Fields of Battle: Terrain in Military History (GeoJournal Library Book 64)

Terrain has a profound effect upon the strategy and tactics of any military engagement and has consequently played an important role in determining history. In addition, the landscapes of battle, and the geology which underlies them, has helped shape the cultural iconography of battle certainly within the 20th century. In the last few years this has become a fertile topic of scientific and historical exploration and has given rise to a number of conferences and books. The current volume stems from the international Terrain in Military History conference held in association with the Imperial War Museum, London and the Royal Engineers Museum, Chatham, at the University of Greenwich in January 2000. This conference brought together historians, geologists, military enthusiasts and terrain analysts from military, academic and amateur backgrounds with the aim of exploring the application of modem tools of landscape visualisation to understanding historical battlefields. This theme was the subject of a Leverhulme Trust grant (F/345/E) awarded to the University of Greenwich and administered by us in 1998, which aimed to use the tools of modem landscape visualisation in understanding the influence of terrain in the First World War. This volume forms part of the output from this grant and is part of our wider exploration of the role of terrain in military history. Many individuals contributed to the organisation of the original conference and to the production of this volume. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Terrain in Military History: an Introduction....Pages 1-7 ‘Markings on the Land’ and Early Medieval Warfare in the British Isles....Pages 9-17 Geology and Warfare in England and Wales 1450–1660....Pages 19-31 Battles on Chalk: the Geology of Battle in Southern England during the First Civil War, 1643–1644....Pages 33-50 Terrain and Guerrilla Warfare in Navarre, 1808–1814....Pages 51-62 Effective use of Terrain in the American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg, December 1862....Pages 63-97 Tullahoma: Terrain and Tactics in the American Civil War....Pages 99-115 The Mountain is their Monument: An archaeological Approach to the Landscapes of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879....Pages 117-135 Maps and Decisions: Buller South and North of the Tugela, 1899–1900....Pages 137-141 The Thirty-Years War, 1914–1945: Mapping the Battlefields of the Past for the Construction of the European Future....Pages 143-148 Terrain and the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915....Pages 149-169 British, French and German Mapping and Survey on the Western Front in the First World War....Pages 171-204 Terrain and the Messines Ridge, Belgium, 1914–1918....Pages 205-224 Zero Hour: Historical Note on the British Underground War in Flanders, 1915–1917....Pages 225-236 Mud, Blood, and Wood: BEF Operational and Combat Logistico-Engineering during the Battle of Third Ypres, 1917....Pages 237-255 Across the River: Interpreting the Battle of the Ebro or Battlefields as a Didactic Resource....Pages 257-264 Fortification of Island Terrain: Second World War German Military Engineering on the Channel Island of Jersey, a Classic Area of British Geology....Pages 265-309 Piracy on the High Desert: the Long-Range Desert Group 1940–1943....Pages 311-324 The Geology of the Battle of Monte Cassino, 1944....Pages 325-343 Terrain as a Factor in the Battle of Normandy, 1944....Pages 345-363 Airfield Country: Terrain, Land-Use and the Air Defence of Britain, 1939–1945....Pages 365-383 Back Matter....Pages 385-390 This is the first book of its kind to attempt a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding how terrain has affected the outcome of warfare in history. Taking a broad sweep from mediaeval times, the English Civil Wars of the 17th century and the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th century, its primary focus is on the major battles and engagements of the century of warfare from 1850 to 1950. Examining the American Civil War, the Anglo-Zulu War, the Boer War, the Great War of 1914-1918, the Spanish Civil War and finally the Second World War, it takes a total terrain view. All aspects of terrain, including the cultural and spiritual significance of battle, the physical geography and geology of the battlefield and the growing discipline of battlefield archaeology are covered. Audience: Intended as a text for the military historian, historical and physical geographer, practitioner of GIS or archaeologist, this volume also provides important case histories for advanced undergraduates, researchers and enthusiasts wishing to know more about the conduct of battle