With its exciting narrative style, careful analysis and emphasis on first-person accounts, Warriors in Scarlet is destined to become a classic.\nFollowing on from the bestselling success of Zulu Rising , acclaimed military historian Ian Knight has turned his attention to Queen Victoria’s army as it underwent seismic change between 1837 and 1860. The army drew men hoping to escape the harsh grind of rural life, the city slums of the Industrial Revolution and even prison sentences, and trained them to fight using techniques that had defeated Napoleon. But the rapid expansion of the British Empire meant they found themselves facing diverse and skilful enemies around the world. Often under-strength and operating in unfamiliar terrain, British troops had to adapt or die.\nIn Warriors in Scarlet: The Life and Times of Britain’s Last Redcoa ts , Ian Knight draws on evocative accounts from ordinary soldiers as well as officers to show us what daily life was like in the army, from the floggings and desertions to the comradeship. He vividly recreates the action on the ground, from bloody skirmishes to disasters like the 1842 retreat from Kabul and Chillianwala – but shows that in reality the army won more than four-fifths of the battles they fought in this era. By 1860, redcoats no longer, they are a more professional, efficient and sometimes ruthless fighting force. .

Warriors in Scarlet

History

Knight, Ian

Asia

Macmillan

In the late 1870s the British Imperial administration in the Cape colony in southern Africa began to view the Zulu kingdom as a challenge to their authority. To contain this perceived threat, they engineered a war. The early campaigns went terribly wrong, culminating with the decisive Zulu victory at Isandlwana. However, the Zulus, primarily reliant on their skill with the stabbing spear, had no real defense or retaliation against the massed firepower of professional British soldiers, and ultimately the British won the war. Ian Castle examines the British-Zulu war and its two key battles, Isandlwana and Khambula, with excellent black and white photographs accompanying the clear and detailed text.
In the late 1870s the British Imperial administration in the Cape colony in southern Africa engineered a war with the Zulu kingdom which they viewed as a challenge to their authority. The early campaigns went terribly wrong for the British with the decisive Zulu victory at Isandlwana ending the first phase of the invasion of Zululand. Ultimately however, in spite of this setback, the British won the war: the Zulus, primarily reliant on their skill with the stabbing spear at close-quarters, had no real defence or retaliation against the massed firepower of professional British soldiers firing Martini-Henry rifles. These single-shot breech-loading weapons decimated the Zulus as they tried to advance towards the red-coated British troops. Even at Isandlwana the Zulus lost more than a thousand men, and victory was only really guaranteed them when their opponents began to run out of ammunition. This title examines the British-Zulu war in general and its two key battles, Isandlwana and Khambula in particular. The reasons for the initial British defeat are discussed as are the shortcomings of the Zulu forces that led to their ultimate subjugation at the hands of the British.

Zulu War 1879 (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

Castle, Ian

Africa

Praeger Pub Text

Rorke's Drift sums up some of the best traditions of the British self-image: steadfastness against the odds, victory in adversity and the thin red line. The British stand deserves to go down in history as one of the most heroic actions of all time. The story of a mere 150 British and Imperial soldiers defending an isolated outpost against over 3,000 Zulu warriors summed up the experience of the colonial adventure for the Victorians. Ian Knight recounts the course of this famous conflict in which no less than eleven Victoria crosses for gallantry were won.
Rorke's Drift is possibly the best remembered of Britain's colonial battles. Immortalised by Michael Caine and the film 'Zulu' it sums up some of the best traditions of the British self-image: steadfastness against the odds, victory in adversity and the thin red line. The story of a mere 150 British and Imperial soldiers defending an isolated outpost against over 3,000 Zulu warriors summed up the experience of the colonial adventure for the Victorians and remains part of our heritage even today. In the wake of the disaster at Isandlwana it restored British self-respect and, although not strategically important, was seen by many at the time as a kind of moral victory, with the few triumphing against the many. That 'the few' were able to do this however was a result of their being armed with the latest in military technology and being pitted against native warriors who relied mainly on their aptitude in close combat. Nevertheless, the Zulu was still a formidable warrior, as he had shown at Isandlwana, and the British stand at Rorke's Drift against forces twenty times their number deserves to go down in history as one of the most heroic actions of all time. Ian Knight recounts the course of this famous action in which no less than 11 Victoria crosses were won.

Rorke's Drift 1879: Pinned Like Rats In A Hole (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

Military

The battle of Isandlwana fought on January 22, 1879 was the greatest defeat suffered by the British Army during the Victorian era. A Zulu army of 24,000 warriors had moved undetected to within striking distance of the British camp in the shadow of Isandlwana Mountain. From the start the 1,700 defenders underestimated the danger descending upon them. They were swept aside with horrifying speed and the final stage of the battle consisted of desperate hand-to-hand fighting amid the British camp. Ian Knight employs new archaeological and historical research to provide a completely new interpretation of the course of the battle.The battle of Isandlwana fought on 22 January 1879 was the greatest defeat suffered by the British Army during the Victorian era. On 20 January 1879 the Centre Column of the British invasion force under the British Commander in Chief Lord Chelmsford, reached a distinctive, rocky outcrop known as Isandlwana. Chelmsford's spies suggested that a Zulu army was on its way to attack him and he was concerned about a range of hills to his right front. On 21 January he sent a strong force of auxiliaries into the hills to scout them and at dusk on the same day they encountered a Zulu force at Mangeni 12 miles away. In the poor light they could not establish the size or intentions of this force. When news of the encounter reached Chelmsford he decided to take part of his force to attack the Zulus and marched out at about 3.00am leaving some 1700 white and native troops at the camp. Chelmsford was chasing shadows, however - the main Zulu army of 24,000 men had moved across his front (it was stragglers from this movement the scouts had encountered) and was marching to attack Isandlwana. From the start the British in the camp underestimated the danger that was descending upon them. The British line was eventually outflanked and the finals stage of the battle consisted of desperate hand-to-hand fighting amid the British camp, played out against the backdrop of a solar eclipse. Of the 1700 men in the camp over 1300 were killed; scarcely 60 Europeans survived. At least 1000 Zulus were killed outright and hundreds more mortally wounded. This title employs new research - including the archaeological survey of the battlefield carried out in 2000 - to describe the battle in greater detail and provide a new interpretation of the course of the action.

Isandlwana 1879: The Great Zulu Victory (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

In 1899 Great Britain was at the pinnacle of its Imperial power. Yet the British army was destined to be defeated by a citizen militia composed of South African frontier farmers - the Boers. In one week in December 1899 the farmers of the South African Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal inflicted three serious reverses on British troops. This book sets the battles in context and explains the failure of a professional army, skilled in the fighting techniques of the nineteenth century, when faced with an enemy whose weapons and tactics foreshadowed the warfare of the twentieth.
In 1899 Great Britain was at the height of its Imperial power. The Queen Empress had been on the throne for more than 50 glittering years, and her domain touched upon every continent. Yet, even at this very pinnacle of Imperial pomp and majesty, the British army, the guardian of Empire in countless wars across the globe, was destined to be humiliated by poorly-organised citizen militia consisting of men whom the British professionals despised as back-wood farmers. In one week in December 1899 the farmers of the South African Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal inflicted three serious reverses on British troops. In the hills around Stormberg railway junction, on the dusty plain before the Magersfontein heights, and on the grassy flats before the Thukela heights at Colenso, the highly trained British military machine ground to a halt in the face of the Boers' practised marksmanship and fieldcraft: nineteenth century techniques met twentieth century tactics and firepower ending in blood-baths for the British forces. In this book, Ian Knight examines the opening stages of the Natal campaign, the battle of Colenso and the battle of Spioenkop.

Colenso 1899: The Boer War In Natal (Praeger Illustrated Military History Series)

The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 remains crucially important to understanding the history of the British Empire. The Battle of Isandlwana, when the British army was defeated by an indigenous foe, caused shock waves back home and was a reminder of the perils of taking military superiority for granted. Drawing on the superb archives of the National Army Museum, this book recreates the extraordinary campaign, from the opening stages of the war, to the defeat of the Zulu nation at Ulundi and the capture of King Cetshwayo. Letters and diaries by participants, including the British commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford, give new insights into the harsh reality of the fighting.

The National Army Museum Book of the Zulu War

Pan/Macmillan

The Zulu kingdom established by King Shaka was robust and self-sufficient, but royal rivalries and newly arrived white colonialists made it a bloody period that shaped the face of modern Africa. This much-deserved, detailed depiction of day-to-day combat during nine of the most influential battles--from Thuleka in 1838 through the Civil War to the breaking of the royal house--pulses with excitement. All the courage and horror of hand-to-hand fighting and strategic genius come through on every page.

Great Zulu Battles, 1838-1906 (Cassell Military Paperbacks)

Cassell

The battle of Isandlwana was the single most destructive incident in the 150-year history of the British colonization of South Africa. In one bloody day more than 800 British troops, 500 of their allies, and at least 2,000 Zulus were killed in a staggering defeat for the British empire. The consequences of the battle echoed brutally across the following decades as Britain took ruthless revenge on the Zulu people. In Zulu Rising Ian Knight shows that the brutality of the battle was the result of an inevitable clash between two aggressive warrior traditions. For the first time he gives full weight to the Zulu experience and explores the reality of the fighting through the eyes of men who took part on both sides, looking into the human heart of this savage conflict. Based on new research, including previously unpublished material, Zulu oral history, and new archaeological evidence from the battlefield, this is the definitive account of a battle that has shaped the political fortunes of the Zulu people to this day.

Zulu Rising: The Epic Story of iSandlwana and Rorke's Drift

Pan Books

The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 is one of the most discussed and analysed of all the colonial wars of the Victorian era and remains crucially important in understanding the history of the British Empire. The Battle of Isandlwana, when the might of the British army was defeated by an indigenous foe, caused massive shock waves back home and was a reminder of the perils of taking military superiority for granted. The determined stand of the Zulu nation has come to symbolize the unequal struggle of the southern African peoples against dispossession, and their defeat paved the way for a century of exploitation and oppression. Drawing on the archives of the National Army Museum, this book recreates this extraordinary campaign, from the opening stages of the war, the Battle of Isandlwana and the defence of Rorke's Drift, to the defeat of the Zulu nation at Ulundi and the capture of King Cetshwayo. Letters and diaries, from the ordinary soldiers' to senior officers', including the British commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, give new insights into the harsh reality of the fighting.

National Army Museum Book Of The Zulu War (Pan Grand Strategy Series)

World

MACMILLAN PUB. LTD.

The Zulu kingdom established by King Shaka was robust and self-sufficient, but royal rivalries and newly arrived white colonialists made it a bloody period that shaped the face of modern Africa. This detailed depiction of day-to-day combat during nine of the most influential battles--from Thuleka in 1838 through the Civil War to the breaking of the royal house--pulses with excitement. All the courage and horror of hand-to-hand fighting and strategic genius come through on every page.

Great Zulu Battles 1838-1906

Castle

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Knight, Ian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Knight, Ian