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Great British Commanders: Leadership, Strategy and Luck
Military commanders matter. They win or lose battles, determine the outcomes of wars and often shape the history of nations. But they are also human individuals. This study of thirty-four British commanders, from Boudica to Bomber Harris, reflects on their personal stories, as individuals and warriors; as husbands and wives, libertines and lovers, strategists and shapers of British history over almost two thousand years. Short biographical essays, by military analyst Michael Clarke, cover a sweep of British history from the epic story of Queen Boudica in Roman Britain, to the generals, admirals and air marshals of the First and Second World Wars. Their styles of leadership, their strategies – or in some cases lack of them – are examined as they throw themselves on fortune. And the Gods of War decide whom will be lucky, and whom not.
Some commanders described here were obvious shapers of British history, like King Alfred, William the Conqueror, Henry V, Cromwell, Marlborough, Wellington or Montgomery. Some were unlucky and seemed beset by failure, like Walter Raleigh, Sir John Moore or General John Gort. Others are less well-known as significant commanders; like Lady Aethelflaid of Mercia, the Empress Matilda, the ‘greatest knight’, Sir William Marshal, or Cuthbert Collingwood who served with Nelson at Trafalgar. All have fascinating stories. Their experiences are compared in two final chapters that draw from unique interviews with a number of living British commanders who reflect on the ‘eternal verities’ of command but also the new conditions of twenty-first century warfare.
Some commanders described here were obvious shapers of British history, like King Alfred, William the Conqueror, Henry V, Cromwell, Marlborough, Wellington or Montgomery. Some were unlucky and seemed beset by failure, like Walter Raleigh, Sir John Moore or General John Gort. Others are less well-known as significant commanders; like Lady Aethelflaid of Mercia, the Empress Matilda, the ‘greatest knight’, Sir William Marshal, or Cuthbert Collingwood who served with Nelson at Trafalgar. All have fascinating stories. Their experiences are compared in two final chapters that draw from unique interviews with a number of living British commanders who reflect on the ‘eternal verities’ of command but also the new conditions of twenty-first century warfare.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published December 19, 2024
13 people want to read
About the author
Michael Clarke
20 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke is a British academic who specialises in defence studies.
Professor Clarke was Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) from 2007 to 2015 when he retired from that role. Until 2001 he was Deputy Vice-Principal and Director for Research Development at King’s College London, where he remains a Visiting Professor of Defence Studies. From 1990 to 2001 he was the founding Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s. He was appointed Professor in 1995. He is now a Fellow of King’s College London and of the Universities of Aberystwyth and of Exeter, where he is also Associate Director of the Strategic Studies Institute.
He has previously taught at the Universities of Aberystwyth, Manchester and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and also at the University of New Brunswick and the Open University. He has been a Guest Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, and a Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London.
He has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee since 1997, having served previously with the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee 1995-6, and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Bribery in 2009. In 2004 he was appointed as the UK’s member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. In 2009 he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s National Security Forum and in 2010 to the Chief of Defence Staff’s Strategic Advisory Group. He also served on the Strategic Advisory Panel on Defence for UK Trade and Industry and in 2014 was Chairman of the Defence Communications Advisory panel for the Ministry of Defence.
In March 2014 he was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister to chair an Independent Surveillance Review at RUSI which reported in 2015. That report, A Democratic Licence to Operate: The Report of the Independent Surveillance Review, was published as part of the public discussion around the Investigatory Powers Bill, due to be enacted into law by December 2016.
In January 2016 he was appointed a specialist adviser to the Joint National Committee on Security Strategy for the period of the current Parliament.
source: Royal United Services Institute
Please see: Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke is a British academic who specialises in defence studies.
Professor Clarke was Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) from 2007 to 2015 when he retired from that role. Until 2001 he was Deputy Vice-Principal and Director for Research Development at King’s College London, where he remains a Visiting Professor of Defence Studies. From 1990 to 2001 he was the founding Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s. He was appointed Professor in 1995. He is now a Fellow of King’s College London and of the Universities of Aberystwyth and of Exeter, where he is also Associate Director of the Strategic Studies Institute.
He has previously taught at the Universities of Aberystwyth, Manchester and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and also at the University of New Brunswick and the Open University. He has been a Guest Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, and a Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London.
He has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee since 1997, having served previously with the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee 1995-6, and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Bribery in 2009. In 2004 he was appointed as the UK’s member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. In 2009 he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s National Security Forum and in 2010 to the Chief of Defence Staff’s Strategic Advisory Group. He also served on the Strategic Advisory Panel on Defence for UK Trade and Industry and in 2014 was Chairman of the Defence Communications Advisory panel for the Ministry of Defence.
In March 2014 he was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister to chair an Independent Surveillance Review at RUSI which reported in 2015. That report, A Democratic Licence to Operate: The Report of the Independent Surveillance Review, was published as part of the public discussion around the Investigatory Powers Bill, due to be enacted into law by December 2016.
In January 2016 he was appointed a specialist adviser to the Joint National Committee on Security Strategy for the period of the current Parliament.
source: Royal United Services Institute
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 3, 2025
THIS examines 33 leaders from Boudica against the Romans to World War Two commanders such as Montgomery of Alamein and Battle Of Britain RAF chief Dowding.
Written by the Sky News military expert, it features the famous, Henry V of Agincourt, Wellington of Waterloo, and less well know.
In a big, detailed book that's easy to dib into, the Prof looks at the characters and the magic cocktail of skill, luck and circumstance that risks lives in pursuit of victory.
In a troubled world, it's a vivid insight into the qualities needed when trouble hits the fan.
Written by the Sky News military expert, it features the famous, Henry V of Agincourt, Wellington of Waterloo, and less well know.
In a big, detailed book that's easy to dib into, the Prof looks at the characters and the magic cocktail of skill, luck and circumstance that risks lives in pursuit of victory.
In a troubled world, it's a vivid insight into the qualities needed when trouble hits the fan.
Displaying 1 of 1 review