The Making of the British Army - Hardcover

Mallinson, Allan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593051084 ISBN 13: 9780593051085

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2009

Synopsis

From the English Civil War to today's War on Terror: in this sweeping account of nearly 500 years of military history, former soldier Allan Mallinson looks at how the Army's dramatic past has made it one of the most effective fighting forces in the world today. He shows us the people and events that have shaped the army we know today: how Marlborough's momentous victory at Blenheim is linked to Wellington's at Waterloo; how the desperate fight at Rorke's Drift in 1879 underpinned the heroism of the airborne forces in Arnhem in 1944; and why Montgomery's momentous victory at El Alamein mattered long after the Second World War was over. This is the story of hard-won military experience. From the Army's birth at the battle of Edgehill in 1642 to our current conflict in Afghanistan, this is history at its most relevant - and most dramatic.

About this title

About the Author

A professional solder for thirty-five years, Allan Mallinson began writing while still serving.
His first book was a history of four regiments of British light dragoons, one of which he commanded. His debut novel was the bestselling A Close Run Thing, the first in an acclaimed series chronicling the life of a fictitious cavalry officer before and after Waterloo (The Tigress of Mysore is the fourteenth in the series). His The Making of the British Army was shortlisted for a number of prizes, while 1914: Fight the Good Fight won the British Army’s ‘Book of the Year’ Award. Its sequel, Too Important for the Generals, is a provocative look at leadership during the Great War, while Fight to the Finish is a comprehensive history of the First World War, month by month.
Allan Mallinson reviews for the Spectator and the TLS and also writes for The Times. He lives on Salisbury Plain.

From the Back Cover

In this sweeping account of nearly 500 years of military history, former soldier Allan Mallinson looks at how the Army s dramatic past has made it one of the most effective fighting forces in the world today.

From the Inside Flap

Edgehill, 1642: on a Warwickshire hillside, four thousand men lie dead and wounded. Oliver Cromwell, commanding a troop of cavalry, rides on to the field in the aftermath of the first battle of the English Civil War. Surveying the disastrous scene, he realizes that war can no longer be made in the old, feudal way: there has to be system and discipline, and therefore eventually a standing professional army. From the New Model Army of Cromwell s vision, Allan Mallinson shows us the people and events that have shaped the army we know today: how Marlborough s momentous victory at Blenheim is linked to Wellington s at Waterloo; how the desperate fight at Rorke s Drift in 1879 underpinned the heroism of the airborne forces in Arnhem in 1944; and why Montgomery s momentous victory at El Alamein mattered long after the Second World War was over. This is the story of hard-won military experience: of military campaigns with lines of communication that snaked through Europe, Africa, Asia; and of pitched battles in alien lands in which the odds were overwhelming, and where victory was snatched often by the narrowest of margins. From the Army s birth at the battle of Edgehill to our current conflict in Afghanistan, this is history at its most relevant - and most dramatic.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593051084
• ISBN 13: 9780593051085
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560