Assyrian army

Assyrian army

Friday 15 January 2016

The British Army 1899

Sometimes you come across a book on eBay that is quite expensive but looks unmissable.  'The British Army' by a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, printed in 1899, was one such.

Let's start with the cover:

Just an ordinary front cover until you read the note underneath the picture:


It has lots of illustrations and colour pictures - including things like colours, shoulder knots...

Virtually anything you could want to know about all branches of the army. How useful is the following chart showing the distribution of the army?  It also includes, of course, the names and how many battalions are in every regiment... etc.


Lots of details about all aspects of every branch of the army... an incredible number of tables such as this one...



 Want details of ammunition, rations and forage carried?

What about some tactical info? trenches? depths of marching columns?  camps? All there.

What about detailed info and diagrams of weapons and equipment?
Can't give more than an idea of the scope of this book here. It simply covers everything.

 256 pages of one of the most useful books I've ever seen on the late Victorian army. Trouble is, of course, it's been out of print for over 100 years. You can still get it it. Problem? Cost - Amazon currently lists 4 starting at £40 and going up to £105!

But...

If you are serious about the subject, try and get a copy.













6 comments:

  1. Not saying I could afford a copy midwinter but do you have an author/editor andfor publisher and date? A search on the title brought up a rather long list of other books to work through and be distracted by.

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    Replies
    1. Author is simply a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, date 1899, publisher Sampson Low, Marston & Company. In the UK this is the Amazon listing http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0036RABDA/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

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  2. What a wonderful find! What do you intend to do with it?

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  3. What would the modern-day British army give to have 78 battalions of British Infantry in the home islands!

    ReplyDelete