France War

In the autumn of 2020 Ned Boulting (ITV head cycling commentator and Tour de France obsessive) bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge. Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it.

Some historians have called the Seven Years’ War the first true world war, and they make a good point. Ultimately, this globally coordinated war involved five continents and at least 29 states and tribal confederacies, with a casualty toll in the millions and the maps forever altered. As part of the Seven Years’ War, the French and Indian War was the last in a long series of colonial conflicts between the French and British and also changed the map in America. At the end of the war, disputed borders were finally settled, and both empires were left reeling from the costs of war.

Known as one of the deadliest battles in history with its over one million casualties, the Battle of the Somme in 1916 is regarded by many as the ultimate war of attrition. Intended to bring about a swift end to the First World War, the British planned a grueling five-day bombardment of German forces, only to be thwarted at seemingly every turn. Bad weather, poor communication, inferior planning, hubris, and even betrayal led to the Battle of the Somme lasting longer than anyone had anticipated.

The United Nations is one of the most famous bodies in the world, and its predecessor, the League of Nations, might be equally notorious. In fact, President Woodrow Wilson’s pet project was controversial from nearly the minute it was conceived. At the end of World War I, Wilson's pleas at the Paris Peace Conference relied on his Fourteen Points, which included the establishment of a League of Nations, but while his points were mostly popular amongst Americans and Europeans alike, leaders at the Peace Conference largely discarded them and favored different approaches.

Through a stellar cast of politicians, diplomats, spies and soldiers, including T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, A Line in the Sand vividly tells the story of the short but crucial era when Britain and France ruled the Middle East. It explains exactly how the old antagonism between these two powers inflamed the more familiar modern rivalry between the Arabs and the Jews and ultimately led to war between the British and the French in 1941 and between the Arabs and the Jews in 1948.

Paul Johnson's book is a refreshing return to a concept whose time has come once again: the Great Man theory of biography. It serves as "the greatest possible refutation of those who hold that events are governed by forces, classes, economics, and geography rather than the powerful wills of men and women". Napoleon truly was the Great Man of his age, a towering and terrible genius who managed to conquer the Continent.

Chief Inspector, Lord Ralph McGinniss has booked his boat fare to Australia to find his wife, Professor Claire Lane. Then a mysterious cold case file is handed to him from Sgt Pennyworth. British Army Intelligence has requested his help. Can he find Squadron Leader Mike Bristol? Was he last seen leaving The Fur & Feathers Pub in Stow on the Wold on the date stated on the warrant, 30th August 1944? Suspected of murdering two women. A well-known West End Actress Mia Jones and local shopkeeper Mrs Anne Tumbler. The Chief Ralph McGinniss is not convinced. With the war over, the cases of ...

The French Revolution facilitated the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, but after gaining power he knew that his first task was to end it. In this book William Doyle describes how he did so, beginning with the three large issues that had destabilized revolutionary France: war, religion, and monarchy.

Most people have heard about the French and Indian War, but you will find that most history classes have “forgotten” to explore some of the most interesting and important facets of this conflict. Its little-told stories and often underrated importance in world history have begun to be buried over the centuries. Was this epic struggle simply another war among many others in history?

In the spring of 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated. Having overseen an empire spanning half the European continent and governed the lives of some eighty million people, he suddenly found himself exiled to Elba, less than 100 square miles of territory. This would have been the end of him, if Europe's rulers had had their way. But soon enough Napoleon imposed his preternatural charisma and historic ambition on both his captors and the very island itself, plotting his return to France and to power.

FNH Audio presents a slightly abridged performance of this third volume of Charles Oman's military history classic. In this third volume, a detailed examination is made of the period from September 1809 to December 1810. This volume covers the battles of Ocana, Cadiz and Bussaco. It also examines in detail Massena's march through Portugal to the lines of Terres Vedras, the lines themselves, and his final retreat away in a desperate search for food.

At the age of 17, Adolfo Kaminsky had narrowly escaped deportation to Auschwitz and was living in Nazi-occupied Paris, using forged documents to hide in plain sight. Due to his expert knowledge of dyes and his ability to masterfully reproduce official documents with an artistic eye, he was recruited to join the Jewish underground. He soon became the primary forger for the Resistance in Paris, working tirelessly with his network to create papers that would save an estimated 14,000 men, women, and children from certain death.

These are entirely Napoleon Bonaparte's own words, written and spoken, and collected in journal form. A particular focus here has been put on Napoleon's writings that pertain to military and state matters. The dates in terms of the revolutionary calendar have been modernized, and names and titles of individuals mentioned have been maintained with no attempt at uniformity. This production was begun on the 250th year of Napoleon's birth.

What was it like to be a citizen fighting the Nazis? Lucie Aubrac, of Catholic and peasant background, was teaching history in a Lyon school and had just married Raymond, a Jewish engineer, when World War II erupted and divided France. This is Lucie's harrowing account of her participation in the Resistance, when, though pregnant, she planned and took part in raids to free comrades - including her husband, under Nazi death sentence - from the prisons of the infamous "Butcher of Lyon," Klaus Barbie.

Napoleon inspires passionately held and often conflicting visions. Was he a godlike genius, a romantic avatar, a megalomaniac monster, a compulsive warmonger or just a nasty little dictator? Whilst he displayed elements of these traits at certain times, Napoleon was none of these things. He was a man and, as Adam Zamoyski presents him in this landmark biography, a rather ordinary one at that.

A Special Package: In France During the Great War World War I is coming to an end. France is in chaos. Will they survive to make it back home? Will Dramer, a farmer from Tennessee, finds himself delivering a special package for the Allies--a live package--when he finds himself wounded during the Battle of the Bellau Woods and discovers a young French boy. Or is he a boy? Anne Renshaw had to find her brother, Peter, but the only way to get into France was as a nurse or a Hello Girl. But she suddenly finds herself being trained as a spy. Can she locate him while on a mission? Will a wounded ...

The famous D-Day landings of 6 June, 1944, marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle for the liberation of Europe. Republished as part of the Pan Military Classics series, Max Hastings’ acclaimed account overturns many traditional legends in this memorable study. Drawing together the eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides, plus a wealth of previously untapped sources and documents, Overlord provides a brilliant, controversial perspective on the devastating battle.

Napoleón ha hecho correr océanos de tinta, sus campañas militares, su ascenso a emperador, sus derrotas y sus exilios han sido tratados de casi todas las formas imaginables. La biografía de Bonaparte que encontramos en Breve Historia de Napoleón, no obstante, pretende combinar las biografías basadas en los detalles más íntimos del emperador francés con aquellas que presentan sus logros públicos, en una obra de carácter divulgativo que recoge su conocida capacidad como legislador y estratega militar.

David Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility that Napoleon represented. Bell emphasizes the importance of the French Revolution in understanding Napoleon's career. The revolution made possible the unprecedented concentration of political authority that Napoleon accrued. Without the political changes brought about by the revolution, Napoleon could not have fought his wars. Without the wars, he could not have seized and held onto power. Though his virtual dictatorship betrayed the ideals of liberty and equality, his life and career were revolutionary.

Fought from February to December 1916, the Battle of Verdun was intended to “bleed the French white” and bring their army to the point of collapse. Instigated by the Germans under the command of General Erich von Falkenhayn, it became a war of attrition that would benefit neither side. With its devastating death toll and the appalling number of wounded, the Battle of Verdun is one of the deadliest in history.