Between James' accession in February 1685 and flight in December 1688 the British Armies increased four fold (the English, Scots and Irish Armies were still separate institutions and were to remain so until the early 18th Century, in the case of the Scots, and the early 19th Century in the case of the Irish); from a small force of little more than ceremonial and policing use to a fully-fledged Army with all of its necessary supporting arms and services. Respected historian Correlli Barnett wrote: "It might well be said that if the British royal standing army was in fact founded at one given...

In 1711 Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, led a large army of veterans from Poltava and his other Great Northern War victories into the Balkans. He aimed to humble the Ottomans in the same way he had the Swedes a few years before. Victory would secure useful allies in the Balkans, cement Russia's 'Great Power' status and offer Peter the opportunity to finally gain control over the Swedish king, Charles XII, thus completing his victory over Sweden. Yet within a few months, the 'backward' Ottomans had forced the Tsar and his Tsarina and their army of veterans into a humbling surrender near...

'Hey For Old Robin ' was the cry of the Earl of Essex's army during the First Civil War as, contrary to modern popular belief, Robert Devereux was well-liked by the men he led. This book fills a gap in the literature of the Civil Wars, taking up the challenge to write a new history of Essex and his Army and examining the often-repeated view that he was a cautious dullard with little military skill. The two authors Christopher Scott and Alan Turton, both well known published military historians, present a more balanced view of Parliament's first Lord General, bringing him out of the shadow of...

London was the critical location throughout the English Civil Wars - a fact that has been emphasized by countless historians, with some going as far to say that by fleeing his capital in January 1642, King Charles I lost the war several months before the fighting actually started. Most studies focus on London as the political and economic powerhouse - overlooking the fact that militarily, London was just as important; it is 'London: the militarized city' which is the focus of this new history. At the outbreak of the fighting, Parliament was able to call upon the capital's 'citizen soldiers' -...

Just over three centuries ago, there was a major battle in Scotland that was to decide the fate of the newly established - and bitterly contested - union of England and Scotland. On one hand there was a numerically superior army, trained and armed but officered by men of varying experience. Facing them was a small, but better experienced and officered British Army. Both armies; one entirely Scottish and the other a mixture of Scots, English and Irish were led by Scottish noblemen. Victory to either side meant control of the gateway from the Highlands to the Lowlands and then England, where...

General George Monck once described the Royalist horse as "a rabble of gentility." Modern research has largely dispelled this image of the King's cavalry. However the description seems at first sight appropriate to the body of cavalry known as the "Northern Horse." Formed from those elements of the Marquis of Newcastle's Northern Royalist Army which elected to continue to fight after the crushing defeat at Marston Moor (2 July 1644) during the next 15 months the Northern Horse swept across much of England and Wales, becoming increasingly notorious in the process. United and reorganized by...

Glenshiel: The Jacobite Rising in 1719 reconstructs this least well known of the Jacobite rebellions, including the decisive battle fought in the mountainous Scottish Highlands.

This is the story of Sweden's Army during the wars 1700-1721 against a number of enemies, foremost Russia, until the collapse of the Swedish Empire.

The Battle of Stow on the Wold and the end of the Civil War in the Welsh Marches. c 30 ills incl. colour artwork, maps, contemporary prints, portraits modern photos