Kitchener: The Man Behind the Legend - Hardcover

Warner, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241115876 ISBN 13: 9780241115879

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 1985

Synopsis

Kitchener was one of the most successful and far-sighted generals Britain has ever had, and his reputation was worldwide. But he has always been a mystery. Legends proliferated about him in his lifetime, and the circumstances of his death have remained an enigma. Not until later, with fresh material coming to light, was it possible to find the real person behind the legend. In this absorbing and percipient study, we begin to realise what a debt Britain owes to Kitchener. Far from being the remote, austere figure of the placards, he was a daring adventurer and spy, a meticulous planner and perfectionist, and a commander who took his place in the forefront of the battle in order to know exactly what was happening. Like modern generals, Kitchener believed that battles should be won before they are fought, and proved that small, well-organised armies could defeat vastly superior forces. In the Sudan he defeated is enemy in a final, searing battle; in South Africa he fought an entirely different campaign in which he methodically removed all his enemy's advantages. Setbacks only spurred him to greater efforts. He was trusted by civilians; worshipped by his soldiers; and detested but most of his officers. When he became Commander-in-Chief in India he had no war to fight, but he left the army in good shape for when its time came. His talent as a planner was great, and much thought was given to thwarting Russian ambitions in Afghanistan. In the end the Soviets did not invade that country until sixty years after his death. And although, in company with Churchill, he is blamed for the Dardanelles disaster, recent disclosures of the limitations of contemporary naval gunnery have shown that the real blame lay elsewhere. Philip Warner studied Kitchener for many years. In this book he investigates the personal myths as well as the public man; Kitchener's dislike of politicians and the stormy episodes this caused later in h

About this title

About the Author

"Philip Warner (1914-2000) enlisted in the Royal Corps of Signals after graduating from St Catharine's, Cambridge in 1939. He fought in Malaya and spent 1,100 days 'as a guest of the Emperor' in Changi and on the Railway of Death, an experience he never discussed. He was a legendary figure to generations of cadets during his thirty years as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Yet he will arguably be best remembered for his contribution of more than 2,000 obituaries of prominent army figures to The Daily Telegraph. In addition he wrote fifty-four books on all aspects of military history, ranging from castles and battlefields in Britain, to biographies of prominent military figures (such as Kitchener: The Man Behind the Legend; Field Marshall Earl Haig; Horrocks: The General who Led from the Front and Auchinleck: The Lonely Soldier) to major histories of the S.A.S., the Special Boat Services and the Royal Corps of Signals."

From Publishers Weekly

A hero of the Victorian era, British general Horatio Herbert Kitchener (18501916) was as famous for his stern, "military" appearance as for his victories on distant battlefields in the Sudan and South Africa. In this well-researched biography, based on family papers, military historian Warner shows that Kitchener, first Earl of Khartoum and Broome, was a complex figure who, while certainly out of touch with the lives of average soldiers, was at heart an adventurer hiding behind a huge, forbidding mustache. Beginning with the future hero's sheltered childhood and his "schoolboy-adventure-story" life as a military surveyor in Palestine and Egypt, the author recounts his rapid career rise, his well-planned battle campaigns and his many conflicts with politicians. This is an informed, balanced account that convincingly disputes many myths, including the notion that Kitchener was homosexual. Warner's books include The Crimean War.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
• Publication date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241115876
• ISBN 13: 9780241115879
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256