A Nation in Arms


Book Description

The Great War was the first conflict to draw men and women into uniform on a massive scale. From a small regular force of barely 250,000, the British Army rapidly expanded into a national force of over five million. A Nation in Arms brings together original research into the impact of the war on the army as an institution, gives a revealing account of those who served in it and offers fascinating insights into its social history during one of the bloodiest wars.




A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army


Book Description

This is one of the most valuable books in the armoury of the serious student of British Military history. It is a new and revised edition of Arthur White's much sought-after bibliography of regimental, battalion and other histories of all regiments and Corps that have ever existed in the British Army. This new edition includes an enlarged addendum to that given in the 1988 reprint. It is, quite simply, indispensible.




KitchenerÂ’s Army


Book Description

Numbering over five million men, Britain's army in the First World War was the biggest in the country's history. Remarkably, nearly half those men who served in it were volunteers. 2,466,719 men enlisted between August 1914 and December 1915, many in response to the appeals of the Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener. How did Britain succeed in creating a mass army, almost from scratch, in the middle of a major war ? What compelled so many men to volunteer ' and what happened to them once they had taken the King's shilling ? Peter Simkins describes how Kitchener's New Armies were raised and reviews the main political, economic and social effects of the recruiting campaign. He examines the experiences and impressions of the officers and men who made up the New Armies. As well as analysing their motives for enlisting, he explores how they were fed, housed, equipped and trained before they set off for active service abroad. Drawing upon a wide variety of sources, ranging from government papers to the diaries and letters of individual soldiers, he questions long-held assumptions about the 'rush to the colours' and the nature of patriotism in 1914. The book will be of interest not only to those studying social, political and economic history, but also to general readers who wish to know more about the story of Britain's citizen soldiers in the Great War.







The Christmas Truce


Book Description

Front cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Foreword -- 1 "A Candle Lit in the Darkness" -- 2 "Absolute Hell" -- 3 "A Great Day with Our Enemies" -- 4 "No War Today" -- 5 "One Day of Peace at the Front" -- 6 "That Unique and Weird Christmas" -- 7 The Curious Christmas Truce" -- 8 "The Famous Christmas Truce" -- 9 "The Legendary Christmas Truce" -- 10 "Memories of Christmas 1914 Persist" -- 11 "It Was Peace That Won" -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Permissions -- Index.




The British Imperial Army in the Middle East


Book Description

The First World War has often been understood in terms of the combat experiences of soldiers on the Western Front; those combatants who served in the other theatres of the war have been neglected. Using personal testimonies, official documentation and detailed research from a diverse range of archives, The British Imperial Army in the Middle East explores the combat experiences of these soldiers. The army that fought the Ottoman Empire was a multinational and multi-ethnic force, drawing personnel from across Britain's empire, including Australia, New Zealand, and India. By taking a transnational and imperial perspective on the First World War, this book ensures that the campaigns in Egypt and Palestine are considered in the wider context of an empire mobilised to fight a total and global war.