Imatge de l'autor

Charles Messenger

Autor/a de World War II

55+ obres 1,245 Membres 11 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Charles Messenger is a well-established military historian of many years standing. He has written more than 40 books, mostly on the two world wars. They range from biographies to battle and campaign studies. In addition, he lectures widely and is an occasional battlefield tour guide. He is also a mostra'n més peer reviewer for publishers and journals. mostra'n menys
Crèdit de la imatge: via Pen and Sword Books

Sèrie

Obres de Charles Messenger

World War II (1985) 264 exemplars
The Blitzkrieg Story (1976) 54 exemplars
Trench fighting, 1914-18 (1972) 46 exemplars
History of the British Army (1732) 41 exemplars
Wars That Changed The World (2008) 36 exemplars
World War II (1986) 25 exemplars
Tanks (1984) 22 exemplars
Great Military Disasters (1991) 22 exemplars
Armies Of World War 3 (1964) 15 exemplars
Commandos, 1940-46 (1985) 13 exemplars
BATTLE OF BRITIAN (1990) 10 exemplars
World War II in the Atlantic (1991) 10 exemplars
The Tunisian Campaign (1982) 9 exemplars
Northern Ireland: The Troubles (1985) 9 exemplars
The Art of Blitzkrieg (1976) 9 exemplars
Stalag Luft III (2019) 8 exemplars
The Middle East Commandos (1988) 7 exemplars
Armed Forces of the World (1985) 6 exemplars
The Middle East (1987) 5 exemplars
Combat aircraft (1984) 2 exemplars
Conquer the World (1968) 1 exemplars
The great war (2013) 1 exemplars
Sztuka Blitzkriegu 1 exemplars
ROMMEL (Spanish Edition) (2011) 1 exemplars

Obres associades

Parachutisten vallen aan (2008) — Traductor, algunes edicions3 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Data de naixement
1941
Gènere
male
Nacionalitat
UK
Professions
military officer
Organitzacions
British Army
Premis i honors
Murray Naval History Prize

Membres

Ressenyes

A compelling and powerful global account of the Second World War in all its brutal intensity.
Evoking the epic scale of combat and its appalling impact across the globe, World War II is a unique telling of the Second World War.
Digital maps and timelines cover every major campaign and phase of the war highlighting the strategic problems, critical moments, decisions and military actions that decided its outcome. Eyewitness accounts from civilians and soldiers paint a vivid picture of wartime life, covering both crucial battles and daily life under siege or aerial bombardment. Plus a visitor's guide to the hundreds of battlefields, war cemeteries, museums and memorials to the fallen in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.… (més)
 
Marcat
MasseyLibrary | Oct 25, 2020 |
DK Publishing prints some very nice history books. I specifically like the ones dealing with various military topics, but they have other decent books too.

These books are meant more for casual armchair reading by a fire rather than concentrated, intense reading. They are large books that fill your entire lap when open. The hardbound version feels like a luxury book.

I enjoy reviewing photos and drawings along with text to look for minor errors or just confirmation of my understanding of assorted history (and other) topics.… (més)
½
 
Marcat
usma83 | Feb 17, 2016 |
This book changed my opinion of Sepp Dietrich he was a very down to earth man and solider. I feel he would have been better suited as a Division Commander. His need to be at the front and with his men was not possible as a Army or Corp commander. Any one interested in WWII or the Waffen SS should read this book.
 
Marcat
Philip100 | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | Aug 13, 2012 |
Books can be very much a personal thing, from the topic, to the way someone writes, to the small parts that make up the whole. Then there are books that stand alone solely because of the immense content and work that an author puts into it.

So when a book comes along that not only covers an area of the Great War that gets little analysis but is both readable and well researched it deserves a roaring mention. It comes as no surprise to know that the author spent five years in the preparation and writing of this work.

Charles Messenger has written such a book with his ‘Call to Arms’ which charts not the popular command and control or unit histories we see in more abundance than others but the much unappreciated aspects of Administration (A) that carry an army to war.

With its obvious remit it rightly tries to ignore in the main what the army did once on the battlefield, though occasionally it strays from the path into the two other military branches, those of Operations (G) and Logistics (Q). This subject of Administration has the potential of being the reading equivalent of eating cardboard but is however expertly done and at the end I was left feeling I had read far more than the five hundred pages within.

We are taken on a journey through the deployment of the regulars and the reserves, to the anguish of the territorial associations as they were virtually superseded by the New Army units and then finally as all three were supplemented by conscription.

This raising of new army units is followed logically to the study of officer selection as the army struggled to rebuild after the casualties of 1914 and the obvious void of turning what in effect was a Colonial Police Force into a Major European Army. How this was done, the pool it drew from and the schools and battalions that aided this, sometimes greatly and sometimes badly, are also covered. Logically the book then steps forward to Camberley and other training schools for the staff officer and how this critical area was developed and expanded during the war.

This enlargement of the army was also accompanied by new concepts of warfare and ways of training the troops, the new units, technological and tactical innovations are analysed with a good section covering the use and raising of units such as , Cyclist units, Machine Gun Corps, Tanks, Mortars, Gas and the rise of Bombing units. The schools raised to promote these new areas of warfare coupled with how commanders were reluctant to send their best men to join these new units is also given a mention. The use of tunnelling is also discussed, its recruitment, formation and the impact they were to have particularly on the western front.

With the rush of initial recruitment many skilled and semi skilled workers volunteered and the nation was stripped of the essential labour required to keep an army at war for four years. As an example we see that such as Army Agricultural Companies helped out at harvest time. In other theatres of war local labour was used to help and release men to other duties, however with France and Belgium requiring all its men, local labour was far harder to come by and Chinese men came in force to help, there was even some fifteen thousand Egyptians who spent time on the Western Front, though as we see, even this could not help with the manpower shortages of 1918 and the part it played in the near crushing defeats of March and April.

If you have an opinion, and most do on S.A.D., then the chapter dealing with Welfare and Moral, an important yet vastly uncovered area in print, is covered and the issues of discipline are explored. Shell shock affected the fabric of the army so greatly as it struggled to come to terms with a condition it seemed to feel it could not accept. In some instances resulting in Shot at Dawn problems and this is also discussed. Countering this the book also deals with honours and rewards, showing not just the way it went to war but how it managed to stay there and how the men were acknowledged for the efforts and bravery shown.

The use of medical personnel, the adhoc civilian nursing units raised by some female volunteers and then the eventual use of as the title says, ‘Women in Khaki‘, charts the progress as the whole ethos of Edwardian society changed to adapt to the industrialised war, as more and more females were recruited into helping at home and abroad, in medical, army and civilian uses.

All of these chapters are adequately backed up with accounts of veterans who were involved, some of these, sparingly used so as not to pad out the text, add a refreshing difference in there content to the normal narrative of the front line usually covered in first hand accounts so often seen, ala Lyn Macdonald or Max Arthur.

You get it all, the struggle and rivalry of the differing opinions and camps as fledgling units try to survive. The clash of society with the need of the country. The Politicians trying to provide the ways and means. The Generals attempting to administer an army they had never envisaged the size of and yet through all this the book does not seek to court controversy, but to chart the progress and quiet simply to be a book to read and then pick up every so often when you need to dip into it to find an answer to a question. The clearly defined lay out and chapter headings make this an ease and means that the pages will I am sure become well thumbed.

All of this is supported by an appendix that holds sections such as Army acronyms of over 14 pages, which begs the question who invented the use of buzz words we use in today’s society. Medical categories show how the men were defined. There is also a section on infantry units and a short descriptions of their role, like ‘Young soldiers battalions’ or ‘Supernumery Companies TF’. Then there is the usual bibliography and text source so critical to any work, and as you would expect the index rounding it all off.

At the books conclusion I was left with a better understanding why things happened as they did. I have always been amazed at what the army achieved in four years in the field, now I realise that it was as much a learning curve for those who administrated the structure of the men it sent. Truly it was an army built as it went, though not necessarily from the ground up.

This book is a must in hardback and a steal at its face price of £30 (around £20 on Amazon) but with the recent paperback release it should now join the ranks as an even more affordable book to adorn the shelves as a reference of immense depth.

If this is already in your pile to read, then move it to the top, If you do not own it then get yourself a copy and put it at the top.
… (més)
 
Marcat
andylonergan | Jun 15, 2011 |

Llistes

Potser també t'agrada

Autors associats

Estadístiques

Obres
55
També de
1
Membres
1,245
Popularitat
#20,610
Valoració
½ 3.7
Ressenyes
11
ISBN
155
Llengües
11

Gràfics i taules