Engines of War: How Wars Were Won and Lost on the Railways
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Review
"Publishers Weekly"
"Wolmar writes with an authoritative tone and solid research on how railroads, with their ability to move vast numbers of troops, made "industrial-scale carnage possible."
"Library Journal"
"Very accessible and likely to be popular with readers of general military history.""
"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
This is a Christmas hardback with tremendous sales potential. "Engines of War" tells the dramatic story of how the birth of the railways shaped how wars were fought and won, facilitating conflict on a previously unimaginable scale. Before the nineteenth century, armies had to rely on slow and unreliable methods of transportation to move soldiers and equipment during times of conflict. However, as Christian Wolmar demonstrates in this book, the birth of the railway in the early 1830s would transform the theatres of war. "Engines of War" spans more than a century and takes in all the engagements in which railways played a part, including the Crimean War, American Civil War, both world wars, the Korean War, and the Cold War - with its mysterious missile trains. It shows that the 'iron road' not only made armies far more mobile, but also greatly increased the scale and power of available weaponry. In doing so, wars were fought across wider fronts and over longer timescales, with far deadlier consequences. Christian Wolmar reveals how the extent and intensity of war increased during this period as a result of this fast and efficient transport and shows how the railways - a fantastic generator of wealth in peacetime - became a weapon of war exploited to the full by governments across the world, facilitating conflict on a scale that was previously unimaginable. From armoured engines with their swiveling guns to track sabotage by way of dynamite, railway lines constructed across frozen Siberian lakes and a Boer war ambush involving Winston Churchill, "Engines of War" is Christian Wolmar's most ambitious and original book yet, confirming his reputation as our leading transport historian. It is suitable for fans of Simon Winchester, Peter Ackroyd, Andrew Roberts, Anthony Beevor, Patrick Bishop and Christian Wolmar's "The Subterranean Railway", "Fire and Steam" and "Blood, Iron and Gold".
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Among the plethora of books about wars it's good to read a new one that deals with a subject that I have not seen covered in detail before. I have read the odd chapter dealing with subjects like the use of trains in transporting holocaust victims or troop movements in the UK leading up to the Normandy landings but this book adds a level of insight and detail that I found unexpected and useful.
Christian Wolmar outlines clearly at the start of the book which areas he will deal with in detail and which areas he is not expert enough to cover.
From my point of view he covers most of key elements of the conflicts in adequate detail without getting overly technical. The book is very readable and my only quibbles are that the maps should probably have been at the beginning of each chapter and yes, there should be a map dealing with the Middle East conflicts of 1918. I would like to know some more about the cover image and where it was taken as it relates to a section on railway mounted artillery.
Those points aside, I would recommend the book as a companion to the many other books that dealt with the same conflicts and wars yet hardly ever mentioned the railways!
A book I read about the war in Russia in 1941 mentioned how the trains ran from Berlin to Moscow for three weeks after war was declared by both sides but Wolmar's book provides a much more solid context for understanding why many of the wars were started where railways were a relevant factor or how they served the progress of those conflicts. Subsequently, I think the history of the railways now has a very sinister overtone.
Christian Wolmar outlines clearly at the start of the book which areas he will deal with in detail and which areas he is not expert enough to cover.
From my point of view he covers most of key elements of the conflicts in adequate detail without getting overly technical. The book is very readable and my only quibbles are that the maps should probably have been at the beginning of each chapter and yes, there should be a map dealing with the Middle East conflicts of 1918. I would like to know some more about the cover image and where it was taken as it relates to a section on railway mounted artillery.
Those points aside, I would recommend the book as a companion to the many other books that dealt with the same conflicts and wars yet hardly ever mentioned the railways!
A book I read about the war in Russia in 1941 mentioned how the trains ran from Berlin to Moscow for three weeks after war was declared by both sides but Wolmar's book provides a much more solid context for understanding why many of the wars were started where railways were a relevant factor or how they served the progress of those conflicts. Subsequently, I think the history of the railways now has a very sinister overtone.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Railways and locomotives are not just limited to peacetime use.
In our memories, we may wish to associate them with happier times...day trips to the seaside, going on holiday to some other location at home (UK) or overseas, perhaps.
When pushed, we will recall the use of the railways in the great evacuations from London at the start of the Second World War...and the use of the London Underground as emergency air raid shelters.
But the railways, and locomotives have had a much more sinister, and deadly use.....as "engines of war".
The disappointing results of technology were noted by Orville Wright, one of the inventors of the airplane. During World War II he wrote the following to Henry Ford:
": "Wilbur and I thought the plane would hasten world peace. So far it seems to have done the reverse. I suspect when you introduced mass production --one of the great inventions of the ages--you little thought it would be used . . . in building tanks for world destruction. It seems that no beneficial thing can be introduced without some one finding a vicious use for it."
And so it has proved to be, in all aspects of life and industry....
Christian Wolmar's latest book.."Engines of War" traces a siimilar theme in the use of the railways in war, and for war, since the middle of the 19th century...
The book's chapters are:
1. War Before Railways
2. The Railways called Into Action
3. Slavery Loses Out To The Iron Road
4. Lessons Not Learnt
5. The New Weapons Of war
6. The War The World Anticipated
7. The Great Railway War On The Western Front
8. Eastern Contrasts
9. Here We Go Again
10. Blood On The Tracks
Whilst not exhaustive...and the author makes no claims to being a military historian...there is enough evidence and reasoning here to demonstrate amply the undeniable fact that the railways made it possible to conduct wars over larger areas, and for longer times, than was possible previously.
As the last chapter's title so well expresses it....there is "Blood on the Tracks"
For the student of railway history, this is an essential read , filling the gaps of other volumes.
In our memories, we may wish to associate them with happier times...day trips to the seaside, going on holiday to some other location at home (UK) or overseas, perhaps.
When pushed, we will recall the use of the railways in the great evacuations from London at the start of the Second World War...and the use of the London Underground as emergency air raid shelters.
But the railways, and locomotives have had a much more sinister, and deadly use.....as "engines of war".
The disappointing results of technology were noted by Orville Wright, one of the inventors of the airplane. During World War II he wrote the following to Henry Ford:
": "Wilbur and I thought the plane would hasten world peace. So far it seems to have done the reverse. I suspect when you introduced mass production --one of the great inventions of the ages--you little thought it would be used . . . in building tanks for world destruction. It seems that no beneficial thing can be introduced without some one finding a vicious use for it."
And so it has proved to be, in all aspects of life and industry....
Christian Wolmar's latest book.."Engines of War" traces a siimilar theme in the use of the railways in war, and for war, since the middle of the 19th century...
The book's chapters are:
1. War Before Railways
2. The Railways called Into Action
3. Slavery Loses Out To The Iron Road
4. Lessons Not Learnt
5. The New Weapons Of war
6. The War The World Anticipated
7. The Great Railway War On The Western Front
8. Eastern Contrasts
9. Here We Go Again
10. Blood On The Tracks
Whilst not exhaustive...and the author makes no claims to being a military historian...there is enough evidence and reasoning here to demonstrate amply the undeniable fact that the railways made it possible to conduct wars over larger areas, and for longer times, than was possible previously.
As the last chapter's title so well expresses it....there is "Blood on the Tracks"
For the student of railway history, this is an essential read , filling the gaps of other volumes.
30 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book covers, in ten chapters, the use of railways in war from Balaklava to the present day. Essentially, the deployment and supply of millions of soldiers in the wars of the last century would have been impossible without railways. The book is written in good English throughout and has a very useful index.
The author is very definitely a railway author rather than a military one or a master of both subjects. He mainly relies on AJP Taylor for the political/military viewpoint. It is a shame he was not more catholic in his reading, both for the wider perspective and because of the book's main failing, the paucity and inadequacy of maps. Military books normally have much better maps than this.
Let us take WWI as an example. For the Western front (over one chapter is devoted to this), there is one map, situated a long way from the relevant text. To follow the action, the author naturally uses a number of place names, the majority of which are not marked on his map. There is an inset, barely legible, of the area of the Somme, which is one of the very few places in the book where a map is inessential since the Somme offensive is only discussed in very general terms.
To accompany the chapter on WWI's several Eastern fronts, there are no maps at all. I found it necessary to improvise - for instance, the account of the Arabian/Palestine campaign can be followed with the aid of a map in Natkiel and Pimlott's excellent "Atlas of Warfare".
The author rightly criticises some of the combatants in his book, for rushing into action without adequate preparation. I wonder if the same criticism might not be fairly levelled at him.
The author is very definitely a railway author rather than a military one or a master of both subjects. He mainly relies on AJP Taylor for the political/military viewpoint. It is a shame he was not more catholic in his reading, both for the wider perspective and because of the book's main failing, the paucity and inadequacy of maps. Military books normally have much better maps than this.
Let us take WWI as an example. For the Western front (over one chapter is devoted to this), there is one map, situated a long way from the relevant text. To follow the action, the author naturally uses a number of place names, the majority of which are not marked on his map. There is an inset, barely legible, of the area of the Somme, which is one of the very few places in the book where a map is inessential since the Somme offensive is only discussed in very general terms.
To accompany the chapter on WWI's several Eastern fronts, there are no maps at all. I found it necessary to improvise - for instance, the account of the Arabian/Palestine campaign can be followed with the aid of a map in Natkiel and Pimlott's excellent "Atlas of Warfare".
The author rightly criticises some of the combatants in his book, for rushing into action without adequate preparation. I wonder if the same criticism might not be fairly levelled at him.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A fascinating insight into the railway technology of war
This excellent text shows railways at war in a different way to any other book that I've seen on the subject. Read more
Published 1 month ago by IF
A very good attempt to fill the gap where military and transport...
Both military history and the railways regularly generate large numbers of publications, with even the small details of minor events often covered in copious detail by numerous... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mark Pack
Fascinating overview of a subject outside normal railway histories
If you've read other Christian Wolmar books, you know what to expect; well-written text with a good flow, giving a broad overview of the subject and the Big Picture but also... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. Ian C. Kemp
Engines of War: How Wars Were Won & Lost on the Railways
This book is very informative on the subject of railways, not surprisingly in view of the author's other works on this subject, but it suffers from a lack of a broader context for... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Robin Clifton
Engines of War
Christian Wolmar's book was a series of revelations to me. I have read quite a lot about 19th and 20th Century Wars, but the key role of railways is largely ignored. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Michael Rines
joseph
Excellent new account of the railways role in warfare with insight and the way it transformed campaigns since the crimea war
Published 16 months ago by Mr. J. Cliffe
Skips over recent history
As with all his books geoes into 19th century in great detail then glosses over bit chunks of recent times
Published 17 months ago by Taffyarthur
ENGINES OF WAR
thiss book reflects tha authors passion for railways and essays a definitive stratey for the use of railways in war. Read more
Published 19 months ago by PETER TAYLO
A Different Approach
In writng this book Christian has approached the subject of railways and war from a different perspective to other books on railways in war which tend to deal with the technical... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. John S. Fowler
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