The Victoria Crosses That Saved An Empire

Author : Brian Best
Publisher : Frontline Books
ISBN 13 : 1473857074
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Victoria Crosses that Saved an Empire written by Brian Best and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2016-06-19 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Indian Mutiny struck at the very heart of the British Empire. If India was lost the whole edifice of British domination across its colonies was in jeopardy. Everything was at stake, Britains leading role in the word, its international commerce and the reputation of its armed forces. Across the globe Britain ruled only through the compliance of the subordinate nations but if India could throw off the imperialist yolk others might also rebel. The very fate of the Empire hung in the balance.The situation was considered to be so serious that the British authorities extended the warrant of the newly-created Victoria Cross to include anyone, even civil servants, who performed prodigious acts of valour to save India, and save the Empire.A total 182 VCs were awarded during the Mutiny, the same number as in the whole of the Second World War, climaxing in one day at Lucknow when twenty-four men displayed extraordinary valour to raise the siege the most VCs ever won in a single day.This is the story of those few months between May 1857 and June 1858 when the world turned its gaze upon the jewel in Victorias crown and 182 men soldier, sailor and civilian wrote their names into the history books.

Author : Michael Ashcroft
Publisher : Biteback Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1785901400
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Victoria Cross Heroes: Volume II written by Michael Ashcroft and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Lance-Sergeant Johnson Beharry VC THE VICTORIA CROSS is Britain and the Commonwealth's most prestigious gallantry medal for courage in the face of the enemy. It has been bestowed upon 1,355 heroic individuals from all walks of life since its creation during the Crimean War. Lord Ashcroft, who has been fascinated with bravery since he was a young boy, now owns 200 VCs, by far the largest collection of its kind in the world. Following on from the bestselling Victoria Cross Heroes, first published in 2006 to mark the 150th anniversary of the award, Victoria Cross Heroes: Volume II gives extraordinary accounts of the bravery behind the newest additions to Lord Ashcroft's VC collection - those decorations purchased in the last decade. With nearly sixty action-packed stories of courageous soldiers, sailors and airmen from a range of global conflicts including the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 and the First and Second World Wars, this book is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit and a worthy tribute to the servicemen who earned the Victoria Cross. Their inspirational deeds of valour and self-sacrifice should be championed and never forgotten.

Author : John Grehan
Publisher : Frontline Books
ISBN 13 : 1473851726
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The First VCs written by John Grehan and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Officers led and men followed; all were expected to do their duty without thought of reward. Enlisted men rarely penetrated the officer ranks and promotion owed more to money than merit. Then came the Crimean War.The incompetence and ineffectiveness of the senior officers contrasted sharply with the bravery of the lower ranks. Fuelled by the reports from the first-ever war correspondents which were read by an increasingly literate public, the mumblings of discontent rapidly grew into a national outcry. Questions were asked in Parliament, answers were demanded by the press why were the heroes of the Alma, Inkerman and the Charge of the Light Brigade not being recognised? Something had be done.That something was the introduction of an award that would be of such prestige it would be sought by all men from the private to the Field Marshal. It would be the highest possible award for valour in the face of the enemy and it bore the name of the Queen for whom the men fought.This is the story of how the first Victoria Crosses were attained in the heat of the most deadly conflict of the nineteenth century. It is also an examination of how the definition of courage, as recognised by the awarding of VCs, evolved, from saving the regimental colours at the Alma to saving a comrade in the No Mans Land before Sevastopol.

Author : Lara Kriegel
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108842224
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.28/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Crimean War and its Afterlife written by Lara Kriegel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-17 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rescuing the Crimean War from the shadows, Lara Kriegel demonstrates the centrality of a Victorian war to the making of modern Britain.

Author : Brian Best
Publisher : Frontline Books
ISBN 13 : 1526772477
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Unrewarded Courage written by Brian Best and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A historical analysis of the courageous military acts denied the highest award from the British honours system. The Victoria Cross is the most exclusive and prestigious of all gallantry awards. In order to retain this exclusivity, the standard of courage, endeavor or sacrifice required for a recommendation to be accepted for the award of the VC must be of the highest possible order. This has meant that many extremely courageous acts have failed to be rewarded with the VC, even though they appear to be just as remarkable in the level of danger and daring as some of those which were accepted for the medal. The reason for this, is that the awarding of the VC, indeed even the acknowledgment from a commanding officer that an individual’s action merits submission to the selection board, is entirely subjective. What one general might consider to be of exceptional valor might be regarded by another senior officer as merely a soldier carrying out his duty. When Trooper Clement Roberts rode into the thick of battle in South Africa to rescue a young war reporter who had been thrown from his horse, little did he know that he was saving the life of Britain’s future wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Recommended for the VC, Roberts was eventually awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Similarly, following the airborne operation at Arnhem in the Second World War, Captain Michael Dauncey was recommended by three other officers for the award of the Victoria Cross. These appeals, however, were rejected. The reasons behind the failure to award Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne, a member of 1st SAS Regiment, the VC, despite repeated calls for his actions to be recognized in such a manner, was the subject of an Early Day Motion put before the House of Commons as recently as June 2005. In this revealing and unique analysis of actions that did not result in the award of the VC, despite recommendations to this effect, Brian Best has highlighted the uneven decisions made throughout the decades and in campaigns around the globe, that led to some men becoming national heroes and others, equally courageous, being merely footnotes in history. Praise for Unrewarded Courage “There have been plenty of books about the Victoria Cross and the men who were awarded them, but this is the first, I think, about acts of bravery and valour that apparently did not merit the award. Absolutely brilliant.” —Books Monthly (UK)

Author : Frank Jastrzembski
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1473866820
Total Pages : 259 pages
Book Rating : 4.29/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Valentine Baker's Heroic Stand at Tashkessen 1877 written by Frank Jastrzembski and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-30 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are moments in the past of many a man's career that stand out clear and defined after the lapse of even many years: life pictures, the very memory of which brings back a glorious thrill of pride and pleasure. This is the feeling which vibrates through me still, when I recall that last and closing scene that crowned the hard-fought fight at Tashkessen.History has best remembered Valentine Baker for his embarrassments. In 1875, he was accused of sexual assault and dismissed from the British Army. In 1884, he suffered an embarrassing defeat at the Battle of El Teb. But what about Baker's positive achievements?The most underappreciated event that took place in his controversial life came during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877. The exiled Baker, in command of 3,000 Ottoman soldiers, was dispatched to the village of Tashkessen to stall 25,000 advancing Russian soldiers. Through his superb leadership and brilliant disposition of his troops, Baker was able to score a victory.The Spartan stand of Baker and his command has gained little recognition. Despite this modern obscurity, Baker's performance at Tashkessen was applauded by his contemporaries as a model of tactical leadership and heroism. This is the exhilarating tale of how Valentine Baker was able to find redemption at Tashkessen.

Author : William Wright
Publisher : Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN 13 : 1445684705
Total Pages : 633 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Victorian Epic written by William Wright and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2024-03-15 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores one of the most dramatic episodes in British military history - and 24 VCs won in a single day.

Author : Kevin Brazier
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1473872065
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Complete Victoria Cross written by Kevin Brazier and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully revised paperback edition of the complete chronological record of VC holders is an essential work of reference for every student of military history. All the British and Commonwealth servicemen who have been awarded the highest honour for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice are commemorated here. The first VCs awarded for the Crimean War and in the nineteenth-century colonial wars are described, as are the VCs awarded in the world wars of the twentieth century and the most recent VCs awarded during present-day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extraordinary exploits recounted in this fascinating book make unforgettable reading.

Author : Thomas Henry Kavanagh
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How I Won the Victoria Cross written by Thomas Henry Kavanagh and published by . This book was released on 1860 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Jonathan Fennell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107030951
Total Pages : 967 pages
Book Rating : 4.54/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Fighting the People's War written by Jonathan Fennell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 967 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.