Richard Dannatt, Robert Lyman

Victory to Defeat (eBook, PDF)

The British Army 1918-40

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

A compelling history of the decline of an army from the triumph of victory in 1918 to defeat in 1940 and why this happened. A salutary warning for modern Britain.

'A compelling history.' - The Sunday Times
'Thought-provoking.' - The Spectator
'Interesting and well-researched.' - The Sunday Telegraph

The British Army won a convincing series of victories between 1916 and 1918. But by 1939 the British Army was an entirely different animal. The hard-won knowledge, experience and strategic vision that delivered victory after victory in the closing stages of the First World War had been lost. In the inter-war years there was plenty of talking, but very little focus on who Britain might have to fight, and how. Victory to Defeat clearly illustrates how the British Army wasn't prepared to fight a first-class European Army in 1939 for the simple reason that as a country Britain hadn't prepared itself to do so. The failure of the army's leadership led directly to its abysmal performance in Norway and France in 1940.

Victory to Defeat is a captivating history of the mismanagement of a war-winning army. It is also a stark warning that we neglect to understand who our enemy might be, and how to defeat him, at the peril of our country. The British Army is now to be cut to its smallest size since 1714. Are we, this book asks, repeating the same mistakes again?

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 352
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. September 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472860828
• Artikelnr.: 68354140

Autorenporträt

General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL is one of the UK's most respected military commentators, frequently appearing on television and radio and in newsprint, most recently on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the West.
As Chief of the General Staff he was given overall command of the British Army at a time when fighting was fiercest in Afghanistan. From his first day in the job, he proved himself a courageous leader and a forceful advocate for his men, never shying from controversy to tell the truth as he found it.
More than any military leader of recent times, Richard Dannatt used his position to get a better deal for the British soldier - the right equipment, the right conditions, the right reward - to do the job the country asks of them. His leadership and example were critical in shaping the debate about the role of the professional army in modern warfare. He entered the House of Lords as a Crossbencher in 2011.
His autobiography, Leading From The Front (Bantam Press, 2010) and subsequent Boots On The Ground: Britain and her Army since 1945 (Profile, 2017) were published to strong reviews and sales. Both books made prescient arguments for Britain to retain a coherent land army, capable of deploying to meet high intensity challenges to the country's interests.
He lives in in Norfolk.

Inhaltsangabe

List of Illustrations and maps Acknowledgements Introduction: La Forêt de
Compiègne Prologue: Calais, 1940 PART ONE: THE GREAT WAR Chapter 1: The
Kaiserschlacht and its consequences Chapter 2: Confronting the enormity of
the Great War on the front line Chapter 3: Finding a way through the mud
and the blood to the green fields beyond Chapter 4: Masters of the
battlefield, 1918 PART TWO: POST WAR AND INTER WAR Chapter 5: Peace, and
derangement Chapter 6: Old and new post-bellum responsibilities - and the
Irish Question Chapter 7: Imperial policeman versus continental commitment
Chapter 8: The modern major general: more categorical or allegorical?
Chapter 9: What is the army for, and how should it fight? Chapter 10: The
battle of the tank Chapter 11: Britain faces a rapidly changing world PART
THREE: NEW THREATS AND NEW REALITIES Chapter 12: Boiling the frog: the rise
of the Nazi threat Chapter 13: The slow rush to rearm Chapter 14: Feeding
the crocodile PART FOUR: THE END OF THE BEGINNING Chapter 15: The empire
declares war Chapter 16: The chickens come home to roost Chapter 17:
Sichelschnitt: the anatomy of disaster Epilogue: El Alamein and beyond
Appendix: Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff 1915-46 Notes Suggestions
for further reading Index