Book picks similar to
Loos 1915 by Nick Lloyd


military
ww1
history
world-war-one

Wounded: From Battlefield to Blighty, 1914-1918


Emily Mayhew - 2013
    It is a story told through the testimony of those who cared for him - stretcher bearers and medical officers, surgeons and chaplains, orderlies and nurses - from the aid post in the trenches to the casualty clearing station and the ambulance train back to Blighty.We feel the calloused hands of the stretcher-bearers; we see the bloody dressings and bandages; we smell the nauseating gangrene and, at London's stations, the gas clinging to the uniforms of the men arriving home. There are the unspeakable injuries: the officer with a hole in his torso so big the doctor can see the sky beyond him; a man with no legs holding a hymnbook for a man with no arms. Together, the experiences in Wounded encapsulate what it was to fight, live and die for four long years at the Western Front.The first comprehensive account of medical care at the Western Front, Wounded is a homage to the courageous and determined men and women who saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm


John Nichol - 2021
    It is an extraordinary account of courage and fortitude. ‘We were doing about 620 miles-per-hour, 200 feet above the desert, in total darkness. Everything was running on rails as we approached the target. Then all hell broke loose.  I remember the missile being fired at us; I broke left and shouted, “Chaff!”   ‘ All I could see was a flame, like a very large firework, coming towards me. Then there was a huge white flash. I remember an enormous wind and then I was knocked unconscious.  My last thoughts were that I was going to die. ’ In 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighbouring Kuwait, setting in motion a chain of events that had unimaginable political, military and personal repercussions, which still reverberate around the globe today.This is the story of the aircrew at the heart of Operation Desert Storm, almost none of whom had any prior experience of armed combat. It is the story of the Tornado’s missions, of those who did not return - and of the families who watched and waited as one of the most complex conflicts in recent history unfolded live on television. It is a story of untold fear and suffering, and astounding courage in the face of hitherto unimaginable adversity.

Carrier! (Annotated): Life Aboard a World War II Aircraft Carrier


Max Miller - 2015
    Author Max Miller spent many weeks at sea gathering material for his book, and presents his observations in an easy-to read fashion. Carrier! is intended to provide civilians with a glimpse into what life aboard these massive ships was like during World War 2.*New 2019 edition includes footnotes and images.

Old Soldiers Never Die


Frank Richards - 1933
    Orphaned at nine years old, he was brought up by his aunt and uncle in the industrial Blaina area, and went on to work as a coal miner throughout the 1890s before joining the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1901. A veteran soldier who served in British India and throughout the Western Front, he wrote his seminal account of the Great War from the standpoint of the common soldier, Old Soldiers Never Die, in 1933. He died in 1961

The First Air War, 1914-1918


Lee B. Kennett - 1990
    Because of its recent invention, the aeroplane captured the imagination of both soldiers and civilians during World War I, and the psychological effect of the new weapon often outweighed its actual capabilities.

Secret Warriors: The Spies, Scientists and Code Breakers of World War I


Taylor Downing - 2014
    But behind all of this an intellectual war was also being fought between engineers, chemists, code-breakers, physicists, doctors, mathematicians, and intelligence gatherers. This hidden war was to make a positive and lasting contribution to how war was conducted on land, at sea, and in the air, and most importantly, life at home. Secret Warriors provides an invaluable and fresh history of the World War I, profiling a number of the key incidents and figures which lead to great leaps forward for the twentieth century. Told in a lively and colorful narrative style, Secret Warriors reveals the unknown side of this tragic conflict.

The Great Silence 1918-1920: Living in the Shadow of the Great War


Juliet Nicolson - 2009
    The Great Silence recalls the period of adjustment following the war.

The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille: Told by its Commander


Georges Thenault - 1921
     During the next twenty-one months this aviation squadron was to be seen over every important battlefield, with its men fighting and dying for France. George Thenault’s fascinating history of the Lafayette Escadrille covers from its very inception to the end of the war. Many Americans living in France at the outbreak of war in 1914 wanted to fight for the country that they saw as the founder of Liberty, and some of those men were pilots. But with the French army only having 80 planes the Americans were initially rejected from joining the air force and instead had to sign up with the Foreign Legion. It was only after months of persuasion that some of these intrepid Americans were given control of France’s planes and later, under Thenault’s command, they developed their own squadron. They were immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting above the pockmarked land of the Western Front. Thenault provides vivid descriptions of his brave pilots which included Norman Prince, the Rockwell brothers and the ace Raoul Lufbery. Some of these pilots were rather eccentric, for example William Thaw who when in Paris bought two lions, named Whiskey and Soda, which became the escadrille’s mascots. Flying their Nieuports, they were fighting at the very beginning of military aviation and were instrumental in pioneering new battle techniques. Their life expectancy was not long and many who had joined at the inception of the escadrille did not make it through until the end of the war. Thenault’s extremely personal account covers all aspects of this squadron in World War One, from their activities on the ground to their dogfights in the air. It is a truly remarkable read. Eventually with the United States joining the war the Lafayette Escadrille was disbanded and a number of its members were inducted into the U.S. Air Service as members of 103 Aero Squadron. George Thenault’s The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille was published in 1921. His book gained widespread American public recognition. In May 1922, he accepted an assignment that began an eleven year diplomatic service in the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1933 following successful completion of duties as Military Attache for Aeronautics at the French Embassy in Washington DC, he returned to France and continued his military services with the French Air Army. He died in 1948.

The World Crisis, 1911-1918


Winston S. Churchill - 1931
    In this classic account, he dramatically details how the tides of despair and triumph flowed and ebbed as the political and military leaders of the time navigated the dangerous currents of world conflict.Churchill vividly recounts the major campaigns that shaped the war: the furious attacks of the Marne, the naval maneuvers off Jutland, Verdun's “soul-stirring frenzy,” and the surprising victory of Chemins des Dames. Here, too, he re-creates the dawn of modern warfare: the buzz of airplanes overhead, trench combat, artillery thunder, and the threat of chemical warfare. In Churchill's inimitable voice we hear how “the war to end all wars” instead gave birth to every war that would follow, including the current war in Iraq. Written with unprecedented flair and knowledge of the events, The World Crisis remains the single greatest history of World War I, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century.

The Great War


Les Carlyon - 2006
    It combines a brilliant overview of this immense conflict with telling detail, stories, letters and diaries that breathe life into those terrible battles of 90 years ago. In The Great War Carlyon has produced a masterpiece that takes the reader from the generals formulating strategy, to the troops fighting cold, filth and the terror of sudden death in their trenches.Written with the same narrative skill, humanity, vivid recreation and meticulous research that made Gallipoli a number one bestseller, Les Carlyon's astonishing new book is an epic that will stand as the lasting and definitive history of Australia's involvement in the Great War.

Triple Sticks: Tales of a Few Young Men in the 1960s


Bernie Fipp - 2010
    The author assures us it is not!Three years before they came together, four young American men left their fraternities and college campuses for an adventure exceeding their imaginations. Wanting something more than the draft and unknown to each other, they chose Naval Aviation as the next step in their lives. Generally, they were better than their navy peers, all qualifying for high performance aircraft to be flown from steel decks over foreign seas. They would become the pointy end of the stick in aerial battles over North Vietnam, the most heavily defended patch of real estate in the history of aerial warfare. They were to do this in 1967, the year in which Naval Aviation experienced its greatest losses.These four young men, now Lieutenants Junior Grade, United States Navy, were ordered to Attack Squadron 34 to fly A4 Skyhawks into combat. They were assigned Junior Officer's stateroom 0111 aboard USS Intrepid, a venerable aircraft carrier with a distinguished history. This "bunkroom" better known to them as Triple Sticks was the repository for a log (in navy terms) or journal written by these four young aviators. Forty years later this log was the genesis of this memoir.In the lethal environment over the northern reaches of North Vietnam or ashore in the Officer's clubs and bars of Asia, the writing brings to life wonderful humor, bizarre behavior, vivid aerial battles, uncommon loyalty, anger, frustration and respect. One survived or did not according to his skill and luck.

Winged Warfare


William Avery Bishop - 1918
     After months as an observer with the British Royal Flying Corps he eventually earned his wings in November 1916. By March of the next year he was posted in France with No. 60 Squadron RFC near Arras along with his Niewport 17 fighter. Prospects for a newly fledged pilot were not promising at this point of the war as the average life expectancy was eleven days and German pilots were shooting down British planes at a rate of five to one. Bishop’s initial flying days did not begin in glory as during his first flight he became separated from his group and was nearly shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and two days after this he was forced to crash land during a practice flight. Shortly after these events he was ordered to return to flight school. Yet, his poor luck quickly changed, and less than a month later he had shot down his fifth enemy plane and had become an ace. By the end of the war he had claimed a total of seventy-two air victories, making him one of the most successful pilots of the entire war. Bishop’s fascinating book Winged Warfare takes the reader to the heart of what it would have been like to have been a World War One fighter pilot. It is essential reading for anyone who is interested in learning about the development of aviation warfare and the story of one remarkable man. William Avery Bishop was a First World War flying ace who received a Victoria Cross for his actions. After the war he recorded his experiences in his memoir Winged Warfare which was first published in 1918. During the Second World War Bishop was a key part of developing the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. He passed away in 1956.

Eye-Deep In Hell: Trench Warfare In World War I


John Ellis - 1976
    More than six million died there. In Eye-Deep in Hell, the author explores this unique and terrifying world—the rituals of battle, the habits of daily life, and the constant struggle of men to find meaning amid excruciating boredom and the specter of impending death.

Crossfire-An Australian Reconnaissance In Vietnam


Peter Haran - 2001
    One of this platoon’s section commanders was a 20-year old regular soldier called Bob Kearney, who led a series of deadly patrols, operating in isolation and extreme danger ahead of the main Australian forces.

A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars


Nicholas Rankin - 2008
    To protect itself, the nation fell back on cunning and camouflage. With Winston Churchill in charge, the British bluffed their way out of trouble—lying, pretending and dressing up in order to survive. The British had developed this uncommon talent during the trench and desert fighting of the First World War, when writers and artists created elaborate camouflages and fiendish propaganda. So successful were these deceptions they gave rise to the German belief that they hadn't been beaten fairly - in which case why not 'have a second go'? By the Second World War, the British were masters of the art. Churchill adored stratagems, ingenious devices and special forces: pretend German radio stations broadcast outrageous British propaganda in German. British geniuses broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their Intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill's Wizards is a thrilling work of popular military history. Above all, Nicholas Rankin reveals the true stories of those brave and creative mavericks who helped win what Churchill called 'the war of the Unknown Warriors'.