An historic account of the Peninsula War written by the man leading forces against the French, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.Though pressed many times to write about his battles and campaigns, the Duke of Wellington always replied that people should refer to his published dispatches. Yet Wellington did, in effect, write a history of the Peninsular War in the form of four lengthy memoranda, summarizing the conduct of the war in 1809, 1810, and 1811 respec...

On 23 September 1642 Prince Rupert's cavalry triumphed outside Worcester in the first major clash on the English Civil War. Almost precisely nine years later, on 3 September 1651, that war was won by Oliver Cromwell's famous Ironsides outside the same city and in part upon the same ground. Stuart Reid provides a detailed yet readable new military history – the first to be published for over twenty years – of the three conflicts between 1642 and 1651 known as the English Ci...

The fighting in Europe during the Seven Years War hung in the balance. After initial successes the Austro-French forces had been driven back across the Rhine. With the opposing sides reinforcing their armies, the campaign of 1759 was going to prove decisive.Britain and her German allies met the French at Minden in Germany. Due to a misunderstanding of orders the British infantry actually attacked and dispersed the French cavalry. That action is still commemorated on 1 August each year with...

In the summer of 1642 the First Civil War between king and parliament had broken out in England.Initially both sides were confident of victory, but after the first campaigns ended in stalemate they began looking for allies. The meddling of the Stuart Kings with Scotland's religious traditions provoked the National Covenant, and later the Solemn League and Covenant. Yet many Scots continued to support the King, and after his execution, his exiled son.This co...

This historical guide retells, in graphic detail, the story of nine of the most important battles to be fought in Scotland south of the Highland Line, stretching from Aberdeen to the Firth of Clyde. The battles range from medieval period to the time of Jacobite Rebellion. They show how weapons andequipment, tactics and strategy, and the make up of the armies themselves changed over the course of almost 500 years. By concentrating on these nine battles Stuart Reid provides a concise, cohere...

A journey to the Highland battlefield where this landmark event in Scottish history took place, with numerous maps and illustrations.Culloden Moor is one of the most famous battles in British history and, for the Scots, the battle is pre-eminent, surpassing even Bannockburn. In this decisive and bloody encounter in 1746, the Duke of Cumberland's government army defeated the Jacobite rebels led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Yet, despite the attention paid to this...

During this period, the British army earned itself a formidable reputation as a fighting force. However, due to its role as a police force at home, and demonisation by American propaganda, the army was viewed as little removed from a penal institution run by aristocratic dilettantes. This view, still held by many today, is challenged by Stuart Reid, who paints a picture of an increasingly professional force. This was an important time of change and improvement for the British Army, and Bri...

The first campaign medal awarded to British soldiers is reckoned to be that given to those men who fought at Waterloo in 1815, but a decade and a half earlier a group of regiments were awarded a unique badge – a figure of a Sphinx - to mark their service in Egypt in 1801. It was a fitting distinction, for the successful campaign was a remarkable one, fought far from home by a British army which had so far not distinguished itself in battle against Revolutionary France, and one moreover whi...

The fifty-odd years of Scottish history dominated by the Jacobite Risings are amongst its most evocative and whilst the last battle, Culloden in 1746, is deservedly remembered as a national tragedy, the first battle on the braes of Killiecrankie was unquestionably the most dramatic.It was very much a Scottish battle. The later Jacobite risings would be launched against kings and governments in London. Killiecrankie, on the other hand, pitted Scot against Scot in the last bloody act of the ...

One of the most celebrated moments in Scottish history, the Jacobite Rising of 1745 is often romanticized.Drawing on the work of historians and a wide range of contemporary sources, Culloden expert Stuart Reid strips away the myths surrounding the events of the campaign, revealing some of the lesser known and fascinating truths about the Rising.Illustrated with contemporary sketches and meticulous full-colour reconstructions of dress and equipment, the rais...

The commissioned officer ranks in the British Army from 1740-1815 were almost entirely composed of the affluent and educated - the sons of the landed gentry, the wealthy, and other professional people. This title looks at the enlistment, training, daily life and combat experiences of the typical British officer in the crucial periods of the North American conflicts, the American Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. It compliments the author's previous treatments in Warrior 19 British Redco...

In August 1644, at the height of the First English Civil War, John Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, raised the standard of Royalist rebellion in Scotland.In a single year he won a string of remarkable victories with his army of Irish mercenaries and Highland clansmen. His victory at Auldearn, the centrepiece of his campaign, was won only after a day-long struggle and heavy casualties on both sides.This book details the remarkable sequence of victories at Ti...