First World War Folk Tales

Download or read book Myths and Legends of the First World War written by James Hayward and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the First World War, a rich crop of legends sprouted from the battlefields and grew with such ferocity that many still excite controversy today. This book is the first to examine the roots of those stories and reveal the truth. Some myths remain well-known. Did an entire battalion of the Norfolk Regiment vanish without trace at Gallipoli in 1915? Did thousands of Russian troops actually pass through England with snow on their boots? In 1914, an acute spy mania gripped the British public, who imagined that the country was brimming with German spies. Xenophobia, denunciations and attacks on dachshunds were rampant. Amazingly, there was even talk of enemy aircraft dropping poisoned sweets to kill British children. Myths such as the Angel of Mons and the Comrade in White were more innocent creations. With no radio or television, rumours of disaster were rife, and the apparition of mystical guardian spirits gave hope to the civilian population at home. Other stories, such as the so-called Crucified Canadian, and the existence of a gruesome German corpse rendering factory, were more sinister. Yet in an age of new and startling technologies such as poison gas, submarine warfare and the tank, such tales appeared believable. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, James Hayward traces the story of each myth and examines the likely explanation. Supported by a selection of rare photographs and illustrations, the result is a refreshingly different perspective on the common 'mud and trenches' view of the First World War, shedding fascinating new light on many curious and unexplained wartime tales.

Download or read book First World War Folk Tales written by Taffy Thomas and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2014-08-04 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 2014 to 2018, people all over the world will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. They will not only be honouring those who lost their lives on the battlefield between 1914 and 1918, they will also be remembering everyone who played a part in, or lived through, those troubled times. First World War Folk Tales is a very special collection of legends and folk tales from the First World War era. This special centenary collection shows how elements of truth can become legend, how people often attempt to explain the strange and the mysterious through stories and tales, and how storytelling can ease the pain and the burden of war.

Download or read book A World Undone written by G. J. Meyer and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2007-05-29 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Drawing on exhaustive research, this intimate account details how World War I reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of our modern world “Thundering, magnificent . . . [A World Undone] is a book of true greatness that prompts moments of sheer joy and pleasure. . . . It will earn generations of admirers.”—The Washington Times On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War: four long years of slaughter, physical and moral exhaustion, and the near collapse of a civilization that until 1914 had dominated the globe. Praise for A World Undone “Meyer’s sketches of the British Cabinet, the Russian Empire, the aging Austro-Hungarian Empire . . . are lifelike and plausible. His account of the tragic folly of Gallipoli is masterful. . . . [A World Undone] has an instructive value that can scarcely be measured”—Los Angeles Times “An original and very readable account of one of the most significant and often misunderstood events of the last century.”—Steve Gillon, resident historian, The History Channel

Download or read book Lest We Forget written by Stephen Liddell and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First World War was a catastrophe that engulfed not just the continent, but the rest of the world as well. It cost millions of lives, and changed the course of the century. 'Lest We Forget' provides an accessible overview of that titanic struggle, which was the foundation for the modern world and modern Britain, covering both life in the trenches and also life on the Home Front. It draws out the key events and themes that occurred throughout the conflict. The book provides both narrative and argument and will appeal to military historians and also students and soldiers interested in the Great War. It is split into 28 easy to read sections, including the following: The Road to War The Race to the Sea Life in the Trenches War Literature and Poetry The Battle of the Somme The War at Sea The Home Front Women and the War War in the Air Gallipoli The War around the World The Russian Revolution Armistice Stephen Liddell is a writer and historian and when not writing runs Ye Olde England Tours. He writes regularly for various publications as well as his own website www.stephenliddell.co.uk. His other works include 'Planes, Trains and Sinking Boats', 'How to Get Rich Using Airbnb', as well as the historical fiction trilogy 'The Promise', 'The Messenger' and 'Forever and Until'.

Download or read book Intimate Voices from the First World War written by Svetlana Palmer and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2005-01-04 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of World War I is brought to life through the gripping personal narratives of those at the center of the storm. World War I was waged by young people from twenty-eight countries in an era without the advantages of military "embeds," satellite phones, and streaming media coverage. Intimate Voices from the First World War fills in the gaps in the history of the world's first global confrontation with excerpts from recently uncovered letters and diaries of those on the front lines and their friends at home. In their reflections on the vastness of the enterprise of war, these combatants, victims, and eyewitnesses re-create the scope of the conflict with immediacy and tenderness. Written with the frankness and intimacy of words not intended for public eyes -- full of private passions, prejudices, humor, and vivid insights -- these communiqués speak to us directly from within the war itself and from all sides of the conflict. These marvelous historical narratives not only immerse readers in an ongoing dialogue about the meaning of human conflict but also serve as reminders of the individual perspectives and beliefs that sometimes get overlooked during times of global strife.

Download or read book Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic - Hardcover written by Robert Laplander and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2017-01-13 with total page 726 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its release in 2006, 'Finding the Lost Battalion' by Robert J. Laplander has become the benchmark work against which all things Lost Battalion related have been measured. Now, in this updated 3rd edition released to coincide with the centennial of America's entry into WW1, Mr. Laplander again takes us to the Charlevaux Ravine to delve deeper into the story than ever before! Meticulously chronicling what would become arguably the most famous event of America's part in the war, we find the truths behind the legend. Spanning twenty years of research and hundreds of sources (most never before seen), the reader is led through the Argonne Forest during September and October, 1918 virtually hour by hour. The result is the single most factual accounting of the Lost Battalion story and their leader, Charles W. Whittlesey, to date. Told in an entertaining, fast moving style, the book has become a favorite the world over! With new Forward by Major-General William Terpeluk, US Army (Ret).

Download or read book The Story of the Second World War written by Paul Dowswell and published by Usborne Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A far-reaching account of the story of the Second World War, written from a genuinely international perspective, showing how the war affected nations and people all over the world. Black and white and hand-coloured photographs give an atmospheric period feel.