The War Diaries Of General David Watson

Author : Geoffrey Jackson
Publisher : Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN 13 : 177112508X
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The War Diaries of General David Watson written by Geoffrey Jackson and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2021-11-11 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The diary of David Watson, who rose through the officer ranks to command one of the four divisions in the Great War, is an exceptional document that details with candid insight the responsibilities of senior command and shows the talent required to rise through the CEF to divisional command. The only published diary of a Canadian who held this rank in the last two (critical) years of the war, it focuses on the evolution of military leadership and associated challenges that Watson (and his peers) faced during the Great War. It recounts how he navigated not only the military battlefield in France and Belgium but also the political battlefield of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and larger British Expeditionary Force. The divisional commanders played a central role in the Corps’ transformation into a first-rate professional army, a transformation that coincided with Watson’s tenure at the 4th Division. Major-General David Watson’s personal accounts offer valuable insights into the innermost workings of the Canadian Corps at various stages during the war and in particular its emergence as an elite fighting force and the pride of a nation

Author : G F Wagner Editor
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Life, Letters and War Diaries of Sir David Watson, Volume I 1914-1916, 2nd Ed. written by G F Wagner Editor and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To the Reader ..... this book was not supposed to be !I only sought out Major-General Sir David Watson's War Diaries to find all references to my grandfather, who was his Aide-de-Camp during World War I. In the process, I became engrossed in the diaries and read them in their entirety. Simultaneously, I sought out references to Watson in the history books. Here I discovered that the man described in the books was not the man revealed in the diaries. Historians have characterized Watson as a political insider who used his wealth and connections during the war to obtain high command. He has likewise been judged as one of the worst Canadian generals of World War I. Comments from friends, however, and the diaries and letters, reveal him otherwise as a modest man who cared deeply about his men, deliberately shared their privations, and worked tirelessly on their behalf. Watson was born in Quebec City to humble circumstances. And yet, he was renowned there as a star athlete, and rose to become one of its wealthiest citizens. His was one of Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches stories, except that in his case, it was all true. Then, at age 45, he went overseas and rose from Colonel to Major-General in the Canadian Corps. He led 2nd CDN Battalion, 5th CDN Brigade and then 4th CDN Division from 1916 until War's end, and was knighted for his service. He then died suddenly of a stroke in 1922. And so my original intention, which was to learn more about my grandfather, subsequently morphed into a desire to set the record straight on Sir David Watson's character and war record.In 'Dave, we hardly knew you', Watson's War Diaries have been transcribed in full, along with the letters he wrote and received at the time, plus newspaper articles by journalists who visited him at the Front, all inserted chronologically. They reveal his views on American neutrality, citizen soldiers, his conversations with German prisoners, and his views on the War in general, all as quoted by the Press. And wherever necessary, editorial comment have been inserted either for clarity or to better inform the reader.Watson wrote to his family, the CDN Corps General Staff, and friends such as Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook). Viewed collectively, the diaries and letters put an entirely different slant on the man. And, for diehard fans of Great War history, his thoughts & words make for interesting reading. Volume I covers Watson's early life (1869-1914) and the first three years of the Great War (1914-1916), supplemented by some 60 photographs and maps, most of which have never been seen before.

Author : Geoffrey Jackson
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 0774860170
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Empire on the Western Front written by Geoffrey Jackson and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Great Britain and its dominions declared war on Germany in August 1914, they were faced with the formidable challenge of transforming masses of untrained citizen-soldiers at home and abroad into competent, coordinated fighting divisions. The Empire on the Western Front focuses on the development of two units, Britain’s 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division and the Canadian 4th Division, to show how the British Expeditionary Force rose to this challenge. By turning the spotlight on army formation and operations at the divisional level, Jackson calls into question existing accounts that emphasize the differences between the imperial and dominion armies.

Author : Gen. Henry H. “Hap.” Arnold
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1786251523
Total Pages : 570 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book American Airpower Comes Of Age—General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold’s World War II Diaries Vol. II [Illustrated Edition] written by Gen. Henry H. “Hap.” Arnold and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 180 maps, plans, and photos. Gen Henry H. “Hap.” Arnold, US Army Air Forces (AAF) Chief of Staff during World War II, maintained diaries for his several journeys to various meetings and conferences throughout the conflict. Volume 1 introduces Hap Arnold, the setting for five of his journeys, the diaries he kept, and evaluations of those journeys and their consequences. General Arnold’s travels brought him into strategy meetings and personal conversations with virtually all leaders of Allied forces as well as many AAF troops around the world. He recorded his impressions, feelings, and expectations in his diaries. Maj Gen John W. Huston, USAF, retired, has captured the essence of Henry H. Hap Arnold—the man, the officer, the AAF chief, and his mission. Volume 2 encompasses General Arnold’s final seven journeys and the diaries he kept therein.

Author : Fedor von Bock
Publisher : Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN 13 : 9780764300752
Total Pages : 608 pages
Book Rating : 4.5X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The War Diary written by Fedor von Bock and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 1996 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Von Bock memoirs, which appear here for the first time, allow the reader to see the entire drama of the Second World War through the eyes of one of Germany's most important military commanders. After the attacks on Poland and Western Europe, campaigns he helped bring to a succesful conclusion, von Bock became Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center which carried out the main drive on Moscow during Operation Barbarossa and brought the Red Army to the verge of collapse in the great battles of encirclement. Hitler relieved von Bock when the German offensive bogged down during the winter of 1941/1942. After he returned as Commander-in-Chief of Army Group South, von Bock was eventually placed in temporary retirement when he critized Hitler's division of forces against Stalingrad and the Caucasus-the road to castrophe began. Army commanders like Hoth, Guderian, Kluge and Paulus served under Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock, while at his side stood his nephew Henning von Tresckow, who led the most active resistance movement against Hitler, and Carl-Hans von Hardenberg, a friend and advisor of Stauffenberg. Their efforts to win over von Bock failed, yet the Generalfeldmarschall tolerated the pronounced resistance sentiments among his staff, and even became privy to the attempted assissination of Hitler on July 20, 1944. This book allows us to reassess Fedor von Bock, whose complex personality is revealed by his diary entries, and by the biographical sketches by editor Klaus Gerbet.

Author : TERRY KINLOCH
Publisher : Exisle Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1775593959
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Godley written by TERRY KINLOCH and published by Exisle Publishing. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive biography of General Sir Alexander Godley, presenting for the first time a fair and balanced look at his time as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and II ANZAC Corps during World War I. While Godley is generally remembered as being a poor field commander, Terry Kinloch argues that he was in fact a capable one who had little or no ability to influence the failed battles at Gallipoli and Passchendaele that he is often seen as responsible for. Kinloch also presents, for the first time, a detailed account of Godley’s long pre- and post-World War I career in the British Army. After the war Godley returned to the British Army, eventually reaching the rank of general before retiring in 1933. During his 48-year military career, he also served on operations in Rhodesia and South Africa, as a mounted infantry instructor, in the post-war British occupation force in Germany, and as the Governor of Gibraltar.

Author : George E. Stratemeyer
Publisher : Department of the Air Force
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 592 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Three Wars of Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer written by George E. Stratemeyer and published by Department of the Air Force. This book was released on 1999 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume, we examine the challenges and opportunities created by global migration at the start of the 21st century. Our focus extends beyond economic impact to questions of international law, human rights, and social and political incorporation. We examine immigrant outcomes and policy questions at the global, national, and local levels. Our primary purpose is to connect ethical, legal, and social science scholarship from a variety of disciplines in order to raise questions and generate new insights regarding patterns of migration and the design of useful policy.While the book incorporates studies of the evolution of immigration law globally and over the very long term, as well as considerations of the magnitude and determinants of immigrant flows at the global level, it places particular emphasis on the growth of immigration to the United States in the 1990s and early 2000s and provides new insights on the complex relationships between federal and state politics and regulation, popular misconceptions about the economic and social impacts of immigration, and the status of 'undocumented' immigrants.

Author : Geoffrey Hayes
Publisher : Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN 13 : 1554586976
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Vimy Ridge written by Geoffrey Hayes and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2009-10-22 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the morning of April 9, 1917, troops of the Canadian Corps under General Julian Byng attacked the formidable German defences of Vimy Ridge. Since then, generations of Canadians have shared a deep emotional attachment to the battle, inspired partly by the spectacular memorial on the battlefield. Although the event is considered central in Canadian military history, most people know very little about what happened during that memorable Easter in northern France. Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment draws on the work of a new generation of scholars who explore the battle from three perspectives. The first assesses the Canadian Corps within the wider context of the Western Front in 1917. The second explores Canadian leadership, training, and preparations and details the story of each of the four Canadian divisions. The final section concentrates on the commemoration of Vimy Ridge, both for contemporaries and later generations of Canadians. This long-overdue collection, based on original research, replaces mythology with new perspectives, new details, and a new understanding of the men who fought and died for the remarkable achievement that was the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Co-published with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies

Author : Bill Thompson
Publisher : Troubador Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1784622788
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Morland – Great War Corps Commander written by Bill Thompson and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2015-06-28 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British officer class in 1914 benefited from the discipline instilled by public schools. Thomas Morland was one such officer. Born in Canada, he was orphaned at the age of five. He became a widower with two daughters at a young age. In October 1914 he went to France to command the 5th Division, then south of Ypres. Morland served on the Somme and Messines & Third Ypres, and in 1918 he commanded a corps during the victorious 100 Days campaign. Morland’s diaries record the above events and his comments thereon, every day for four years, beginning at the Battle of La Bassee, near Ypres. He was parachuted in while the battle was raging and held the shaken division together during the second half of October. A modest man, he was surprised by his promotion to lieutenant-general in 1915. Morland led X Corps at the beginning of the Somme campaign in July 1916 but was replaced by General Gough, his army chief, who thought Morland was not sufficiently decisive. During 1917 he took part in the successful Battle of Messines on 7 June, a ‘Red Letter’ day, and the attrition of the Third Battle of Ypres from July to November. Morland ended the war in pursuit of the retreating Germans, in November 1918. A sense of realism permeates his diary, with comments like 'The war has simply become a process of attrition' in 1915 and 'We cannot expect men to advance to attack in mud up to the waist!' in 1917. During his time away from home, he wrote regularly to his daughters, in whom he confided his hopes and fears. His love for them shines through the pages, reflecting the man behind the uniform. Morland – Great War Corps Commander is the first book to publish the papers of an officer of his rank. With many original accounts of major battles, this is a book that will appeal to military history enthusiasts everywhere.

Author : Peter Farrugia
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 077486494X
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Portraits of Battle written by Peter Farrugia and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2021-04-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Portraits of Battle brings together biography, battle accounts, and historiographical analysis to examine the lives of a cross-section of Canadians who served in the First World War. All Canadians are taught about Vimy Ridge, but that celebrated victory was just one battle among many to shape the country’s experience of the war. These portraits of the formerly faceless men and women honoured on war memorials provide a fresh and nuanced perspective on the complex legacy of the Great War in Canadian history.