by Harold E. Raugh, jr.
Hardback (6.4×9.5 inches). 362 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: Perspectives on British Military History and Leadership
This first volume of three reprints 14 articles that appeared in various magazines, most often Soldiers of the Queen, from 20 or so years ago. Most of the articles deal with Victorian colonial battles and campaigns, although also included are a few post-Boer War articles up through WWII (Operation Compass).
Some aspects of dissecting maneuvers and British leadership are quite incisive. Wolseley and Wavell get high marks for their campaigns, especially for bold action, and as for Wolseley, his spreading of disinformation among the war correspondents. Col. Meinhertzhagen’s “lost” haversack with fake plans to hit Gaza in WWI was also a misdirection coup in helping gaining surprise at Beersheba (WWI). Omdurman and the artillery battery serve as another example of clear explanation of action and consequence.
However, many articles contain except after excerpt. While valuable in limited quantities to provide combat accounts, after a while, I find the accounts to be repetitious. Now, this is not particularly fatal in an article, but a book of articles filled with page after page of excerpt is tiring to read. To me, and I might be a distinct minority here, an excerpt that highlights a key aspect of a battle or campaign is worth the interruption of the prose. Too many interruptions ruin the analysis of the author.
So, I skipped around quite a bit and even abandoned chapters when I started reading too many reports and memoirs and not enough insight from beyond the period.
One typo: “.Only” (p95) needs a space after the period.
The book contains 17 black and white photos, 42 black and white illustrations, and 22 black and white maps or varying clarity.
If you have old back issues of Soldiers of the Queen, you already have most of these articles. If you don’t, and you are interested in Victorian British colonial campaigns and battles with lots of excerpts, this will fill in the blanks nicely. Ties go to the author.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
