With a background as a journalist, reporter, and news editor for UK local newspapers, this author brings a wealth of experience to their writing. For over 25 years, they honed their skills as a sports production journalist for two major UK national newspapers, fueling a deep passion for sport and history. Their work is a testament to a lifelong dedication to researching, reading, and writing about these intertwined subjects. Readers can expect engaging narratives that blend meticulous research with a profound appreciation for the dynamics of sports and the echoes of the past.
Gentleman, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography.' So said General Plumer the day before 600 tons of explosives were detonated under the German position on Messines Ridge.
Brings Apollo 11's moon landing mission back to life as never before in a thrilling day-by-day account.
Few pivotal years in history are less understood than that of 1918. It was a momentous period, which began with Germany's desperate gamble to win the Great War through a sequence of offensives on the Western Front. Ian Passingham's graphic new study draws on a wide range of original German, British and French sources, and it features previously unpublished eyewitness accounts and photographs.He boldly reassesses German military doctrine, the strategic thinking behind the offensives and the effectiveness of the storm troop tactics used. He also considers how the poor state of German military morale and the privations and unrest of the German people contributed to the army's defeat.
Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the Imperial German Army went to war in 1914, supremely confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The much-vaunted 'Schlieffen Plan' on which the anticipated German victory was based provided for an equally decisive victory on the Eastern Front. But it was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the war on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But the popular perception of the war takes little or no account of the reality of life 'across the wire' in the German front line. A re-examination of the strategy and tactics of the German Army throughout the war, from the commanding generals to the ordinary soldiers at the Front, this book also assesses the implications of the Allied naval blockade on the German home front, the increasing problems of food and fuel shortages and the spectres of nationwide disease, hunger and then widespread starvation in Germany. Ian Passingham gives a unique and fully illustrated insight into the daily life of the German troops facing the British and French between 1914 and 1918 and fills a significant gap in the historiography of the First World War.
66: The World Cup in Real Time retells the story of the iconic 1966 finals as if they were happening today. Fifty years on, newspaper-style reports of all the matches and the off-field news bring the tournament back to life for the reader. Rewind to 1966, relive the gripping, controversial and sometimes comical story of England's greatest triumph.