Europe's great powers formed two powerful coalitions against France, yet force of numbers, superior leadership and the patriotic fervour of France's citizen-soldiers not only defeated each in turn, but closed the era of small, professional armies fighting for limited political objectives. This period produced commanders whose names remain a by-word for excellence in leadership to this day, Napoleon and Nelson. From Italy to Egypt Napoleon demonstrated his strategic genius and mastery of tactics in battles including Rivoli, the Pyramids and Marengo. Nelson's spectacular sea victories at the...
Europe's great powers formed two powerful coalitions against France, yet force of numbers, superior leadership and the patriotic fervour of France's c...
Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain on 21 October 1805 of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) remains one of the greatest naval triumphs in history. Off Cape Trafalgar, 27 British and 33 Franco-Spanish ships pounded each other in an epic four-hour struggle on whose outcome rested nothing less than Britain's security against Napoleonic invasion. Nelson's brilliant tactics, inspiring leadership and the superior training and morale of his crews left his opponents shattered in a savage encounter that not only marked the last great battle fought in...
Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain on 21 October 1805 of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) remains...
Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), detailing their attitudes, duties, comforts, hardships, vices and virtues. The popular image of the British sailor of this time is of a press-ganged wretch living off weevil-infested food, motivated only by prize money and facing constant hazards aboard a floating hell, where discipline was maintained by the lash. The extent to which this enduring image accords with reality is revealed here.
Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French...
The Barbary War - the first American war against Libya - was the first war waged by the United States outside national boundaries after gaining independence and unification of the country. The four Barbary States of North Africa - Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli - had plundered seaborne commerce for centuries. This was piracy on an extraordinary scale: they controlled all trading routes through the Barbary waters and North Africa: demanding ransom and booty for safe passage. In 1801 the newly elected President Jefferson ordered a naval and military expedition to North Africa in...
The Barbary War - the first American war against Libya - was the first war waged by the United States outside national boundaries after gaining ind...
By the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Britain was the undisputed master of the seas owing to the power and strength of the Royal Navy. Its fleets, comprising ships of the line, frigates, and gunboats, had doubled in size since the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, totaling almost a thousand capital vessels.
This book examines the commanders, men, and ships of the Royal Navy during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, and discusses the Navy's command structure (from the Admiralty down to ship level) and its organization at sea. The tactics employed in...
By the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Britain was the undisputed master of the seas owing to the power and strength of the Royal Navy. Its flee...
In the mid-19th century India was the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire and was protected by the largely native armies of the East India Company. In 1857 discontent exploded into open rebellion, obliging Britain to field its largest army since the Napoleonic Wars, forty years before.
Gregory Fremont Barnes examines the origins of British rule in India, the causes of the conflict, the rival forces and fighting itself, including the massacre of Cawnpore and the epic sieges of Delhi and Lucknow. He also reveals the intriguing truth behind the 'greased cartridge' controversy -...
In the mid-19th century India was the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire and was protected by the largely native armies of the East India C...
Late in the morning on October 21, 1805, warships from the British and combined French and Spanish fleets clashed off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast. After a six month game of cat and mouse across the Atlantic, 27 British ships of the line engaged the Allied force of 33 ships of the line. This was a duel of skill, tenacity and bravery as captains and crews battled for mastery of the seas. This book is an opportunity to relive the action at Trafalgar - read the accounts of sailors who were there, and who experienced the sound of scraping cutlasses and bombarding cannons at one of the most...
Late in the morning on October 21, 1805, warships from the British and combined French and Spanish fleets clashed off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish co...
Immortalized in literature through such characters as C. S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower' and Patrick O'Brian's 'Jack Aubrey', the officers and midshipmen of the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary (1792-1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) ran the ships that defended Great Britain against the threat of French invasion. This period saw the Royal Navy achieve its most momentous victories at the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar, victories that laid the basis for a period of British naval and imperial supremacy that would last a century.
The men who commanded these ships went through a...
Immortalized in literature through such characters as C. S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower' and Patrick O'Brian's 'Jack Aubrey', the officers and m...
For 5 days in May 1980, thousands watched around the world as the shadowy figures of the SAS performed a daring and dramatic raid on the Iranian Embassy in London, catapulting a little-known specialist unit into the full glare of the world's media. Hailed by Margaret Thatcher as "a brilliant operation, carried out with courage and confidence," the raid was a huge success for the SAS, who managed to rescue nineteen hostages with near-perfect military execution, although two hostages were killed by terrorists. Despite the acclaim and media attention, details of the siege are still largely...
For 5 days in May 1980, thousands watched around the world as the shadowy figures of the SAS performed a daring and dramatic raid on the Iranian Em...
