British Military Disasters 1879?1900 ? The experience of colonial warfare brought vividly to life. ? New insights into the characters of some of Victoria's most notable military commanders ? Tabulated orders of battle for all combatants Between the Crimean War and the dawn of the 20th century, the British Army was almost continuously engaged in one corner of the globe or another, in military operations famously characterized by Kipling as the 'savage wars of peace'. From Cairo to Cape Town, hard-pressed handfuls of British soldiers flogged across often impossible terrain, and overcame a raft of logistic difficulties, to bring a succession of resourceful enemies to battle. When at length the protagonists met at close quarters, there were often startling, unexpected and violent outcomes. In his new work on the most dramatic Victorian campaigns Colonel Mike Snook deploys his professional expertise as a soldier, in concert with his life-long study of British military history, to bring the most dramatic clashes of the age of empire back to life. In the first of two volumes on the subject, he focuses closely on defeat and disaster ? the occasions when things when badly awry for the British. The names of these great battles ? Isandlwana, Maiwand, Majuba Hill, Khartoum, Colenso, Spion Kop and Magersfontein still resonate down through the ages. In a wide-ranging and meticulously researched military history, the author exposes the true and sometimes embarrassing causes of defeat. Overstretch, political meddling, military incompetence and petty jealousy all played their part. Above all else, however, these are dramatic and perceptive accounts of mere mortal men struggling to deal with the often overpowering dynamics and horrors of 19th-century warfare on the fringes of Empire. Mike Snook is a serving officer of the Royal Regiment of Wales (formerly the 24th). He is the author How Can Man Die Better and Like Wolves on the Fold
