Customer Reviews

BEGGARS IN RED: The British Army 1789 - 1889 (Pen & Sword Military Classics)

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This is a very readable, general work on the British army circa 1799-1889.

The author provides a lively account of the army's exploits, and gives various details on the life of the British soldier during this period. Some early chapters cover the period right before that which concerns the book, which detracts slightly as the French & Indian Wars and American Revolution have been covered so much already. There is some useful context I suppose in regards to how the British army operated in this earlier period which provides some context to that which is covered in the book.

The Napoleonic period gets extensive coverage and deservedly so. The author endeavors to show the short-sighted policy of Parliament, constantly downsizing the army after each crisis, only to reform it again for the next one. Readers can see some parallels to similier policies today in regards to what the Blair administration recently did in 2006 to decimate the army's strength while increasing its worldwide demands. The author is also a streadfast believer in the regimental system of the British army. Only through the close-knit comradery provided by this unique system could the British army have survived such mis-management and careless administration. Political leaders today have not heeded this advice as they systematically continue to chip away at this time honored institution of the army. Once you remove a regiment with a 300 year history, its not possible to bring it back again.

The campaigns of Abercrombie in Egypt, Moore and Wellington in Spain get special attention, as does the Iron Duke again at Waterloo. Too bad the author neglected to include some of the minor campaigns the army performed in this period, in particular the significant little victory at Maida in Italy (1806) which proved the steadiness of the British infantry in linear order against the French column long before the Peninsular campaigns. The post Waterloo period gets some attention where again conservetive, petty policy undos much of the experience gained. The army begins to embark on its numerous little wars which continues as the century progresses with the rule of Queen Victoria. Much ground has been covered here already, but the author does it again with style, including quotes from Kippling and numerous Barrack Room Ballads to exampilify the conditions and spirit of Tommy Atkins as he fights againt all sorts of nasty natives around the globe. Numerous eccentric personalities and idiosyncrasies of army bureacracy abound in the telling of these stories. The development of generals Wolsely, Lord Roberts and others gets highlighted throughout this period.

The story ends just before 1900 and the Anglo-Boer War, and perhaps rightly so as this nasty conflict ushers in the bloodbaths of the 20th century. The author provides a colorful and readable account of the Beggars in Red for most of the 19th century, a period which saw the greatest development and use of the British army for sure. Well worth reading even if the material has been covered elsewhere by Byron Farewell and others. Enjoyable.