Engines of War : How Wars Were Won and Lost on the Railways

English

ISBN: 1586489712

EAN: 9781586489717

Category: Transportation / Railroads / History/Transportation / Railroads / General/Technology & Engineering / Military Science/

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Release Date: 11/03/2010

Synopsis: Before the nineteenth century, armies had to rely on slow and unreliable methods of transportation to move soldiers and equipment during times of conflict. But with the birth of the railroad in the early 1830s, the way wars were fought would change forever. InEngines of War, renowned expert Christian Wolmar tells the story of that transformation, examining all the engagements in which railways played a part from the Crimean War and American Civil War through both world wars, the Korean War, and the Cold War with its mysterious missile trains. He shows that the iron road not only made armies far more mobile, but also greatly increased the scale and power of available weaponry. Wars began to be fought across wider fronts and over longer timescales, with far deadlier consequences. From armored 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 Warshows how the railways - a fantastic generator of wealth in peacetime - became a weapon of war exploited to the full by governments across the world.

Excerpt: Unknown Property Excerpt

Engines of War : How Wars Were Won and Lost on the Railways

Illustrated: Yes

Format: Hardcover

Height: 1.24 inches

Width: 6.13 inches

Length: 9.25 inches

Weight: 21.16 oz

Pages: 368