Bøger i Modern Military History serien

The employment of the first tanks by the British Army on the Western Front in September 1916, although symbolic rather than decisive in its effects, ushered in a new form of warfare - tank warfare. While much has been written on the history of the tank, this volume brings together a collection of essays which uncover new aspects of the history of these early machines. Leading military historians from Britain, France and Germany offer insights into the emergence of the tank before the First World War, during the conflict, as well as what happened to them after the guns fell silent on the Western Front. Based on painstaking research in archives across Europe, each of the chapters sheds new light on different aspects of the history of First World tanks. Two chapters consider why the Germans failed to recognize the possibilities of the tank and why they were so slow to develop their own machines after the first British tank attack in 1916. Two other chapters chart the history of French tanks on the Western Front and after the end of the war. Tank communication, the employment of British tanks on the Western Front, as well as the activities of British Tank Corps intelligence, are also explained. The use of British tanks in Palestine and in the Russian Civil War is examined in detail for the first time. The volume also reflects on the impact of the Battle of Cambrai, both in terms of its psychological impact in Britain and the power it exerted over military debates until the end of the Second World War. The aim of the book is to reconsider the history of First World War tanks by widening the historical perspective beyond Britain, to include France and Germany, and by reflecting on the pre-1914 and post-1918 history of the these new weapons of war.

"Thinking, Wisely, Planning Boldly" examines the style, content and manner of Royal Navy executive officer higher education and training between the World Wars. Based on official and private archival records, oral histories and the secondary literature extant, this book traces the changes the Navy made in how it prepared its midlevel officers following the First World War, contrasts this approach with that of the British Army and Royal Air Force and addresses the use the Royal Navy made of the officers so trained. In the process, the work offers a fundamental reappraisal of the inter war Royal Navy challenging many of the accepted conclusions rendered by earlier authors who failed to actually examine the style and content of officer education and did not weigh the many competing factors the service had to balance in any professional development program. Along the way, it offers insight into the relative centrality of the Battle of Jutland in inter war training and concludes that contrary to received wisdom its role was a secondary one at best and that the experience of most relevance in the Navy's educational efforts was the Dardanelles campaign. This work is original in scope and original in interpretation with no other book-length volume in print now or previously covering the subject. Beyond saying something valuable about the 1919-39 Royal Navy, it discusses issues that resound with contemporary military officers faced with the eternal question of what to teach, how to teach it, and the pitfalls faced in preparing officers in an uncertain world. It sheds fresh light on such noted figures as Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond and Major General J. F. C. Fuller and offers insight into such events as the Washington Naval Treaty and the Invergordon Mutiny not previously considered. Though many writers have had much to say about inter war training, none actually took the time to examine what was taught, how instruction was imparted, and the aims that the Navy sought to achieve. Thinking Wisely, Planning Boldly fills the void and in the process speaks to the continuing issues facing professional military education.

The increased focus on counterinsurgency warfare and US nation building efforts after the attacks of 11 September 2001 reignited interest in military advising within military and other government organizations, private think tanks, and defense related contractors. Most studies on the subject, based on the chronological scope and numerical preponderance of ground advising missions, has quite naturally focused on these past efforts. Less attention has been given to air or naval advisory missions. This work seeks in part to help redress this current imbalance by examining a number of historical case studies dealing with air advisory efforts. By examining a number of historical case studies, this volume analyzes the challenges and opportunities inherent in aerial advisory efforts and offers insights into the methods by which such missions succeed or fail. Air advisory missions date almost to the first days of powered flight.Air advisory efforts have a number of unique elements based on the fundamental role of advanced technology and the extensive resource requirements associated with aviation operations. For example, air advisory efforts are profoundly influenced by the types of aircraft involved and the types of mission flown. Likewise, the issues of maintenance support and the infrastructure needed for these missions plays a key role in determining capabilities available to the host nation. In the case of infrastructure, airfields, fuelling depots, maintenance and repair facilities, and radar and communications equipment offer a few of the most obvious requirements to support flight operations.The early history of advisory efforts reveal issues that remain relevant today, including questions related to the nature of aerial technology to be shared, the type of training to be provided, and the potential economic benefits that might accrue to the donor nation as a result of the sale of aviation technology to the host country. In many respects, air advisory efforts raise a number of profound strategic questions for the donor nation. Among others, these questions relate to the type of technology to be shared, the nature of training to be given, the role of foreign advisors in operations, the issue of infrastructure development and auxiliary training programs, the preparation of foreign advisors for their duties, and perhaps most significantly the development of the type of capabilities required to address the host nation¿s security environment. Via a series of historical case studies, this volume explores these questions and others.