Martin Windrow

Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

The states of Indochina had been French colonies or protectorates since the 19th century. However, in March 1945 the Japanese interned all French troops and officials, and turned over all civil government to local authorities. The power vacuum caused by the Japanese surrender allowed the Viet Minh, a strong revolutionary organisation, to be established throughout Vietnam. When the French returned to the north, incidents between French and VM troops were inevitable, negotiations collapsed and the French opted for a military solution. This book examines the history of the conflict and the forces of both sides.

The gripping true story of the French Foreign Legion in the Sahara.Ever since the 1920s the popular legend of the French Foreign Legion has been formed by P.C. Wrens novel BEAU GESTE - a world of remote forts, warrior tribes, and desperate men of all nationalities enlisting under pseudonyms to fight and die under the desert sun. As with all cliches, the reality is far richer and more surprising than this. In this book Martin Windrow describes desert battles and famous last stands in gripping detail - but he also shows exactly what the Foreign Legion were doing in North Africa in the first place. He explains how French colonial methods there actually had their roots in the jungles of Vietnam, and how the political pressures that kept the empire expanding can be traced to battles on the streets of Paris itself. His description of the Berber tribesmen of Morocco also reveals some disturbing modern parallels: the formidable guerrillas of the 1920s were inspired by an Islamic fundamentalist who was adept at using the worlds media to further his cause.Martin Windrows previous book THE LAST VALLEY received fabulous reviews across the English-speaking world. This unique book, which is the first to examine the golden age of the Foreign Legion has followed suit.

Perched on the back of a sunlit chair was something about 9 inches tall and shaped rather like a plump toy penguin with a nose-job. It appeared to be wearing a one-piece knitted jumpsuit of pale grey fluff with brown stitching, complete with an attached balaclava helmet. From the face-hole of the fuzzy balaclava, two big, shiny black eyes gazed up at me trustfully. Kweep, it said quietly.When author Martin Windrow met the tawny owlet that he christened Mumble, it was love at first sight. Raising her from a fledgling, through adolescence and into her prime years, Windrow recorded every detail of their time living together (secretly) in a south London tower block, and later in a Sussex village. This is the touching, intriguing and eccentric story of their 15-year relationship, complete with photographs and illustrations of the beautiful Mumble. Along the way, we are given fascinating insight into the ornithology of owls from their evolution and biology to their breeding habits and hunting tactics. The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar is a witty, quirky and utterly charming account of the companionship between one man and his owl.

Desde los años veinte, la imagen popular de la Legión Extranjera Francesa quedó grabada en el imaginario colectivo a partir de la novela Beau Geste, de P. C. Wren: un mundo de aislados y remotos fortines, feroces tribus guerreras y hombres desesperados de todas las nacionalidades que, huyendo de turbios pasados, se alistaban bajo seudonimos para luchar y morir bajo el sol del desierto. Una imagen romantica y llena de cliches que ha opacado una realidad mucho mas rica y apasionante, jalonada de combates sin cuartel en exuberantes oasis en medio de la desolacion, operaciones de contrainsurgencia en selvas infestadas de tigres, templos alfombrados de craneos humanos en las profundidades de la jungla, e implacables marchas desafiando los limites de la resistencia humana. En su libro Camaradas bajo la arena, brindis con que los legionarios recuerdan a sus caidos, Martin Windrow narra con la pulsion de la mejor historia militar la edad de oro de la Legion Extranjera Francesa: su configuracion y desarrollo como cuerpo, la idiosincrasia de unos soldados que decidieron emprender una vida al margen de convencionalismos y que conformaron una de las unidades militares mas legendarias de la historia, y sus principales campañas durante la expansion colonial francesa, de los ardientes desiertos y escarpadas montañas de Marruecos a las opresivas selvas de Tonkin, de los traicioneros manglares de Dahomey hasta los inclementes altiplanos de Madagascar. Pero va mucho mas alla, para profundizar en las tensiones entre poder politico y militar en el seno de la Tercera Republica, una compleja relacion nacida de los humeantes rescoldos del Paris de la Comuna que condiciono una politica exterior de constante expansion durante la era del colonialismo europeo.

Desde los años veinte, la imagen popular de la Legión Extranjera francesa quedó grabada en el imaginario colectivo a partir de la novela Beau Geste, de P. C. Wren: un mundo de aislados y remotos fortines, feroces tribus guerreras y hombres desesperados de todas las nacionalidades que, huyendo de turbios pasados, se alistaban bajo seudonimos para luchar y morir bajo el sol del desierto. Una imagen romantica y llena de cliches que ha opacado una realidad mucho mas rica y apasionante, jalonada de combates sin cuartel en exuberantes oasis en medio de la desolacion, operaciones de contrainsurgencia en selvas infestadas de tigres, templos alfombrados de craneos humanos en las profundidades de la jungla, e implacables marchas desafiando los limites de la resistencia humana. En su libro Camaradas bajo la arena, brindis con que los legionarios recuerdan a sus caidos, Martin Windrow narra con la pulsion de la mejor historia militar la edad de oro de la Legion Extranjera Francesa: su configuracion y desarrollo como cuerpo, la idiosincrasia de unos soldados que decidieron emprender una vida al margen de convencionalismos y que conformaron una de las unidades militares mas legendarias de la historia, y sus principales campañas durante la expansion colonial francesa, de los ardientes desiertos y escarpadas montañas de Marruecos a las opresivas selvas de Tonkin, de los traicioneros manglares de Dahomey hasta los inclementes altiplanos de Madagascar. Pero va mucho mas alla, para profundizar en las tensiones entre poder politico y militar en el seno de la Tercera Republica, una compleja relacion nacida de los humeantes rescoldos del Paris de la Comuna que condiciono una politica exterior de constante expansion durante la era del colonialismo europeo.

Stalingrad in the jungle: the battle that doomed the French Empire and led America into VietnamIn winter 1953-54 the French army in Vietnam challenged its elusive enemy, General Giaps Viet Minh, to pitched battle. Ten thousand French paras and legionnaires, with artillery and tanks, were flown to the remote valley of Dien Bien Phu to build a fortress upon which Giap could smash his inexperienced regiments. The siege which followed became a Stalingrad in the jungle, and its outcome shocked the world.