Vietnam War movement. In doing so, she jeopardizes both the army scholarship that will secure her future and her relationship with her military family. But Judy’s doubts have escalated with the travesties of the war. Who is she if she stays in the army? What is she if she leaves?When the first date pulled in the Draft Lottery turns up as her birthday, she realizes that if she were a man, she’d have been Number One―off to Vietnam with an under-fire life expectancy of six seconds. The stakes become clear, propelling her toward a life-altering choice as fateful as that of any draftee.Judy’s story speaks to the poignant clash of young adulthood, early feminism, and war, offering an ageless inquiry into the domestic politics of protest when the world stops making sense.
The Fourth Crusade 1202-04
by David Nicolle Christa HookThe Fourth Crusade was the first and most famous of the 'diverted' crusades, that is, ones diverted from their originally intended target. It was also the first to be directed against a fellow Christian, though Orthodox, state. Initially preached (from 1198 onwards) as a campaign against Ayyubid Egypt, which was correctly seen as the most potent threat to the Latin or 'Crusader' Kingdom of Jerusalem, its first Christian target was the city of Zadar in what is now Croatia. The greater part of the crusading army then attacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, again as part of their obligations to Venice. The result was a siege and the first capture of that great city in 1203. This title will highlight all the intrigue, deception, and betrayal of this tumultuous Crusade.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Fourth Force: The Untold Story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Since 1945
by Geoff PuddefootSet up in August 1905, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary was originally a logistic support organization, part of the Navy proper but run on civilian lines, comprising a miscellaneous and very unglamorous collection of colliers, store ships and harbor craft. Just over a century later it has evolved beyond recognition: its ships compare in size, cost and sophistication with all but the largest warships, and the RFA itself has developed into an essential arm of all three Services. It is truly the Fourth Force as it is known to its own personnel and without it, the current worldwide deployment of British service men and women would be simply impossible.This book charts the veritable revolution that has overtaken the RFA since the end of the Second World War. New technology and techniques reflect the rapid growth in the importance of logistics in modern warfare, while the broadening role of the RFA is to be seen in the history of its operations, many of them little known to the public. Woven together from a combination of technical ship data, official correspondence and personal recollections, it is predominantly about the men and women of the RFA and their stories an insight into the underreported history of a service whose initials unofficially translate as Ready For Anything.
The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America
by Anthony VinciA former senior intelligence officer reveals how espionage is being transformed by a new global intelligence race, driven by AI and competition with China, and how this impacts all of our lives.The new global intelligence competition has brought espionage into our workplaces and our living rooms. Adversaries like China, Iran, and Russia have realized that the human element is the weakest link in our industrial and political infrastructure. As a result, they target all of us—stealing our financial data and medical records, eavesdropping on our conversations, and using platforms like TikTok and Hollywood movies to influence our opinions.The Fourth Intelligence Revolution reveals how the undercover adventures of World War II, the spy-versus-spy confrontations of the Cold War, and the “find-fix-and-finish” counterterrorism missions after 9/11 have given way to the most dangerous period of espionage yet. This eye-opening account exposes how intelligence now permeates every corner of society, from economic espionage and genetic data gathering to information operations targeting children through AI chatbots—even extending to reconnaissance on the far side of the moon. Both a warning and a call to action, The Fourth Intelligence Revolution suggests that we are all, in essence, becoming intelligence officers and that citizens have both the power and responsibility to reclaim intelligence to safeguard and strengthen our democracy.
The Fourth Shore
by Virginia Baily'Effortlessly enjoyable . . . an emotionally rewarding novel so succulent with detail that you can almost feel the Tripoli sand storms whipping across your face' Daily Mail The Fourth Shore: the sliver of fertile land along the Tripoli coast, the 'lost' territory Mussolini promised to reclaim for Italy. Which is how, in 1929, seventeen-year-old Liliana Cattaneo arrives there from Rome on a ship filled with eager colonists to join her brother and his new wife.Liliana is sure she was on the brink of a great adventure, but what awaits her is not the Mediterranean idyll of cocktail parties, smart dances, dashing officers and romantic intrigues she had imagined. Instead she finds a world of persecution, violence, repression, corruption and deceptions both great and small. A child of fascist Italy, blown about by the winds of fascism and Catholicism, Liliana becomes enmeshed in a dark liaison which has terrible consequences both for her and those she loves most. The Fourth Shore is the engrossing and intensely poignant story of Liliana's journey from Rome to Tripoli to a north London suburb where, as plain Lily Jones, she begins to uncover a secret she has buried so deeply that even she is far from certain what it is.Praise for Early One Morning by Virginia Baily:'As gripping as any thriller...really, really good' Daily Mail'A big, generous and absorbing piece of storytelling' Samantha Harvey, Guardian'A real treat' Philip Hensher, Observer'Wonderful' Tessa Hadley
The Fourth Shore
by Virginia BailyThe Fourth Shore: the sliver of fertile land along the Tripoli coast, the 'lost' territory Mussolini promised to reclaim for Italy. Which is how, in 1929, seventeen-year-old Liliana Cattaneo arrives there from Rome on a ship filled with eager colonists to join her brother and his new wife.Liliana is sure she was on the brink of a great adventure, but what awaits her is not the Mediterranean idyll of cocktail parties, smart dances, dashing officers and romantic intrigues she had imagined. Instead she finds a world of persecution, violence, repression, corruption and deceptions both great and small. A child of fascist Italy, blown about by the winds of fascism and Catholicism, Liliana becomes enmeshed in a dark liaison which has terrible consequences both for her and those she loves most. The Fourth Shore is the engrossing and intensely poignant story of Liliana's journey from Rome to Tripoli to a north London suburb where, as plain Lily Jones, she begins to uncover a secret she has buried so deeply that even she is far from certain what it is.Praise for Early One Morning by Virginia Baily:'As gripping as any thriller...really, really good' Daily Mail'A big, generous and absorbing piece of storytelling' Samantha Harvey, Guardian'A real treat' Philip Hensher, Observer'Wonderful' Tessa Hadley
The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army
by David Cloud Greg JaffeThey were four exceptional soldiers, a new generation asked to save an army that had been hollowed out after Vietnam. They survived the military's brutal winnowing to reach its top echelon. They became the Army's most influential generals in the crucible of Iraq. Collectively, their lives tell the story of the Army over the last four decades and illuminate the path it must travel to protect the nation over the next century. Theirs is a story of successes and failures, of ambitions achieved and thwarted, of the responsibilities and perils of command. The careers of this elite quartet show how the most powerful military force in the world entered a major war unprepared, and how the Army, drawing on a reservoir of talent that few thought it possessed, saved itself from crushing defeat against a ruthless, low-tech foe. In The Fourth Star, you'll follow:*Gen. John Abizaid, one of the Army's most brilliant minds. Fluent in Arabic, he forged an unconventional path in the military to make himself an expert on the Middle East, but this unique background made him skeptical of the war he found himself leading. *Gen. George Casey Jr., the son of the highest-ranking general to be killed in the Vietnam War. Casey had grown up in the Army and won praise for his common touch and skill as a soldier. He was determined not to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam but would take much of the blame as Iraq collapsed around him. *Gen. Peter Chiarelli, an emotional, take-charge leader who, more than any other senior officer, felt the sting of the Army's failures in Iraq. He drove his soldiers, the chain of command, and the U.S. government to rethink the occupation plans-yet rarely achieved the results he sought.*Gen. David Petraeus, a driven soldier-scholar. Determined to reach the Army's summit almost since the day he entered West Point, he sometimes alienated peers with his ambition and competitiveness. When he finally got his chance in Iraq, he-more than anyone-changed the Army's conception of what was possible. Masterfully written and richly reported, The Fourth Star ranges far beyond today's battlefields, evoking the Army's tumultuous history since Vietnam through these four captivating lives and ultimately revealing a fascinating irony: In an institution that prizes obedience, the most effective warriors are often those who dare to question the prevailing orthodoxy and in doing so redefine the American way of war.From the Hardcover edition.
The Fourth War
by Chris StewartAlong the Afghanistan border, a CIA agent meets secretly with a distraught Arab girl. She passes him a coded message before killing herself. But before the message can be deciphered, the world spins toward war: Within hours, the president of Pakistan is assassinated, and the country's nuclear warheads go missing. Al Qaeda streams into northern Pakistan. Israel puts her combat forces on hair-trigger alert. CIA paramilitary agent Peter Zembeic is given the impossible task of finding and destroying the missing warheads. Working with his best friend, a B-2 pilot, they develop a desperate plan to save the world from the threat of nuclear terror.
The Fox From His Lair: The WWII Collection
by Max HennessyTwo Allied officers hunt down a German agent who&’s stolen top-secret plans that could change the course of World War II in this spy thriller. Throughout the summer of 1944, southern England was transformed into one huge armed camp as the Allied forces made their final preparations for D-Day. It was at this crucial moment in history that the Fox emerged from his lair. The Fox had many names and many disguises, but behind them all lay the resource and ingenuity of a dedicated German agent. His very existence was not suspected until a totally unexpected E-Boat attack on a landing resulting in hundreds of casualties, and the loss of a set of top-secret plans detailing the invasion. Desperate to stop them falling into enemy hands, two officers are tasked with recovering the plans and taking out the Fox. Failure would mean the total defeat of the Allied forces. Failure is not an option . . . Perfect for fans of Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré and Alistair MacLean.
The Fox From His Lair: The WWII Collection
by Max HennessyA hunt that will decide the victor of the Second World War...Throughout the summer of 1944, southern England was transformed into one huge armed camp as the allied forces made their final preparations for D-Day. It was at this crucial moment in history that the Fox emerged from his lair.The Fox had many names and many disguises, but behind them all lay the resource and ingenuity of a dedicated German agent. His very existence was not suspected until a totally unexpected E-Boat attack on a landing resulting in hundreds of casualties, and the loss of a set of top-secret plans detailing the invasion.Desperate to stop them falling into enemy hands, two officers are tasked with recovering the plans and taking out the Fox. Failure would mean the total defeat of the allied forces. Failure is not an option…A gripping, action-packed D-Day thriller from a master of the war story, perfect for fans of Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré and Alistair MacLean.
The Fox in the Attic
by Hilary Mantel Richard HughesA tale of enormous suspense and growing horror, The Fox in the Attic is the widely acclaimed first part of Richard Hughes's monumental historical fiction, "The Human Predicament." Set in the early 1920s, the book centers on Augustine, a young man from an aristocratic Welsh family who has come of age in the aftermath of World War I. Unjustly suspected of having had a hand in the murder of a young girl, Augustine takes refuge in the remote castle of Bavarian relatives. There his hopeless love for his devout cousin Mitzi blinds him to the hate that will lead to the rise of German fascism. The book reaches a climax with a brilliant description of the Munich putsch and a disturbingly intimate portrait of Adolph Hitler. The Fox in the Attic, like its no less remarkable sequel The Wooden Shepherdess, offers a richly detailed, Tolstoyan overview of the modern world in upheaval. At once a novel of ideas and an exploration of the dark spaces of the heart, it is a book in which the past returns in all its original uncertainty and strangeness.
The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the New Nuclear Age (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
by Vipin Narang and Scott D. SaganIn The Fragile Balance of Terror, the foremost experts on nuclear policy and strategy offer insight into an era rife with more nuclear powers. Some of these new powers suffer domestic instability, others are led by pathological personalist dictators, and many are situated in highly unstable regions of the world—a volatile mix of variables.The increasing fragility of deterrence in the twenty-first century is created by a confluence of forces: military technologies that create vulnerable arsenals, a novel information ecosystem that rapidly transmits both information and misinformation, nuclear rivalries that include three or more nuclear powers, and dictatorial decision making that encourages rash choices. The nuclear threats posed by India, Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea are thus fraught with danger.The Fragile Balance of Terror, edited by Vipin Narang and Scott D. Sagan, brings together a diverse collection of rigorous and creative scholars who analyze how the nuclear landscape is changing for the worse. Scholars, pundits, and policymakers who think that the spread of nuclear weapons can create stable forms of nuclear deterrence in the future will be forced to think again.Contributors: Giles David Arceneaux, Mark S. Bell, Christopher Clary, Peter D. Feaver, Jeffrey Lewis, Rose McDermott, Nicholas L. Miller, Vipin Narang, Ankit Panda, Scott D. Sagan, Caitlin Talmadge, Heather Williams, Amy Zegart
The Fragility of Law: Constitutional Patriotism and the Jews of Belgium, 1940–1945
by David FraserThe Fragility of Law examines the ways in which, during the Second World War, the Belgian government and judicial structure became implicated in the identification, exclusion and killing of its Jewish residents, and in the theft - through Aryanization - of Jewish property. David Fraser demonstrates how a series of political and legal compromises meant that the infrastructure for antisemitic persecutions and ultimately the deaths of thousands of Belgian Jews was Belgian. Based on extensive archival research in Belgium, France, the United States and Israel, The Fragility of Law offers the first detailed exploration in English of this intriguing and virtually unexplored episode of Holocaust history. Belgian legal officials did not hesitate to invoke the provisions of international law found in the Hague Convention and those guarantees of individual freedom found in the national Constitution to oppose the demands of the German Occupying Authority. However, they remained largely silent when anti-Jewish persecution was at stake. Indeed, despite the 2007 official report of expert historians on Belgian state collaboration in the persecution of the country’s Jewish population, the mythology of "passive collaboration" which has dominated Belgian historiography and accounts of the Holocaust in that country, must be radically rethought.
The Franco-German War Of 1870-71 [Illustrated Edition]
by Field-Marshal Helmuth Graf Von MoltkeIllustrated with over 30 maps and diagrams of the War.There are few military strategists that can be mentioned in the same breath as Field-Marshal Helmuth Graf Von Moltke, a towering military figure who helped define the Federal German state with his military brilliance. Although born into a Danish family and trained for the Danish Army, he transferred to the Prussian army and by 1822 he was enrolled at the famous Prussian Kriegsakadamie, studying under the revered Clausewitz. He fully digested the organic theories of warfare expounded by Clausewitz, and enhanced his already brilliant prospects by studying languages and devouring literature and history with equal gusto. He was one of the first to realize the military potential of the new railway networks that were being built across Europe around this time, a factor that would shape the Prussian/German war planning for years to come.Having gained the pinnacle of his profession as the Chief of the General Staff in 1857; the next fourteen years would place a heavy burden on him at the head of the German Land Forces that would be the cutting edge of Teutonic expansion. He tested his theories of war first in the war of 1866 against the Austrians pulling off the astonishing victory of Königgratz by a combination of brilliant planning, superior fighting ability, swift marching and trust in his subordinates. His greatest successes would be against the much vaunted French army in 1870-71. he realized that although numbers would be against them the German military machine was much more effective at mobilization, manoeuvre and above all drive and determination. The story of his successes during the war are recounted in this volume with reticence, modesty and honesty; he is very careful not point out too many of the errors of the German Generals but spares none of the French commanders.An excellent war memoir from a renowned general widely regarded as one of the foremost military strategists of the 19th century.
The Franco-Prussian War
by Geoffrey WawroThe Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 violently changed the course of European History. Alarmed by Bismarck's territorial ambitions and the Prussian army's crushing defeats of Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866, French Emperor Napoleon III vowed to bring Prussia to heel. Digging into many European and American archives for the first time, Geoffrey Wawro's The Franco-Prussian War describes the war that followed in thrilling detail. While the armies mobilized in July 1870, the conflict appeared 'too close to call'. Prussia and its German allies overwhelmingly outnumbered the French. But Marshal Achille Bazaine's grognards ('old grumblers') were the stuff of legend, the most resourceful, battle-hardened, sharp-shooting troops in Europe. From the political intrigues that began and ended the war to the bloody battles at Gravelotte and Sedan and the last murderous fights on the Loire and in Paris, this is a stunning, authoritative history of the Franco-Prussian War.
The Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1871: Touring the Sedan Campaign (Battleground 1870–1871)
by Maarten Otte&“Masterfully written . . . This series provides the enthusiast and historian with volumes in which history is combined with tourism on the battlefields.&” —On the Old Barbed Wire In 1870 France embarked on a war with Prussia and her allied German states that was to be a complete disaster. For Napoleon III, after his ignominious surrender with thousands of his troops from the Army of the Rhine and the Army of Châlons, it meant his abdication and exile. For France it resulted in the humiliation of her army, a bitter civil war in Paris, the loss of two Provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) and a heavy indemnity. Maarten Otte provides background chapters to place the lead up to the war and the issues that were involved; he describes the makeup of the opposing armies and some of their principal commanders. The Sedan Campaign was fought over a relatively small area and the locations of some of the key battles have changed little, though some of those near the built-up areas, such as Sedan itself, require some imagination. After the war several German regiments erected monuments and a surprising number remain today, often hidden away in isolated fields and copses. Several communal cemeteries have a number of German graves. Perhaps one of the most macabre of these is the ossuary in Bazeilles, where the visitor is able to see skeletons that still have shreds of uniform and footwear on them. Sedan was also a focus of the most recent and bloody western European wars, and a notable feature of this battlefield is to see memorials to the conflicts of the twentieth century—the Great War and the Second World War.
The Franco-Prussian War: Turning-Points in European Experiences and Perceptions of Military Conflict (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of France)
by Karine VarleyThe Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 has traditionally been seen as a limited conflict between French and German forces. This edited volume challenges this view and shows that it was a war of ideas, values, and perceptions, which transformed the political, diplomatic, and military culture across Europe.Based on interdisciplinary research, the book suggests that the war raised new questions about power, the nation, violence, and notions of civilization, which brought about a decisive shift in how warfare was experienced and perceived. While the Franco-Prussian War may have begun as a traditional dynastic struggle, it became a modern war and an important precursor to the First World War in its use of new weaponry and industrialized warfare. At the same time, the development of humanitarian movements and international law on the conduct of war meant that the fighting was subjected to unprecedented scrutiny, while new technologies accelerated the pace at which narratives about the war were constructed and consumed.This volume will appeal to scholars in the fields of war studies, international relations and diplomacy, and intellectual and cultural history. It will also be a useful addition to undergraduate and postgraduate courses on nineteenth-century European history and cultural studies.