A Brief History of the British Army

The story of the British Army has many sides to it, being a tale of heroic successes and tragic failures, of dogged determination and drunken disorder. It involves many of the most vital preoccupations in the history of the island - the struggle against Continental domination by a single power, the battle for Empire - and a cast of remarkable characters - Marlborough, Wellington and Montgomery among them.

Yet the British, relying on their navy, have always neglected their army; from the time of Alfred the Great to the reign of Charles II wars were fought with hired forces disbanded as soon as conflict ended. Even after the struggles with Louis XIV impelled the formation of a regular army, impecunious governments neglected the armed forces except in times of national emergency.

In this wide-ranging account, Major Haswell sketches the medieval background before concentrating on the three hundred years of the regular army, leading up to its role in our own time. He presents an informed and probing picture of the organization of the army, the development of weaponry and strategy - and the everyday life of the British soldier through the centuries.

John Lewis-Stempel has brought Major Haswell's classic work right up to date by expanding the section on the dissolution of empire to include a full account of Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. He has added a new chapter to cover the Gulf War, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq; also the increasing role of special forces and the amalgamation of regiments.

“A model of its kind, by far the best written short account now in print-- Daily Telegraph”

A model of its kind, by far the best written short account now in print - Daily Telegraph

John Lewis-Stempel (Author)

John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer and 'Britain's finest living nature writer' (The Times). His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers Woodston, The Running Hare and The Wood. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. In 2016 he was named Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He farms cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Traditionally.

Jock Haswell (Author)

Jock Haswell was educated at Winchester and Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in June 1939. During the Second World War he fought in India, East Africa, Ethiopia and Madagascar, returning to serve in Germany in the psot-war period. He retired in 1960, having attained the rank of major, but was employed by the Ministry of Defence at the School of Service Intellligence. He is the author of a number of books on military history, including the history of his own regiment, British Military Intelligence, Citizen Armies and Spies and Spymasters.

The story of the British Army has many sides to it, being a tale of heroic successes and tragic failures, of dogged determination and drunken disorder. It involves many of the most vital preoccupations in the history of the island - the struggle against Continental domination by a single power, the battle for Empire - and a cast of remarkable characters - Marlborough, Wellington and Montgomery among them. Yet the British, relying on their navy, have always neglected their army; from the time of Alfred the Great to the reign of Charles II wars were fought with hired forces disbanded as soon as conflict ended. Even after the struggles with Louis XIV impelled the formation of a regular army, impecunious governments neglected the armed forces except in times of national emergency. In this wide-ranging account, Major Haswell sketches the medieval background before concentrating on the three hundred years of the regular army, leading up to its role in our own time. He presents an informed and probing picture of the organization of the army, the development of weaponry and strategy - and the everyday life of the British soldier through the centuries.John Lewis-Stempel has brought Major Haswell's classic work right up to date by expanding the section on the dissolution of empire to include a full account of Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. He has added a new chapter to cover the Gulf War, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq; also the increasing role of special forces and the amalgamation of regiments.

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