- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Military commanders matter. They win or lose battles, determine the outcomes of wars and often shape the history of nations. But they are also human individuals. This study of thirty-four British commanders, from Boudica to Bomber Harris, reflects on their personal stories, as individuals and warriors; as husbands and wives, libertines and lovers, strategists and shapers of British history over almost two thousand years. Short biographical essays, by military analyst Michael Clarke, cover a sweep of British history from the epic story of Queen Boudica in Roman Britain, to the generals, admirals and air marshals of the First and Second World Wars. Their styles of leadership, their strategies – or in some cases lack of them – are examined as they throw themselves on fortune. And the Gods of War decide whom will be lucky, and whom not. Some commanders described here were obvious shapers of British history, like King Alfred, William the Conqueror, Henry V, Cromwell, Marlborough, Wellington or Montgomery. Some were unlucky and seemed beset by failure, like Walter Raleigh, Sir John Moore or General John Gort. Others are less well-known as significant commanders; like Lady Aethelflaid of Mercia, the Empress Matilda, the 'greatest knight', Sir William Marshal, or Cuthbert Collingwood who served with Nelson at Trafalgar. All have fascinating stories. Their experiences are compared in two final chapters that draw from unique interviews with a number of living British commanders who reflect on the 'eternal verities' of command but also the new conditions of twenty-first century warfare.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Author
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on the Text
- Introduction
- 1 Boudica – Queen of the Iceni
- 2 Alfred the Great
- 3 Lady Aethelflaed of Mercia
- 4 Harold II – the Last Saxon King
- 5 William I – The Conqueror
- 6 The Empress Matilda
- 7 William Marshal – the ‘greatest knight’
- 8 Edward I – ‘hammer of the Scots’
- 9 Edward III – warrior King
- 10 Edward, The Black Prince
- 11 Henry V
- 12 Sir Francis Drake
- 13 Sir Walter Raleigh
- 14 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector
- 15 John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough
- 16 John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent
- 17 Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
- 18 Admiral Horatio Nelson
- 19 Thomas Cochrane – the Sea Wolf
- 20 General Sir John Moore
- 21 The Duke of Wellington
- 22 FitzRoy Somerset, Lord Raglan
- 23 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
- 24 Field Marshal Douglas Haig
- 25 Admiral John Jellicoe
- 26 Admiral David Beatty
- 27 Field Marshal John Gort
- 28 Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding
- 29 Field Marshal Harold Alexander
- 30 Admiral Dudley Pound
- 31 Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
- 32 Field Marshal William Slim
- 33 Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Arthur Harris
- 34 Success in Command
- 35 Contemporary Command and Modern Commanders
- Chronological Table
- Select Bibliography for Further Reading
- Plates