Books published by Naval & Military Press Ltd

A concise history of perhaps the most decisive campaign of the Peninsula War. The author's stated intention is to establish a broad framework of the 1812 campaign in Spain so that students of military history can draw from it 'lessons which may be useful in the future'. He argues that the Salamanca campaign was particularly interesting because the two sides were evenly matched. Marindin sets the scene with a brief account of Wellington's storming of Ciudad Roderigo and Badajoz and his eventual advance on Salamanca. He then recounts the duel between Wellington and Marshals Soult and Marmont for the Salamanca forts; and the preliminary moves be both sides before the battle itself on July 22nd. The book concludes with a discussion of the lessons to be learned from the battle, and there are appendices on Wellington's orders to his troops after the battle, the French order of battle, and writings on the engagement by other authorities: Napier, Alison, Marmont and Thiers. The book is well illustrated by detailed maps.

Like many of the most distinguished ancient regiments of the British Army, the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers owe their origins to the turbulent times of the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. As this excellent history, written by one of the regiment's officers in 1908 recounts, the Lancers were raised as 'James Wynne's Dragoons', a mounted unit, to repel the attemprt by Catholic supporters of James II to take over Ireland and launch an invasion of England. The Lancers took part in the successful defences of Derry and Enniskillen and the victorious Battles of the Boyne and Aughram. Subsequently, they served under King William III in the defence of his Dutch homeland against the French at the Siege of Namur.The Lancers took a proud part in the Duke of Marlborough's campaigns in the early 18th century, fighting at all four of his famous victories: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet. At the end of the century they took part in the suppression of the French-backed 1798 rising in their native Ireland, but were subsequently disbanded.Reformed in 1858 because of the need for cavalry to meet the threat of the Indian Mutiny, they took part in the relief of Lucknow. The Lancers formed part of the NIle Expedition of 1884, mounted in a belated and doomed attempt to save Gordon of Khartoum from the Mahdi and in the Suakin expedition. Their final campaign narrated in this book was the Boer War, in which they took a prominent part in the successful defence of Ladysmith when the town was besieged by the Boers. This is a fine and lively regimental history which will appeal to anyone interested in the British Army, the cavalry, or 18th and 19th century warfare. It is superblty reproduced with nine fine colour plates, 20 black and white illustrations and ten maps.

This is a sales brochure for the Accles machine gun, which was a competitor in the machine gun race of the late 19th Century when the weapon was beginning to revolutionise warfare. The Accles was an improved Gatling-type weapon, with a battery of rotating barrels. The book promotes the weapon with the aid of 4 black and white plates and 24 colour line drawings. Included are instructions for using the gun when mounted on a naval landing carriage, and a complete description of the Accles including weights and dimensions, tools and spare parts. There are also includes instructions on stripping and assembling the gun, as well as firing and clearing jams and other stoppages. This is a rare book of interest to all firearms enthusiasts.Although the Accles was not issued officially, records show that it was used on some occasions by independent business companies against pirates in the Far East.

This is a book that makes the study of tactics informative, exciting and enjoyable. First published on the eve of the Great War, the author begins with the masterley campaigns of Frederick the Great, and goes on to use first person accounts in his description of the tactics employed by Napoleon, during the American Civil War, and by the Prussians against the Austrians at Sadowa (1866) and and the French at Sedan (1870). The book also includes Britain''s ''small wars'' such as the Indian Mutiny (1857-58), and General Roberts'' attack at Peiwar Khotal in Afghanistan (1878). Desert warfare is also covered, including the battle of Abu Klea (1885) when Lord Garnet Wolseley surprised the Arabs with an advance through the desert, and Sir John McNeill''s similar but less successful operation at Tofrik in 1885.The Boer War is dealt with in some detail, including the cavalry charge at Klip Drift (1900) and Kitchener''s attack at Paardeberg (also 1900). The Boer War is the subject of a valuable critique by the author, who also looks at the Russo-Japanese War, where so many lessons could have been learned, but were not. The book ends with an appreciation of the situation just before the First World War, when the prevailing military doctrines - including the importance of cavalry - were to be disproved in the stasis of the trenches. The author''s compelling arguments are backed up by the profuse use of maps to illustrate the campaigns he discusses so clearly.

A scarce eye-witness account of Sir Garnet Wolseley''s abortive 1873-74 campaign against the Ashanti tribe in the West African Gold Coast (today''s Ghana). The author came as a volunteer from Canada to lead a liasion mission to the Akim people in resisting the aggressive incursions of the Ashanti. But he and the other Britons with Wolseley found themselves battling endemic disease, a punishing climate and inhospitable terrain as much as the fierce Ashanti warriors. With a map of the region and an appendix of correspondence relating to the author''s mission with the Akim.