Join thousands of book lovers
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.You can, at any time, unsubscribe from our newsletters.
Baluchistan today lies in Pakistan with Afghanistan to the north, Iran to the west, India the east and the Arabian Sea on the south. The two main cities are Quetta up on the Afghan frontier, and Karachi the port on the Arabian sea. This volume, however, begins with an introduction to the Baluchistan of some three hundred years ago, describing its geography, its peoples (tribes) and early history including the acquisition by the British of a territory considerably larger than the British Isles. The narrative then takes us through the history of the country and it s relations with the British, mainly actions by hostile tribes and our reacting to them by sending punitive expeditions to deal with them. An example of one of these was the Zhob Valley Expedition of 1884 on which we sent a mixed force of artillery, cavalry and infantry amounting to some 5,000 men. The second half of the book is taken up with an account of the First Afghan War which ran from 1838 to 1842, largely, if not entirely the fault of the Governor General (the title later was changed to Viceroy) Lord Auckland who decided to replace the ruler of Afghanistan, Dost Mohammed with a puppet king. Shah Shuja, which led to a large scale British invasion of the country. The British met with disaster in which some 4000 soldiers and 12,000 followers perished, only one man escaping, Dr Brydon. There is a well-known painting by Lady Butler of Brydon arriving at the garrison of Jalalabad, an exhausted survivor.
This volume opens with a description of the Afridi tribe, tthe terrain in which they lived, their fighting qualities, character and customs, which included skill in stealing rifles (among other things). Troops on the Frontier ofen slept with a chain through the trigger guard attached to thei wrists, or slept on thei rifles. Ther term Afridi covers eight clans, and seven of them are dealt with in the book.. According to this account ruthless, cowardly robbery and cold-blooded, treacherous murder were to an Afridi the salt of life. Another source refers to them as a most avaricious race, desperately fond of money with a sense of loyalty that depended on the how much was in it for them.. Characteristics like that, combilned with an undoubted fighting ability made for a treacherous though formidable foe, especially in their mountainous country. No wonder we had trouble with them! The narrative describes the background to and conduct of a series of expeditions against the various clans, in eac h case describing the strength of the column, the units involved and the name of the commander and the outc ome of the expedition. The other tribes such as the Orakzai, Zaimukht, Wazirs etc are covered in the same way, descriptions of the tribesmen, ofthe terrain in which they lived and of the expeditions sent against them.The period covered in this volume is from 1855 operations against the Afridis to the Kabul Khel expedition of 1902.
This is the first of a series of six volumes containing records of expeditions against frontier tribes on all the frontiers of India, and of operations embarked upon overseas by the Government of India, involving troops of the Indian Army and British troops stationed in India at the relevant time.They incorporate the work compiled in 1873 by Col W.H.Paget (Revised in 1884 by Lieut A.H. Mason RE) describing expeditions against the North-West Frontier Tribes, authorised by the Punjab Government, as "a valuable guide to those who might have future dealings with these turbulent neighbours." It was with this warfare in mind that Kipling wrote those lines, addressed to The Young British Soldier: When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, An' the women come out to cut up what remains, Jest roll to your rifle an' blow out your brains, An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.Each volume deals with a distinct geographical division, laid out in the introduction of this volume which goes on to describe the terrain and the differing tribesman, their characteristics and their worth as fighting men. Operations described in this volume include the expedition to Gilgit, Hunza and Nagir in1891 led by Lt Col Durand in which three VCs were awarded to officers of the Indian Army; the siege of Chitral in in March/April 1895 which a small force of Indian troops under Brevet Major Townshend held out against a large force of tribesmen for six weeks when a relief force arrived (twenty-one years later he would surrender to the Turks at Kut); the Malakand and Mohmand Field Forces in 1897 (Churchill served in the former expedition and wrote a book about it); operations against the Black Mountain and Swati Valley tribes. Composition of Forces, casualties and names of personalities feature thr oughout the narrative.
This is the autobiography of Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorf und von Hindenburg, to give him his full name, who was born on 2 October 1847 in Posen in what was then East Prussia. He was commissioned into the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards on 7 April 1865. He first saw action in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 (the Seven Weeks' War) and fought at Konnigratz (Sadowa), the battle that decided that Prussia and not Austro-Hungary would be the dominant power in central Europe. . He fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 which saw the birth of the German Empire with the King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, as Emperor (Kaiser). In 1873 he was accepted for the prestigious War Academy (Kriegsakademia) and in 1878 had his first posting to the General Staff and was promoted captain. In 1893 he was given command of the 91st (Oldenburg) Infantry Regiment, and three years later he was appointed Chief of Staff of 8th Army Corps in Coblenz. In 1900 he was promoted to command of the 28th Division at Karlsruhe and finally, in 1905, again on promotion, to command of the 4th Army Corps at Magdeburg. In 1911 he retired. Towards the end of August 1914 the German army on the Eastern Front suffered a reverse at Gumbinnen and Hindenburg was called out of retirement, promoted Colonel-General and given command on the Eastern Front, replacing von Prittwitz. Erich Ludendorff was brought over from the Western Front and appointed his chief of staff, thus began the partnership that was to last till the last weeks of the war when Ludendorff suffered a breakdown and was replaced by von Groener.This autobiography tells Hindenburg's life story from his earliest days to the Kaiser's abdication in November 1918 and the Armistice. He doesn't have an unkind word to say about any of his colleagues or superiors - they were all splendid chaps. As for his attitude to the Kaiser, suffice to say he regarded him as next to the Almighty; loyalty and devotion were the keywords. Expressions such as "my Kaiser, King and Master" and "my All-Highest War Lord" abound." His pride and belief in his country and in his duty to it come through most clearly. At the end there are no regrets, just a resounding rallying call to the "once proud and mighty German army" and belief in the "justice of our Cause and my confidence in our Fatherland and the Army." Germany will rise again is the message.
Extremely rare and extremely important, this fabulously illustrated book was commissioned by the Duke of Cumberland, the victor of Culloden, presented to his brother, King George II, and shows in 94 colour illustrations the uniform of all units and establishments of the British army at that time (1742). As such, it is the official template from which all subsequent uniforms were derived. Found in the Library of the Royal Armouries, Leeds, the book shows the uniforms and accoutrements of the Gentlemen Pensioners and the Yeomen of the Guard, the Household Cavalry and the Cavalry, including the Carbineers and the Dragoons. It also includes the dress of the 1st Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards), the Coldstream Guards and the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards (Scots Guards). The line regiments are also fully covered, from the Queen's Regiment, the King's Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and all the other line regiments then established in the British Army. The Cloathing Book also includes ten regiments of Marines and the Regiment of Invalids. Each plate shows the uniform of the regiment in full, together with (where applicable) horse coverings and the colours of the regiment. This is an exceptional find for Naval and Military Press, and is recommended to all historians of the British Army, and of its uniforms and accoutrements in general. The colour plates are superbly reproduced exactly as they appear in the original, which has been professionally scanned for colour matching.
The 6th Division was a pre-war regular division which, in 1914, was divided between Ireland and England with HQ and one brigade in Cork, another brigade in Fermoy and the third brigade in Lichfield. The division was not in the original BEF but arrived in France in time to take part in the battle of the Aisne in September 1914. At the end of the war it was selected for the march into Germany and occupied a sector between Cologne and Bonn. In March 1919 it ceased to exist as 6th Division when it was redesignated 'Midland Division'. Total casualties amounted to 53,740, four VCs were awarded.The history is indeed a short one, intended as a record for those who served in it, as the editor (the fourth and last GOC of the division) points out in his preface. It is based mainly on War Diaries but lacks maps and illustrations. The actual narrative covers 80 pages with the remainder given over to very useful appendices. Battle casualties are tabulated year by year and by sector and dates within each year. There is a seventeen-page diary of events, movements and actions; VC citations are given and the divisional order of battle information is most comprehensive. It lists staffs and commanders as down to artillery battery and engineer field company level as they were on mobilization, and again on 11th November. A separate appendix lists changes in commanders and staff, with dates.
The 2/20th Battalion was formed on 3 September 1914 and was allocated to 180th Brigade of the 60th (2/2nd London) Division with which it served till May 1918. The division went to France in June 1916 and served five months on the Western Front before being transferred to Salonika until June 1917 when it was again moved, this time to Palestine with the EEF. In May 1918 the battalion left the 60th Division in Palestine and returned to France, where it was attached briefly (three weeks) to 66th Division before being transferred to 185th Brigade, 62nd (2/West Riding) Division with which it saw out the war and with which it marched into Germany, the only Territorial division to be part of the Occupation Force.The 2/20th Bn's war service in three different theatres makes this a specially interesting history, culminating as it does with the occupation of the Rhineland. This is an example of an excellent battalion history, intended primarily as a souvenir, an aid to memory for all who served in the battalion, a battalion fortunate enough to keep the same CO throughout the whole of its active service from arrival in France to demob in July 1919. The author has provided a comprehensive account of the battalion's experiences, full of incident and one in which, bearing in mind his primary consideration, he has named many officers, NCOs and men as the story unfolds, an aspect most welcome to family historians, genealogists and medallists. There is a Roll of Honour for each theatre with names of the dead listed chronologically in each, regardless of rank. Total casualties amounted to 49 officers and 1313 other ranks of whom 18 and 331 were dead. Only six members of the battalion were taken prisoner. Appendices give the list of Honours and Awards; the nominal roll of officers who embarked with the battalion in June 1916 and what became of them; the nominal roll of WOs and sergeants who embarked in June 1916 including those started out at a lower rank but subsequently became sergeants - and what became of them; a list of the officers who joined the battalion overseas with date of joining and leaving (if they did) and why they left; and a similar list for WOs and sergeants. A final appendix describes the presentation of a King's Colour to the battalion by HRH Prince Albert (later George VI) in April 1920, arranged to coincide with the unveiling of the war memorial. Highly recommended.
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.