Books by Ian Knight

A new study of the battles fought between Queen Victoria''s infantry and the formidable Madhist Army in the Sudan, from the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1884ΓÇô85 to the battles of Atbara and Omdurman in 1898.In the early 1880s, Britain intervened in independent Egypt and seized control of the Suez Canal. British forces were soon deployed to Egypt''s southern colony, the Sudan, where they confronted a determined and capable foe amid some of the world''s most inhospitable terrain. In 1881 an Islamic fundamentalist revolt had broken out in the Sudan, led by a religious teacher named Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who proclaimed himself al-Mahdi, "The Guided One." In 1884, Mahdist forces besieged the Sudanese capital of Khartoum; Colonel Charles Gordon was sent to the city with orders to evacuate British personnel, but refused to leave. Although the British despatched a relief column to rescue Gordon, the Mahdists stormed Khartoum in January 1885 and he was killed. British troops abandoned much of the Sudan, but renewed their efforts to reconquer it in the late 1890s, in a bloody campaign that would decide the region''s fate for generations. Written by leading expert Ian Knight, this fully illustrated study examines the evolving forces, weapons and tactics employed by both sides in the Sudan, notably at the battles of Abu Klea (January 16ΓÇô18, 1885), Tofrek (March 22, 1885), and Atbara (April 8, 1898).

Waged across an inhospitable terrain which varied from open African savannah to broken mountain country and arid semi-desert, the Anglo-Boer wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902 pitted the British Army and its allies against the Boers' commandos.The nature of warfare across these campaigns was shaped by the realities of the terrain and by Boer fighting techniques. Independent and individualistic, the Boers were not professional soldiers but a civilian militia who were bound by the terms of the 'Commando system' to come together to protect their community against an outside threat. By contrast the British Army was a full-time professional body with an established military ethos, but its over-dependence on conventional infantry tactics led to a string of Boer victories. This fully illustrated study examines the evolving nature of Boer military techniques, and contrasts them with the British experience, charting the development of effective British mounted tactics from the first faltering steps of 1881 through to the final successes of 1902.

Featuring rare period photos, this highly illustrated history tells the story of the frontier outlaws who defied the authorities on the wild Australian frontier in the Victorian era, and the Crown forces who eventually hunted them down. The first "bushrangers" or frontier outlaws were escaped or time-expired convicts, who took to the wilderness--"the bush"--in New South Wales and on the island of Tasmania. Initially, the only Crown forces available were redcoats from the small, scattered garrisons, but by 1825 the problem of outlawry led to the formation of the first Mounted Police from these soldiers. The gold strikes of the 1860s attracted a new group of men who preferred to get rich by the gun rather than the shovel. The roads, and later railways, that linked the mines with the cities offered many tempting targets and were preyed upon by the bushrangers.This 1860s generation boasted many famous outlaws who passed into legend for their boldness. The last outbreak came in Victoria in 1880, when the notorious Kelly Gang staged several hold-ups and deliberately ambushed the pursuing police. Their last stand at Glenrowan has become a legendary episode in Australian history. Fully illustrated with some rare period photographs, this is the fascinating story of Australia''s most infamous outlaws and the men tasked with tracking them down.

A Door to Your Imagination, Is full of delightful poems and illustrations. It has an impressive variety of fantastic topics ... Such as swashbuckling pirates sailing the tropics! Prehistoric cavemen and raucous dinosaurs! An old haunted house with creaky wooden floors! Dusty elephants wearing golden crowns Pulling circus wagons full of silly clowns! A proficient nimble-fingered musician Playing instruments with perfect precision! Sir Dwight the knight and his steed Dynamite Slay a dragon with a ferocious appetite! And there is so much more! For you to explore In this book of sixty plus pages For tots to all ages! So, step through the door to your Imagination And experience excitement, wonder and fascination!

The battle of iSandlwana was the single most destructive incident in the 150-year history of the British colonisation of South Africa. In one bloody day over 800 British troops, 500 of their allies and at least 2000 Zulus were killed in a staggering defeat for the British empire. The consequences of the battle echoed brutally across the following decades as Britain took ruthless revenge on the Zulu people. In Zulu Rising Ian Knight shows that the brutality of the battle was the result of an inevitable clash between two aggressive warrior traditions. For the first time he gives full weight to the Zulu experience and explores the reality of the fighting through the eyes of men who took part on both sides, looking into the human heart of this savage conflict. Based on new research, including previously unpublished material, Zulu oral history, and new archaeological evidence from the battlefield, this is the definitive account of a battle that has shaped the political fortunes of the Zulu people to this day.

When Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne in 1837, British troops had recently concluded a war in southern Africa against the Xhosa people, and the seeds were already sown for a clash with the Boers. When she died in January 1901 Britain was fighting the Boers in one of the longest and costliest of the imperial colonial wars. This book details the history of Britain''s numerous conflicts with the people of southern Africa, namely the Xhosa, Basotho, Tswana and Boers. Numerous illustrations, including rare photographs and colour plates, detail the dress, weaponry and organization of Victoria''s enemies in the late 19th century.

''A very remarkable people, the Zulu'', the British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, said on hearing of a fresh disaster in the war of 1879, ''They defeat our generals; they convert our bishops; they have settled the fate of a great European dynasty''. Remarkable indeed, to have taken on the full might of the British Empire at its height, and won, if not the war, at least some of the battles. This book explains who the Zulus were, and how they achieved the fame as warriors which they enjoy to this day.

An account of the Boer Wars. Triggered by Cecil Rhodes' failed Jameson raid, the Anglo-Boer war started in 1898. It marked the end of the old wars of empire and the beginning of a recognizably 20th-century style of warfare including the use of concentration camps and "scorched earth" policies.

A study of the struggle which took place in 1879 at the small mission station of Rorke's Drift, when more than 3,000 Zulu warriors were pitted against 400 British troops. Features 3-D maps and maps of the various stages of the campaign. From the CAMPAIGN series.