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Author: Andrew Bamford
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806189320
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 459
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Book Description
Although an army’s success is often measured in battle outcomes, its victories depend on strengths that may be less obvious on the field. In Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword, military historian Andrew Bamford assesses the effectiveness of the British Army in sustained campaigning during the Napoleonic Wars. In the process, he offers a fresh and controversial look at Britain’s military system, showing that success or failure on campaign rested on the day-to-day experiences of regimental units rather than the army as a whole. Bamford draws his title from the words of Captain Moyle Sherer, who during the winter of 1816–1817 wrote an account of his service during the Peninsular War: “My regiment has never been very roughly handled in the field. . . But, alas! What between sickness, suffering, and the sword, few, very few of those men are now in existence.” Bamford argues that those daily scourges of such often-ignored factors as noncombat deaths and equine strength and losses determined outcomes on the battlefield. In the nineteenth century, the British Army was a collection of regiments rather than a single unified body, and the regimental system bore the responsibility of supplying manpower on that field. Between 1808 and 1815, when Britain was fighting a global conflict far greater than its military capabilities, the system nearly collapsed. Only a few advantages narrowly outweighed the army’s increasing inability to meet manpower requirements. This book examines those critical dynamics in Britain’s major early-nineteenth-century campaigns: the Peninsular War (1808–1814), the Walcheren Expedition (1809), the American War (1812–1815), and the growing commitments in northern Europe from 1813 on. Drawn from primary documents, Bamford’s statistical analysis compares the vast disparities between regiments and different theatres of war and complements recent studies of health and sickness in the British Army.
Author: Andrew Bamford
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806189320
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 459
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Book Description
Although an army’s success is often measured in battle outcomes, its victories depend on strengths that may be less obvious on the field. In Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword, military historian Andrew Bamford assesses the effectiveness of the British Army in sustained campaigning during the Napoleonic Wars. In the process, he offers a fresh and controversial look at Britain’s military system, showing that success or failure on campaign rested on the day-to-day experiences of regimental units rather than the army as a whole. Bamford draws his title from the words of Captain Moyle Sherer, who during the winter of 1816–1817 wrote an account of his service during the Peninsular War: “My regiment has never been very roughly handled in the field. . . But, alas! What between sickness, suffering, and the sword, few, very few of those men are now in existence.” Bamford argues that those daily scourges of such often-ignored factors as noncombat deaths and equine strength and losses determined outcomes on the battlefield. In the nineteenth century, the British Army was a collection of regiments rather than a single unified body, and the regimental system bore the responsibility of supplying manpower on that field. Between 1808 and 1815, when Britain was fighting a global conflict far greater than its military capabilities, the system nearly collapsed. Only a few advantages narrowly outweighed the army’s increasing inability to meet manpower requirements. This book examines those critical dynamics in Britain’s major early-nineteenth-century campaigns: the Peninsular War (1808–1814), the Walcheren Expedition (1809), the American War (1812–1815), and the growing commitments in northern Europe from 1813 on. Drawn from primary documents, Bamford’s statistical analysis compares the vast disparities between regiments and different theatres of war and complements recent studies of health and sickness in the British Army.
Author: Ian Fletcher
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783461594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196
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Book Description
In 1994 Ian Fletcher published his book Fields of Fire, which was the first book to show Wellingtons Peninsular War battlefields in full color. Now, almost 20 years on, he returns with a second book, The Peninsular War: Wellingtons Battlefields Revisited which shows how things have changed since 1994. The beautiful photographs cover all of Wellingtons major battles, and many smaller engagements also, to show them in all their glory, from the snowy Galician mountains, to the dry, dusty plain of Salamanca, and from the low rolling slopes of Albuera to the breathtaking Pyrenees. Coming as it does in the middle of the 200th anniversary of the Peninsular War, this book is a timely reminder of one of the most successful campaigns ever fought by the British Army.
Author: N. Arielli
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137296631
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 435
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Book Description
Warfare in the modern era has often been described in terms of national armies fighting national wars. This volume challenges the view by examining transnational aspects of military mobilization from the eighteenth century to the present. Truly global in scope, it offers an alternative way of reading the military history of the last 250 years.
Author: Marcus de la Poer Beresford
Publisher: Merrion Press
ISBN: 178855034X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 433
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Book Description
Despite a propensity toward fierce criticism of his generals, with great regard the Duke of Wellington referred to William Carr Beresford as 'the ablest man I have yet seen in the army'. Marshal William Carr Beresford is the story of a celebrated and distinguished Irishman, honoured and decorated by the governments of Great Britain, Portugal and Spain, who served as Commander in Chief of the Portuguese army for eleven years. The book follows the trajectory of Beresford's extensive military career. Born the illegitimate son of the 1st Marquis of Waterford, Beresford joined the British army in 1785, serving in the Mediterranean, Egypt, South Africa and South America, before further distinguishing himself - and meeting Wellington's redoubtable esteem - as Marshal of the Portuguese forces during the Peninsular War. Sent to Portugal to rebuild its army in the fight against Napoleon, Beresford was so successful that Wellington integrated the Portuguese and British armed forces in that struggle. Beresford is revealed as a trusted friend and confidant of Wellington, a relationship that was to endure for the rest of their lives. Their ability to work together led to Beresford's appointment as Master General of Ordinance in Wellington's government of 1828. This is the remarkable story of one of the most celebrated and decorated Irish soldiers ever to fight in overseas service, and who was considered in all opinion as the Duke of Wellington's 'strong right arm'. Despite being fiercely critical of his generals, Wellington described Beresford as 'the ablest man in the army' and relied heavily on his Irish-born commander. Marshal Sir William Carr Beresford was the illegitimate son of the 1st Marquis of Waterford and rose to the rank of General in the British army and Marshal to the Portuguese forces during the Peninsular War. Sent to Portugal to rebuild its demoralised forces against Napoleon, Beresford was so successful that Wellington combined the Portuguese and British regiments and positioned Beresford as commander-in-chief. Their friendship and trust are revealed in their correspondence, which shows them not only writing to each other almost daily but meeting regularly to discuss strategy or to socialise. It was an amicable and supportive relationship that continued for the rest of their lives, leading to Beresford's appointment as Master General of Ordinance in Wellington's first government in 1828.
Author: Ian Fletcher
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526775204
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 797
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Book Description
To most students of the Peninsular War the name Robert Craufurd evokes images of a battle-hardened martinet, flogging his men across Portugal and Spain, driving them hard and generally taking a tough stance against anything and everything that did not meet with his own strict disciplinarian code. But that is only a partial picture of this most complex character, and it is the other side of Craufurd’s personality that is revealed in this, the first full-length biography to be written in the last hundred years. Craufurd’s letters to his wife are published here for the first time, and they show that he was a far more interesting and varied man in his private life than he appeared to be on campaign. Ian Fletcher follows Craufurd’s controversial career from India, Ireland and South America to the Iberian Peninsula where he achieved immortality as one of Wellington’s finest generals.
Author: Kevin Linch
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526738023
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
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Book Description
The British army between 1783 and 1815 – the army that fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars – has received severe criticism and sometimes exaggerated praise from contemporaries and historians alike, and a balanced and perceptive reassessment of it as an institution and a fighting force is overdue. That is why this carefully considered new study by Kevin Linch is of such value. He brings together fresh perspectives on the army in one of its most tumultuous – and famous – eras, exploring the global range of its deployment, the varieties of soldiering it had to undertake, its close ties to the political and social situation of the time, and its complex relationship with British society and culture. In the face of huge demands on its manpower and direct military threats to the British Isles and territories across the globe, the army had to adapt. As Kevin Linch demonstrates, some changes were significant while others were, in the end, minor or temporary. In the process he challenges the ‘Road to Waterloo’ narrative of the army’s steady progress from the nadir of the 1780s and early 1790s, to its strong performances throughout the Peninsular War and its triumph at the Battle of Waterloo. His reassessment shows an army that was just good enough to cope with the demanding campaigns it undertook.
Author: Friedrich Lindau
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 1783461632
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
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Book Description
“A rare example of a memoir of a private soldier from the Napoleonic Wars . . . valuable insight into the daily life and preoccupations of Wellington’s men” (HistoryOfWar.org). By all accounts, Friedrich Lindau was a remarkable soldier of the King’s German Legion. He served with distinction under Wellington from Lisbon to as far as Bayonne, and was involved in all major engagements, including Albuera, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vitoria, and San Sebastian. Most notably, he fought and was captured at La Haye Sainte but was the only ranking soldier mentioned by name in Major Baring’s account of the battle. For his actions he was awarded the Guelphic Medal for Bravery. That said, he had a reputation as a notorious forager and looter and was said to have killed a civilian while on leave in 1814. More than 150 years after it was first written, A Waterloo Hero is the first ever translation of his diary. Lindau’s account is unique: no other private soldiers took part in so many engagements and recorded their experiences. This edition includes a foreword by Lindau’s pastor, an introduction by James Bogle, and has been edited by Andrew Uffindel, author of The Eagle’s Last Triumph. “The memoirs ring with authenticity. Lindau does not write about strategy or tactics, but of things that concern the lowest ranks—staying alive and where his next meal would come from. . . . One of my favorite memoirs and I can not recommend it enough.” —The Napoleon Series “They make for vivid reading and are full of fascinating detail. A military memoir that fully deserves to become a classic.” —Military Illustrated Magazine
Author: Society for Army Historical Research (London, England)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 482
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Book Description
Author: Stuart Reid
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783830891
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360
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Book Description
'Wellingtons Highland Warriors' covers the early history of the British Armys Highland regiments, from the raising of the Black Watch in 1739 to the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Stuart Reid provides an entertaining and thoroughly original study of the circumstances in which the regiments were authorized and recruited, not just in the Highlands but all across Scotland, so that Highlanders and Scotchmen became synonymous. It also tells the story of how they acquitted themselves in almost every corner of the globe from the bogs of Ireland to the burning plains of India, and in the process earning for themselves a reputation which is literally second to none.Each chapter follows a theme based around the experiences of one particular regiment and employs extensive but careful use of contemporary correspondence and memoirs to let those involved tell the story in their own words. The story is a fascinating one which reveals the very different expectations and experiences of Highland soldiers; filled with engaging rogues such as Simon Fraser and Allan Cameron of Erracht, with stories of bitter feuds as rival chieftains and Highland proprietors battled each other for recruits, and those recruits themselves who were more than capable of giving as good as they got; demanding and receiving legally binding concessions from their landlords turned recruiters and then like George Gordon from the Cabrach, striding forth in high dress with his sword by his side to announce his new profession in a calculated display of swank quite incomprehensible to his English counterparts.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military history
Languages : en
Pages : 640
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Book Description
