The making of the British Army : from the English Civil War to the War on Terror

Edgehill, 1642: Surveying the disastrous scene in the aftermath of the first battle of the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell realized that war could no longer be waged in the old, feudal way: there had 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 British 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 British Army's origins at the battle of Edgehill to the recent conflict in Afghanistan, The Making of the British Army is history at its most relevant - and most dramatic. From the English Civil War to the War on Terror, this title offers a sweeping account of nearly 500 years of military history. It looks at how the Army's dramatic past has made it one of the most effective fighting forces in the world. It also shows us the people and events that have shaped the army we know. Shows us the people and events that have shaped the British Army. This title also shows: 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, more. 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 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