From longbow, pike, and musket to Challenger tanks, from the Napoleonic Wars to the Gulf Campaign, from the Duke of Marlborough to Field Marshal Montgomery, this stimulating and informative book recounts the history of the British army from its medieval antecedents to the present day. Commanders, campaigns, battles, organizations, and weaponry are all covered in detail within the wider context of the social, economic, and political environment in which armies exist and fight, making this the definitive one-volume history of the British army for specialists and non-specialists alike.
List of Maps ; List of Contributors ; Introduction ; 1. The English Medieval Army to 1485 ; 2. Towards the Standing Army 1485-1660 ; 3. The Restoration Army 1660-1702 ; 4. The Great Captain-General 1702-1714 ; 5. The Army of the Georges 1714-1783 ; 6. The Army and the First British Empire 1714-1783 ; 7. The Transformation of the Army 1783-1815 ; 8. An Unreformed Army? 1815-1868 ; 9. The Late Victorian Army 1868-1914 ; 10. The Army and the Challenge of War 1914-1918 ; 11. The Four Armies 1914-1918 ; 12. The Army between the Two World Wars 1918-1939 ; 13. The Army and the Challenge of War 1939-1945 ; 14. The Army and the Home Front 1939-1945 ; 15. The Post-War Army 1945-1963 ; 16. The Thirty Years Peace ; 17. The Army of British India ; 18. The Amateur Military Tradition ; 19. The British Way in Warfare ; 20. Towards the Future ; Chronology ; Bibliography ; Index