The remarkable biography of one of Britain's first black soldiers of World War I, including artwork by the soldier When the harrowing Great War diaries of one of Britain's first black soldiers were unearthed in a dusty Scottish attic nearly 100 years after they were written, they posed a bit of a mystery. The diary entries, which range from May 1917 until March 1918, were written by one Arthur Roberts while he served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB). They went into great detail about what it was like for him during World War I; such as how he survived the Battle of Passchendaele, and one incident where he escaped unscathed when a German shell killed a dozen men around him. Yet Arthur Roberts was an otherwise unknown man, and little else was known about him. Now, Morag Miller and Roy Laycock have painstakingly researched Roberts' life history and filled in the gaps. From his birth in Bristol to his life in Glasgow and time at the front, they provide here much more than just a war memoir, but the unique history of one man's remarkable life.

As Good As Any Man: Scotland's Black Tommy

Biographies & Memoirs

Sadler, John

Serdiville, Rosie

Miller, Morag

Laycock, Roy

Historical

The History Press

A poem: "General Shute." The General inspecting the trenches, exclaimed with a horrified shout, 'I refuse to command a Division, Which leaves its excreta about.', But nobody took any notice, No one was prepared to refute, That the presence of shit was congenial, compared to the presence of Shute, And certain responsible critics, Made haste to reply to his words, Observing that his staff advisors, consisted entirely of turds. For shit may be shot at odd corners and paper supplied there to suit, But a shit would be shot without mourners, If somebody shot that shit Shute.

Tommy Rot

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

Cromwell's Convicts not only describes the Battle of Dunbar but concentrates on the grim fate of the soldiers taken prisoner after the battle. On 3 September 1650 Oliver Cromwell won a decisive victory over the Scottish Covenanters at the Battle of Dunbar - a victory that is often regarded as his finest hour - but the aftermath, the forced march of 5,000 prisoners from the battlefield to Durham, was one of the cruelest episodes in his career.The march took them seven days, without food and with little water, no medical care, the property of a ruthless regime determined to eradicate any possibility of further threat. Those who survived long enough to reach Durham found no refuge, only pestilence and despair. Exhausted, starving and dreadfully weakened, perhaps as many as 1,700 died from typhus and dysentery. Those who survived were condemned to hard labor and enforced exile in conditions of virtual slavery in a harsh new world across the Atlantic.Cromwell's Convicts is the first book to describe their ordeal in detail and, by using archaeological evidence, to bring the story right up to date. John Sadler and Rosie Serdiville describe the battle at Dunbar, but their main focus is on the lethal week-long march of the captives that followed. They make extensive use of archive material, retrace the route taken by the prisoners and describe the recent archaeological excavations in Durham which have identified some of the victims and given us a graphic reminder of their fate.

Cromwell's Convicts: The Death March from Dunbar 1650

History

Europe

Pen and Sword Military

Caesar’s Greatest Victory reveals both sides of the Battle for Alesia, to explore in depth the personalities involved and to examine the legacy of the campaign which still resonates today. The Battle for Alesia was a decisive moment in world history. It determined whether Rome would finally conquer Gaul or whether Celtic chieftain Vercingetorix would throw off the yoke and consequently whether a number of independent Celtic tribal kingdoms could resist the might of Rome. Failure would have been a total defeat for Julius Caesar, not just in Gaul but in the Senate. His career would have been over, his enemies would have pulled him down, civil war would have ensued, no dictatorship, no liaison with Cleopatra. Rome would not have become an empire beyond the Mediterranean. European, and therefore world history might have been a very different story. Caesar’s campaign of 52 BC frequently hung in the balance. Vercingetorix was a far more formidable opponent than any he’d encountered in Gaul; bold charismatic and imbued with strategic insight of the highest order. The Romans were caught totally off-guard and it seemed all too likely their grip on Gaul, which Caesar had imagined secure, would be pried free. The Siege of Alesia itself was one of the most astonishing military undertakings of all times. Caesar’s interior siege lines stretched for 18 kilometers and were surrounded by an outward facing line three kilometres longer, complete with palisades, towers, ditches, minefields and outposts. This work was completed in less than three weeks. Vercingetorix’s refuge proved a trap and, despite an energetic defense and the arrival of a huge relief army, there was to be no escape. Caesar’s Greatest Victory fully reveals both sides of the conflict. The arms, equipment, tactics and fighting styles of Roman and Celtic armies are explained, as well as the charisma and leadership of Caesar and Vercingetorix and the command and control structures of both sides. Using new evidence from archaeology, the authors construct a fresh account of not just the siege itself but also the Alesia campaign and place it into the wider context of the history of warfare. This is Roman history at its most exciting, featuring events still talked about today. Table of Contents Acknowledgements A note on sources Chronology Introduction: Moment of decision, the man in the red cloak 1: An ancient city in Gaul 2: De Rei Militarii 3: Way of the Gaul 4: Way of the warrior 5: De Bello Gallico – the Gallic Wars 58–52 BC 6: Total War 52 BC 7: Tightening the vice 8: The relief and final battle 9: Legacy Glossary Appendices Notes Bibliography Index

Caesar's Greatest Victory: The Battle of Alesia, Gaul 52 BC

Ancient Civilizations

Casemate

The Casemate Short History Series presents readable and entertaining introductions to military history topics. Just over a decade after the first successful powered flight, fearless pioneers were flying over the battlefields of France in flimsy biplanes. As more aircraft took to the skies, their pilots began to develop tactics to take down enemy aviators. Though the infantry in their muddy trenches might see aerial combat as glorious and chivalric, the reality for these ‘Knights of the Sky’ was very different and undeniably deadly: new Royal Flying Corps subalterns in 1917 had a life expectancy of 11 days. In 1915 the term ‘ace’ was coined to denote a pilot adept at downing enemy aircraft, and top aces like the Red Baron, René Fonck and Billy Bishop became household names. The idea of the ace continued after the 1918 Armistice, but as the size of air forces increased, the prominence of the ace diminished. But still, the pilots who swirled and danced in Hurricanes and Spitfires over southern England in 1940 were, and remain, feted as ‘the Few’ who stood between Britain and invasion. Flying aircraft advanced beyond the wildest dreams of Great War pilots, the ‘top’ fighter aces of World War II would accrue hundreds of kills, though their life expectancy was still measured in weeks, not years. World War II cemented the vital role of air power, and postwar innovation gave fighter pilots jet-powered fighters, enabling them to pursue duels over huge areas above modern battlefields. This entertaining introduction explores the history and cult of the fighter ace from the first pilots through late 20th century conflicts, which leads to discussion of whether the era of the fighter ace is at an end. Table of Contents Prologue Timeline Aces of Aces Introduction: Tumult in the Clouds 1: Above Flanders Fields (1914-16) 2: Bloody April (1917-18) 3: Their Finest Hour (1939-41) 4: War Without Pity (1941-45) 5: MiG Alley, Desert Skies and Story Seas (post 1945) Postscript: The Last Aces? Sources

Fighter Aces: Knights of the Sky (Casemate Short History)

Military

The Casemate Short History Series presents readable and entertaining introductions to military history topics. British soldiers have been known as Tommies for centuries, but the nickname is particularly associated with the British infantryman in the trenches of World War I. In August 1914, a small professional force of British soldiers crossed the Channel to aid the French and Belgians as the German army advanced. As it became apparent that the war would not, in fact, be over by Christmas, a vast drive for volunteer soldiers began. As enthusiasm for enlistment tailed off, eventually conscription was introduced in order to replenish the forces weakened by years of bloodshed. By 1918 the British Army was transformed, fielding 5.5 million men on the Western Front alone. These Tommies fought an entirely new type of war, living in vast trench systems, threatened by death from the air and gas attack as well as by bullet, bomb, or bayonet. This introduction explores the experience of Tommies on the Western Front, explaining how their war evolved and changed from the mobile battles of August 1914 to the final days of the war, and discussing daily life as an infantryman on the front line using firsthand accounts, contemporary poems, and songs Table of Contents Introduction: When the Drums Begin to Roll… Timeline Abbreviations Uniforms and kit Chapter 1: Deadlock (1914) Chapter 2: Stalemate (1915) Chapter 3: Attrition (1916) Chapter 4: Mud (1917) Chapter 5: Breakthrough (1918) Chapter 6: Remembrance Sources Acknowledgements

Tommies: The British Army in the Trenches (Casemate Short History)

Originally warriors mounted on horseback, knights became associated with the concept of chivalry as it was popularized in medieval European literature. Knights were expected to fight bravely and honorably and be loyal to their lord until death if necessary. Later chivalry came to encompass activities such as tournaments and hunting, and virtues including justice, charity and faith. The Crusades were instrumental in the development of the code of chivalry, and some crusading orders of knighthood, such as the Knights Templar, have become legend. Boys would begin their knightly training at the age of seven, learning to hunt and studying academic studies before becoming assistants to older knights, training in combat and learning how to care for a knight’s essentials: arms, armou\r, and horses. After fourteen years of training, and when considered master of all the skills of knighthood, a squire was eligible to be knighted. In peacetime knights would take part in tournaments. Tournaments were a major spectator sport, but also an important way for knights to practice their skills – knights were often injured and sometimes killed in melees. Knights figured large in medieval warfare and literature. In the 15th century knights became obsolete due to advances in warfare, but the title of ‘knight’ has survived as an honorary title granted for services to a monarch or country, and knights remain a strong concept in popular culture. This short history will cover the rise and decline of the medieval knights, including the extensive training, specific arms and armou\r, tournaments and the important concept of chivalry. Table of Contents Introduction: Of Arms and of Men Timeline Chapter 1: 1066 and all that Chapter 2: Kingdom of Heaven Chapter 3: Longshanks Chapter 4: Braveheart Chapter 5: St Crispin’s Day Chapter 6: Game of Thrones Chapter 7: Ivanhoe Glossary Sources Acknowledgements Index

Knights: Chivalry and Violence (Casemate Short History)

Fortified structures have been in existence for thousands of years. In ancient and medieval times castles were the ultimate symbol of power, dominating their surroundings, and marking the landscape with their imposing size and impregnable designs. After the Norman conquest of England, castles exploded in popularity amongst the nobility, with William the Conqueror building an impressive thirty-six castles between 1066-1087. Windsor Castle is one example of such a castle which survives today, a monument of the remarkable architecture designed and developed in medieval England. This concise and entertaining short history explores the life of the castle, one that often involved warfare and sieges. The castle was a first and foremost a fortress, the focus of numerous clashes which took place in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Castles became targets of sieges, such as that organized by Prince Louis of France against Dover castle in 1216, and were forced to adopt greater defensive measures. Also explored is how they evolved from motte-and-bailey to stone keep castles, in the face of newly developed siege machines and trebuchets. The trebuchet named Warwolf, which Edward I had assembled for his siege of Scotland's Stirling Castle, reportedly took three months to construct and was almost four hundred feet tall on completion. With features such as 'murder-holes' for throwing boiling oil at the attackers, the defenders in the castle fought back in earnest. Alongside such violence, the castle functioned as a residence for the nobles and their servants, often totaling several hundred in number. It was the location for extravagant banquets held in the great hall by the lord and lady, and the place where the lord carried out his administrative duties such as overseeing laws and collecting taxes.

Castles: Fortresses of Power (Casemate Short History)

Alexander was perhaps the greatest conquering general in history. In just over a generation, his northern Greek state of Macedon rose to control the whole of the vast Persian Empire. It was the legacy of his father, Philip, that launched Alexander on a spectacular career of conquest that planted Hellenic culture across most of Asia. In a dozen years Alexander took the whole of Asia Minor and Egypt, destroyed the once mighty Persian Empire, and pushed his army eastwards as far as the Indus. No-one in history has equaled his achievement. Julius Caesar, contemplating his hero’s statue, is said to have wept because by contrast he had accomplished so little. Much of Alexander’s success can be traced to the Macedonian phalanx, a close-ordered battle formation of sarissa-wielding infantry that proved itself a war-winning weapon. The army Alexander inherited from his father was the most powerful in Greece, highly disciplined, trained and loyal only to the king. United in a single purpose, they fought as one. Alexander recognized this and is quoted as saying, “Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.” Cavalry was also of crucial importance in the Macedonian army, as the driving force to attack the flanks of the enemy in battle. A talented commander, able to anticipate how his opponent would think, Alexander understood how to commit his forces to devastating effect, and was never defeated in battle. He also developed a corps of engineers that utilized catapults and siege towers against enemy fortifications. Alexander led from the front, fighting with his men, eating with them, refusing water when there was not enough, and his men would quite literally follow him to the ends of the (known) world, and none of his successors was able to hold together the empire he had forged. Although he died an early death his fame and glory persist to this day. This concise history gives an overview of Alexander’s life from a military standpoint, from his early military exploits to the creation of his empire and the legacy left after his premature death.

Alexander the Great: Conqueror, Commander, King (Casemate Short History)

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