The story of the British Army has many sides to it being a tale of heroic successes and tragic failures of dogged determination and drunken disorder It involves many of the most vital preoccupations in the history of the island the struggle against Continental domination by a single power the battle for Empire and a cast pf remarkable characters Marlborough Wellington and Montgomery among them Yet the British relying on their navy have always neglected their army from the time of Alfred the Great to the reign of Charles II wars were fought with hired forces disbanded as soon as conflict ended Even after the stuggles with Louis XIV impelled the formation of a reulgar army impecunious governments neglected the armed forces except in times of national emergency In this wideranging account Major Haswell sketches the medieval background before concentrating on the three hundred years of the regular army leading up to its role in our own time He presents an informed and probing picture of the organization of the army the development of weaponry and strategy and the everyday life of the British soldier through the centuriesJohn LewisStempel has brought Major Haswells classic work right up to date by expanding the section on the dissolution of empire to include a full account of Northern Ireland and the Falklands War He has added a new chapter to cover the Gulf War Bosnia Afghanistan and Iraq also the increasing role of special forces and the amalgamation of regiments