Book description
Edgehill, 1642: Surveying the disastrous scene in the
aftermath of the first battle of the English Civil War, Oliver
Cromwell 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 distant vision, former
soldier 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 at Arnhem in 1944; and why Montgomery's momentous
victory at El Alamein mattered long after the Second World War was
over.
From the Army's origins at the battle of Edgehill to our current
conflict in Afghanistan, this is history at its most relevant - and
most dramatic.
Allan Mallinson
is a former infantry and cavalry officer of thirty-five years' service
worldwide. He is the author of the Matthew Hervey series, and of
Light Dragoons
, a history of four regiments of British Cavalry, one of which he
commanded. As well as writing on defence matters for
The
Times
and formerly for the
Daily Telegraph
, he is a regular reviewer for
The Times,
the
Spectator
and the
Literary Review.
