John Keegan Books

The origins of Western warfare can be traced back to classical Greece, particularly on the battlefields of Marathon, Delion, and Koroneia, where the Greeks developed a brutal and decisive form of combat involving armed men of all ages. This study presents a fresh interpretation of Greek warfare, arguing that the same principles that shaped democracy—immediate resolution of conflict—also contributed to the horrific nature of hoplite phalanx battles. The narrative draws from a wide range of sources, including Greek poetry, drama, and historical records, to depict the mechanics of classical warfare. Focusing on the infantryman's perspective, it delves into the brutal realities of spear-thrusting and shield-pushing, the challenges of fighting in bronze armor, and the psychological turmoil of mass panic. It examines the physical condition, age, and morale of soldiers and their commanders, as well as their weapons and capabilities. Additionally, it explores the social and political dimensions of the soldier's experience, illustrating how the intense and brutal nature of infantry battles profoundly impacted their relationships with family, community, and country. This account raises new questions and challenges existing assumptions about the fundamental reasons for war.

World War II involved the fighting forces and civilian populations of every continent on the globe, The Illustrated London News, had been chronicling international events for almost a hundred years before Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939. The World At War covers those momentous years with an immediacy that a mere written record cannot supply. Taking both pictures and comments as they were first set down over fifty years ago. Includes more than 750 incredible black and white photographs. Follows events week by week as they unfolded, from German attack on Danzig in 1939, to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Who's Who in the Second World War is a completely original view of World War II, as seen from the human, rather than military, viewpoint. This fascinating and authoriative guide assembles the most important and significant characters from amongst the vast array of those involved in this monumental conflict. World War II, unlike World War I, was truly a global conflict, fought in every one of the five continents, and by combatants from every continental region. It was also, as World War I had not been, a conflict of ideologies. As a result its most significant figures have a particular richness and depth, including not only soldiers and statesmen of orthodox background but three dictators of world stature, and a host of politicians, heroes, martyrs, idealists, and traitors. From the British minister Duff Cooper to the dictator Joseph Stalin, from Nancy Fiocca of the French Resistance to Hitler in all his manifestations, every angle of the war is represented in intriguing detail. Each entry conveys not only the salient facts about the life and career of each figure but also the flavor of their individuality. Full of meticulous research and up-to-date scholarship, and including a thorough chronology of the war, Who's Who in the Second World War in an invaluable aid to an understanding of the characters, as well as the action, of the Second World War.

The Romans built perhaps the greatest empire of all time, forged with an unequalled skill in warfare. Accompany these unparalleled Roman troops from the conquest of Italy through to world conquest. Watch as defeated armies became allies and future soldiers of the Empire. Consider the irony of extreme brutality and repression leading to peace and prosperity. All the techniques and the organization of this amazingly advanced fighting force come into focus, from the emphasis on drills to its superior technology and bureaucracy.

Details on major weapons, ships, vehicles, aircraft, tanks, along with a recounting on every major campaign and battle, and hundreds of biographies of military and civilian leaders are collected in this visual encyclopedia of World War II. Illustrations.

The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at 'the point of maximum danger'. It examines the physical conditions of fighting, the particular emotions and behaviour generated by battle, as well as the motives that impel soldiers to stand and fight rather than run away. In his scrupulous reassessment of three battles, John Keegan vividly conveys their reality for the participants, whether facing the arrow cloud of Agincourt, the levelled muskets of Waterloo or the steel rain of the Somme.

The greatest politician and statesmen of the twentieth century by Britain's leading military historian. schovat popis

A chronological history of each theater of the war, analyzing five battles for their distinctive kind of warfare of the period.

Celebrated military historian, John Keegan, and co-author, Richard Holmes, chart the changes in the conduct of warfare through history with an instructive combination of analysis and illustration. In the process they reveal that what has not changed is that an army ultimately has to depend on the courage and determination of its fighting men. With an introduction by Frederick Forsyth.

A group of military historians examine the careers of 20 key generals who served under Winston Churchill in World War II. John Keegan's introduction examines Churchill's strategic cast of thought and working methods. Intolerant of failure, he sacked his generals ruthlessly and, according to the text, came to be sesrved by men of exceptional abillty as leaders, field commanders or specialists in irregular warfare.