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Churchill 1940-1945
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 381

Churchill 1940-1945

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2011-08-12
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  • Publisher: Birlinn

In April 1945, Churchill said to Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 'There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them!' When he became Prime Minister on 10 May 1940 Churchill was without allies. Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain saved Britain from immediate defeat, but it was evident that Britain alone could never win the war. Churchill looked to America. He said that until Pearl Harbor 'no lover ever studied every whim of his mistress as I did those of President Roosevelt'. But would Roosevelt have entered the war if Pearl Harbor had not taken place? Until then his actions were ambivalent, and even afterwards America's policy was ...

Neville Chamberlain
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 320

Neville Chamberlain

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2021-09-02
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  • Publisher: Birlinn

Neville Chamberlain is remembered today as Hitler's credulous dupe, the man who proclaimed in September 1938 that the Munich agreement guaranteed 'peace in our time'.Unjsutly dismissed as one of the great losers of history, this is a magisterial reappraisal of the man and his legacy, showing him to be a true radical and a man of passion, particularly with regard to the welfare of his fellow citizens. As Minister of Health, Chancellor and Prime Minister, he presided over a fundamental modernisation of Britain, shutting the door on the Victorian age, ending Free Trade, improving living conditions and abolishing the Poor Law and the workhouse.Scarred by the death of his cousin in the First War, he was determined to ensure that another generation were spared the conflict that had engulfed their elders. Even so, he prepared for war while he worked for peace. The aircraft that won the Battle of Britain were built on his shift. He didn't win the Second War, but he ensured it wasn't lost in 1940.

Architect of Victory
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 728

Architect of Victory

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2011-08-12
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  • Publisher: Birlinn

Douglas Haig's popular image as an unimaginative butcher is unenviable and unmerited. In fact, he masterminded a British-led victory over a continental opponent on a scale that has never been matched before or since. Contrary to myth, Haig was not a cavalry-obsessed, blinkered conservative, as satirised in Oh! What a Lovely War and Blackadder Goes Forth. Fascinated by technology, he pressed for the use of tanks, enthusiastically embraced air power, and encouraged the use of new techniques involving artillery and machine-guns. Above all, he presided over a change in infantry tactics from almost total reliance on the rifle towards all-arms, multi-weapons techniques that formed the basis of Bri...

Empire of Sand
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 588

Empire of Sand

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2011-09-01
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  • Publisher: Birlinn

At the end of the First World War Britain and to a much lesser extent France created the modern Middle East. The possessions of the former Ottoman Empire were carved up with scant regard for the wishes of those who lived there. Frontiers were devised and alien dynasties imposed on the populations as arbitrarily as in medieval times. From the outset the project was destined to failure. Conflicting and ambiguous promises had been made to the Arabs during the war but were not honoured. Brief hopes for Arab unity were dashed, and a harsh belief in western perfidy persists to the present day. Britain was quick to see the riches promised by the black pools of oil that lay on the ground around Bagh...

Five Days From Defeat
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 344

Five Days From Defeat

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2017-11-02
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  • Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

On 21 March 1918 Germany initiated one of the most ferocious and offensives of the First World War. During the so-called Kaiserschlacht, German troops advanced on allied positions in a series of ferocious attacks which caused massive casualties, separated British and French forces and drove the British back towards the Channel ports. Five days later, as the German advance continued, one of the most dramatic summits of the war took place in Doullens. The outcome was to have extraordinary consequences. For the first time an allied supreme commander – the French General Foch – was appointed to command all the allied armies, while the statesmen realized that unity of purpose rather than national interest was ultimately the key to success. Within a few months a policy of defence became one of offence, and paved the way for British success at Amiens and the series of unbroken British victories that led Germany to plea for armistice. Victory in November 1918 was a matter for celebration; what was excised from history was how close Britain was to ignominious defeat just eight months earlier.

Keeping the Jewel in the Crown
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 459

Keeping the Jewel in the Crown

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2016-05-19
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  • Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

In 1947, when India achieved independence, Britain portrayed the transfer of power as the outcome of decades, even centuries, of responsible planning – the honourable discharge of an historic responsibility. That view has never been seriously challenged in Britain. But this book shows that the official narrative is a travesty of what really happened. Drawing on the documentary evidence – letters, diaries, state papers – Walter Reid reveals how Britain selfishly deceived and prevaricated in order to arrest political progress in India for as long as possible – a shameful passage in British imperial policy which led to tragedy and untold suffering when independence finally became inevitable.

Fighting Retreat
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 307

Fighting Retreat

Winston Churchill was closely connected with India from 1896, when he landed in Bombay with his regiment, until 1947, when Independence was finally achieved. No other British statesman had such a long association with the subcontinent—or interfered in its politics so consistently and harmfully. Churchill strove to sabotage any moves towards Independence, crippling the Government of India Act over five years of dogged opposition to its passage in the 1930s. As prime minister during the Second World War, Churchill frustrated the freedom struggle from behind the scenes, delaying Independence by a decade. To this day for Indians, he is the imperialist villain, held personally responsible for the Bengal Famine of 1943. This book reveals Churchill at his worst: cruel, obstructive and selfish. However, the same man was outstandingly liberal at the Colonial Office, risking his career with his generosity to the Boers, the Irish and the Middle East. Why was he so strangely hostile towards India?

Supreme Sacrifice
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 320

Supreme Sacrifice

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2016-08-18
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  • Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

The war memorial in the Scottish village of Bridge of Weir lists 72 men who died during the First World War. Their deaths occurred in almost every theatre of the war. They were awarded very few medals and their military careers were not remarkable - except in the important respect that they, like countless other peaceful civilians, answered their country's call in its time of need. This book follows the lives of these sons of Bridge of Weir, not just as soldiers, sailors and airmen, but as husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and members of a small local community which felt their loss intensely. At the same time it also paints a larger picture of the war - of the politicians and generals and military campaigns which shaped it. The brave men of Bridge of Weir know little of the wider context - their experience was of the little histories in which they fought and died. Readers of this book will understand what the 72 never knew: why and how the war was fought that claimed their lives.

Neville Chamberlain
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 441

Neville Chamberlain

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2021-09-02
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  • Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Neville Chamberlain is remembered today as Hitler's credulous dupe, the man who proclaimed in September 1938 that the Munich agreement guaranteed 'peace in our time'. This is a magisterial reappraisal of Chamberlain and his legacy. It reveals the nuances of a complex and sensitive man who was a true radical and a man of passion, especially in all that concerned the welfare of his fellow citizens. As Minister of Health, Chancellor and Prime Minister, he presided over a fundamental modernisation of Britain, shuttingthe door on the Victorian age, ending free trade, improving living conditions and abolishing the Poor Law and the workhouse. Munich was much more than the traditional narrative suggests. Scarred by the death of his cousin in the First World War, Chamberlain was determined to ensure that a new generation was spared the tragic waste that had consumed their elders. Even so, he prepared for war while he worked for peace. The aircraft that won the Battle of Britain were built on his watch. He didn't win the Second World War, but it was he who ensured it wasn't lost in 1940.

The Meaning of Company Accounts
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 336

The Meaning of Company Accounts

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2020-12-17
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  • Publisher: Routledge

This title was first published in 2000: The authors' workbook approach provides a treatment of financial accounting practice which readers at differing levels of knowledge can tailor individually to their learning requirements. There is an appendix of photocopiable formats including financial rations and segment analysis.