Marching To The Drums. From The Kabul Massacre To The Siege At Mafikeng.

by Ian Knight

This text includes accounts focusing on the experience of battle, during such pivotal military events such as the Sikh Wars, the Afghan Wars and the Boer War.

Genres: Military Fiction, History

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Ian Knight, BA, FRGS is a historian, author, battlefield guide and artifacts specialist internationally regarded as a leading authority on the nineteenth-century history of the Zulu kingdom, and in particular the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. He has a degree in Afro-Caribbean Studies from the University of Kent and has been researching and writing for more than thirty years. He has published over forty books and monographs, the majority of them on Zulu history and the rest on other nineteenth-century British colonial campaigns. He has appeared on-screen in a number of television documentaries. He is an Honorary Research Associate of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a couple of Imperial battles in the great Victorian panoply of violence that are not covered by this book- but you really have to think about it to come up with some. Ian Knight has masterfully plucked eyewitness accounts of British battles of this period, and given them a solid historical background in all cases. From the Crimea in Europe to Egypt to India and Afghanistan to the Zulu and Boer wars in Southern Africa, this tour gives you regular people who witnessed and accomplished some impressive feats of arms. And not always victories as some of the most compelling are stories of the losses in the Imperial story, Majuba, Isandlwhana, and Maiwand among them. There are even stories from the lesser known Sikh Wars, Ashanti Expedition, and Ethiopian campaign. I loved it all.

I have to say that the modern reader will delight in the depth of the prose these 19th Century folks wrote. I cut my teeth on books of this era, so I was prepared, but some may want to keep a Thesaurus handy to catch some of the cool words no longer used in these forms. Otherwise, these tales are compelling, and told with a great eye for detail. Some kept me rapt in attention, others were a little hard to get through, but each made you think about the fortitude of some of these fellows.

At this point i do have to address, that this book is FILLED with casual and overt racism. For the Indian Mutiny of 1957/First Indian War Of Independence episodes, the vicious crimes on both sides of the race/political bar can be shocking. The African episodes always feature some demeaning of the local workers. But there are some clear episodes where the locals earn respect, so it's not all pervasive. One does have to realize that these are extant sources from the period, when Englishman DID think they were a privileged lot- and had some reason to believe it.

Some of the outrages discussed, and the way they are discussed, might be a little much for a reader under 13/14. Otherwise the vivid prose will be a cool challenge. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, this is purest gold. From the quick discussion of the uniforms specially designed for the Ashanti Campaign to the description of South African skirmishes with emphasis on the terrain, I feel Scenarios/Dioramas will be improved a great deal with a reading of this book. This book would be worthwhile if you stopped reading after the Crimean War passages, but with all the rest you get, it's a bonanza not to be missed. If you like this period- pure gold.

[Rick Brindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read, as told by the soldiers on the ground at the time, and the vivid language they use takes you right back in time. Essential reading for students of British military history. Also included are photographs and paintings.

[William Corrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic collection of first hand accounts from British soldiers who served in conflicts during the 19th to very early 20th centuries. The heroism and gallantry, as well as the battles and tragedies, all help the reader to understand how the British were able to create an empire that spanned the globe.

[Benny Kjaer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ordinary men in the British army during the second half of the 1800res. India, Africa, the Sudan, and the Boer wars. Toil and terror on the battlefield.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fascinating eyewitness accounts of battles in the Victorian era.

[Suzette Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! First-hand accounts of war when Great Britain was taking over the globe (involved in about 50 wars over the course of the 19th century) as seen through the eyes of those who were there on the front lines.