the Making of the British 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 Armys 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 Marlboroughs momentous victory at Blenheim is linked to Wellingtons at Waterloo; how the desperate fight at Rorkes Drift in 1879 underpinned the heroism of the airborne forces in Arnhem in 1942; and why Montgomerys 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 Armys birth at the battle of Edgehill in 1642 to our current conflict in Afghanistan, this is history at its most relevant - and most dramatic.