Turning the Tide of War. 50 Battles that changed the Course of Modern History
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TURNING THE TIDE OF WAR 50
Battles that
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in
the entire history of
human
warfare, a
few key
battles
have achieved legendary status. Trafalgar. Waterloo. Gettysburg. Gallipoli. Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Britain.
The Tet Offensive. Desert Storm. Whether as a
result of
superior tactics, dominant firepower or a simple twist of fate, these
key conflicts have become bywords
moment when
victory
have been adopted as symbols of triumph of almost
for the
and defeat were decided. Some
overwhelming odds. Others
live
in
on
the face in
infamy.
Each can be seen as a point at which the course of history
was changed
irrevocably.
Turning the Tide of past
200
War explores 50
plans, eyewitness testimony
photography, each battle its
wider
in detail
battle
and within
of Europe, through the decisive
of the First and Second World Wars, to
recent struggles
author Tim
in
more
Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Balkans,
Newark analyses not only the
each individual to war.
examined
is
maps and
and rare archival
historical context.
From Napoleon's conquest
moments
key battles of the
years. With the help of detailed
battle, but the
strategy behind
changing ideologies that led
He examines how technology has affected
military
theory and practice, from the introduction of the tank and fighter aircraft to the
advent of intercontinental missiles
and 'smart bombs'. And he pays
tribute to the skill,
courage and dedication of the military forces of the world.
Turning the Tide of
how
Wans
a fascinating overview of
warfare has evolved from an era of small localized
conflicts to
scale,
an age of mechanized battles on a global
and also a glimpse
into the inner
workings of the
military mind.
600 603180
L
D£Ci
TURNING THE TIDE OF WAR bu dATTLEo THAT LHANulU
1
HE
COURSE OF MODERN HISTORY
AKttfahopMftfy High School
tenJosa, CA?5'i29
First
published
in
Great Britain
Hamlyn, a division
of
in
2001 by
Octopus Publishing Group
Ltd
2-4 Heron Quays, London E144JP
Copyright I Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2001
All rights reserved.
No
part of this
be reproduced or utilized
in
work may
any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN
A
600 60318
CIP catalogue record forthis book
from the British Library
Printed and bound
in Italy
10987654321
Designer: Kenny Grant
Maps: Andrew Thompson Picture Researcher. Liz Fowler
Senior Production Controller Louise Hall
is
available
hamlyn
TURNING THE TIDE OF WAR 50 BATTLES THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF MODERN HISTORY TIM
NEWARK
CONTENTS
7
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VALMY, 1792
8
ASSAYE, 1803
12
TRAFALGAR, 1805
16
AUSTERLITZ, 1805
20
WATERLOO, 1815
24
MEXICO
1847
28
GETTYSBURG, 1863
32
SEDAN, 1870
36
ISANDLWANA, 1879
40
GEOKTEPE, 1881
44
SAN JUAN HILL, 1898
48
OMDURMAN, 1898
50
TSUSHIMA, 1905
54
CITY,
FIRST BATTLE
;^SS
*^?
6
T^gxC^V^. fj!
^^H I& .^B
INTRODUCTION
OFTHEMARNE, 1914
58
GALLIPOLI, 1915
62
THE BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE, 1916
66
THESOMME, 1916
70
YPRES, 1917
74
8k
H^LSf
CAMBRAI, 1917
78
ST LO, 1944
148
GERMANY'S 'BLACK DAY' 1918
82
LEYTE GULF, 1944
150
NANKING, 1937
86
ARDENNES, 1944
154
FRANCE, 1940
90
OKINAWA, 1945
158
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN, 1940
94
BERLIN, 1945
162
CRETE, 1941
98
INCHON, 1950
166
170
BARBAROSSA, 1941
100
DIEN BIEN PHU, 1954
PEARL HARBOR 1941
104
SIX
SINGAPORE, 1942
108
THETET OFFENSIVE, 1968
176
MIDWAY, 1942
112
PORT STANLEY, 1982
180
STALINGRAD, 1942
116
KABUL, 1988
182
EL ALAMEIN 1942
120
DESERT STORM, 1991
186
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC, 1943
124
MOGADISHU, 1993
190
KURSK, 1943
128
KRAJINA, 1995
194
TARAWA, 1943
132
BIBLIOGRAPHY
196
INDEX
197
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
200
CASSINO, 1944
136
KOH IMA, 1944
140
D-DAY, 1944
144
DAY WAR, 1967
174
INTRODUCTION The decisive
won
battle
battle
in
the holy
is
grail of military
day that transforms
a
victory
and fame - but combat
victory
one day can be reversed the
be
down by
let
political
bring decisive peace.
overwhelm In
a
them this.
A
next. Military superiority can
incompetence.
The steady
A
decisive victory
may
not
attrition of guerrilla
warfare can
have been chosen
for several
a powerful foe.
this book, decisive battles
reasons.
much messier than
usually
is
commanders -
their future, bringing
Sometimes they
are a climactic point
a successful or
in
in
one
in
the technology of warfare. Often they refer not to a battle
weeks
day, but to an operation over several
indicative of the enlarged scale of
moments
reflect great
soldiers has
in
history
changed the way
we
modern
when
warfare.
or months, All
of
them
the sacrifice of countless
organization are the Nazi
Germany
Operation Barbarossa. tactics
on
massive
a
lost?
Overwhelming power and precise
exactly
applied
scale,
its
what
for decisive victory.
it
political
Army had
also
was
doing during
already successful blitzkrieg
helped by Soviet chaos and a lack of
been ravaged by
determination to
rid
of
it
Pearl Harbor
with
in
1941
was another
any dissident
enemy
is
France
in
unprepared enemy;
1940 and Singapore
in
and organization,
then
significantly. Allied victories at El
the
when the own battle
1942. But
tide
its
of
war changes
Alamein, Midway, Stalingrad and
Kohima showed how even the most
initially
impressive military
forces can be held and defeated.
GREATEST MILITARY FLAW Underestimation of the enemy is the greatest of military flaws. Germany and Japan in the Second World War believed they were racially
as well as
INTRODUCTION
militarily
German
victories
in
Poland and elsewhere had affected the Germans' judgement, and
when
they were confronted by highly determined, well-trained
pilots
armed with the
were faced with
a far
Imperial arrogance found
both wake-up
difficult
its
contest.
graveyards at
for the
calls
they
latest ingenious aviation technology,
more
and
British
and Isandlwana,
Gallipoli
Western
their
imperial
colleagues, giving intimations of later bitter colonial conflicts. At Dien
Bien Phu, French imperial arrogance
was brought
crashing
down by
the Vietnamese.
battlefield.
Omdurman and
At
a century later, during
superior to their enemies.
make
one-sided, allowing the victor to impose his
On
without meaningful opposition. superior
weaponry can on to
guerrillas held military
technology.
With the
other occasions, the
of
arrival
very
around the world
will
their land despite being
Desert
seem
arrival of
just tip the balance. In Afghanistan,
missiles, given to the guerrillas by the fatally
a battle
Muslim
faced by superior
hand-held anti-aircraft
West, Soviet
air
power was
undermined.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
an
at
a
would triumph
it
Both
piece of organization,
no longer surprised and counters with
experience
officers.
rebuilt.
brilliant
overwhelming force directed
similarly in
The
ideology, given Stalin's
morale and military competence had to be rapidly
seemed
it
Sometimes, superior technology can bestow awesome power
willingness to face up to the inevitable threat of invasion.
Soviet
force that
Storm, highly advanced weaponry can
knew It
air
because
their soldiers
over the smaller, inexperienced British RAF.
view the world.
most obvious ingredients
1941
in
hundreds of thousands of
foregone conclusion to the German
on the
ESSENCE OF VICTORY How are battles won and
lives of
of their over confidence. During the Battle of Britain,
disastrous campaign; at other times they represent a decisive step
forward
them and threw
hard to accept that their enemies could defeat
away the
They found
it
When in
a
technology
is
more even,
it
is
often fighting
and
spirit
cause that can give the decisive edge. At Valmy,
revolutionary
army simply stared down
opponents, opening a
new
era of ideological warfare. At Assaye,
sheer old-fashioned aggression
Sometimes cause.
In
it
is
won
the dominant
the battle.
power
that loses faith
Mogadishu, the US Army could see on
international
aid
Sometimes,
victors
a
country
that
saw
do not even recognize
little
it
as
their
Vietnamese
victory,
in its
point
an
in
own
forcing
aggressor.
own
During the Tet Offensive, Western journalists persisted this as a
belief
French
motivated
less
its
a
in
success. portraying
even though the Vietnamese had
actually suffered a catastrophic defeat at the
hands
Army, such was left-wing prejudice among the media
of the
US
at the time.
Some declared
growing
victories represent an inevitable expression of
international
At
influence.
San Juan
global military power. At
itself a
United
the
Hill,
States
Geok Tepe, the Russians
consolidated their hold on central Asia. At Trafalgar, British naval
power reached
zenith.
its
At other times, victory hangs
in
the balance and
came
thing indeed. At Waterloo, Napoleon
is
it
a very near-run
near to victory, defeated
only by British and allied tenacity. At Cambrai, British tanks proved
themselves
to
be battle-winners, only to have
overturned by newly perfected
power
relentless
of organization
and sheer
achievements
Sheer professionalism
in
tactics.
military fighting
evident during D-Day, Inchon, the Six Day
is
of Port Stanley.
their
German stormtrooper
War and
The
prowess
the capture
these instances
hard
is
to beat.
Sometimes two sides and Ypres,
British
are too evenly balanced. At the
and German forces ground away
causing tens of thousands of casualties. This
morale.
Somme
each other,
attrition
reached
on Germany's Black Day, with the collapse
a breaking point
German
at
Wars
of attrition
of
have no winners.
LESSONS OF WAR There are many lessons to be learned from the conflicts book. Perhaps the primary lesson
strong
in
win
war against
a
Japan believed they could
it.
easily
It
in
this
the need for a country to be
defence so as not to encourage any
ability to
its
is
rival
to overestimate
was because Germany and
win
their
conflicts that they
embarked on world wars. Appeasement does not work, but only encourages the overconfidence never be afraid to
talk
of aggressive foes.
about war or
perceived weakness encourages war.
dissuades
prevented a its
armed
A
nation
must
forces.
Only
Responsible aggression
it.
the second
In
its
third
half
of
the 20th century,
the
United States
world war by acting strongly and aggressively
dealings with the Soviet Union and
its allies.
destruction did prevent a third world war.
It
in
Mutually assured
can only be hoped that
future politicans do not ignore these lessons of history. Learning
them TIM
all
over again
will
be very costly
in lives.
NEWARK
INTRODUCTION
7
E
.
VALMY, 1792 Valmy
new age
signified a
would be the
When
untrained French citizen army' drilled
ranks of the Prussians,
proved the decisive factor Battle of
one
of warfare,
fuel of conflict.
in
in
were ranged
was
it
which ideology
the revolutionaries of the against the well-
morale that
their high
the victory that day - although the
Valmy was more of a psychological
victory than an out-
right military one.
The
armies raised by the French revolutionary govern-
citizen
ments fought many a
and wars, something of an irony
battles
for
regime born out of idealism and the desire for international
fraternity.
Equality,
'Liberty,
French soldier at Pontoise that
anyone
an enemy,
who
in
Fraternity or Death,' declared a
disagreed with the revolution
pitting
made
1794, a slogan which
it
clear
was considered
France against the rest of Europe. The French
revolutionary armies supposedly brought 'freedom from oppression'- but they did so at the point of a bayonet.
previous eras, wars had usually been fought for
In
advantage and material gain. This remained true too, but
now
there
righteousness.
It is
was
in
political
the 1790s,
the additional factor of ideological
this conviction that identifies
self-
these wars as
marking the beginning of 'modern warfare'. Furthermore, suc-
became more and
cessive French revolutionary governments
more extreme under the stresses war became
a
method
that
French forces
of maintaining their increasingly desper-
ate grip on power.
In this
campaigns of
and
Hitler
much so
of conflict, so
French movements
sense, the military and ideological
Stalin
can be said to have their roots
Prussian forces
in
Prussian
the French revolutionary regimes of the 1790s.
'CITIZEN SOLDIERS' A revolution implies a break with the past, new government simply makes much more previous regime's Tocqueville
change
is
in
power
that
power
all
in
The
France has
only
become
the relics of the past have
steadily transformed into a powerful bureaucratic state run Paris,
and with increased control over
could put massive armies into the will.
field to
This continued to be the case,
fact
in
its
people, the state
enforce
its political
even more
so, during
the rule of the revolutionary governments, except that whereas in
the past soldiers had been hired or impressed into service,
they were
now all
'free
hence the
birth of
the
'I
have no
pity for
men' and had
spilled,
be persuaded to
fight
-
'citizen soldier'.
the enemies of
nonier of the French Revolutionary
have
to
and continue to
my
Army
spill,
country,' in
Caen
the blood of
wrote a can-
in
manoeuvres
1793. 'They
my
brothers,
of the
Prussian and French
de
been pruned away.' From the 17th century, France had been
from
Above: The opening
use of the
French Revolution,
his analysis of the
more conspicuous now
far
but very often the efficient
structures. According to Alexis
that the centralization of
movements
•* French and
armies around Valmy
UNITE DIMSIBILI
DE LA
September Left:
in
1792.
The beginning
of
ideological warfare: a
REPIBLIOIE
French Revolutionary
LIBERT EGALITE FRATERMT
poster of 1793 promises '
Liberte, Egalite,
Fraternite
ou
la
Mort
Prussian guns
PRU! «
A
EUROPE Paris "
who
demand vengeance, and those who have
all
part of counter-revolutionaries
Vengeance and they
played the
traitors
angry hands.'
so that
fear motivated these politicized soldiers,
whole nation was roused
had to do
and the rest.
at
turn roused other, less politically involved,
in
until a
deserve death
Or
was
direct
these
in
anger.
men towards
All
at least, that
was
comrades
the government
the perceived
fury of these 'citizen soldiers'
spirit of
and
enemy
would do the
be the
first
holocaust
nothing behind to disquiet
When
massacres
in Paris
the
city's
guardian fortress of Verdun
more than 1,000 were hacked
prisoners, both political
to death
provoked by the threat
come
to the aid of the French royal family. In
Prussia and
its
German-speaking
allies
a climate of fear
and
anger which helped
rible
punishment
king.
The
reaction of the Parisian
of the Tuileries
the revolutionary
and take the
mob was
to
in
in
storm the palace
surprisingly,
its
known
Paris
and
who
criminal,
as the 'September
might have been expect-
the belief that such fervour could be
foreign enemies, but the In
an
army
of revolutionaries
clash with the
earlier
day Belgium), the poorly trained and organized French force had
royal family prisoner.
anger ruled the streets and, not
to the
August 1792,
they harmed their
if
fell
Austrians on the border with the Austrian Netherlands (modern-
a
invaded, threatening ter-
to the citizens of Paris
leave
good time
it
Revolutionary generals had been promoted, only to be put
fled.
France and punish the revolutionaries - created
the event
had already proved unstable.
to
of Prussia to invade
in
directed at
neighbouring countries considered
Liberty,
common enemy, we
Prussian-led force, the revolutionaries vented their anger on
Suspecting that the upheaval of the revolution had weakened
some
premier holocauste] to
us.'
THE ROAD TO VALMY France,
-
\le
massacres'. The government
the idea.
VALMY
advancing to meet the
in
ed to gain confidence
Below: The September
' '
Fear and
rabble-rousing
on
trial
also
and then executed amid scenes of paranoia that would
afflict totalitarian
armies
However, commitments the Prussian army and
in in
the 20th century. other foreign theatres affected
its allies.
Austria could not field as
many
soldiers face Prussia's
professional at
Valmy.
army
politicians believed that die. 'In
enemies within should be the
first
to
the towns,' declared Fabre d'Eglantine, let the blood of
w
men
as
it
would have
German army
that
liked for the invasion of France, while the
advanced
into
France
was
only 80,000
men
lis?
T-i
•
tW'
-:%.'/
L r"
*
Jr&y&isMr
MM
"3liM&^M
VALMY
9
21
against the Prussians.
Yron found themselves
in
Despite the
Brunswick's force pressed on towards
the front
line
Casualties:
SEPTEMBER Prussians withdraw
300 French 300 Prussians
^W
the road,
artillery fire,
where
it
came under more cannon
An
fire.
artillery
duel followed, but to no decisive effect on the advance.
smoke
fog and gun
Brunswick placed
lifted,
As the
main army
his
opposite Valmy, but the view that materialized did not please him.
The French were well positioned and
the battlefield. They did not look
was -*.
M
y~
f
Mt Ml Vvron Yvron
^
»
%^
\
7-hour duel
X
- - - ^ KELLERMANN AND DUMOURIEZ ^x
m .
.^
\
n^
*" "*
*^
L
Etang-le-Rot^-'
\
"*^ H
sion
Reims
*
\\V* \*
VV
*•/ "^^fc -^ X-^-~x V '
men
his
begin the
to
the one quality his soldiers possessed above
He placed
his hat, bearing the revolutionary
cockade, on his sword and shouted 'Vive
\J* \.DdmmartinS
--* *„
was perhaps
everything else.
his
1°
Brunswick ordered
advance. As they did so, Kellermann understood that aggres-
To St Menehouldi
\
» ..Valmy
no hurry to leave
in
the anarchic rabble that he
expecting.
Nevertheless,
Braux-St-Cohiere*
like
men were triggered
nation!'
la
into wildly roaring 'Vive
France! Vive notre general!'
was one
It
moments when armies ponder whether
la
With
la
of those decisive
The
to fight or flee.
^la-^anchette
I
French did not run and so Brunswick the advance.
An
artillery
nerve and halted
lost his
duel then took place while Brunswick
agonized over what to do next.
In
council with his officers, he
decided not to proceed with the battle and, as darkness
French
left
It
was
the
fo.reign threat.
a bizarre 'victory', with
the psychological impact of that morale
>To Chalons-sur-Marne
fell,
the battlefield bolstered by the knowledge that they
had stared down the great French withdraw to high ground
"
Maupertius
was perhaps
it
little
blood actually shed, but
was enormous.
It
demonstrated
the most important aspect of any
army, more so even than training or weapons, and the French Revolutionary
strong,
that,
nation! Vive
which was
half
Brunswick, had hoped
what
for,
its
commander, the Duke
and the numbers continued to
of fall
throughout the campaign. Brunswick had considered linking up with other armies on the French
frontier,
but
news emanating
Army possessed bucketloads
of
it,
giving
birth
Above left: The movements of the Prussian and French
troops on the second
day
of battle at Valmy.
from Paris about the bloody anarchy there persuaded him to
march
his force directly
General
Dumounez
on the French
took
from the
capital.
command amid
the French defences and marched his
Left:
Army
afflicting
away
of the North
Belgium and southwards towards Sedan,
frontier with
French troops -
commanded the chaos
the Argonne forest giving him a natural barrier between his
army
revolutionary colours his hat
-face
Brunswick,
though,
outmanoeuvred the
French, penetrated the Argonne and forced Dumouriez to take
up a position caution further
in
in
the southern part of the forest area. Brunswick's
following up his advance allowed
reinforcements
Kellermann, to bring the
Having only
of total
more than
link
try to cut off
Chalons and force the French
'VIVE
directly
men
army up
under
his
command,
was withdrawing encouraged
the French retreat on the road to into battle near the village of Valmy.
LA NATION!' ck's
advance
thick fog.
guard
moved towards
Out of the gloom came the
the
French
roar of a can-
nonade. Kellermann's French reinforcements on the
10
under
to 36,000.
up with the Austrians from the north,
but a false report that Dumouriez
Brunswick to
25,000
strength of his
some 34,000 men
Brunswick wanted to
Dumouriez to receive
hill
of
in
down
Prussian soldiers at the Battle of
and the Prussians.
by General
Kellerman, wearing
Valmy on
20 September 1792.
to a
new form
of
ideologically
driven warfare.
Goethe was with the Prussian army
at
new epoch
rades thus: 'From here and today there begins a
the history of the world, and you can say that you
significant
Massenbach
were
similarly felt that
it
ly
given the world a
new
fire...
shape.
The 20th
It is
of
September has
Valmy', one
merely 'the
affair of
artillery that
had proved
its
worth.
in
which
'In
the
it
in
the
and establish a victorious
French
would
Army,
Revolutionary It
ideologically driven
cannot be in
army
there said,
campaigns of
quickly. For
example,
army suffered
at
strong
Hongen
a rout, leaving
ties for only forty injured
artillery.'
inherit
been
have
however, that
and
Without the
all
no
the subse-
by the French were victorious. An is
opponents do not budge, then
the war of the Revolution,' he concluded, 'France always excelled
Italy,
of Europe.
quent battles engaged
it
had been the
initial
Germany and
use to become master of the whole
Napoleonic Wars.
own
performance with hyperbole. Napoleon Bonaparte called
and then embark on a series of foreign wars that would see
engine of war that Napoleon would subsequently
the most important day of
the century!' Perhaps the Prussians were dignifying their
that after Valmy, France's revolutionaries felt
is
along with parts of
a
moment: 'The French Revolutionaries have come
through their baptism of
clear
France conquer Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland,
in
there.'
was
is
secure enough to proceed with the execution of the royal fami-
cowed com-
ceived the importance of events, consoling his
Prussia's Colonel von
What
The poet
Valmy and he per-
its
in
in
confrontation, but
own morale
if
March 1793, Dumounez's
more than two thousand
casual-
Austnans.
Above: The main confrontation near the mill
on the
captured
hill
in a
of
Yron
dramatic
painting by J.B.
FEAR AND ANGER
Laukhard noted
Fear and anger motivated the early
The
volunteers were not as straight as a
French Revolutionary Army. The threat of
die,
as were the Prussians, and were not
foreign invasion or counter-revolution
as polished, well trained or
encouraged tens
of
thousands
volunteer for military service
1792. The
rallying cry of
in
of
men
1791 and
1789 was
'Every citizen should be a soldier and
every soldier should be a
to
citizen.'
Prussian military observer called
A
this spirit of dedication:
handling a gun or marching did they
around
know how
their tunics
I
in
body and
and declared for the
good
that they
fighting
were ready
knew were
liberty
step; nor
death.'
to tighten their belts
Quoted
as the Prussians
Wars 1787-1802byT.C.\N. Blanning
in
did,
soul.
Nearly
all
those
encountered at that time knew for
in
to die
of their patrie. The only
alternatives they
skilled in
yet they were devoted to the cause they
served
whom and for what they were
or
The French Revolutionary
(Arnold, 1996).
its
can collapse
Mauzaisse
after a
painting by Horace Vernet, 1831.
ASSAYE,
803
1
Garamhara
^ m„ * MwJ — -m ^m
Hi,. * /## *
Assaye
MARATHA
r^
*
f
V#
- - - -
and nine hundred Europeans.
r
lord
1
«*f*eepulgaon
continent and entitled native population, itary
presence
I
in
' Infantry
British forces
Wellesley s N British
I
movements
reconnaissance
advance to
in
^Barahjala
\
victorious
and the nawab was exe-
to raise
it
which
Britain
in
then used to increase
of the
the ascendant, but unlike those
European
its
mil-
Mughals, the most dominant power
southern Asia up to that point, had been
in
in
decline since
were
clearly
the Americas,
where
British
native cultures never really rose to the challenge
movements
the sub-
massive revenues from the
1707 with the death of Aurangzeb. The
cross river at ford
route
Indian forces Indian
'
^
was
by the
Despite the over-
further.
The influence Cavalry advance to protect infantry
Clive
(native soldiers trained
cuted. This victory secured Britain's possessions
X.Waroor
^
_
two thousand sepoys
British)
whelming odds,
s
-T^-v.
force of
military
posed by
power, the rulers of India understood the
?-'' Indian defensive line
nature of the force they
were up
against. While the British
considered themselves as successors to the Mughals, there
was an indigenous
force
in
the form of the Maratha confed-
eracy that also claimed the right to rule cy
Above The
Considered by the Duke of Wellington to be
British
advance against the
Maratha army
at
the Battle of Assaye
Assaye
army faced
British
on 23 September 1803.
tutored Right:
A Maratha
cavalryman The army the Marathas
colonial
native
which
in
it
his finest victory,
a small but well-trained
equipped and well
forces well
European combat techniques.
in
whelming odds, of
was one
Won
against over-
demonstrated the indomitable
powers when faced with
militarily
spirit of
the
sophisticated oppo-
was an
impressive combination of traditional warriors in
armour with lances and swords and Europeantrained infantry
armed
nents.
Assaye also served as an
early
showcase
for the
Duke
of Wellington's talents.
European imperialism began
earnest
in
in
the 16th century
with the conquest of the Americas. European soldiers operat-
the
New
with muskets and
ing
supported by cannon.
prising ease.
in
which were
World overcame the native cultures with
A number
of factors
logistical organization
accounted
for this,
sur-
among
and extraordinary bravery,
by means of which handfuls of Spanish conquistadors were
kingdoms such as
able to defeat great similar pattern
native cultures
and
Siberia,
while
French and
in
A
the world, with
being confronted, found to be ill-prepared
far less able to
niques which
that of the Aztecs.
was repeated elsewhere
withstand the early modern warfare tech-
confronted them. in
British
India
The Russians conquered
the trading stations of Portuguese,
merchants were turned
into the
stepping
stones of empire.
BRITAIN IN INDIA Britain's
involvement
in
India during the
18th century had
reached a crucial point with the Battle of Plassey
when Robert
Clive defeated the
nawab
The nawab's army was ten times the
in
1757,
(governor) of Bengal. size of Robert Clive 's
was
India.
The confedera-
a grouping of various influential clan chiefs under the
Delhi'
ASIA
Ganges
INDIA
Calcutta"
Arabian Sea
.ASSAYE
Bombay*
Bay of Bengal
Hyderabad
— -«
I3»
ismMmmi
^
ml
peshaw
Above: A contemporary
leadership of a
engraving shows British
warred with one another,
troops advancing
in
the
face of Maratha artillery
also
combined
was
in
(chief minister); at times, the clans
particularly for leadership, but they
various coalitions to resist the British. The
three Maratha wars fought
during the Battle of
result
Assaye.
and 1817-18.
in
1775-82, 1803-05
warlike tribes of India through the introduction of European tactics ral
and French
By the
competing imperial powers, such as the French, the
overawe
peshaws and
clan
chiefs
rapidly
transformed their feudal
armies and equipped their soldiers with Western-style military training.
In
native armies could rely on twice as British.
artillery,
many cannons
Major Thome, a veteran of many battles
complained of
'the
muskets and
a very short time,
in
these as the
the region,
changes that have taken place among the
which, combined with their natu-
them
numerical superiority, has rendered our conflicts with
sanguinary
Recruiting European military advisers, frequently from one of the
discipline,
courage, often bordering on enthusiastic frenzy, and their
hunger
in
late its
the extreme'.
18th century
opponents
for the
was no India.
longer easy for Britain to
And
yet,
such was
wealth to be derived from India that the
took on ever more effort to
it
in
difficult
subdue the
their
British
and challenging campaigns
in
an
native population. Against such a back-
ground, the Battle of Assaye emerges as being typical of a period
in
which
British forces
gunned - otherwise impressive
outfought - rather than outnative armies.
It
is
also inter-
13
estmg
were commanded by
to note that the British
become
later to
'.ellesley,
Duke
the
Assaye demonstrates the strength of
British fighting skills in
the face of superior numbers; Wellington,
years later which
was
moment
his finest
young
a
of Wellington.
when asked
in battle,
formed
answered
was
it
his
men up on
were reported
to
gage tram was well
northern India, and Battle of
candidate for peshwa.
Britain's
was
It
were determined
in
had
lost
the
river,
1803
began the advance. Maratha
arose. This time
began if
forcefully. his
younger brother Arthur to offer protection to Peshwa
Baji
Rao
II,
who
had been defeated by the Holkar
Other
clan.
it
fortified,
river further
rear,
it
but because his bag-
he did not mind losing
for the duration of the battle.
but they
still
possessed superior numbers and
knew he would
to duel, Wellesley
was prolonged and so he ordered
his
men
SHEER AGGRESSION British
equipped pieces of
It
was an
impres-
and
cavalry; 10,000 infantry, trained
the Western style by French soldiers; and 200
in
artillery. All
commanded was 4.500
Wellesley
lars,
mostly sepoys, and
this,
Wellesley
half of
was supremely
ciency and organization
in
regu-
these were cavalry. Despite
confident, demonstrating
effi-
abundance.
Later historians have praised Wellesley 's logistical abilities
above
how
triumphs
his
frequently proved decisive ry,
and
in battle,
it
is
important to consider
the British supported their armies in
most armies had supported needed
they
from
the
their troops
lands
they
British forces in India,
by taking what through.
who
frequently
difficulties of a
campaign. The
however, adopted a system
they bought food and supplies from merchants their
camps. This not oniy resulted
but also ensured
the
goodwill
relatively
which
in
who came
to
less incidental fighting,
the
population.
local
be obtained
at
these
mili-
sourced from merchants acting as spies. The
wealthy
who were
in
of
Intelligence information could also tary bazaars,
it
passed
Understandably, this alienated local people,
fought back and added to the
because
in India,
campaigns. Throughout histo-
enjoyed the support of merchants
British
not slow to exploit their generosity. Wellesley did
not invent this system but, with his excellent eye for detail,
he ran
it
superbly and
gave him an added edge over
it
his
Maratha opponents. Having
left his
baggage
he instructed to be position of his in this
train in
fortified,
enemy
at
the village of Naulniah, which
Wellesley rode out to inspect the
Assaye. Wellesley
was
process of reconnaissance, getting to
scape of the forthcoming
battle
well practised
know
the land-
so as to be able to use
it
to his
advantage. Ignoring the suspect knowledge of his guides, he
discovered a ford across the Kaitnathat he could to
speed up the transport
vulnerable.
It
of his troops without
meant he could
Wellesley led the
way
also
surprise
make use
of
making them the
into the river, but as his troops
enemy.
waded
forward, with
the kilted troops of the 78th Highlanders leading the way.
penetrated Maratha territory and stumbled across an army at
some 30,000
a
artillery
lose the encounter
Sheer aggression was the only way to win
sive array:
commu-
The Marathas
the advantage of having their troops protected by
clans then objected to the British intervention. Wellesley
the junction of the Juah and Kaitna rivers.
caval-
west and
formidable array of cannons. As the two lines of
more
it
to intervene
governor general of Bengal, sent
Richard Wellesley.
nication with
British at the
only a matter of time before
there would be a further clash, and the British
and
central
attempt to favour a
1779 they defeated the
in
Wadgaon, following
m
up. Fortunately
ceased when Wellesley
have crossed the
could have threatened Wellesley 's
The Marathas had replaced the Mughal dynasty
it
the opposite shore.
regular British troops and ry
WAR WITH THE MARATHAS
opened
artillery
half-hearted fire and
Wellesley placed his Madras sepoys between two units of
forty
with one word: 'Assaye.'
some Maratha
into the water, for him,
fixed
their
this contest; the
bayonets and charged the well-trained
Maratha troops. The two Maratha commanders, Berar and Scindia, lacked the fighting,
but
their
courage of Wellesley and senior
Hanoverian, remained
in
78th Highlanders halted at
mighty
volley,
European
command
55m
retired
adviser,
from the
Pohlmann,
of the Indian troops.
artillery
soldiers at the Battle of
Assaye. Wellington
considered this one of
(180ft), fired their
then charged and plunged
a
The
Below Maratha
rake the lines of British
in
muskets
in
a
with their bayonets.
the hardest-fought battles of his career.
'
«*
British forces
k ,
Casualties:
»
across river
.
*
——
1.500 British and Allied 1,200 Maratha
Assaye
x
r Final Indian retreat
Indian forces
#^
——
\ **
Final Indian
t*
defensive position
4
.
*»
POHLMANN
,'
'*•••*•••***
>*(/\ \
•
i
\
\
x
>_
V.:.—
Indian infantry
advance
x
\x
N
pursue
•"
s
Indian
movements
Indian defensive line British
and Indian guns
Cavalry charge
^ 7
:~ ^ ^.
X
\ \
•*
%
"
"^
•
.^
^^
"^ *-
\
x
x
xH
x
N
^#
N
**+
^
^
* *1#
x
J"ah
x#
J
-•*
N WELLESLEY
-»- -»-
X
x
.
X
y ^x x
~ xx
** »* "•"
x
\
captured
•*
indianTetreat
W
British
W
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•••-98guns\ ,*._.
HH
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Z-v
^
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and guns
meet
to
W
x
\
\
i
' 4 ^British infantry.-*-
% ^
I
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...•••"
<
I
I
--
movements
British
>x
I
\/b
X^
^
x
British
^|
jnfantry attack
T
I
g
SCINDIA AND BERAR
Above: A typical sepoy soldier
armed with
It
was
Western-style uniform.
These men formed the
backbone
of Britain's
empire-building armies in
ing, in
theatres of
fired a
second
war from
volley,
India to Spain.
Maratha
line of
reel-
which
finally
in
the 78th Highlanders
artillery,
broke Pohlmann's troops on
the southern flank. The Madras sepoys followed up on this
entire
British
men
Pohlmann's
now swung
line
the fighting and a second horse
him. His bravery
and
round
pushed
back to the Juah. Wellesley became caught up
must have
stark contrast to that of the
concerned with
was
fatally
men;
inspired his
Maratha leaders,
personal safety.
their
wounded beneath it
certainly
stood
in
who seemed more
Faced by a renewed
the late 18th and early
success and also broke the Maratha
19th centuries.
triumph, however,
Above right: On 23 September 1803 British Maratha troops back
and broke them, forcing
them back
into
Assaye
some
of the
was
there to
away by
their
sepoys became disorganized
and the sepoys
regrouped. At the forefront of the action, Wellesley had his
horse shot from beneath him. Highlanders
came under
On
intense
sive square with ramparts
the northern flank, the 74th
fire
and had to form
composed
British attack,
crossed the
a defen-
of the bodies of their
the Marathas decided they had had enough and
river,
leaving behind
much
of their
equipment.
Wellesley 's victory decisively curbed Maratha power
cavalry, but the British
protect their flank
and then across the
Juah
Carried
line.
and vulnerable to the nearby Maratha cavalry
troops chased the line of
The
this sort of hard, close-quarters fighting that the British
Having taken a
0.8
PeepulgaoD———
favoured and which would frequently send their enemies
musket and wearing
°5
kilometres
.Waroor
Allied Cavalry
•
miles
but his losses had been heavy, with
India,
tral
troops dead and
wounded -
a casualty rate of
some
in
cen-
1,500
more than 27
per cent. The Marathas had lost at least 1,200 dead and had
abandoned 98 cannons on the tory at
Argaum ended
battlefield.
A
further British vic-
the war, but the British had
many more
river.
dead comrades. They stood British cavalry to gallop past
village of
their
ground long enough
for the
and clear the ground before the
final
to fight
CLOSE-RUN THING
The General was
though in
the thick of the
action the whole time.
No one could
have shown a better example. a
man so
I
never
cool and collected...
I
in
India against
tough opponents, and
conquest of the subcontinent was
ence not achieved
Assaye.
saw
campaigns
can assure you,
till
until
our troops
a very
the middle of the 19th century.
we could have succeeded. A Personal
got the order to advance the fate of the
Quoted
day seemed doubtful; and
History by Christopher Hibbert
numerous cavalry done
their duty
I
of the
if
the
enemy had
hardly think
it
possible
in
Wellington:
(HarperCollins, 1997)
their
hard-won experi-
TRAFALGAR, 1805
A
truly decisive
sea battle
Nelson demonstrated breaking the
once and
line of
for
all
which Vice-Admiral Horatio
in
mastery of naval
fire
power by
French and Spanish ships and ended
Napoleon's ambition to conquer
Nelson's bold action
copied by naval
his
became
a
Britain.
much-admired manoeuvre,
commanders ever
after.
This sea victory
Seapower had always been important -
in
that
it
protected
maritime lines of trade and therefore the creation of wealth but
in
the 16th century,
in
the
wake
Above: The
:'
the a
British naval
new
level of impor-
tance for a number of European nations. The Dutch,
British,
Spanish and French navies fought each other to secure
power would dominate the oceans
hugely profitable colonies and control of the sea lanes that
.entury.
led to
them. This fighting
at
stage of
with the French ship of the discovery of the
Americas, seapower had assumed a
Redoutable about to surrender to Nelson's flagship Victory.
sea continued for more than two
The
devastation of the close fighting
ensured that
final
the Battle of Trafalgar,
is
clearly
shown
by the wrecked Redoutable on the
left.
hundred years, with none
A
major players gaining a
of the
advantage over the others.
clear-cut
Although
maritime arms race led to the creation of bigger and
more powerful
faster ships, capable of maintaining
arrays of
the Netherlands had declined
and losing
protect their overseas empires had
main contenders
weakened and
ability to
the
left
it
sea power as Britain and France.
for global
Napoleon was serious about conquering Europe and then
who
He was
fearless under fire and as a
arm while engaging
his right
ship near Tenerife
'a
before the Battle of the
Nile. After
from
became
timber from a French flagship.
the decisive battle on this front.
own
his
peerage or Westminster Abbey!'
ed to receive
a coffin
1794
in
Spanish treasure
a
He often discussed
1797.
in
death, settling on either
the world, he would have to win the war at sea. Trafalgar
If
impairing the
in battle,
eye during the assault on Corsica
his right
in
Horatio
inspired the dearest devo-
had been badly wounded twice
result
sight
power, thus their
Vice-Admiral
stature,
in
a fighting leader
tion of his followers.
cannons. By the end of the 18th century, Spain, Portugal and in
diminutive
Nelson was
the battle, he
his captains
was
made
delight-
out of the
NELSON AGAINST NAPOLEON
'ENGLAND EXPECTS'
With France dominating the continental landmass, there
When
he received Napoleon's orders to ferry troops to
was
Naples
in
Britain could
little
the Royal Navy
French
was
maritime
emphasized colonies
in
assault on Corsica
power
its
During
ambitions.
power by
West
the
to limit
there, but at sea
strong and Britain used this to contain
naval
its
do
Indies.
1794
in
Above: Horatio Nelson
from the Mediterranean.
(1758-18051, one of
with the French fleet
A
the
number
taking a
However,
failed
and
1790s,
of French
more ambitious
a
had to retreat
Britain
Spanish attempt to
was
Britain
join its
foiled at the Battle of
forces
Cape
St
knew
the Mediterranean, Admiral Pierre Villeneuve
that Nelson
was
therefore set
waiting at sea to engage him
in battle.
He
the Bucentaure and slipped out of Cadiz
sail in
with a combined force of 33 ships (18 French, 15 Spanish).
Nelson
commanded 27 ships-of-the-line and was impatient On 21 October, Nelson caught up with Villeneuve,
for action.
who into
head back to Cadiz. Nelson formed
tried to
two columns and drove them
at right
his ships
angles towards
Britain's greatest
commanders and at Trafalgar.
The
Vincent
the ragged
1797.
in
line of
French and Spanish ships.
victor
portrait
is
by Lemuel Abbott,
c.
1797.
1798
In
a British fleet
under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
returned to the Mediterranean and defeated the French at the Battle of the
This re-established Britain's control of
Nile.
HMS
Nelson's flagship,
and he directed line,
it
was
Victory,
first in
towards the twelfth ship
Villeneuve 's flagship.
He ordered
in
the column
the opposing
his signaller to hoist
the region and posed a threat to the French port of Toulon.
up flags conveying a message to the rest of his
Furthermore, Nelson's victory helped to encourage the cen-
'England expects that every
tral
European
Napoleon.
In
powers
to
join
new
a
sion of Britain. With Spain as his
ally,
possibility of finally achieving
naval
French broke out of Toulon and Indies, but
there
Channel through
British in the English
under the "command of Admiral
West
coalition
1804 Napoleon began preparations
were
was
against
for an inva-
the tempting
where he threw the Austrians
summer
and the
was now
in
for Italy but
was
Britain
distance and the grapeshot,
a grape,
and give
for breaking a ship's like a
shotgun,
was
resistance which
might be offered to a boarding
Nelson ordered one
final
'Engage the enemy more
columns
British
message
to fly
from
his
party.
masthead:
closely.'
of ships closed
on the French and
the Spanish and French ships and the British sailors lay
his
balance at Ulm (see
In
was
and shifted
fleet at Cadiz
October 1805
it
set
intercepted off Cape Trafalgar, near
Cadiz, by Nelson's British fleet.
two round shot and then
gun-
by other British
Spanish
The French and Spanish
the Mediterranean.
a practical order to his
1805 Napoleon
given a different objective: the re-establishment of
French power sail
of
France into central Europe, off
in
fleet:
his duty.' Captain
intended for close-quarter fighting to clear the deck of any
As the
of northern
Austerlitz, pp. 20-23).
captains: 'Put
gave
do
will
typical of that delivered
hull at a
The
Villeneuve.
into the Atlantic
had decided against the invasion of
army from the coast
Belleisle
a joint fleet operation
Pierre
back and seeking the safety of the port of Cadiz, where they
by the
HMS
her that.' Round cannonball shot
harried by British vessels into turning
this turn of events,
of
one probably
dominance over the
were then blockaded. With
Hargood ners,
man
down on
hell
line, all
broke loose. Broadsides erupted from
their decks.
They had
to accept this first assault,
because they were approaching head-on and could not yet fire their
guns
in
unison. Under the withering
fire,
masts
Men were blown to pieces and crewmen became impatient. 'Shall we not show our splintered and sails collapsed.
broadside and
fire?'
replied Hargood,
asked an
officer
'we are ordered
to
on the
Belleisle. 'No,'
go through the
line,
and
Having raked the Bucentaure with
^m- -)>-
V
NEPTUNO
shocked
10
on one another. The
fire
to
CAX
Flagships
SCIPION^
^^
y y^
;an franc/sco de as/s
^
k
grenades and
kets,
vulnerable
to take cover - and sure
'^ Nelson
dies,
enough
TEMERA
REDOUTABLE
English ships break^ _
?E
LEVIATHAN
\1
the French and c „„ nich PmQ
"conoueror
SANTA
ROYAL SOVEREIGN
Lucas thought he had
*^NEPTUNE NFPTUf
SANLEANDRI „,. u,.ANDRo\
™
"1
^r
__
r
set
M u
ONAUTE
it
save
BAHAMA
MONTANES
DEFIANCE
on the other
it
side. In the
cannons
its
its
and was
when
the
meantime, the Victory kept
Redoutable, breaking
into the
apart
it
were now stuck
captain's feet. All three ships
sinking fast but
falgesiras
=Cll£RIP"0\
Victory,
free and sent a boarding party aboard the French ship.
Fpluton achille
of triumph
together and they drifted helplessly. The Victory finally broke
Ifougueux
spartiate
into
beneath
MINOTAUR
moment
his
about to send his sailors aboard the
firing
INDOMPTABLE
imonarca
^
exposed. Barely a quarter
Redoutable was rammed by the Temeraire, which crashed
ANA—
PRINC^.
two columns attack to split the French and Spanish fleet
wounded
a French sniper
SAN JUST0
Villeneuve surrenders
^j/tf AGAMEMNON^
fleet in
fully
Nelson below deck. *|
^
Nelson s
particularly
of his refusal
of an hour into the fighting British sailors had had to carry
NELSON
^ ^f
was
engagement because
kind of
in this
Nelson
cutlasses.
IsanagJStin
27 ships
BRITANNIA
armed with mus-
to be carried out by sailors and marines
him as he stood on the deck
Ocean
this as his oppor-
.
Vravo
%
Atlantic
saw
and he wanted the fighting
tunity to board Nelson's flagship
^k .MONTBLANC RWMtW* OUG(My TROU(N
inflict-
crew were
British
see the French suddenly shut their gunports,
but Captain Lucas of the Redoutable
French and Spanish retreat
the Victory round-
fire,
ed gently and closed with the Redoutable. Both ships ed heavy
English attack
^v French and Spanish warships m—
OCTOBER 1805
21
English warships
and the Temeraire his ship.
The
alight
if
moment
at the
to
the British did not help him
Meanwhile, beneath the decks of the
Nelson was dying
Victory,
of his great victory.
fighting continued for five terrible hours as both sides
becoming disabled as
blasted away, ships
i
was
It
would not surrender, Lucas threatened
masts were
their
^OLWHEMUS Si!,
'LDEFOriSO
'
! /
were wrecked, the
*
*'"
'--
••:
'
12 miles
^
bruised him from hip to neck, but
tain of
10 French and Spanish ships run for Cadiz
columns line of
being the
larly badly,
by God!' The Victory suffered particufirst
to enter the
enemy
line
marines
in
the midst of the fighting.
line of
and duly
the
enemy
Villeneuve
with his columns, he had created a
numbers
superiority of
was compelled
the centre of the battle.
in
to surrender
and ten of
his ships
broke off the battle to head for the safety of Cadiz. The
- breaking the
Spanish and
receiving fire from
good naval
French ships during the
all
Battle of Trafalgar on 21
giving their
all
quarters. Nelson
and
officers of the period, coolly
his officers, like
paced the decks,
men encouragement.
October 1805.
BREAKING THE LINE Once the
come to
British ships
tremendous
British
had penetrated the
The
enemy line and own broadsides
were masters
damaged
but none of
them had been
wind rose
after the battle
many
of the
enemy
Trafalgar did not
French sailors and destroyed 20 of her guns.
ade
their
own musket
French had placed snipers
fire to in
this,
;ould ignite the sails, although
y ship
and not
kill
crew.
claiming that their
in reality
commander's its
marines
the rigging of their ships, but
Nelson had a personal disdain for
aval belief that the
British
the ferocious volley. The
job
he shared a
was
to capture
ships
lost to
and prevented the
enemy
were badly
the enemy. The British
from tak-
ships as prizes, but the dead Nelson
became one
of
Britain's greatest military heroes.
France - Napoleon
added
of their
could not be denied his victory and he
broadside of the Victory
first
own
Many
crashed into the Bucentaure and instantly wounded 200
effect.
of the sea, having captured 17
ships and sunk one.
ing
close to their foes, they fired their
that
he stood on deck and
French and Spanish fleet began to disintegrate. By breaking
local shall,
still
Eventually Nelson's tactics proved their worth and the
the
go through she
sails.
its
splinter
urged his crew on, sharing a bunch of grapes with his cap-
\
SAN JUAN D£ HEPOMUCENO
Above Nelson and his British ships - in two
a
'
-
M BERWICK
both ships
three of
all
Hargood was knocked down by
Captain
:
/
Belleisle losing
until
Cape Trafalgar
fAchilles prevail
broken. The Belleisle fought the Fougueux
;»Kfj;jr;
end the naval duel between
was
British exports to
aries of
still
Europe - but
Britain controlled the seas.
and
it
did define the
Britain
used
its
No
later at Austerlitz,
land,
while
other nation could contest
sea power
in
create and maintain a global empire that ^d ever seen.
and
bound-
dominance. Napoleon remained master of the
going on to victory two months
this
Britain
as determined as ever to block-
the 19th century to
became the
largest
'
Above: This painting by Denis Dighton
shows
Nelson struck
down by
French sniper's
a
bullet.
British captains routinely
walked the decks ships, defying in
of their
enemy
fire
order to maintain the
morale
of their
crew
Far from being a motley assortment of
on to blow a gale of wind, and the
them.
We
impressed seamen, the majority of
English immediately set to work to
clever
manoeuvres before, and
Nelson's sailors were professional
shorten
crewmen who performed
as
well
under
sail
much
and reef the
regularity
topsails, with
and order as
if
their
fire.
One French
captain at Trafalgar
ships had not been fighting a dreadful
was
particularly
impressed by how
battle.
We were
all in
amazement,
quickly the British sailors recovered
wondering what the English seamen
from the trauma
could be
The act
of battle:
that astonished
was when
the action
me
was
the
over.
most It
came
made
of. All
our
either drunk or disabled, officers,
seamen were and we, the
could not get any work out of
never witnessed any such I
shall
never forget them. Quoted
in
The Oxford Illustrated History
of the Royal
Navy edited by
J.R. Hill
(Oxford University Press, 1995)
AUSTERLITZ, 1805
—
-
French armies
ARCHDUKE FERDINAND
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Russian and Austrian armies
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^MARMONT
Above: Napoleon
SALZBURG
wearing the uniform
Innsbruck
of
the Grenadiers a Pied of
Tyro SWITZERLAND
.
p
|
Carinth
neyM,
Lienz"* **%
s
^
the Imperial Guard
ia
^
prava
.Villach
N
e n e
t
i
closeness to and
J.
concern
commander.
1
ffffll
a»*
"Trieste
10
Cam'
x
^•Venice ^6
Left:
50
miles c,e a
his strength as
a charismatic
MASSENA
c
for his soldiers
added to
T
•***
a
portrait by Paul
Delaroche. Napoleon's
ARCHDUKE CHARLES
V
Napoleon's
strategic
%a
movements
1
kilometres
8o
!
early
December,1805 as
he confronted the forces
Russian armies. of
Napoleon Bonaparte's finest
Austerlitz
showed him as
a
victories, the Battle of
master of manoeuvre, with
outperforming the larger one ranged against half.
Success
left
but, believing
him unassailable
he was
invincible,
in
it,
and
his force
splitting
it
in
western and central Europe,
he then invaded Russia and
precipitated the collapse of his empire. Overconfidence can be a
commander's greatest enemy. Like Julius Caesar, Napoleon
and foremost a
first
matic military leader. His troops believed that head, they could not
mere
politicians.
fail
- he was
He was
a
'man
if
he was
of destiny'
took their
do
mood
AUSTERLITZ
to procure provisions for us.' directly
charis-
aloof.
at their
from him.
'I
seemed somewhat
cold and
Perhaps he had been looking forward to a more resound-
ing victory.' In fact
he was
ill,
but the sight clearly disappointed
Vossler.
Even when things started to go wrong
French
soldiers
retained
belief
in
[Napoleon] passed close to a grenadier
their
who
in
Russia,
commander.
the foot,' observed Heinrich von Brandt, 'and this brave
called out, "Oh, sire!
We would
Why were you
'He
had been wounded
man
not at our head yesterday?
have crushed the Russians."'
up against
also observed to care closely for his
men. 'Our beloved Emperor,' wrote Captain Coignet, thing he could
recalled Lieutenant Vossler. 'He
in
was
'did
Many
in
1
of the Austrian
One
in a
every-
soldiers
passed the Emperor,'
DICTATOR OF FRANCE Napoleon's military reputation 1
was
796-97, where, leading France's
forged
Army
of
string of victories against larger armies.
in
northern
Italy,
Italy in
he achieved a
He combined
fierce
and
Paris.
-nna-
FRANCE
battlefield
aggression with skilled strategic manoeuvring, which
enabled him to defeat the superior numbers of the attacking
them piecemeal. Success on the
becoming the primary achievement government
in
Paris
and
in
enemy by
battlefield
the
of
was
fast
Revolutionary
1797 a coup d'etat ushered
in
the
pro-Bonaparte Directory.
British control of the sea.
Nile
ended
political
this
power
Below: The French
camp, on the night
in
an attempt to weaken
The French defeat
at the Battle of the
hope, but Napoleon further increased his grip on in
1799 when he claimed personal recognition
for the various military
with a Consulate. The
for
Peace treaty or
life.
finally
and desire
dissuaded from
for
successes by replacing the Directory
civilian
administration
servant of the military and Napoleon
was
was now firmly
the
at liberty to indulge
not, there
seemed
to
be no end
French expansion. He was only
his plans to
invade Britain by the Royal
Navy's control of the seas, emphatically confirmed at Trafalgar in
1805 (see
Trafalgar pp. 16-1
Armee, a body to
assume time
this
of
hegemony over
in itself.
was
Meanwhile,
in
a hereditary empire, in part to ists
into the
Grande
with which he proposed the rest of Europe. By
often appeared that the military successes of the
Revolution meant that war
an end
The force with which he
some 200,000 men
his 'rightful'
it
9).
was then absorbed
intended to invade England
1798, France invaded Egypt
In
Consul
to his ambition
being pursued by Napoleon as
May 1804 Napoleon undermine the
proclaimed
plotting of royal-
against his regime.
before the battle of Austerlitz, painted by
Louis-Francois Lejeune
(1775-18481
Napoleon
in
1808.
men.
own
With tional
ambitions through conquest. Britain
Napoleon's sole remaining opponent, an interna-
peace was established
at
Amiens
in
AUSTERLITZ MANOEUVRES
March 1802. The
By 1805,
was confirmed
Coalition to
Britain's
prime minister,
Pitt,
had assembled the Third
talks to his
generals and inspires his
his
existence of a military dictatorship
May
that year
when
in
a popular vote
France
confirmed him as
in
First
both
Italy
oppose Napoleon. Having made fresh conquests
and Germany since 1802, Napoleon
now
in
took the
AUSTERLITZ
against his
initiative
enemies
in
vres. In October,
men
at
sought to
two months
army
his
were
enemies
of Austria
was
through the Alps from
command
under the
moved
men
were
in total,
prevented from coming
by a force of 20,000 Frenchmen
The
of Ney.
right flank
Archduke
Prague, while both the
in
men were
Italy
near Brunn.
fragmented.
Austro-Russian force
allied
southwards from Olmutz, hoping
first,
Napoleon's
men
65,000
and Russia, with 90,000
Olmutz, and 80,000 more
in
of
hopelessly
Ferdinand, with 18,000 men,
emperors
had
after the Austrians
against France. Advancing north from Vienna,
he began to concentrate His
manoeu-
By November, Vienna
to surrender.
it
occupation, just
move
1805 he
in
brilliant military
he surrounded an Austrian army of 30,000
Ulm and forced
was under
Europe and
central
wrong-footed them with a series of
and cut
overwhelm
to
communications with
his line of
Casualties:
Vienna. Situated near the village of Austerlitz, Napoleon deliber-
made
ately
his
attack from the
army appear vulnerable
French 9,000 Russian and Austrian 26,000
order to provoke an
in
allies.
NAPOLEON'S TRAP As
anticipated,
Defeated Russians
on the morning of 2 December, the Russians
and Austrians sent
their
main assault against the French
wing. The French reeled back and the
men
along the
exactly
line to exploit
the
troops
his
was
but this
hidden
initially
now
he
campfires,
their
right
sent more of their
momentum,
what Napoleon wanted. With
by winter fog and the smoke of
allies
counter-attacked with Marshal Soult leading a corps against the heights of Pratzen, an act which
the
split
allied
army
Soult then turned to attack the extended allied
half.
in
flank.
left
against only 9,000 French losses.
commanded
Russian army
wrote to
wife Josephine.
his
'I
have beaten the Austro-
by the two Emperors,' Napoleon
am
'I
a
Tomorrow and
I
I
be able to
shall
rest
in
weary.
little
many
the open for eight days and as
in
have camped
I
freezing
nights.
French corps
now
and Austrian position
should be able to snatch two or three hours' sleep there.
The Russian army
is
not only beaten but destroyed.'
Below: of
assaulted the
on the
allied right
at
the Battle of Austerlitz.
the castle of Prince Kaunitz,
Surprised, the Austrians and Russians fled.
Two more
Above: Napoleon's aggressive assault on the centre of the Russian
Artillery soliders
Napoleon's Imperial
Guard. Trained as an
MASTER OF EUROPE
artillery officer himself,
Brunn-Olmutz road. The Russians resisted bravely, but fighting the veterans of
was
This
also the
became
ership
in
hard
Napoleon's army proved their worth.
moment when
a decisive factor,
Napoleon's charismatic lead-
because
his soldiers
wanted
to
Austerlitz
mance
This
one
of Napoleon's
the exotic Mamelukes,
African costumes.
most dedicated
who were
dressed
in
These Mamelukes were marvellous
cav-
North
riders,'
observed Coignet. 'They could do anything they chose with
With
their horses.
head the
curved sabres, they would take a man's
one blow, and
their
sharp stirrups tore the loins of
they encountered.
One
of
off with
men
their
them came three
different
times up to the Emperor bringing a Russian standard. The time, the
Emperor wished
to stop him, but he
dashed
in
third
again,
and returned no more.'
French cavalry at Austerlitz: the instruction of
dered
One
me
my
recommend
too highly
arm, which has ren-
such important services, needs to be well instructed.
been massacred, and
my
Eventually, the Russians allied
could not
could say that instruction does everything. The Russian
cavalry did not lack courage all
'I
cuirassiers... This
[at Austerlitz],
Guard has
lost
and
still
it
has nearly
nobody.'
were overcome and by
nightfall
army had collapsed, sustaining some 26,000 casualties
AUSTERLITZ
makes
because
it
there
felt
was
and
Emperor Francis
The
was
it
reach himself.
czar's forces
at the
peak of
nothing he could not achieve.
He
this point
onwards
he began to over-
that
German
believed he could conquer the
and eastern Europe, and he spent the following decade
By
suit of this ambition.
1
807 he had crushed
sought to control Russia and
1812
in
this resulted
which he was forced to
disintegrating
army
that left
in
Prussia;
brilliant
Napoleon made the mistake
Moscow
of
victories
many
in
he
with a
1940,' wrote Alistair
such as
dictators
he underestimated the strength and endurance of 'As with Hitler
pur-
finally,
the catastrophe of
from
retreat
states in
him vulnerable.
Raised to dizzying heights by
were too
gave
of Austria
Austerlitz a decisive battle for the rest of his career,
was from
Home,
his
'the
humiliated, the victor given too great a
in
that
enemies. defeated
sense of
superiority for the long-term future to consolidate the victory. Austerlitz raised
Napoleon to the pinnacle of
turned his head and or combination
the
after
into unconditional surrender.
success and
Austerlitz,
Napoleon was more prosaic about the performance of the
Europe
retreated ignominiously to Russia. Napoleon his
at Austerlitz of
of Napoleon's greatest victories
of central
had been forced
please him by gaining a victory. Coignet describes the perfor-
alry units,
was one
him mastery
of
filled
it
his
success,
it
If
also
with the delusion that no force
forces could
now
stop him conquering
the world.' From Austerlitz onwards, Napoleon's days were
numbered as the
allies
grew
in
strength against him.
Napoleon was expert its
in
use on the battlefield.
Above: Napoleon victorious at the Battle of Austerlitz, having
defeated two emperors It
was
the climax of his
military career
and
That evening the Emperor came out of
NIGHT BEFORE AUSTERLITZ
convinced him that he
Captain Jean-Roch Coignet
was unstoppable
remarkable for two aspects of
Painting by de Mesnier First,
his tent,
is
his
life.
twilight,
was
carried four lighted torches. This
1799
1816, a remarkable feat of
signal for a
and secondly, he wrote
guard took up handfuls of straw from
survival;
fascinating
memoirs
and recorded a
of his times
particularly
moving
moment between Napoleon and soldiers
on the eve of
in
Austerlitz:
his
battle
their
charming
sight: the
bivouacs and set them on
Holding a bunch lighted
It
and the horse-grenadiers
throughout Napoleon's campaigns, from to
them
his horse, started
off with his escort to visit the outposts.
was
he served as an active soldier
and mounting
in
cried out, "V7ve lEmpereur!"
the
I
air.
am
thousand
The whole corps took
it
sure that two hundred
flares
were
The bands
lighted.
Russians, from their heights,
more
seven army corps, and seven in
men
and
the
than
a hundred feet above us, could see
fire.
other,
in
and
played and the drums beat to arms. The
whole
each hand, the
them one from the
up,
all
and tossed
front of
lines of fire
mem.'
From The Narrative of Captain Coignet: Soldier of the Empire translated by
M. Carey (Chatto
& Windus,
1897)
AUSTERLITZ
WATERLOO, 1815
The
battle that
marked the end
how
classic demonstration of
of the road for
a
more
Napoleon was a
practical
commander,
such as Wellington, could defeat a charismatic warlord. By understanding the landscape of war
brilliantly
and using
mander In
of
them
com-
over.
How wrong
Above: Scots Greys cavalry charge the
French at the battle of
they were.
Waterloo by Lady
in this
It
did not take long for the people of France to forget the hor-
Right:
The opening
movements
disintegration of his
Prussia
army during the disastrous
reasserted
itself
retreat
from
and joined forces with
Napoleon had
inflicted
on the rest of Europe and they
the
at
encounter that ground him in
down
of
1813,
an
the Peninsular
War
Leipzig
further. In
Spain and Portugal from 1808 onwards, the
manded by more.
In
result,
1814 the
although he
who became
Wellesley,
Wellington as a
was
reduced French
inflicting
the
in
British,
'Iron'
military
com-
Duke
of
power even
French armies around
not the disasters of his last campaigns. The economic disarray
Waterloo
in
between
17
being all
felt in
France
was
said to require a 'strongman' to sort
it
out and Napoleon seized his opportunity. Less than a year
after his exile to
several minor defeats on them. Forced to abdicate, island of Elba
and Louis
XVIII
was
sail
and landed near
his closest Paris,
guards-
gathering
support wherever he went.
The
Napoleon was exiled to the
Napoleon set
men, he marched through France towards
capital
before his enemies and
Elba,
Cannes. Accompanied by a thousand of
beaten, Napoleon had demonstrated his old brilliantly
and
pined for his return. Ex-soldiers recalled only the glory days and
invaded France and occupied Paris;
Allies
genius by manoeuvring
24
Battle
of the
Allied, Prussian
June 1815.
and Russia
Austria
painting
Butler.
NAPOLEON'S RETURN rors that
all.
1812, Napoleon's world had started to collapse with the
Moscow.
relieved; the long struggle
it
both to protect and to conceal his troops, Wellington devised a battle-winning formula that finally toppled the greatest
was
enthroned. The rest of Europe
with revolutionary and then imperial France appeared to be
rest of
Europe was
horrified.
As Napoleon entered the
and resumed control of the French government and
army, the Allied powers
met
declared him an outlaw. By
1
at
June the
midable array of armies: 95,000
its
the Congress of Vienna and Allies
British,
had raised a
for-
Dutch and German
Belgium
and 18
,
* * '^
Sea
ifth
J^»
jFXP
L L« N
Bruttels
-ATERLOfl
EUROPE
command
troops, under the
been
assembled
of the
Belgium;
in
Gebhard von Blucher marched
Germans raised
left
some 280,000
Wellington; 210,00
to join
on
largely
his
charisma - the one attribute
him - Napoleon managed soldiers,
to raise a force of
75,000 of them veterans
who needed
urging to join their erstwhile emperor.
Faced by such an overwhelming that the only
way
strategies and he
north
in
was
highly skilled at
to
move
quickly
of his
most
brilliant
was
was one
It
it.
Swiftly he
advanced
order to defeat the Prussians and the British separate-
before they could
join forces.
On 16 June Napoleon
collided
with the Prussians at Ligny. His aggression paid off and the Prussians reeled back.
4bove The Duke of Wellington, by Goya
In
the meantime. Marshal Ney took on
a British vanguard at Quatre Bras, a strategically useful cross-
(1812).
Napoleon wanted Ney to help him
roads.
has been alleged, by the Napoleonic historian Peter
It
Hofschroer,
making
that Wellington
a stand at Ligny,
them and then not doing assemble
his troops.
demonstrate the ing the
If
political
deceived the Prussians into
claiming that he would support
gave himself further time
so, this
true,
is
the
off
finish
to
could be said to
it
astuteness of Wellington, indicat-
superb grasp of the
war
realities of
that
would
later
help him at Waterloo. Other historians disagree, saying that
Wellington pledged support only
Napoleon knew
alliance,
to defeat these armies
and defeat them one by one.
ly
under
Prussians
and a Russian army of 167,000 slowly advanced
westwards. Relying
little
of Wellington, had
along the Rhine frontier; 75,000 Austnans were
lay
in Italy;
that never
Duke
124,000
which he was
make
Hofschroer does, however,
emphasizes the
fact that
Germans formed the Napoleon.
Some
amounted
to
that
was
he
not attacked,
which
in
forces facing
25,000 troops from various German states
it
Duke
one-third of the
of Wellington's
was Wellington who commanded
gave Napoleon most trouble on the day and
toughness of many ground, that
when he
point
a valid
Waterloo was a battle
majority of the Allied
more than
army. That said,
if
Quatre Bras.
at
made
it
British
such a
the army
it
was
which stood
regiments,
the
their
titanic struggle.
Prussians, but the British vanguard proved far tougher to deal
with than anticipated, giving Wellington time to gather most of his forces at
CHARISMA VERSUS GOOD SENSE Having pushed the Prussians back to Wavre, on 18 June
Waterloo.
Napoleon turned
his attention to
of the French generals
Brussels
WELLINGTON
*
I "'""ALL
\
\
s
j
18
JUNE
V»"
-WATERLOO
'La Belle-Allian\e ^" "
\ -S;
/
*%*
JUNE/
~ Braine-Le-Comte
Nivelle
X
stSU'
cially
Marshal Soult, but Napoleon rounded on him: 'Because
you have been beaten by Wellington you consider him general, but
NAPOLEON
*X^ *St^
'
«
"
i^B
Allied
armies
Allied
movements
French armies
JUNE
(see Assaye, pp.1 2-1
*\ *
17
good
a
bad general and the
affair will
not be
more
seri-
in
Spain and India
Wellington analysed the landscape of
thus screening them from the
JUNE
from any opening stantial
C embloux
\
his British
regiments on the
J
J
fortified positions
Namur
protecting
them
ahead of
his flanks
and
up the cohesion of any enemy advance.
Above
was being
all,
Wellington in
cautious and chose a defen-
the hope of holding the French long enough for
Bluchers Prussians to
,
enemy and
bombardments. He used the sub-
centre, thus breaking
sive position
gamore
artillery
walled farmhouses of Hougoumont, La Haye-Sainte
and Papelotte as
A
join
him and then together they could
overwhelm the French.
m
Charleroi
les
1
French movements
a
reverse slope of a low plateau running along the Ohain Road,
\w/ ''
5),
and placed the majority of
battle
\\
m*XV* LIGNY
The whole
English are bad troops.
is
ous than swallowing one's breakfast.'
GROUCHY**
\
you that Wellington
Wellington did not underestimate his adversary. Employing
A +
\
tell
the practical methods of war he had learned
QUATRE BRAS /%*%
17
I
.Wavre
t
\\
Spain
X T BiiLOW
17
Some
rather anxious about the forthcoming encounter, espe-
1
BLU CHER
British in
were
1
\
Wellington at Waterloo.
had fought the
N
JUNE
17
who
10
Disdaining caution and trusting to his soldiers' passion for
1
1
kilo
netres
15
him as style,
their leader,
Napoleon took the offensive
although his respected
abilities
in
his old
as a battlefield surveyor
and waving
squares
many
the battlefield,
managed
swords
their
returned dense volleys of
fire.
who
British,
ridge of
of these British regiments had also
escape the worst of the opening barrage of
to
although French cannons were carried forward dur-
artillery,
down
the battle and used to lay
ing
the
at
Formed up behind the
between the
destructive
fire
in
cavalry assaults.
'[The French] fired into us with grapeshot,' recalled Morris of
the 73rd Highlanders, 'which proved very destructive, making
complete lanes through dash
closed our
wounded
and then the horsemen came up
files,
we
and they were forced again to
did not, however,
cannon - waiting there to
We
grapeshot. thick as hail
saw
upon
to
had
throwing the dead outside, and taking the
inside the square;
They
retire.
us;
the openings. But before they reached us,
in
go further then the pieces
try
the effect of
the match applied, and again
us.'
It
was
brutal fighting,
made
of
some more it
all
came
as
the worse
by the fact that neither side would give way.
By
six o'clock
it
was
the storm. His troops had stood firm and alry that
Left:
clear that Wellington
gave way. But danger was
still
it
was
men and
led another brave assault
the French cav-
the soldiers
present.
on the
As Napoleon rallied
this
up with one
final
blow.
He would send
them against the weakened
was covered by
barrage that pummelled the Allied
artillery
Napoleon sent
his infantry
dense columns, cheering usually British
their
enough to make any
were unmoved.
In
formations forward
in his
lines at
most
several times, but the
Allied centre,
which
Allied right flank,
Allies held their
the farmhouse of Hougoumont. Behind the
addition to this,
onslaught.
work their
for the
lines.
it
was
had rained heavily
was muddy, making
it
hard
French soldiers to cross the ground and slowing
impetus.
Mud
also absorbed cannonballs, stopping
them
from bouncing dangerously across the ground. Despite
this,
the French captured Papelotte and by four o'clock the Allied line
was pushed
back.
It
was
important to keep the pressure
on because Napoleon wanted to crush the ssians arrived, thus
Ney took
it
Allied
army before
on himself to order a
massive French cavalry attack. Napoleon believed the assault
was an hour too
rx x Final Allied
f
Chateau de.
Hougoumont
early.
W
^
STANDING STEADY :avalry thundered
towards the
are formations in :
jmrades and raised the bayonets on the
3ts
tips
so they formed a hedgehog-like defence. urging such obstacles e
WATERLOO
Allied lines,
which soldiers stood
and
French cavalrymen to
their
charge
circling
the
Allied
armies
Allied
movements
French armies
'-
French movements
V\\*VW^ 4^L v ^ ^Trench ^ \ J± W V* ^^
x^
attack
attack
\ * s
v
™
cavalry
attack
Imperial Guard
^^
nerve
their lines failed to
break under the
faint-hearted foe dissolve, but the
the previous night and the farmland
Allied
Waterloo on 18
June. Napoleon attacked
at mid-day. In
emperor, such an advance
his
Below: The French
advance against
appear to have deserted him on the day. Opening with a
massive
fought
Brown Bess musket.
and
Ney took the Old Guard beside the
who
Wellington at
Waterloo - loads
fol-
and experienced troops - the Old Guard.
Instead of leading
for
British line. This
Having managed to hold the Prussian advance, Napoleon
loyal
his
they swept over the farmhouse of La Haye-Sainte.
lowed
of
the 69th Foot - typical of
concentrated on the approaching Prussians, Ney
time,
An infantryman
had weathered
Prussian attack
Above:
Prior to
Waterloo, British troops held the French advance at
the cross-roads of
Quatre Bras. Here,
made, they
FRONT-LINE FIGHTING
Some
of the
toughest fighting at
Waterloo was endured by the infantry,
British
or the chagrin of being defeated,
horses up to the bayonet's point; and
not; but
one of them, leaning over
existence with his
made
who formed square formations
deliberately walked their
a thrust at
me
his horse,
with his sword.
he endeavoured
I
know
British soldiers
to terminate his
would
use at
later
Waterloo to defend
being too long for his purpose, he took
I
form the
square formation they
own sword; but that
themselves against before the assaults of French
could not avoid
artillery
and cavalry. Nineteen-year-old Thomas Morris
was
in
a defensive square at
Waterloo while he served
in
Regiment and describes
his
my
closed again,
it,
eyes.
and
When opened them
encounter
my enemy was
thrusting at
in
bayonet under
by one of my rear rank men, and whether
farmhouse were
remembered
a 71st Highlander.
him
in
bom-
came
several times
nothing could impede
was gone
in
moved forwards the
same
ordered
a
eight o'clock.
The
We
our last
advance.
mob. Napoleon's time had run
out.
left
He nad
Helena
The
in
like
Wellington. Three days
British
the middle of the Atlantic,
Battle of
later,
Napoleon surren-
and was exiled to the remote island of St
where he died
Waterloo was a tremendous
in
1821.
victory, bringing
an end to the French Revolutionary period and discouraging the re-emergence of any government intent on dominating
Allies
had refused to be
were pushing
attack elsewhere on the battlefield.
general
two
us.'
intimidated by the Old Guard and the Prussians
own
was
our advance. This
in
time.
a
charisma-based warfare had proved insufficient to defeat a
dered to the
retiring at
in
prevent the British and Prussians linking up and his
failed to
commander
were charged
their
riding up,'
the battlefield
a square, with
'We formed
We
it.'
desperately to the end, but others had had enough and
our centre, to receive cavalry. Shortly the whole army
received orders to advance.
It
fire,
support his troops.
highly valued. 'Wellington
columns, four deep, the French
effort;
line to
on
Sergeant Morris edited by John Selby
batteries of Allied artillery that furiously
was
fell
Painting by Lady Butler.
(Longman, Green, 1967)
barded the advancing French columns. Fearless under
His presence
French cavalry attacks.
Quoted from The Recollections of
the anguish of the wound,
Wellington coolly rode into the front
and
his cuirass,
on
up with
the act of
me. He had been wounded
was
raising himself
one hand, he placed the point of the
The next charge
it
and
lying
lying just in front
with a French cavalryman: the [French] cavalry
the ground,
I
of me, within reach,
the 73rd
one of our bayonets, which was
involuntarily
Isolated
French
Wellington
units
fought
continental Europe. With Napoleon defeated, military competition
from France withered, enabling
expand be the
its
Britain to
prosper and
empire around the world. The 19th century would
'British century'.
MEXICO The culmination
1847
CITY,
of the United States 's struggle to
dominate the
North American continent, the battle for Mexico City
was
a
decisive victory built on
dogged determination and American
military professionalism.
It
nearer to becoming a major After winning
was determined
m
the
War
of
its
it
Rio Grande.
the world.
in in
1782, the United States Its
clash with Britain
failed to provide a satisfactory military out-
to confirm the
boundary with Canada, but
more
fruitful
was
the United States's steady advance west-
wards, led by traders and pioneers. The major power to contest this territorial In
expansion
tories to the
28
ability of
Mexico to maintain a
southwest of the United States and
MEXICO CITY
New
offer
April
1
836 demonstrated, Mexico was
not long before the United States
further.
In
1845, the
began to claim land as
of 3,500
US
United States far
sent by President Polk to uphold these claims. to acquire California of California,
and
New
Mexico
(the
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts
Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming). However,
was
south as the
regular troops under General
his financial
rejected and Mexican troops crossed the Rio
Grande to Below: US troops storm
clash with Taylor's army.
It
was
the excuse Polk needed and
in
1846 the United States declared war on Mexico.
Mexican positions during the battle of Cerro Gordo
was Mexico.
1836, the declaration of independence by the Republic of
Texas tested the
was
wanted
modern-day states of
in
was
settlers
An army
Zachary Taylor Polk also
it
weakness
power
did discourage any further continental interventions by Britain.
Far
exploited this
annexed Texas and
independence
come, serving merely
found wanting and
also took the United States a step
to control North America.
1812
the defeat at San Jacinto
grip in
on
its terri-
California.
As
Scott's
A STRING OF VICTORIES Some
60,000 American volunteers joined Taylor's army
Texas, but the Mexicans
in
which
Americans
outmanoeuvred Santa in
were confident and possessed an
Anna's army, opening the road to Mexico
City.
— Pacific
army four times
numbers, the Americans
bigger. Despite the
gained the upper hand
in
culminated
in
light artillery.
the two-day Battle of Buena Vista
in
(the victor at the
second US army,
in
C^
February
which Taylor defeated Santa Anna
1847
Santa F
JANUARY 1847
These
Battle of the Alamo). Shortly prior to that, a
r— mm
T
northern Mexico with a succession of
helped by their superior use of
victories,
Ocean
" -\
JV f
UNITED STATES
TEXAS
SAN DIEGO.
o **
Fort Jesup
Paso
El
„
V>
MEXICO
January 1847.
in
^
Although they had experienced a string of defeats, the
Mexicans refused
army
to
and President Polk ordered
to surrender
march on Mexico
FEBRUARY 1847
his
BUENA VISTA
Because the landward approach
City.
(500 miles) across
country, a third
difficult
was
9,000 under General Winfield Scott
army
of
delivered by landing
tested, with Vera Cruz falling
in
March 1847.
men
US
commanded
the
Mexico City and ended
Above of the
right:
1846-48. While
forces invaded
California,
the Mexicans requested an
Presuming the Americans were
armistice.
now
General Scott
CERRO GORDO
overstretched,
artillery fire
US
from Chapultepec, the
and the Mexicans were chased out
been followed
up
assault
complains
promptly,'
was
successful
of the mill. 'Had this victory
Grant,
doubt
'no
the Mexicans used this time to reposition their troops and on
Americans and Mexicans would have gone over the defences
8 September they resumed fighting.
of
Chapultepec so near together that the place would have
en
HALLS OF MONTEZUMA Alongside the in
command
skills
officers
who
into
and Scott, the
had been trained
US
at the
US army
collection of
Military
Academy,
own
fall-
our hands without further loss. The defenders of the
works could not have of Taylor
Mexico was aided considerably by a talented
took an army to the
Mexican
was open and
The course
Mexican-American
War from
US
road to Mexico City
SEPTEMBER 1847
320 kilometres
Cruz
Cerro
Gordo, but the Mexicans were encircled and defeated. The
troops that captured
the war with Mexico.
at
fired
taken by the Americans
upon us without endangering
was
men.' Grant perhaps
considerable -
in
a
too
little
critical,
that day's fighting had
more than 750
their
for the losses
been quite
casualties, reducing Scott's
army
capital.
West
Point.
Thomas
J.
who would
They included Robert
Jackson and George later
War on opposing War
Lee, Ulysses S. Grant,
McClellan, junior officers
B.
become commanders sides.
Grant rode with Scott
in
the American
in
The experience gained
them
certainly helped
left a
E.
in their
the
final
future
in
bulk of Santa Anna's
the Mexican
careers. Ulysses S.
approach to Mexico City and
concise account of the battle for the Mexican
The
Civil
army was
inside
City
when
the armistice broke down, but he also had a significant number of troops installed
a nearby mill at
in
Molino del Rey and the
fortress of Chapultepec. Grant claims that Scott thought
were manufactured grain.
in
the
mill,
but
it
Aqueducts supplying Mexico
was
guns
his
for a day.
On
artillery
and
let
them bombard two
the morning of 13 September,
columns, each with 250 volunteers, took scaling ladders and attacked the Mexican-held fortress.
US Marines were among
the
was another
It
of the fortress, an action that later featured
Marine Hymn, inspiring the verse
Montezuma
Shores of
to the
Marines involved
in
bitter strug-
troops to scale the walls
first
line
Tripoli.'
in
the
famous
'From the Halls of
So brave were the US
the fighting that 13 of their 23 officers
Major Twiggs, overall commander of the
was seen
important to Santa Anna.
barrelled hunting
of the
aqueducts were incorporated
into
defences, with earthworks thrown up between them
night, the
US forces were
place by daybreak on 8 September. Although within range of
rifle
to
carry
into action, but
his .favourite
double-
he did not survive the
combat. The Mexicans were no less brave and the defenders included one hundred young cadets of the Military Academy,
which was based
artillery.
General Scott's subordinate General Worth led the assault on
in
Chapultepec
attacked.
received brevets.
The great stone arches
Molino del Rey. Advancing during the
up
days before the
storming parties,
crucially
to protect the
was
brought
five
from these two
them
city's
hill
would be another
It
actually a store for
City ran
points as well, making
the
Scott
gle.
capital.
Mexico
to less than 7,500. fortress on the
1847 |
CITY^j'j^Tera
MEXICO
1
Scott's force next
had to face Santa Anna and an army of 13,000
JMARCH
SANTA ANN*
200miles
and the approach therefore went uncon-
negligible
I
Scott
/
'it Tampico*
across the Gulf of Mexico to Vera Cruz. Mexican naval
power was
Above: General Winfield
Matin
Gulf of Mexico
was 800km
craft
^
'° ^TAYLOR
under Colonel Stephen Kearny, had marched westwards and claimed California for the United States
SCOTT
in
the castle. Eventually the fortress
taken and Scott's army directed military organization
its
attention to
Mexico
was
City.
US
and preparations had proved superior to
that of the Mexicans.
MEXICO CITY
presented the appearance of a "city of the dead", except for this firing
by unseen persons from house-tops, windows, and
US
around corners.' The rilla
soldiers quickly
suppressed the guer-
and General Scott took up residence
activity
dent's palace, a
complex
Montezuma'. The war was
the presi-
in
nicknamed the
of buildings
'Halls of
over and peace negotia-
virtually
tions began.
Mexico gave the United States complete
Victory against
dominance of North America. and from
It
had no
on became
this point
rivals
on the continent
a global power.
An
empire of states was completed by the acquisition of on the
Pacific
with Mexico.
Coast and the securing of
Some Americans wanted was
Mexico, but this
deemed
not
already gained 1,300,000 sq ritory,
New the
km
its
internal
territories
southern boundary
President Polk to annex
USA
necessary. The
had
(500,000 sq miles) of extra
ter-
including the regions of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona,
Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
US government gave
In return,
5th
This remarkable conquest, however, had not been achieved
some $100
without a high cost:
US
ease.
Some
were
voices
raised
campaign expenses
War, one of the earliest conflicts to be captured
criticism.
in
the Mexican-American
troops, mostly from dis-
million of
and the death of more than 13,000
Two soldiers of the US Infantry during
Left:
the Mexicans $1 5 million.
on
Ralph Waldo
film.
They wear the
wide non-regulation
Emerson
ARCH BY ARCH
it
oy arch along the aqueduct that led to the
Americans encountered some resistance
capital city, the
form of Mexican to outflank
Mexican troops on the
recalled, 'breast
ditches,
[2.5-3m]
in
deep
men
priest
came
to
by occupying the
city road
water and grown up with water
in
its
The howitzer was taken destination.
claimed that the tensions unleashed
led to the
With the
er,
for a
certainly
time at
he consented or that
I
little
When
I
knocked
for
in
the road.
least;
not.
the belfry, It
was
declined
Civil
worn
by volunteers during
this
campaign.
have
the southern states over Below: The final series of combats in the US assault on Mexico City.
new territories
War.
my command,
Spanish then at
and besides,
He began
where
door.' it
I
intended to go
see
to
his
duty
in
United States armies
\ MOLINO
same
among
——
Mexican movements
MEXICO CITY
SEPTEMBER
^^^^^
a pultepec
l8 SEPTEMBER
light
The gun was assembled and
sent shot
smA Am
14
'
^Ch
whether
in
the
prison-
United States movements
^H Mexican armies
i+*fc'
I
——
Texcuco
San Cosme Garita \
San Angel
the Mexicans on
Churubusco
m^
12
a crucial action, further reducing the resolve of
V city walls.
They began in
to cut
^=======^_
-t-
^5£§l n
VALENCIA
houses outside the
passageways through the houses towards the walls
20
AUGUST SCOTT
'
By the night of 13 September, Americans troops were in
historians
retreat
the defenders.
encamped
in
Some
Me> tans
admission a
polite,
would save himself from becoming a
and opened the
did,
placed
American
clothing typically
the arsenic which brings
us.'
the issue of extending slave ownership into the
DELRET
and
poison
plants.
explained to him that he might save property by opening the door,
who swallows will
and carried
to pieces
who, while extremely
to the door,
to admit us.
the
however, were not over eight or ten feet
width.
by the
in
an effort
in
be as the man
him down. Mexico
This took us over several ditches,' he
belfry of a church.
These
Grant led a small unit
artillery fire.
will
declared: 'The United States will conquer Mexico, but
AUGUST
"
anticipa-
Augustin
'%
>v^ ""
y V\
tion of having to
storm the
city.
But during the
night,
Santa Anna
Chalc
VS.
and
his
army withdrew.
His last act
was
to release
all
the occu-
pants of the prisons, hoping they might cause the Americans
some
trouble. Politicians
Scott, asking
from Mexico City
him to respect the
now approached
rights of their citizens.
The next morning, US troops formed ed. 'On entering the city the troops
a
column and proceed-
were
fired
upon by the
Vs
N
^T
Vs. l
~-"-f)
MEXICO CITY
streets
were deserted, and the place
II
// V-, miles
5 I
1
The
1
1
I
hostile citizens.
1
1/
released convicts,' reported Grant, 'and possibly by deserters
and
o
VS.
|
1
aquaduct
Above: Escalante's painting of the Battle of
Molino del Rey, one of series of
a
combats fought
during Scott's approach to
Mexico
City.
We wear all kinds
FANCY JACKETS The US army
was
that
marched
into
Mexico
not wholly prepared for the rigours
of campaigning.
swollen
its
Many volunteers had
ranks and uniforms varied
considerably,
if
summer 1846, Dana wrote
they were worn at
J.T.
to his wife while advancing
on Monterey, offering an account of appearance:
to his taste,
some
his
hats,
all
some
and
of uniforms here, each
some
some
white,
jackets and pants,
all. In
Lieutenant Napoleon
one
blue,
is
fancy
some Quaker
just the way, too, that
our fellows went into
my old straw hat, pants,
some
colours of cottonelle
straw and
that
shirtsleeves,
battle...
I
have on
those blue-checked
made by your dear hands,
are torn
m
which
out,
and
that loose coat
you made,
which you recollect washed white.
much danger
think there is
shooting
me
for
I
don't
of a ranchero
an officer of high rank.
My trimmings
don't
pairs of those
check pants have worn
show much. Both I
pretty well out'
Quoted
in
Mexican-American War
1846-48bv Ron Field (Brasseys, 1997)
both legs and pretty well worn
MEXICO CITY
GETTYSBURG, 1863 The Confederate cause
the American
in
Civil
War was never
better led than by General Robert E Lee, but at Gettysburg he
misjudged
enemy and
his
suffered a crucial defeat. His deter-
mination to break the centre of the Union
nated
doomed
a brave but
in
line of
frontal assault.
defence culmi-
From
this point
onwards, the Confederacy was on the defensive. Robert
E.
learned the lessons of Napoleon very well. Lee understood
the
art of
manoeuvre and the impact
aggression.
It
was
precisely
of strategical
and
alized
what the South needed.
and prosperous
more
states, the
not expect to win. The North could million,
call
president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, both of
had been trained
In a
pro-
agrarian South could
on a population of 22
while the states of the South had just 5.5 million
at
West
knew
Point,
could give the South
strength.
al
[-
-
Pennsylvania
such as from
leverage far beyond
political
Britain.
Confederate
capital of
Richmond by sending
threaten Washington, D.C.
Army
^H
Confederate movements,'
'-
Chambersburg*
* flf
Martinsburg n
"2*1
*\ *
VLEE
North. His
by George
led
W
?C
i
7
Creek. Despite inflicted
battle that
he
felt
thought that himself.
In
in
his
summer
fail;
perhaps Lee even
1863, Lee swept through the
order to strike Washington, D.C, from the
troops
stumbled on
Union soldiers
at
Lee was the greatest
Confederate
generals, but
this time,
as armies advanced through
would send out Hill,
was
Washington
his
BURNSIDE
enemy
a
one
parties of troops to search for food
they
territory,
of Lee's divisional
good supply
men
off to
of
shoes
commanders, heard
at the
town
the battlefield which led
improved
in
fire
wan-
soldiers
Left.
into the
of
town on
Union
July they
1
were confronted with two
who were on
cavalry,
reconnaissance.
and major battles
power kept the Confederates
1862
at bay.
The news
developing at Gettysburg duly reached Lee,
deploy his troops and bring the North to
Virginia
that a fight
who
fire
was
decided to
battle.
With more and more Confederate troops flooding
into
27 JUNE 1862
»V
Gettysburg, the Union brigades
GAINES MILL
fell
high ground overlooking the town.
Richmond.
*V^*-
.West Point
McCLENNAN
MALVERN MILL
1**
of the
armies during 1862-63,
which culminated
it
encouraged Lee
to think
back and took control of the It
was
a defensive
move and
he had the advantage: that
if
he
just
kept up the pressure of his attack, then the Union forces would Harrison' an-sH.anding
\Williamsburg
cave
in.
He was
power and
thinking
artillery
in
vening 50 years. Repeating
power meant
Napoleonic terms, but infantry
had evolved considerably during the rifles
and more devastating
that the tactical advantage had shifted
fire
inter-
artillery
from the
in
three-day conflict at
Gettysburg.
with repeating breech-loading carbines and this superior
i^FREDERICKSBURG
E>13 DECEMBER
power.
The manoeuvring
Union and Confederate
dered
AND HOOKER
brigades
1-6 MAY 1863
the face of
that there
of Gettysburg and sent
As the Confederate
gather them.
and supplies.
Although heavily outnumbered, the Union forces were armed CHANCELLORVILLE-
let earlier
Napoleonic attitude on
to disaster
Maryland
,
E.
battle.
BATTLE BY ACCIDENT At
»
Above: General Robert
success encourage a
LEE
McCLENNAN
Valley
By now, Lee's troops believed
they could not
M CREEK
A.P
1
out-
c:
•
,-
was
he rejected a
\ SEPTEMBER 1862
/
* Front Royal
1863, Lee
of the
tFrederick
^
brilliant victory.
he was a genius and
However,
May
Lee fought
this,
casualties on his
favour of attacking one flank after the other,
in
thereby winning a
In
more
at Chancellorsville, but
Gettysburg and Lee rapidly had to plan a
Harpers Ferry
movements were McClellan and Lee
such an aggressive
north.
1-3 JULY 1863
B.
became trapped behind Antietam
Cumberland
7 meade' * GETTYSBURG
,
Hagerstowrv^
West Virginia Virginia//
**
»
a cavalry force to
September 1862, Lee crossed the
In
Potomac and invaded the
River
frustrated by a Union
defensive battle
Carlisle
Confederat onfederate army
actu-
its
June 1862, Lee forced Union troops away from the
In
numbered and outflanked
Ulpn movements
whom
similar circum-
in
might also attract important support abroad,
It
opponents and withdrew undefeated. Uniortpny
that
stances Napoleon would have taken the offensive. Early victo-
tactical
longed war with the North, which consisted of more industri-
cautionary voice would
have recommended a defensive campaign, but Lee and the
ries
Lee, the leading general of the Confederacy, had
A more
whites and 3.5 million slaves.
the
ashington
lichmond
'
X
who
Above- This painting by
offensive to the defensive. Troops
Thure de Thrulstrup
charge could be annihilated before they reached the opposing
shows the Union
line
along Cemetery Ridge
line in sufficient
withstanding the
appreciate
Confederate assaults. A
first
Union
artillery carriage
this,
numbers
even
launched a daring
to break through.
Lee
did not fully
after the lengthening casualty lists of the
years of the war, and continued to believe
the efficacy of
in
charismatic leadership.
aim
of then turning
in
on the centre.
A
mighty
barrage
artillery
began the greatest combat ever fought on American diversionary Confederate assault
defence meant that
The convex Union
line of
reinforce each of
Meade's
were
along
stretched
went up against
was
A
Hill.
easier to
whereas communications
flanks,
the
it
soil.
Culp's
concave
Confederate
lines.
rushes forward to
support the infantry.
By the second day
line of
Meade had deployed
his
Union troops effectively along the high
ground, which ran from Culp's
Cemetery Ridge
Hill
the centre, to
in
let
pass,
on
Little
The Union army would not be drawn hour Lee
Major General George
of the battle,
his right flank, along
Round Top on
into
his left.
an attack and every
more and more Union troops
arrived to rein-
force the defensive position. Lee had lost any advantage of
impetus he might have possessed on the
compelled to organize
his troops
first
day and was
opposite the Union positions,
but on lower ground. Deciding he could wait no longer, Lee
launched an assault
in
Longstreet's troops surged up the Little
Round Top, where Colonel Joshua
manded
men from
A
L.
Chamberlain comleft
Alabama troops launched themselves
at
Maine, but the Union troops stood firm.
year before Gettysburg, Chamberlain had been Professor
of Rhetoric
and Modern Languages
at
Bowdoin
College,
where
he had succeeded the husband of the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
He was
a passionate supporter of the
abolition of slavery
and
movement
this fervour fired his
Round Top. For over an hour Chamberlain and
the late afternoon.
slopes towards
the 20th Maine on the extreme edge of the Union
flank. Line after line of
the
wooded
for the
defence
at Little
men
resisted
his
repeated Confederate assaults, but with more than one-third of
LITTLE
ROUND TOP
Lee aimed I
his
to envelop the Union left flank, sending Longstreet's
Corps against the weakly defended
Little
Round Top with the
men
casualties and ammunition running low, he had to face
what looked
like
the
final
attack that
would overwhelm them.
Digging deep into his courage, he ordered 'Bayonet!' His
men
GETTYSBURG
33
knew
exactly
guns. Yelling selves
what was required and
fiercely,
down
the
200 survivors
hill
fixed bayonets to their
of the firefight
Having exhausted themselves with countless the Alabama troops broke; back.
Little
PICKETT'S
sive
third
in his
left
flank
fell
was
CHARGE
Meade would and
this
mam objective.
day of the battle neither side was
willing to give
not be triggered into going on the offen-
compelled Lee to once more consider the deci-
sive assault that
would leave
his
opponent
he decided to break the Union army
massive attack in
uphill assaults,
surrendered, while others
Round Top was saved and the Union
back. Lee had failed
way.
some
Elsewhere, Confederate attacks were also beaten
secure.
By the
threw them-
and charged the Confederate forces.
at its centre.
an age of modern
fire
It
was
a
in
reeling. This time,
half
by launching a
Napoleonic gesture
power. Lee assembled
troops for this major thrust, and although
-
but
some 15,000
Major General
George
E. Pickett
was
only one of three divisional
name would
ders leading the soldiers, his
ed with the attack. Announcing hour
bombardment
artillery
responded by
comman-
forever be associat-
their intentions with a
Cemetery
of
from both
shifting extra troops
two-
Meade
Ridge,
his flanks to rein-
force the centre of his position.
The main Confederate attack began thousands fields
of Lee's soldiers
towards the Union
in
mid-afternoon as
advanced through the wheat-
lines in front of
Cemetery Ridge.
'Now the enemy's guns have quieted down and our heads up above the breastwork
are poking recalled
Steven Allen Osborn,
army. 'Then the cry
is
along the
all
Union soldier
a
raised "There they
in
line,'
Meade's
come!"
It
was
a
grand, but awful sight to see those three lines sweeping for-
ward
to almost certain death. First there
is
the report of one
lone [Union] cannon up to our right, quickly followed by the
most
awful, unearthly roar of letting go of
along our
line.
opposite us ing
To the
we
ground but
right of
us their
line
some 60 guns
kept advancing but
could see they were staggered and were giv-
rallied
and came
Meade had removed
his
on.'
out the
artillery
Confederate bombardment, but
now
way
of
the
rushed them forwards
so that they could rake the advancing Confederates with deadly volleys. Lee's troops ing
showed
incredible bravery, press-
on through the withering storm of
fire.
Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead thrust his hat, held
it
high,
Who
cold steel!
Confederate
sword
into his
and shouted: 'Come on boys! Give them the will
follow me?'
In
an
earlier age, a deter-
mined charge with bayonets might have cleared the Union lines,
but
now
as the surviving Confederates approached
within range of Union
by yet more
fire
muskets and
rifles,
they were ravaged
power.
Armistead walked on with
his hat held high
and reached the
stone wall that formed part of the Union defences, but around
him there were only a few hundred had begun the advance.
It
was
a
men
out of the 15,000 that
slaughter and Armistead
'
himself
was
shot dead as he stood
Meade immediately
among
the Union cannons.
counter-attacked and swept
troops that had penetrated his
away
Those lucky
few
the
Charge' has been called the 'high water mark' of
ous eras the bodies
be
the Confederacy because ery and daring of
its
it
killed,
represented the supreme brav-
troops and
its
commanders, but no army
could withstand such a shock as this and Lee's reputation
A photograph by
Left:
Alexander Gardner of a
dead Confederate
sharpshooter
suffered a severe blow.
He had brought
the edge of destruction and
was
the Confederacy to
forced to fight a war of
defensive manoeuvre ever afterwards, no longer able to chal-
at Little
lenge the
North
with
bold
The days
advances.
of
the
sacrifice
on
this scale for
vice of political ideals
later
of
the
erty
declared
The three days
left:
in
his
of fighting at Gettysburg.
Pickett's
was
Charge (middle)
the tragic and
deciding
combat
of the
was delayed
devotion; that
end
of the
1865. Gettysburg also represented the
Napoleonic approach to war and announced the
beginning of modern, industrialized warfare, with an escalation
in
fire
power and consequently
need
a
for
strong,
bat-
graves, but
the unity of a nation and
in
the ser-
of far greater
Lincoln visited the battlefield four fighting there with the political
lib-
Lincoln
Gettysburg Address, 'we take increased devo-
cause
we
for
which they gave the
last full
measure
here highly resolve that these dead
The
in vain.'
Park and the dead
battlefield
were buried
beginning of an age
would be more
entrenched defensive positions-
battle.
have died
mass
of previ-
on the
left
'From these honored dead,'
nation.
tion to that
into
14,529
were 3,903
wars
In
was deemed worthy
and linked the
Confederacy were numbered, although the actual surrender until
missing.
dead were usually
Abraham
respect. President
months
Round Top, July 1863 Far
of the
be looted and then thrown
tlefield to
killed,
missing; Confederate losses
wounded and 5,425
18,735
Union casual-
battle:
days amounted to 3,155
wounded and 5,365
to
bloody
a particularly
alive
line.
returned to Lee and he could do nothing but withdraw. 'Pickett's
was
Gettysburg
ties for the three
in
was preserved as
in
which the
a cemetery.
It
shall
of
not
a National
marked the
lives of a nation's soldiers
highly valued.
Above. Confederate General Armistead, with his hat
on
his
sword
point, leads the final
charge against Federal cannons.
Above
right
Major
General George Meade,
CHEERFUL BUT ANXIOUS
and
'The Confederates were cheerful, but
infantry,
anxious at the delay. They were restless
cover of any
to
be "up and at 'em"; eager
commander of the Union Army at Gettysburg,
what they knew was
used
them commenced and
his defensive
positions brilliantly to
draw on the attacks
enemy had
to
more
have
telling
when
sort.
Here was a
situation
of
their fire.
Many of the men, and
disabled long before a
response for about two hours the enemy's batteries slackened
Then the order
for the infantry
charge was given, and the
trying than the quiet inactivity of
to their feet with
several valuable officers were killed or
ended... The line
upon the
exposed as they were without
the morning.
inevitably before
the exact range of our
shell told with effect
Quoted from Pickett's
movement was
Harrison
(New
men
sprung
a shout of delight.
Men by Walter
York, 1870)
of
Army was exhausted.
battle,
andjust overshooting
trie artillery
ordered: but the
line
remained steadily
the Confederate until
it
opposed
to them, as usual, their shot
fixed.
Our
artillery
continued to pour
in
a
GETTYSBURG
25
SEDAN, 1870 Koblenz
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MACMAHON
Wm French armies
FRANCE
French movements
•
German armies
German movements German-occupied France
In its
swift
that
its
and
pounded the failed to
was
efficient defeat of France, Prussia
army was Europe's new,
invincible
demonstrated
power.
Artillery
Sedan and dashing French cavalry charges
city of
have any effect on the superiority of such
power.
fire
the end of a flamboyant era, but overconfidence
the victors would subsequently encourage
Germany
to
It
among embark
defeated Austria
rapidly
at
the Battle of Koniggratz, making
Prussia the undisputed leader of the north
German
states.
Bismarck knew that the south German states, no longer
shadow
of Austria,
would have
to
be brought
another war, and Emperor Napoleon
III
in
of France
line
Germany's march to these world wars began with Prussia's of aggression
in
the 1860s and 1870s. Otto von Bismarck,
foreign minister of Prussia from 1862 onwards, aspired to unite
the
through
gave him the
opportunity he needed.
the loose confederation of of Prussia,
and
it
achieve this end.
was In
German
a series of
oversaw the growth of Austria, states. In
36
which also
1866
laid
this rivalry
was alarmed by
the events between the
German
backed Hohenzollern claim to the Spanish throne. France
opposed
to
Denmark
Army so
it
could match that
claim to leadership of the
broke
III
diplomatic argument then developed over a Prussian-
wars which helped him
and Holstein. Bismarck then
of the Prussian
A
states.
states under the leadership
1864, Prussia and Austria fought
to secure control over Schleswig
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR Napoleon
down
into
German
war and Prussia
in
July
1
this,
and Bismarck irked Napoleon
870. Napoleon
III
was
confident
his last
major international test
ended
triumph.
in
It
was
in
in
into declaring
his decision
war
because
1859 against Austria had
a grave error.
French military organization could not match that of Prussia,
and whereas the Prussians mobilized
rapidly
by using
invasion of France
was
swift, culminating in the in
on two disastrous world wars.
wars
Above: The Prussian
trains to
French army being
surrounded and defeated at Sedan.
'
SEDAN
**M were slow and incompetent
transport troops, the French their preparations for war.
Prussia against France, and three
command
of General
in
The south German states joined with
German armies under
von Moltke and
the
his efficient general staff
clashed with the French along the Rhine
to
380,000 Germans - and outmanoeuvred by the Prussian general staff,
who
had learned the lessons Napoleon had
them more than Below. French cavalry attack
German
infantry
became
during the Franco-
it
Prussian War, but are
ry: in
overwhelmed by ful,
German
fire
pattern that
power,
was
repeated at Sedan
*
i
half a
century
movement bore tremendous integral to
France
in
German
earlier.
fruits in
This trust
inflicted
on
war
of
in
a
the clash with France, but
military thinking in the
1870, the Prussian
next centu-
method proved too success-
too quickly, and an overconfidence
in
it
After a rapid series of defeats. Napoleon control of the
better
army
to his generals.
and culminated on
Gravelotte-St
Privat,
led to the disastrous
tled
up a French army
The
at
in
were
little
Battle
of
fighting
by the
control of the battlefield
and bot-
Metz. Ill's
victorious gen-
rushed to relieve these battered forces by
leading a 120,000-strong
with the
relinquished
18 August with the
General MacMahon, one of Napoleon erals of 1859,
III
results
where despite hard
French, Moltke remained
frontier.
The French were outnumbered - some 224,000 troops
FRANCE
German
army
into northern France.
forces along the River
take a defensive position
in
a
bend
Meuse
Clashes
forced him to
of the river at Sedan.
Then further German forces suddenly enveloped him, creating a catastrophic situation. Napoleon
III,
who was
trav-
a
stalemate of the
First
Second World War.
World War and dramatic setbacks
in
the
elling
with the army, had the
wounded MacMahon
replaced
by Ducrot. The French had their backs against the Belgian
frontier with Moltke's
west and
south,
200,000 troops pressing
from the
in
north.
was
It
call
on
a desperate situation,
their cavalry to
and by noon the French had to
break out of the encirclement. Four times
Above: Red-trousered French Zouave soldiers clash with Prussian
the French cavalry charged the
CAVALRY AGAINST GUNS The
was the
fighting at
a battle
German
circle
in
Sedan began which
artillery
especially relentless. Arranged
ority in artillery:
enormous
had a
much
felt
but to
distances,
make
most often exploded
And no
other resources
oneself as small as possible All
German equipment,
in
went
off
in
the
were
the furrow
air
left
where
round Sedan the eight hundred pieces a girdle of bronze,
were
blasting the fields with a continuous thunder fire, all
all
was
inferi-
whereas the French ones with fuses
shorter range and
one was cowering...
ing
a semi-
the French suffered from an
'[German] percussion shells almost
before reaching the target.
of
in
It
with
role,
day-long bombardment. Emile Zola, the novelist,
present at the battle and
at
September
1
played a predominant
firing at
and
this
once,
converg-
the surrounding height aiming at the centre, would
burn and pulverise the town within two hours.'
commander
Gallifet, left.'
It
was
modern
'Would the cavalry
fire
of the cavalry, 'so long as there's
a gallant effort,
power
like,'
replied
one
of us
admired even by the Germans, but
treated such daring mercilessly.
William Russell, the famous war correspondent of The
on the heights above Sedan, they subjected the town to a
terrible
lines.
charge again?' wondered Ducrot. 'As often as you
04.00 hours on
at
artillery
German
Times,
was present
at the battle,
watching
nied by their king, Wilhelm
the war.
I,
it
who were
tions of the Prussian general staff,
from the posialso
accompa-
and Bismarck, the architect of
He described the impact German
infantry
guns had
on one of the French cavalry charges: 'The leading regiment of [French] cavalry ly
changed
moved
out of the hollow at a walk, quick-
They were mounted upon white and
to a trot.
grey horses, and presented a very gay appearance sun.
They were going
the trot
was quickened
onds they seemed annihilate them.'
to
to charge.
in
As they reached the
to a gallop,
and
sweep down upon
in
two
the top,
to three sec-
the infantry, as
if
to
infantry near Sedan.
brother,'
wrote Napoleon
midst of
my troops,
of Your Majesty.
I
I
III.
'Not having been able to die
can only hand over
am
my sword
into the
the
in
hands
Your Majesty's good brother - Napoleon.'
was an empty attempt at friendship. Sedan was a
humiliating
It
and
crushing defeat for the French and one which would have long-
Europe
lasting effects for In just
into the
20th century.
one day the French had endured some seventeen
thousand casualties, and more than one hundred thousand
were taken
diers
German
prisoner.
sand. The capture of Napoleon lapse of the French Empire
German
capital finally
and
in
were
in
new
Paris as a
forces then
went on
republic
peace treaty was
May.
The terms were tough
an
In
infantry advancing
such an impressive charge would have
earlier age,
unnerved the infantry before them, but the advantage
now
with the infantry, armed with powerful breech-loading
rifles.
of the
German
states
for France,
which ceded the regions
were thoroughly impressed by
leadership and Bismarck
lay
was
to besiege the
of Alsace and Lorraine, both important industrial areas.
Above The Prussian
col-
signed his surrender on 2
fighting continued into 1871 until a
signed
sol-
just nine thou-
meant the immediate
when he
September. Revolution followed proclaimed. The
III
losses
won what he had
The
rest
Prussia's
intended when,
in
during the Battle of
Sedan
was
not
until
the front had reached within a couple of hundred
yards of the [German]
came the
rattling of a
which was kept up
of a volley,
roll
catherine-wheel. The result
The leading squadron was dissolved
ble.
was almost
gage themselves, while others held up
incredi-
I
becoming
Second Reich.
It
overconfidence
in
its
would never forget
with
was
the beginning of the
also the beginning of
Germany's period of
its
was
was proclaimed
emperor. This
own
military abilities. France,
this humiliation
and fought
however,
bitterly
the next
time German armies returned.
trying to disen-
hands as
their
like
heap of white
into a
men were seen
and grey horses, amidst which
Wilhelm
Russell, 'that there
infantry,' recalled
out the whiff and
1871 at Versailles, a united Germany
'It
to avert
if
the charge of the squadron behind them... The ground present-
ed
in
one moment
most
a
singular appearance.
was
It
as
though someone had strewn a carpet with fragments of white paper, with here and there dots of brighter colour.'
HUMILIATION By
1
ians in
7.00 hours, the town of Sedan
and desperate
soldiers,
of
all
an effort to escape. Napoleon
look healthy as he rode his horse
holding out against the slaughter.
He ordered
chivalric but
was
filled
them
III,
ill
with panicking
civil-
clogging the tiny streets
but rouged to
among
make
himself
his soldiers, realized that
Germans would
only lead to further
be raised and sent a
that a white flag
humbling message to Wilhelm
I.
'Monsieur,
my dear
Above. Napoleon
WILLIAM RUSSELL,
,.--
::--i:
;
:'.:iT-:- ---.-
:u
and Bismarck,
III
Heft'
who
contrived the war against France, after the
former had surrendered
DEBRIS OF EMPIRE
torn off infantry
'What debns a ruined empire leaves after
piled
itj
It
caps or
belts,
were
lying
his
was almost impossible
to ride
up here and
there...
One man
I
felt
a most intense desire to be executed on
He was
staggering
through the streets for fear of treading
the spot...
on bayonets or sabres. Heaps of
under the weight of an enormous bag
shakos, piles of musketry,
on
military belts,
and purses he had taken from the
all
sorts of
equipments, knapsacks and
and thousands of impenal eagles
his shoulders,
literally
on
learned that
it
was
dying,
and
cut off the uniforms of those
silver
who had
and
with gold lace
fallen.'
Quoted from William Russell: Special
way towards
Correspondent of The Times edited by
and afterwards
Roger Hudson (The Folio Society, 19951
his
the [German] frontier;
dead and
filled
I
with
watches
army
at
Sedan.
Painting by Wilhelm
Camphausen.
ISANDLWANA, 1879
Isandlwana
was one
of the greatest
blows struck against the
forces of 19th-century imperialism; events there reminded the
most
of the globe
from Africa to Asia, and even the European
settler republic of the United States
had become the domi-
Above: C E Fripp's painting of British soldiers fighting a
cowers not nous opposition.
to underestimate the capabilities of indige-
Initially
advanced
overwhelmed
it
in
cowed by rapidly
a savage
British fire
towards the
wave
power, the Zulu British line
and
of hand-to-hand fighting.
nant power
wars.
in
North America after a succession of colonial
Artillery, rifles,
machine guns and sound
used by Europeans anywhere resisters,
who
in
logistics
were
the world to subdue native
frequently only had access to
weaponry from
desperate
last
stand
against the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana in
1879.
The annihilation shook
of British soldiers
By
t
the
Western way
seemed unmatchable. European empires ISANDLWANA
held
Two
of warfare
a different age.
sway over
sense of confidence
battles to
its
in
the 1870s, however, shook this
roots.
the empire to
its
roots.
AFRICA
SANDLWANA Cape Town
Left:
Lieutenant General
Lord Chelmsford, the
commander
British
22 JANUARY 1879^
at
\
\
CETSHwm
British forces British retreat
Isandlwana. Zulu forces
The Zulu advance
Right.
on the
Zulu attacks
British position at
Isandlwana.
/
/
took the
It
I
traditional Zulu battle
I
*
*
f
> '
'
•'
I
\
\
V*
Si
/
^^^ >'
'
^
/
t
->-
I
f
of the beasts'.
/
*
I '
I
formation of the 'horns
/
I *
I
''
/
/
UMXAPHE
/> ''
/
-''',«
LORD CHELMSFORD (ABSENT)/
t
DURNFORD
^f
Survivors flee
kilometres
In
June 1876,
at
the Battle of
Little
Bighorn, Lieutenant
thought
to
politic
defend the
and prove
rights of settlers
Colonel George A, Custer and a couple of hundred officers and
the British dominated the region by challenging the most
men
powerful native group.
a
of the 7th
US
Cavalry
were wiped out during an
machine guns before he set the
superiority
of
his
off,
take
to
but he refused, believing
men.
rifle-armed
Americans were also armed with good
But
rifles
overwhelmed the poorly prepared American later,
attack on
encampment. Custer had been advised
Sioux
the
in
Native
Three years
an even bigger disaster awaited British soldiers, the
troops
who
had forged an empire,
in
when
southern Africa
they were faced with native warriors armed just with spears.
The
REASON FOR FEAR
history
of
Lord Chelmsford, Africa, led
Europeans and the seizure in
of territory
respect of the identity of those
arrival
by force was only
who were
of
new
responsible for
the annexations; prior to the activities of the British and Dutch, at
many
of the local peoples
had suffered a similar fate
the hands of the Zulus, an aggressive people
conquered neighbouring
dom
in
the region.
ownership
In
tribes
some
sand native
men were
five
commander thousand
auxiliaries into Zululand
reason to fear an
enemy armed
Martini-Henry
rifles. British
and formed
a
who
had
powerful king-
the Transvaal, Boer settlers disputed
of the land with the Zulu king
Cetshwayo. At
when
Britain
supported the claims of the Zulus, but
British
Empire assumed control of the Transvaal,
it
first,
the
was
were even more forty
was
knew he
on
in
southern
and eight thou-
January 1879. His
11
weapons and he had
rifles
could
fire
up to 12 shots
machine guns, rockets and
destructive.
little
only with spears and outdat-
Cetshwayo had
artillery
a larger force of
thousand warriors, but to stand any chance against
modern army
it
with the British
would have
Ulundi
in
was
a large pincer
into three
a
to close as quickly as possible
firing line.
Chelmsford's plan
army
of British forces
British soldiers
supplied with the latest
a minute, while Gatling
southern Africa shows that the
British
into Zululand.
ed
LITTLE
1878, an ultimatum
could not accept. The next month, a British army advanced
and they easily
force.
December
In
presented to Cetshwayo, one which the
Cetshwayo's
to capture
movement, but
columns, weakening
January, Chelmsford set up
camp
to
its
do
this
capital at
he divided
overall strength.
his
On 20
with his centre column at
Isandlwana, at the base of a distinctive-looking mountain called a nek, after
its
resemblance to a saddle. Scouts
told
him that
Zulus were gathering nearby and he decided to confront
them
ISANDLWANA
41
the effect of their
A
Zulus.
and
rifle
on the Zulus,
shells had
was
artillery fire
terrifying to the
gunner describes the effect
British
wondering where the
their explosive
'looked round
recalling that they,
bullets [artillery shrapnel]
came
from,
which they could not understand, the shrapnel bursting yards [45m] from it
them and the
no wonder they were
is
enough
see
a volley sent into
startled, for to
was no
make an
when
cannons
shells.
a
to
the hollows at the
in
they should
low to avoid the incoming
lie
While they hid from the worst of the gunfire, they made
low sound
of
fight.
of angry bees.
each group of Zulus
tired of their warriors lying
They began
ing pace, but at a distance of British
swarm
of a
commanders
up and
to stand
humming
the
like
became
centre
down and advance
to
120m
about
in
the
taunted
at a walk-
from the
(400ft)
they shouted their battle cry of 'uSuthu!' and
line
was
charged. The sight
towards the camp
and breaking up
in
fell
back
a panic, with the Zulus outpacing
them
British
terrifying.
that not
all
soldiers
Confusion overtook every-
their formations.
one and Zulus soon surrounded every
many
using
the British artillerymen stood back from
fire,
Eventually, the local
them
in
impact.
around the mountain. They quickly
of the flat grassland
learned that their
effect of the
experienced
far less
often aimed too high to
At Isandlwana, the Zulus sheltered
edge
The
less daunting, for although the Zulus had
own, they were
of their
them and
came from was
it
to startle the bravest of them.'
British rifles rifles
about their ears,
midst and not knowing where
their very
fifty
bullets flying
sometimes so
soldier,
the warriors could reach their victims.
Soldiers fought blindly and bravely, lashing out at everyone
was
close to them. The desperate nature of the fighting
recorded by a Zulu warrior, uMhoti of the uKhandempemvu:
whose bayonet
then attacked a soldier while he
was
trying to extract
He dropped
der.
threw
were
me
and
I
it
ing
I
inflicted
whelming numbers
who
before half his
dawn two days
men
of the 24th
in
the
later.
It
was
camp - a mere
1
a fatal decision. Leaving
,700, including
Regiment - he advanced
700
infantry
A
far larger force of
to battle with the other
twenty thousand Zulus
around Chelmsford's flank and countryside about
8km
(5 miles)
lay
hidden
in
now moved
the undulating
from Isandlwana.
if
was
still
and he
in
in
a crescent formation, called 'the
which flanking attacks would crush
the enemy. As long as the enemy,
in this
case the
British, held
the perimeter of their position they would be safe, because
ISANDLWANA
My
this
body
brave man.'
of Zulus
had survived
in
secured the victory and those the
camp
tried to flee along the
path to the river at the rear of Isandlwana. There they
brought
down by
Zulus
who
Queen's colours after Isandlwana.
in
and
heavy casualties. Eventually, the over-
cut off the escape route.
were
had encircled the mountain and
No one was
spared, even
if
they
pleaded for mercy. More than 1,200 white soldiers and their native allies
were slaughtered, with the Zulus
suffering at
thousand dead, with many more badly wounded.
camp
at nightfall, but only
daylight revealed the true horror of the defeat.
The Zulus launched attacks
42
his shoulder
rolled over, lifeless.
Lord Chelmsford returned to his
horns of the beasts',
in
Above: A desperate
least a
ZULU ATTACK
sticking
attempt to save the the British defeat at
half.
the shoul-
with sweat and quivering terribly with the chok-
had received from
Britons
in
me round the neck and him. My eyes felt as they I
into his vitals
Both sides
stabbed him
'I
and
was almost choked when succeeded
grasping the spear which
was covered
I
shield
and seized
his rifle
on the ground under
bursting,
forced
it,
my
pierced
Empire, at militarily
its
zenith
humiliated.
in
The
The
British
the popular imagination, had been rout
was avenged by
the end of the
was
a foretaste of
year with the defeat of the Zulus, but
it
further, challenging colonial struggles
southern Africa.
in
'
FACING THE ZULUS
The dark masses
and under admirable
in
open order
discipline, followed
each other
in
at a steady
pace through the long grass.
quick succession, running
moved
would then suddenly sink
portion of the Zulus broke into three
of men,
lines, in
ten
knots and groups of from
men, and advanced towards
knot of
five
five to
us...
A
or six would rise and dart
through the long grass, dodging from side to side with
heads down,
shields kept low
and out of sight. They
steadily
rifles
into the
long
and nothing but puffs of curling
smoke would show their whereabouts. Quoted
in
The Anatomy of the Zulu Army
by Ian Knight (Greenhill Books, 1995)
and
round so as
exactly to face our front, the larger
Having
grass,
ISANDLWANA
43
GEOKTEPE, 1881 weapons and -
-
Russian Army
first
Russian advance
khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan and invading Siberia to set
Turkoman Army
Sana
°>
K
strategic organization, the Russians took the
steps towards creating an empire by defeating the Tatar
up trading strongholds.
The Russian Army grew a r j
turies until e s e r
Russian Army advances from the Caspian Sea
when
ry
it
strength over the next
in
reached the point
the government
in
two cen-
the middle of the 19th centu-
confident enough to challenge
felt
the Turkic states of central Asia, those which sat upon the ancient
Route to China. Russia wished to expand
Silk
its
com-
mercial opportunities by selling manufactured goods to these
^NOVEMBER KizilArvat*
TURKMENISTAN
people, and Russian merchants therefore had to be respected,
having frequently been threatened
"*
A* Bami
Ru ssian Army base or f.nal attack
ment.
addition, the
In
humiliation of the
>
GENERAL SKOBELEFF
Beurma Artchman"
IMPERIAL RUSSIAN
"*\ * #>
Bakhar Zen
Ak Tepe
•
Yangi Kala
4-7 JANUARY
Crimean War and they wished
uncomfortable
to re-establish
by making the
their military prestige, especially
ARMY
the past with enslave-
in
Russians had recently suffered the
British feel
in India.
16-24 JANUARY
^^ -^f
Turkoman';':
the
In
mm smAR
Russian
1860s,
expeditionary
Uzbekistan and captured the key trading
TURKOMAN WARRIORS
Samarkand.
GEOKTEPE
In
the
870s the Russians turned
1
Khiva, capital of the
captured
Turkomans,
forces
cities of
lying to the
entered
Tashkent and
their attention to
south of the Aral
Dengeel Tepe "
&
PERSIA
N
Sea on the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. By
e
the end of these campaigns, the empire had been expanded
by 210,000 sq
|
km
(80,000 sq miles) and the Russian frontier
had advanced 500km (300 miles) southwards. The Turkomans
had not been wholly beaten, however, and merely retreated
T
50
into the wilderness.
It
was then
that the Russians found
them-
:
selves
1
1
sc
trouble.
in
THE BLACK DESERT Above- The systematic
The culmination
advance
capture of Geok Tepe
of the
Russian
of Russia's
conquest of central Asia, the
showed
the Russian's mastery of
army through Central Asia towards Geok
modern warfare and
Tepe
but inferior military power. The decisive victory brought
in late
early 1881.
1880 and
their determination to break a defiant
Russia's borders closer to the British Empire
threatened to lead to further Russian dominance
'Do not publish I
shall
be
this,'
in
inflict
them, the longer they
hit
killed nearly
resound
in
20,000 Turkmen
in
at
We
survivors will
words
at St still
a century later.
4a
to reverse this process.
the 16th century
sand and
into
dead
retreated.
land.
Two
Even first
it
Adopting western European
and
for
hundreds of kilometres
fossil shells, alternating
with bar-
was
It
was
to
this
desert that the
Russian armies went after them,
camels
their
in
their
died.
expedition gave up and returned. The second expe-
despite the death of
its
general, carried on to
Geok Tepe,
the mud-built fortress capital of the Turkomans. The Russians
bombarded the but
when
they
fort
and slaughtered men,
came
repulsed them.
rial
in
army
that had
storm
to
it,
As the Russians
picked off the stragglers.
For centuries, Russia had suffered from the raiding camin
of
1878 and 1879. Heatstroke, bad water and fever thinned
dition,
be quiet afterwards.
it
Turkomans
hold
'black desert',
seabed, but the sun long ago evaporated the water and
turned
upon the enemy. The harder
paigns of Mongols and Turks, but
began
a
The
Geok Tepe. The
more than
once
ranks.
will
dunes
ren tracts of cracked clay, stretch across central Asia. This
it
I
1882 and the savage sentiments therein
central Asia
and
shifting
direct pro-
is in
not soon forget the lesson.' Skobeleff spoke these
Petersburg
India
Asia.
by the Peace Society. But
Asia the duration of peace
portion to the slaughter you
you
in
said General Skobeleff with a smile, 'or
called a barbarian
as a principle that
in
Kum means
Kara its
all
It
was
the
retreated,
if
the Turkomans
a disastrous defeat for an impe-
but conquered the Turkomans years earlier
1873. Across the Northwest Frontier
dered
women and children,
maddened tribesmen
the Russian threat
was
really
in India,
all
the British
that great.
won-
GEOK-TEPE .Ashkhabad
General Skobeleff liked a challenge. His contemporaries
considered him a years,' an
rising star.
'Though he has
American attache
stupendous
military
genius
lived but thirty-five
to the Russian
is
such
Army
him as one of the great soldiers of
Below: A Turkoman stands inside the ruins of the
Russian
m
college,
Skobeleff
was
a veteran of the
made governor
in
action and
ramparts around
Geok Tepe, stormed by the Russians
in
1881.
had
Central Asia, being
Prussians
1870s
staff
was determined
to
avenge the defeat
with tenacious precision.
of
A
'his
speak of
this century, side
with Napoleon, Wellington, Grant and Moltke.' the
wrote,
that... history will
by side
product of
observed
campaigns
the
of the
of Uzbekistan.
He
1879 and set about
it
Skobeleff's
first
major step was to construct a railway track
across the desert so as to maintain his communication and supply
line.
his supplies
A
telegraph
was then erected
steamboats, Skobeleff was ready, and
on
central
Asia
removed some
in
April
of the Turkic
1880.
his troops
Through
tribesmen
selves with the Turkomans at
Once
it.
who
descended
negotiation,
had
allied
he
them-
Geok Tepe and they supplied
him with thousands of camels. Leading
armed with
alongside
had been delivered across the Caspian Sea by
a handful of artillery,
just a
thousand
men
machine guns and rockets,
Skobeleff attempted a rapid strike against
Geok Tepe. The
GEOK TEPE
45
assault failed, but
it
demonstrated
way he
vinced him that the only a full-scale siege.
He now
and one hundred guns
his
determination and con-
called for twelve
and
their
commander, Takma
In
thousand
men
eight thousand soldiers.
daring,
in
Sardar, personally led a raid
Takma Sardar was wounded
prompted Skobeleff
whose
in
the
write to his officers,
to
raid
'An
and
enemy
bear this
in
mind and take
all
all
commanders must
military precautions
on
all
occa-
so as not to be caught unawares.' The Turkomans
appealed to the
British in India for help, but
Instead, they had to rely
sand warriors tribes to help
were
on themselves and some
who were
ignored.
thirty
thou-
raised from the surrounding Turkic
Once
counter-raids harassed both sides. capital, ly.
within sight of the
Skobeleff halted his army and scouted the area close-
He deduced
city's
that the nearby fort of Yangi Kala supplied the
water and assaulted
this first, capturing
quickly.
it
At daybreak on 4 January 1881, the Russians pushed out
it
leader can throw himself upon his adversary's bayo-
net deserves serious attention, and
sions...
All
horses were captured, including Skobeleff's personal
charger.
advance with
his general
the towns of the Tekke Turkoman
All
peoples en route to Geok Tepe were stormed. Raids and
lacking
against a detachment of Cossacks and transport horses. of the
November 1880, Skobeleff began
with
to reinforce his army.
The Turkomans themselves were not
FINAL ASSAULT
was
could take the city
from Yangi Kala to within
where they
the
laid
730m
took place during which the
siege trench.
desperate onslaughts on the Russian the Russian
they
left flank,
bodies. By 7 January, the
Geok Tepe,
(800yds) of
A battle then Turkomans made a series of
first parallel
left
line.
one spot on
In
more than three hundred
first parallel
trench
was
strength-
ened and the second had been begun 365m (400yds) away from the main ramparts. At dusk on 9 January, a large body of Turkomans burst out
them.
from the town, overwhelmed a Russian force and took the
second
Skobeleff sent out reserves from Yangi Kala
parallel.
and the Turkoman attack
faltered; the
Russians had recap-
but only at the cost of
many
dead. However, a simultaneous attack on the Russian
camp
tured their trench and
by Turkoman
artillery,
horsemen was driven
ordered the digging of a third
ment
on the east side of the
of the ramparts
On 16
January, twelve thousand
final sortie
off.
parallel trench,
from the town and
Russians were prepared for
Skobeleff then
and a bombardcity
began.
Turkoman warriors made
a
a terrific fight took place, but the it
and
their artillery plus
bayonet
charges forced the Turkomans back into the town with heavy losses. Skobeleff
now
ordered his miners to go to work dig-
The Turkomans prepared
ging tunnels beneath the ramparts. for the inevitable assault.
On
Left: Central
the night of 23 January, Russian volunteers carried dyna-
Asian
warriors hold the head of a captured Russian.
mite into the tunnel dug beneath the town's eastern rampart.
The next morning, Skobeleff ordered the main
assault. At
07.00 hours, Colonel Gaidaroff began the attack against the southern ramparts with 36 cannons
concert against
firing in
The wars between the Turkic tribes and the Russians
in
the 19th
century were ruthless
in
the extreme and neither
the
mud
walls.
At the same time, the mine, containing two
tons of explosives, a
column
dred
of earth
defenders
was
ignited
under the eastern rampart and
and smoke rose up
were
killed
into the
air.
if
of
the
Above: General Skobeleff,
Turkomans thought
it
was an earthquake and began
to panic,
but others bravely stood their ground as the Russians surged into the
commander
of the Russian
expeditionary force that
confronted the
breaches and fought with bayonet against sabre.
Turkomans At 13.30 hours, Gaidaroff broke over the southern rampart
and entered the town. Soon in
all
three Russian columns were
the town and advancing through the narrow lanes. The last
stand of the Turkomans took place around the sacred
Geok Tepe, from which the town took Sardar had tried to sion, but
as the artillery.
of his
rally his
even he had
last of
to
own men
its
his warriors
were
dragoons and cossacks.
of
mine explo-
into the desert
mown down
General Skobeleff then entered the
hill
name. Takma
after the
admit defeat and fled
mercy
captured.
Several hun-
Many
immediately.
side could expect
by Russian
city at
the head
in
their capital,
1881 at
Geok Tepe.
-^
Above: Turkoman warriors
armed with
antique muskets and a variety of archaic
equipment, including
RUSSIAN INVASION OF INDIA
which
Despite his devastating victory over the
invasion of India.
Turkomans, General Skobeleff would
commander
not be seduced into grander schemes.
difficulties
The English
subjugate Akhal
I
take
in
and read, of a Russian I
should not
like to
to enter India with,
and 90,000
guard the communications.
be
men needed 20,000
of such an expedition. The
If
to
mail armour and shields
5,000
Although lacking the
more modern weaponry
camels, what
of the Russian
would 150.000 need! And where would
would be enormous. To
Army,
warriors such as these
tried to
journalist Charles Marvin
goad him
practical:
do not
it
think
writing
in
the
Quoted /nd/'a
in
transport?'
gave the Russians
The Russian Advance towards
difficult
latter
by Charles Marvin (London, 1882)
time
a very
when
the
invaded their land
Orenburg, to Khiva, to Bokhara, and to
would be
not understand military
we get the
5,000
get that transport we had to send to
claim regarding India, but Skobeleff
'/
only
men, and needed 20,000 camels. To
into a sensational
remained
we had
feasible.
men
in
I
do
Mangishlak for animals. The trouble
was enormous. To invade
England
Army and Navy Gazette.
The Turkomans had in
India
we
should need 150.000 troops: 60.000
lost six
thousand
five
hundred people
the defence of their city and eight thousand during the pur-
Russian losses were
suit
by the Russian cavalry. The
just
over a thousand. Despite this disparity
total
Skobeleff's losses during this campaign
those
in
all
previous campaigns
in
in
numbers,
were greater than
the conquest of central
Asia since 1853. That said,
it
was
a decisive victory
Turkomans never again achieved independence
and the
until after
the
collapse of the Soviet Union
more than
that time on,
remained part of the Russian
central Asia
a century later.
Empire and the Communists subsequently kept despite several bloody revolts
in
it
From
that way,
the 1920s.
GEOK TEPE
^
SAN JUAN HILL
J 898 Caney
El
JULY
1
%
•
16.30 hours El
Caney captured
t
(
/
i
H ,/ j*
# (
•/*
Santiago de Cuba
.»*^
^
,,„ ^WyS
O
\
\
\
\
ijuly
\
San Juan
;
1
\
1
Vr
1
X
/
#;
'!
,
attack Kettle
#V
SHAFTER
lst lnfan ^y Division
*
FIFTH
Hill
ARMY CORPS
v
Above. Theodore Roosevelt as Colonel of
i-i--.../* **
-,,...„ [7
Spamsh
JULY
i
•••
retreat
to Santiago
the 1st
*
I
Rough
^
~
|
#\
CUBA
\
IJULY Santiago de Cuba
-
US US
forces
HarboT
Riders'.
Roosevelt was keen on
,
c Caney
a
war against Spain and
\
gained greatly from his
M\^. „ \
involvement battle of
in
the
San Juan
Hill.
SAN JUAN HILL*
j
^^. US FIFTH ARMY CORPS
Spanish harbour defences
a
Spanish defensive lines
n
Siboney
Caribbean Sea
—
Spanish retreat
•
Spanish forts
the demolition,
New
22-24 JUNE 1898
kilometres i.g
The United States began in
its
climb to global power status with
Cuba, of a remnant of Spain's once mighty
World empire. With more enthusiasm than
American soldiers scrambled to the top Spanish
rifle
fire.
Riding a horse
Theodore Roosevelt
utilized
in
of a
hill
military
in
skill,
the face of
the midst of the action,
the victory to
become
president of
the United States.
tion
in
the Philippines, which lasted
until
insurrec-
1902, led to the
United States absorbing Spain's former possessions as
own and also
saw
helping to
the
more used
make
it
its
an imperial power of substance.
US Army transformed from
to fighting
SAN JUAN HILL
soldiers fighting a tropical
those fought
Events
on the American
It
blue-clad troopers,
frontier, to khaki-clad
in
later
Cuba
in
~~ war
•-
of attrition not dissimilar to
the Second World
War and
Vietnam.
also elevated a politician,
tions for his country,
who made whether
it
no secret of
was
or intervening as a peace-keeper
December 1897, the US
in
in
the person of
his imperial
building the
ambi-
Panama Canal
the Russo-Japanese War.
battleship
Maine was sent
to
Cuba, ostensibly to protect the rights of American citizens.
When
at
anchor
in
the port of Havana, the Maine exploded
and 266 people were
killed.
incident provided the
excuse the United States needed
to
aggressive stance, urging Spain to renounce
its
continue
its
Above
left:
The US
advance on San Juan Heights forced the
Theodore Roosevelt,
In
The Spanish-American War and the subsequent
48
;
£] El
attacks
^B Spanish forces •••
US Volunteer known as the
Cavalry,
sovereignty over Cuba.
Sabotage was claimed and the
In April
1898,
Spam
declared war on
Spanish to retreat to the
Cuban
capital,
which
they then besieged.
1 Gull o
P^ew
f
Orleans
1
^Ht
Atlantic
w est
Mexico
Ocean
Indies e s
u Havana^^^^^^^
'
jh cu 0j^-
J*r™
SAN JUAN HILL Caribbean Sea
US Congress announced
the United States, and the hostilities
had begun.
June 1898, the US
In
numbering some seventeen thousand
mand
of
Florida,
27km
Fifth
men
Army
creeping up a steep, sunny
that
Corps,
under the com-
Major General William Shatter, set
sail
and landed on the southern coast
from Tampa,
Roosevelt had hoped
for,
men
but his
bravely clambered up the
the meantime, the 1st Infantry Division climbed up the
In
(17 miles) east of Santiago.
not the dashing cavalry charge
the face of gunfire from the Spanish defenders.
hill in
some
Cuba,
of
It
the tops of which roared and
hill,
was
flashed with flame.'
steeper slopes of San Juan
under effective covering
Hill
fire
from Gatling guns. The Spanish numbered only 4,500 against
TARGET SANTIAGO
6,600 Americans,
was
General Shaffer's target
was moored
in
the bay. The
where the Spanish
Santiago,
US Navy wanted
to attack, but first
cartridge
the land force had to clear the Spanish out of their coastal batteries.
The main Spanish
Caney.
wanted
Shafter
defence outside Santiago
line of
known as San
a series of ridges,
Juan, and
attack
to
in
lay
on
the village of
El
Caney
El
Rough most
his
own
had
of their horses
advance mainly on Below: A
in
had to be foot.
On
1
fought during the
war against Spain, armed with a KragJorgensen
rifle.
painting
by Frederic
is
Remington.
first
that Shafter
US
was
was overcome and
could not take
finally
of Santiago
Americans under
were
hills
it
205
taken, too, and with
and 1,177 wounded
killed
US
waiting
San Juan
at
now
presence
in
It
was
a calamity
and
more prolonged campaign.
Philippines,
Roosevelt called his presence
The attack had been
far
at
Roosevelt had shown bravery under
brilliantly fire,
his
The
celebrity he gained
this exploit
Regular troops followed his lead and the attack began. They
ably
in
'had no glittering bayonets,' wrote Richard Harding Davis, the
With the assassination
correspondent for The Times, 'they were not massed
became
Roosevelt took control,
array There
were
a
few men
in
leading
his
men
DEATH OF A ROUGH RIDER the attack on San Juan
Roosevelt's
Rough Riders
and 73 wounded.
lost
Theodore 15
killed
O'Neill, a
former
and mayor from Arizona:
The most
regular
serious loss that
1
and the
regiment could have suffered
befell just
from
now
shifted
his
much
'crowded
executed, but
leading the assault
comrades advanced on
his political ambitions, securing
of
a single
foot.
helped him consider-
him the vice presidency.
President McKinley
in
1901,
he
president and led a vigorous campaign to build up the
United States's international strength.
1ST US VOLUNTEER CAVALRY
before Hill,
Among them was
Captain William 'Bucky' sheriff
in
advance, bunched together, and
CAPTAIN WILLIAM 'BUCKY' O'NEIL,
In
forward.
sailed
potentially a
San Juan
from
exposed on horseback while
Colonel
but
ended Spain's
it
the Caribbean. American attention
much so
and eventually Lieutenant
Hill,
feared their
which sank every vessel without
fleet,
craft lost.
to the pacification of the
THE CROWDED HOUR
the outer
would be captured by the land advance and they
American
command.
it
out of the safety of the harbour, only to encounter the
hour'.
battlefield
how-
fire,
taken, with the
The
Confusion reigned on the
than the
to the latter's service
completely collapsed. The Americans
Hill.
Kettle
extremely hot weather, so
in
lost
fleet
Cavalry to begin the
objective at San Juan, which
The advance took place
as the
Rough Riders
July 1898, the
smokeless
far better
the results were dramatic. The Spanish
behind and the unit had to
left
joined dismounted elements of the attack on the
who
the confusion of embarkation,
US
infantryman of the type
who
known
unit of volunteer cavalry
Riders. Unfortunately,
Caney was
defences
troops forward to assault San Juan's heights.
had raised
end
a fact that put an of the
that fired a
proved
unnerved the Spanish and both
El
attack going ahead on time and Major General Kent led his
politician
rifle It
Spanish retreating towards Santiago.
Santiago's water supply. However, poor terrain prevented the
Theodore Roosevelt was an ambitious young
rifle,
US Army. The courage
the
ever,
and cut
first
a bolt-action
a five-shot magazine.
in
American Krag in
were armed with the superior
but they
Mauser Model 1893,
fleet
we charged. Bucky
strolling
up and down
smoking a
cigarette...
that an officer cover...
As
O'Neill
was
front of his
men,
He had a theory
O'Neill
moved to
lie
to
and
fro, his
down, and one of
sergeants said, "Captain, a bullet
sure to
hit
out of his mouth, and blowing a cloud of
smoke, laughed and Spanish bullet
me." A
ought never to take
men begged him his
in
is
you." O'Neill took his cigarette
isn't
little later...
said, "Sergeant, the
made
heel a bullet struck him
came
that
will kill
as he turned on his in
the
mouth and
out at the back of his head.'
Quoted from The Rough Riders by
Theodore Roosevelt (New York, 1899)
OMDURMAN, 1898 A
power was
and Western
irresistible
machine gun and repeating the
23-26 AUGUSTl
Wadi Hamed
late
1
9th and early 20th centuries.
same guns would be used
trialized
to
inflict
huge swathes
in
1815,
in
World War
First
horror of indus-
full
strongly against
it,
but
it
could
z -Shabltka logistical
resources
in
at
zenith. Since
its
and numerous other
of Africa,
still
all
of
territories
Empire was past
British
heyday, with the United States and
and
the
had swollen to include
it
around the world. Economically, the
,
empires
a brief reign of casu-
Empire was almost
British
the defeat of Napoleon India,
was
warfare against Western troops themselves.
By 1898, the Wadi Bishara.
It
supremacy, though, because during the
alty-free
these
powers used the
colonial
to maintain their vast
rifle
its
Germany both competing upon enormous
call
financial
order to send military forces anyLeft:
where Jebel Royan"
27
In
AUGUSTi
SUDAN Wadi
el
the world to protect
of the British people
that empire
Abid"
British
gunboats
Defensive
Sururab
line
31 I
Sudanese forces
and enrichment,
had become attracted to the idea
was
means
the
to spread their idea of civilization
civil
be an agent of good
.
The
servants.
in
Empire was
British
the world, taking pride
felt to
the abolition of
in
previously anarchic countries. But
order
in
ers
remained a ruthless weapon
it
in
the opinion of oth-
imposing
for
any peoples reluctant to welcome such
i
British will
'benefits'.
When
on
Major
General Kitchener sailed out to the Sudan to avenge the death
Sudanese movements
of General
Guns Hills
skull of
tf ~
W
the
Gordon,
man
killed at
Khartoum, he wished to turn the
responsible into an inkwell.
OMDURMAN t .;f Jebel Surgham KHALIFA
Jfh(r
El
AVENGE GORDON
Egeiga
General Charles Gordon
ABDULLAH^
was
a classic British imperial figure.
Intensely religious and a fierce opponent of slavery, he a brilliant soldier
who
was
had led the Ever Victorious Army,
also
made
up of Chinese peasants, during the Taiping Rebellion (possibly the bloodiest
war
of the 19th century)
appalled by the Chinese his hands. In 1884,
killing
in
of prisoners
China,
who
he was
until
had
fallen into
he was sent to Khartoum to supervise the
evacuation of Egyptian forces from the Sudan following a fero-
The overwhelmingly decisive defeat
of superior
numbers
sword- and spear-wielding Sudanese rebels by Egyptian soldiers point
in
ening
The of the
armed with machine guns marked
the evolution of military technology.
new age Battle of
power
of
It
British
of
and
a ferocious
heralded a
fright-
OMDURMAN
Mohammed Ahmed
Mahdist forces besieged Gordon held out for almost a year, a
relief
public opinion
Western weapons. Machine guns and
rifles killed
were
five
hundred. The lure of such
fire
Khartoum. Although he
in
force failed to save him, and
the general, along with his garrison,
offered a devastating demonstration
Mahdi
of Dongola.
Omdurman
and wounded more than twenty thousand desert tribesmen,
50
ciously successful uprising by the religiously inspired
of industrialized warfare.
while British casualties
along the Nile into the
Sudan where they
Omdurman. Below: A Sudanese warrior of the type
who
fought against the slavery and the establishment of firm principles of law and
AUGUST
Kerren
of the
around the globe. Traders and soldiers had been followed by
30 AUGUST'
movements
The advance
Anglo-Egyptian force
'
Sayal
British
interests.
confronted the rebels at
missionaries and
British forces
its
addition to the earlier motivations of trade
many
\ 28-29 AUGUST
in
was massacred.
was outraged and when
decided to reconquer the Sudan
in
the 1890s, the ghost of
'Gordon of Khartoum' loomed over the expedition. terms, the British government
British
the British government
was alarmed by
In
practical
the increase of
British
and Egyptians
the battle of
at
Omdurman.
EGYPT
k
AFRICA
.nDURMAN-
Atlantic
Ocean
*£^
Ml the region and wished to
Afaove. Although
French and
inaccurate
maintain an Anglo-Egyptian influence over the Nile Valley.
in its
representation of the British
this
wearing red (by
contemporary poster
advance of
entire
this
brilliantly,
army
of ten
time
fully
he
prepared
in
the
charge of the Anglo-Egyptian
aware that only a decade
thousand Egyptian troops under
earlier
British
tremendous
fire-
power delivered by the Anglo-Egyptian Army.
mand had been wiped
out at
Moving along the River
El
Nile
an
a
flotilla
of
gunboats.
Kitchener had a railway track constructed beside the river to bring up supplies.
Among
his artillery,
he included 20 machine
guns. His army - consisting half of British regular soldiers and half
of
British-trained
Egyptian troops - proved
Osman
Digna and
conflicts over a period of
two
it
defeated them
years.
in
a string of
The Sudanese rebels now
decided to concentrate their forces at Omdurman, near the Nile
and
just north of
Khartoum.
com-
Obied by Mahdist tribesmen. with
capable of dealing with the Sudanese tribesmen led by Khalifa Abdullah and
Omdurman
does give an impression of the
Major General Horatio Kitchener was put
campaign and
time they wore
khaki uniforms), this
the battle of
Italian colonial interest in
more than
FIRE
On
POWER UNLEASHED
the morning of 2 September 1898, Kitchener's army,
some
twenty-six thousand strong, faced forty thousand tribesmen led
by
Khalifa
Abdullah.
The previous
day,
British
cavalry
had
clashed with the Sudanese, and Kitchener's troops spent the night
in
a fortified
camp
called a zariba,
surrounded by fences of
OMDURMAN
e
Above. An Cavalry and Camel Corps retreat 1
r
Kerren
>
W /*
by
of
1
Sudanese attacks
Kerren
Hills
Camel Corps
*
return
I
delivered by the British
»V
/W
and guns mside zariba «£f repe attacks ,\#
Infantry
\
V
British Infantry
Army. Winston Churchill rode as one of the
v
•
El
X
The early-morning Sudanese assault on the
J ^r' ^-"»
Left:
British position.
attack
j"
Jf ~
»
*—\L -*"\
cavalrymen.
Egeiga
advance
x ^>gainst Sudanese
|
Jkp-
Sudanese tribesmen^ driven off M.
+'
y
^e~"\i
l
_'
Sudanese^ attacks
V ^ *' ^ +''
\
A
Right:
The Anglo-
//'-'J
Egyptian counter-attack.
\
'
I
Jebel
Final
Surgham
N
Sudanese attacks
52
OMDURMAN
Sudanese
attacks
%
V
\ El
'',7. '».,
1^
I
/
OSMAH EL-DIN
/W/U/tt MfltfLLM
SEPTEMBER
09.00-11.00 hours Cavalry and *
great cavalry charges
i
Hills .
the charge of the 21st
Caton Woodville
Lancers, one of the last
J. j.
A T
attacks
R.
06.45 hours i
i
X
v ^'
i
illustration
SEPTEMBER
^
Egeiga British
gunboats
^.
_^ >
'>>,,
^*
Jebel Surgham
I
I
/
I
*
I
!
I
f
^O
91
» t
,
, nror<
chafe charge
.
woke
thorn bushes. Trumpeters
4.30am because
the troops at
British
Kitchener expected an attack at daybreak. His cavalry rode out
and saw the cloud
of the zariba
advance of
of dust that indicated the
Khalifa Abdullah's warriors.
young cavalryman serving
Winston
the enemy's approach: 'They are advancing
God,
Prophet and his Holy
his
Churchill
Khalifa...
spears, but they did possess
some
rifles,
within
2,600m
British lines, Kitchener's artillery
boats on the nearby
opened
They
river.
of the cavalry for a charge
(8,400ft) of the
in
the
air,
others
white flags toppled
in their
which exploded
yet they rose again, as other
over...
pressed forward to die
faces,' recalled Churchill.
for Allah's
sacred cause...
ble sight, for as yet they had not hurt us at
all;
it
seemed an
and
a
ran through the
Henry
rifles, fire.
minute and
make
too great. 'Everyone expected
a charge,'
remembered
in all
Churchill.
we
our minds since
Of course there would be a charge...'
swords, while the
their officers carrying pistols or
held
bamboo
down
lances.
into the ditch,
rounded by angry tribesmen
1,800m- (2,000yd-) mark,
who
horsemen
British
where they were
instantly sur-
slashed at them with swords
warriors backwards, but others cut at the legs of the horses,
The best
trying to
British soldiers
were
their
own
wounded - the
guns became overheated, having to be
their
replaced by reserve
rifles.
in
survivors
Bravely and recklessly, the Sudanese
the face of this withering
fire,
over their dead comrades, but none of them reached the several hundred metres away. Only
casualties could be counted, as
dead and wounded tribesmen
opposed
It
was
emerged out
brave performance, but
of the ditch
it
a
life
and
on the
A
to the thousands of
its
final
The
some enemy
actually achieved very
blood.
It
The
little.
was
a
battle
power.
fire
charge by the Sudanese cavalry drew admiration for
boldness, but
won and
them.
killed or
battlefield.
as the Sudanese
rallied
had already been decided elsewhere by infantry
zariba,
fell
savage encounter and
entered the ditch were
biggest British loss of
withdrew, happy to have drawn
leaping
60 Anglo-Egyptian
that lay before
Those cavalrymen who
soldiers.
to pieces.
men who
one-quarter of the
12 rounds a
firing
dismount the
were immediately cut
with their older Martini-
in
and the Maxim machine guns began
tribesmen carried on
falling
these
impetus
their carbines, but the
was
The charge took 30 seconds and the plunged
terri-
opened up from Lee-Metford magazine
The Egyptians then joined
growling
When
and spears. The impact of the charging horses knocked some
volleys of British fire rifles.
going to
men
rest of the
unfair advantage.'
As the warriors
riverbed.
Cavalry glamour overrode military sense and the 21st Lancers
men
was
his
them were supported by two a dried
in
the one idea that had been
charged on,
The
It
was
started from Cairo.
above the enemy, sending shrapnel among the warriors. 'Some burst
we were
'That
up, joined by the gun-
fired shells
he used
infantry,
to the conflict.
horses into action and raced
their
before
visible
end
they know, however, that the hand-
have been to dismount and use
which they used,
that
came
the tribesmen
advanced
troops leapt into view, the sensible option for the cavalry would
effect.
little
Little did
thousand warriors hidden
the middle
in
tribesmen
ful of
were mainly armed with swords and
of his army. His troops
When
across the desert.
cheering for
fast,
regimental cavalry charge. Having achieved a
The 21st Lancers urged
a
they think they are
going to win.' Khalifa Abdullah rode on a donkey
albeit to
was
last
cavalry to obtain an old-fashioned
the 21st Lancers and he described
in
Army's
victory with his technologically
its
effort
was
also pointless.
The
battle
was
Omdurman. The Mahdi's
Kitchener marched into
tomb, a sacred shrine to the Sudanese, was wrecked by
BRITAIN'S LAST Kitchener
moved
his troops out of their zariba
towards Omdurman.
It
was
a
artillery fire
gamble and a reserve force of the
Khalifa's warriors duly
launched two more assaults against the but
line,
fire.
At the
both were
same
repulsed
by
rifle
and the holy man's body thrown
head was
and advanced
Anglo-Egyptian
machine gun
Above: Major General
CAVALRY CHARGE
but
retained,
Kitchener's plans for
it,
diers visited the steps
when Queen
he was advised to bury in
it.
heard
inscribe
on a stone step
the single word 'Avenged', but they thought better of
time. Kitchener launched the
of
British sol-
Khartoum where Gordon had been
murdered and some suggested they
and
into the Nile. His
Victoria
it.
Lord Kitchener of
Khartoum, portrayed as
commander
of the
Egyptian Army. He led
PRIVATE
the expedition sent to quell
Sudanese rebels
WADE
RIX, 21ST LANCERS
in
the 1890s.
LANCE AGAINST SWORD Pnvte in
Wade
Rix
was
depression
a troop
the 21st Lancers involved
cavalry charge at
remembers
commander in
the
Omdurman. He
the brutal fighting that
my lance
entered the
of a white robed figure
who had
double^dge sword
to strike.
his
it
was parry and
my horse on
Luck was with
The
us, the
thrust as
1
through the melee.
horse bravely
stream bed and we were through without
quickly
angry Sudanese warriors:
another
deep
spurred
man's body shattered Vie lance and
the dried riverbed to be surrounded by
leapt into the
robe. Then
scrambled up the opposite bank of the
cast the broken pieces from me.
my horse
eye
enormous impact and the weight of the
erupted when the cavalry plunged into
'As
left
raised
drew
my sword just in
man pointed his
1
a scratch.'
1
time as
flintlock,
him down and blood splattered
1
struck
Quoted
in
The Last Charge by Terry
Brighton (Crowood Press, 1998)
his white
:-.-cu"vi\
53
TSUSHIMA, 1905
3SjS?l
"
4
Japan's dramatic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy signified
new
the birth of a
in
were too quick and too
battleships
fashioned
power
military
Russian vessels.
Western empires
that their
Just as victory over
supreme self-confidence
was
It
Modern Japanese
Asia.
armed
well
dire
a
in its
triumph against Russia gave
Up
to that point,
for the old-
warning to the
military
system, so Japan's
in
Japan had been testing
the early 20th its ability
as a
would-be power and had suffered setbacks.
Japan was
initially
successful
in
1895
By 1902, however, Russia's presence
Britain in
was
little
war with China
was as concerned as Japan about
in
free to deal with the Russian presence
54
it.
Manchuria, and Japan achieved a diplo-
which
Britain
not to support any similar Western intervention. This
joint
won
the latter could do about
matic success by signing an alliance
agreed a
'Korea
itself
'If
moved
large
Manchuria becomes the
in
cannot remain independent.
It
is
in
1901,
a matter of
life
in
print
shows an
old-
RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR came
Tension between the two nations 1904,
when Japan
Manchuria
laration
for the
later,
it
of war.
to a
head
February
in
attacked Port Arthur, the key naval base
was
Russian
fleet.
Like
Pearl
a surprise attack launched before
Russian ships were severely
Japanese torpedo boats and the Japanese troops landed
in
port
was
in
Harbor several
any dec-
damaged by
blockaded.
northern Korea and marched to
the River Yalu to provide support for the naval actions. The
Russian troops were dependent on the Trans-Siberian Railway to bring reinforcements, but this
would take time and Russian
Japan
commanders unwisely urged an
instant reaction to the inva-
left
1900, with the
battleship being
destroyed by a more
modern and
for Japan.'
pledged
Manchuria. The two
protectorate of Korea, but
Above: This Japanese
faster
Japanese torpedo boat.
decades
in its
over Korea, but Russia had intervened to grab possessions
by the Japanese and there
China, Russia
property of Russia,' declared Japan's foreign minister
and death
the confidence to embark on
major campaigns against the Western powers century.
in
of troops into Manchuria.
1870 had given Prussia
in
own it
numbers
fashioned Russian
power might be waning.
France
outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion
sion.
Outnumbered, but perhaps
superiority as a
trusting to their
sense
of
Western army, a Russian force confronted the
^W1 JAPAN bkyo
TSUSHIMA"****
Japanese and was completely routed Japanese pressed on further With the
at
first,
soldiers, Port Arthur
the Japanese tried to storm
fered tremendous losses. Russian
reduced to a succession of
which
failed to
meant the
suicidal attacks
break into the
was
but suf-
fighting
was
by the Japanese,
They
port.
it
and machine guns
artillery
set behind trenches and barbed wire
of
the Battle of Yalu. The
Manchuria.
more Japanese
arrival of
put under siege. At
into
all
however, pro-
did,
vide a foretaste of the terrible effects of desperate charges against entrenched positions,
well
defended with machine
guns. Eventually, after almost a year, a Japanese did
overwhelm
surrender
in
January
Elsewhere clashed
ing
in
1
905.
Manchuria, the Japanese and Russian armies
were endured by both sides
on the Western Front
Japanese
human wave
and Port Arthur was compelled to
bloody but indecisive battles. Tens of thousands of
in
casualties
a vital outpost
in
the
First
victory at the Battle of
in
a prequel to the fight-
World War. Even
Mukden
in
after a
March 1905, the
Russian land forces refused to withdraw from Manchuria and a costly stalemate
seemed
set to last indefinitely.
DECISIVE SEA BATTLE In
October 1904, Russia's
ports
under the
would take over
Baltic Fleet set sail
command
six
months
Admiral
of for
it
to reach
the war against Japan. Bizarrely, while
through the North Sea,
from
its
home
Rozhdestvenski.
Manchuria and it
rumours spread
was of
still
It
join
sailing
an attack by
Japanese torpedo boats and the Russian ironclads responded
Above
The
right:
strategic positions
movements
of
and
the
Russians and Japanese in
Manchuria
in
1904-5.
Right: Admiral
Rozhdestvenski,
commander
of the
Russian Baltic Fleet at the battle of Tsushima.
Far right: The foredeck of
the Japanese battleship
Mikasa, the largest
warship fleet
in
the Japanese
and Admiral Togo's
flagship.
by
firing
least
upon
British fishing
seven fishermen.
battleships to
shadow
boats near Dogger Bank,
the Russian fleet as
its
own
passed through
it
the Bay of Biscay.
of
Good Hope, the Russian
fleet reunited in the Indian
in
line-ahead formation with Rozhdestvenski's flagship Suvorov at its
head, Togo
ships. In a
Suez Canal and around the
Dividing to pass through the
Cape
During the afternoon of 27 May, as the Russian fleet sailed
killing at
was outraged and sent
Britain
made
manoeuvre reminiscent
head of the Russian fire.
the most of the superior speed of his
fleet
Having crossed the
of Nelson,
and subjected
T, he
it
he crossed the
to devastating raking
then turned his ships to
sail
Above: The Russian battleship Oslabia of
the Baltic fleet
Below: Smaller and speedier Japanese boats sink a Russian battleship at
made one
Ocean and
sailed
more stop
to prepare for battle. Sailing next for the Russian
on to French Indochina, where
port of Vladivostok
Tsushima
Strait,
in
Siberia, the Baltic Fleet
between
and
Korea
Rozhdestvenski's fleet appeared
it
approached the
Japan.
impressive,
On
paper,
consisting
of
eight battleships, eight cruisers, nine destroyers and several
smaller ships, but these craft
manned by
In contrast, just
Army as
its
model
in their
design and
as modernizing Japan had taken the Prussian for land forces,
influenced by the British fleet. British
were dated
poor-quality crew.
Its
so
its
ships
navy had been deeply
were
the latest
built to
designs and featured increased armour protection of the
guns, but with
little
extra weight
added which would have
affected manoeuvrability and speed.
The Japanese
fleet
eight cruisers, twenty-one destroyers
and
had sixty
*ne latter having already proved themselves
Vice-Admiral Togo's
vedand TSUSHIMA
well trained.
in
crewmen
along their flank and subject
them
to
even more
fire.
The
Tsushima
'
LESSONS LEARNED AND UNLEARNED MAY 1905
27 Sea
of
^
Japan
September 1905
X
+*'*' +
Tsushima brought the Russo-Japanese War
*-•* ^^^•^.^
+'
control over Manchuria, although
G
^
*
N
if x
M
it
shaped the world
government
and a revolution followed
year.
in
before another swept
Japan's success meant
^^
60 torpedo boat
14.10 hours Russian ships attempt single-line formation
°
miles kilometres
Japanese attacks Russian warships
3
it
now viewed
demanded
ships allowed
cross
in
them
to
front of the
Russian fleet to deliver devastating
fire
power.
Japanese
shells rained
Japan's aggressive stance
in
the Pacific region. The defeat of Russia also encouraged
in
their poorly
fire.
armoured ships
and within two hours two Russian battleships and one cruiser
which time Admiral
Rozhdestvenski had been wounded and three Russian ships, including his
own
now tried
pedo boats
to finish off the badly
ping mines
in
to withdraw, but
front of
Togo sent
his smaller tor-
damaged Russian
them as they
tried to
over two hundred years, had
with trast,
some
rest of the fleet
was
ten thousand sailors dead or
fruit in
The road
relinquished.
some connection
said to have
war
War
with neither side gaining a clear advantage despite the huge loss-
es of men.
British
and German observers had seen
hand, but the conclusion they
won
drew from
to
incompetence and Japanese
to
wounded.
In
stark con-
the Japanese had barely lost a thousand crew and only
be
in
the
first
it
was
this at first
that any future
few months. They lack of
believed
experience had
would not be repeated by
led to the stalemate, mistakes that
other Western armies, which would use rapid mobilization and initial
manoeuvre
dragged
to outwit their
opponents before they could be
into trench warfare. In other
would not be repeated
three torpedo boats.
in
Vietnam could be
revealed the dreadful dev-
war needed
it
in
caused by modern entrenched warfare,
that Russian
make
both the Second
to events at Tsushima.
the Russo-Japanese
astation that could be
to the
drop-
craft,
sunk or captured,
either
would bear
this
escape. Only one
Russian cruiser and two destroyers managed to
The
battle-
had been sunk. The battered
flagship,
Baltic Fleet
Vladivostok.
were
Asia
Militarily,
battle continued until nightfall, by
the 1930s, which led to
World War and the period afterwards when most colonies
had been destroyed.
The
in
alism could be fought and defeated. The illusion of Western
Russian ships sunk
both speed and accuracy of
down on
own
nating
been shattered and in
its
war
military invincibility, established
Russians were outclassed
as an equal to
itself
the right to establish
other Asian nationalist factions to believe that Western imperi-
Russian attacks
^^
1
Japanese
not to be long
led to the estab-
empire. The militarization of Japanese politics followed, culmi-
Japanese warships
-^^ --
I
/
of the
was
it
of the czar
While that revolu-
away completely and
it
other great powers and
21 destroyers
S cruisers
speed
same
the
lishment of the Soviet regime.
v*
Above The superior
of the early 20th century.
tion failed to topple the czarist regime,
8 cruisers
/y J W S destroyers
because
Russia's defeat further undermined the
4 battleships
ADMIRAL ROZHDESTVEHSKI
1931 that
until
overseas empire. The war,
ADMIRAL TOGO
/
a
would not be
it
part of Japan's
however, had an impact way beyond those immediate con-
Russian cruiser and 2 destroyers escape
1
became
formally
cerns,
\ '
Nl /V ^«. - -" /
x [y /|\
fire
vx
13.30 hours Japanese form up
/
it
Russian ships under .^T and being sunk
within
fell
Japan's sphere of influence and Japan also maintained a tight
Japanese and Russian ships between 5km (3 miles) and 7km (4.5 miles) apart
^^
to a hasty end. In
the Treaty of Portsmouth, Russia agreed to
withdraw from Port Arthur and Manchuria. Korea
Japanese torpedo boats pursue and finish off Russian fleet
+ +
at
in
Europe.
words, such a catastrophe
How wrong they were.
FATHER OF A DEAD JAPANESE SOLDIER
IMPERIAL SACRIFICE
As Japan so
it
built itself into
used the state
established shrines for a
modern
state,
religion to establish a
strong loyalty to the nation, one that
had not existed
in
pre-modern Japan.
rather than the nation, but by in
1900
this
order to
reinforce the importance of sacrifice to
the nation, the Japanese
its
government
war dead, the
the Yasukuni Shrine
My son grew up
son and
died.
healthy.
Then he joined the emperor's
in
Tokyo. As the numbers of dead grew
forces and died a manly death
in
the war against Russia, these shrines
southern Kyushi
became
central to the
Japanese notion
of dying for the emperor.
Soldiers had fought for their region
view was changing, and
most notable being
visiting his son's
One
father
memorial was recorded
making the following pledge: 1
married very young and for a long time
had no
children.
My
wife finally bore a
in
a great
heard that he had died cried with joy,
son there could be no Quoted
in
for
and
in
battle.
for the
because
fine
When
emperor,
my warrior
finer death.
The Undefeated by Robert
Harvey (Macmillan, 1994)
1
1
4 FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE,
Germany's confident advance through Belgium brought to a
halt
French soldiers, taxis
from
Paris.
of the stalemate
France
into
was
the latest technology
some
soldiers to the front
The
delivered to the battlefield
'Miracle of the Marne'
was
in
the beginning
in
all
else,
Britain,
other armies to follow.
made
its
institutions
which believed
some
it
had proved
its bril-
were studied by many
had
little
to learn
rivals.
from anyone
its
spiked pick-
lay in its organization,
commanders down
from a
to individual units
of highly trained and motivated soldiers. Preparation
was
a
key dynamic and years were spent preparing for campaigns, with generals playing war
FIRST BATTLE OF THE
and factories to produce the most powerful
available.
Germany was
a nation prepared for war.
Germany's greatest weakness was
its
games
MARNE
1860s and 1870s,
it
and
it
It
had
doubted
little if
German
believed that a European
only winnable, but could be society.
strength. Ever since
won
at
states
it
the
cost to the rest of
little
regard for the armies of Russia or France
Britain
would
really
want
to
be involved
war on the Continent. Such was Germany's supreme dence when
in
war was not
entered the
First
World War.
When
in
a
confi-
faced with
the prospect of war on both Western and Eastern fronts,
regiments.
The German Army's strength general staff of talented full
It
Germany by adopting
a nod towards
elhaube helmet for
including trains to deliver
the experience of Prussia and the other
previous campaigns against Austria and France (see
Sedan, p.XX), and
Even
weapons then
on the Western Front and the subsequent hor-
By the beginning of the 20th century, the German Army was
liance
was embraced,
to assess options
and under-
Germany chose
to
move
secure the frontiers of
its
swiftly against France industrial
in
order to
Rhineland region before
turning east to concentrate on the potentially bigger problem of
Russia. This thinking
World War.
was repeated
during the Second
91
Above: German troops
advancing across in
them
of
rors of trench warfare.
the model for
taking reconnaissance trips to study possible battlefields. All
by the bold and aggressive defence offered by
1
a field
Champagne towards
French positions on the river
Marne.
MARNE
Right
First Battle of
the
Marne, 1914. The
French armies
German opening
French attacks
offensive through
French fortresses
Belgium, which
was
finally halted at
the
river
German armies
German
attacks
•
German
front lines
•
German fortresses
Marne.
North Sea
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1-
in
the entire history of
human
warfare, a
few key
battles
have achieved legendary status. Trafalgar. Waterloo. Gettysburg. Gallipoli. Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Britain.
The Tet Offensive. Desert Storm. Whether as a
result of
superior tactics, dominant firepower or a simple twist of fate, these
key conflicts have become bywords
moment when
victory
have been adopted as symbols of triumph of almost
for the
and defeat were decided. Some
overwhelming odds. Others
live
in
on
the face in
infamy.
Each can be seen as a point at which the course of history
was changed
irrevocably.
Turning the Tide of past
200
War explores 50
plans, eyewitness testimony
photography, each battle its
wider
in detail
battle
and within
of Europe, through the decisive
of the First and Second World Wars, to
recent struggles
author Tim
in
more
Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Balkans,
Newark analyses not only the
each individual to war.
examined
is
maps and
and rare archival
historical context.
From Napoleon's conquest
moments
key battles of the
years. With the help of detailed
battle, but the
strategy behind
changing ideologies that led
He examines how technology has affected
military
theory and practice, from the introduction of the tank and fighter aircraft to the
advent of intercontinental missiles
and 'smart bombs'. And he pays
tribute to the skill,
courage and dedication of the military forces of the world.
Turning the Tide of
how
Wans
a fascinating overview of
warfare has evolved from an era of small localized
conflicts to
scale,
an age of mechanized battles on a global
and also a glimpse
into the inner
workings of the
military mind.
600 603180
L
D£Ci
TURNING THE TIDE OF WAR bu dATTLEo THAT LHANulU
1
HE
COURSE OF MODERN HISTORY
AKttfahopMftfy High School
tenJosa, CA?5'i29
First
published
in
Great Britain
Hamlyn, a division
of
in
2001 by
Octopus Publishing Group
Ltd
2-4 Heron Quays, London E144JP
Copyright I Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2001
All rights reserved.
No
part of this
be reproduced or utilized
in
work may
any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN
A
600 60318
CIP catalogue record forthis book
from the British Library
Printed and bound
in Italy
10987654321
Designer: Kenny Grant
Maps: Andrew Thompson Picture Researcher. Liz Fowler
Senior Production Controller Louise Hall
is
available
hamlyn
TURNING THE TIDE OF WAR 50 BATTLES THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF MODERN HISTORY TIM
NEWARK
CONTENTS
7
^^f 'm
&
t
/
V JCH H
H
*> ^fe^Z f
"^
T
-
^Bw v
1
4
J
LH
%
^i!/
VALMY, 1792
8
ASSAYE, 1803
12
TRAFALGAR, 1805
16
AUSTERLITZ, 1805
20
WATERLOO, 1815
24
MEXICO
1847
28
GETTYSBURG, 1863
32
SEDAN, 1870
36
ISANDLWANA, 1879
40
GEOKTEPE, 1881
44
SAN JUAN HILL, 1898
48
OMDURMAN, 1898
50
TSUSHIMA, 1905
54
CITY,
FIRST BATTLE
;^SS
*^?
6
T^gxC^V^. fj!
^^H I& .^B
INTRODUCTION
OFTHEMARNE, 1914
58
GALLIPOLI, 1915
62
THE BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE, 1916
66
THESOMME, 1916
70
YPRES, 1917
74
8k
H^LSf
CAMBRAI, 1917
78
ST LO, 1944
148
GERMANY'S 'BLACK DAY' 1918
82
LEYTE GULF, 1944
150
NANKING, 1937
86
ARDENNES, 1944
154
FRANCE, 1940
90
OKINAWA, 1945
158
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN, 1940
94
BERLIN, 1945
162
CRETE, 1941
98
INCHON, 1950
166
170
BARBAROSSA, 1941
100
DIEN BIEN PHU, 1954
PEARL HARBOR 1941
104
SIX
SINGAPORE, 1942
108
THETET OFFENSIVE, 1968
176
MIDWAY, 1942
112
PORT STANLEY, 1982
180
STALINGRAD, 1942
116
KABUL, 1988
182
EL ALAMEIN 1942
120
DESERT STORM, 1991
186
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC, 1943
124
MOGADISHU, 1993
190
KURSK, 1943
128
KRAJINA, 1995
194
TARAWA, 1943
132
BIBLIOGRAPHY
196
INDEX
197
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
200
CASSINO, 1944
136
KOH IMA, 1944
140
D-DAY, 1944
144
DAY WAR, 1967
174
INTRODUCTION The decisive
won
battle
battle
in
the holy
is
grail of military
day that transforms
a
victory
and fame - but combat
victory
one day can be reversed the
be
down by
let
political
bring decisive peace.
overwhelm In
a
them this.
A
next. Military superiority can
incompetence.
The steady
A
decisive victory
may
not
attrition of guerrilla
warfare can
have been chosen
for several
a powerful foe.
this book, decisive battles
reasons.
much messier than
usually
is
commanders -
their future, bringing
Sometimes they
are a climactic point
a successful or
in
in
one
in
the technology of warfare. Often they refer not to a battle
weeks
day, but to an operation over several
indicative of the enlarged scale of
moments
reflect great
soldiers has
in
history
changed the way
we
modern
when
warfare.
or months, All
of
them
the sacrifice of countless
organization are the Nazi
Germany
Operation Barbarossa. tactics
on
massive
a
lost?
Overwhelming power and precise
exactly
applied
scale,
its
what
for decisive victory.
it
political
Army had
also
was
doing during
already successful blitzkrieg
helped by Soviet chaos and a lack of
been ravaged by
determination to
rid
of
it
Pearl Harbor
with
in
1941
was another
any dissident
enemy
is
France
in
unprepared enemy;
1940 and Singapore
in
and organization,
then
significantly. Allied victories at El
the
when the own battle
1942. But
tide
its
of
war changes
Alamein, Midway, Stalingrad and
Kohima showed how even the most
initially
impressive military
forces can be held and defeated.
GREATEST MILITARY FLAW Underestimation of the enemy is the greatest of military flaws. Germany and Japan in the Second World War believed they were racially
as well as
INTRODUCTION
militarily
German
victories
in
Poland and elsewhere had affected the Germans' judgement, and
when
they were confronted by highly determined, well-trained
pilots
armed with the
were faced with
a far
Imperial arrogance found
both wake-up
difficult
its
contest.
graveyards at
for the
calls
they
latest ingenious aviation technology,
more
and
British
and Isandlwana,
Gallipoli
Western
their
imperial
colleagues, giving intimations of later bitter colonial conflicts. At Dien
Bien Phu, French imperial arrogance
was brought
crashing
down by
the Vietnamese.
battlefield.
Omdurman and
At
a century later, during
superior to their enemies.
make
one-sided, allowing the victor to impose his
On
without meaningful opposition. superior
weaponry can on to
guerrillas held military
technology.
With the
other occasions, the
of
arrival
very
around the world
will
their land despite being
Desert
seem
arrival of
just tip the balance. In Afghanistan,
missiles, given to the guerrillas by the fatally
a battle
Muslim
faced by superior
hand-held anti-aircraft
West, Soviet
air
power was
undermined.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
an
at
a
would triumph
it
Both
piece of organization,
no longer surprised and counters with
experience
officers.
rebuilt.
brilliant
overwhelming force directed
similarly in
The
ideology, given Stalin's
morale and military competence had to be rapidly
seemed
it
Sometimes, superior technology can bestow awesome power
willingness to face up to the inevitable threat of invasion.
Soviet
force that
Storm, highly advanced weaponry can
knew It
air
because
their soldiers
over the smaller, inexperienced British RAF.
view the world.
most obvious ingredients
1941
in
hundreds of thousands of
foregone conclusion to the German
on the
ESSENCE OF VICTORY How are battles won and
lives of
of their over confidence. During the Battle of Britain,
disastrous campaign; at other times they represent a decisive step
forward
them and threw
hard to accept that their enemies could defeat
away the
They found
it
When in
a
technology
is
more even,
it
is
often fighting
and
spirit
cause that can give the decisive edge. At Valmy,
revolutionary
army simply stared down
opponents, opening a
new
era of ideological warfare. At Assaye,
sheer old-fashioned aggression
Sometimes cause.
In
it
is
won
the dominant
the battle.
power
that loses faith
Mogadishu, the US Army could see on
international
aid
Sometimes,
victors
a
country
that
saw
do not even recognize
little
it
as
their
Vietnamese
victory,
in its
point
an
in
own
forcing
aggressor.
own
During the Tet Offensive, Western journalists persisted this as a
belief
French
motivated
less
its
a
in
success. portraying
even though the Vietnamese had
actually suffered a catastrophic defeat at the
hands
Army, such was left-wing prejudice among the media
of the
US
at the time.
Some declared
growing
victories represent an inevitable expression of
international
At
influence.
San Juan
global military power. At
itself a
United
the
Hill,
States
Geok Tepe, the Russians
consolidated their hold on central Asia. At Trafalgar, British naval
power reached
zenith.
its
At other times, victory hangs
in
the balance and
came
thing indeed. At Waterloo, Napoleon
is
it
a very near-run
near to victory, defeated
only by British and allied tenacity. At Cambrai, British tanks proved
themselves
to
be battle-winners, only to have
overturned by newly perfected
power
relentless
of organization
and sheer
achievements
Sheer professionalism
in
tactics.
military fighting
evident during D-Day, Inchon, the Six Day
is
of Port Stanley.
their
German stormtrooper
War and
The
prowess
the capture
these instances
hard
is
to beat.
Sometimes two sides and Ypres,
British
are too evenly balanced. At the
and German forces ground away
causing tens of thousands of casualties. This
morale.
Somme
each other,
attrition
reached
on Germany's Black Day, with the collapse
a breaking point
German
at
Wars
of attrition
of
have no winners.
LESSONS OF WAR There are many lessons to be learned from the conflicts book. Perhaps the primary lesson
strong
in
win
war against
a
Japan believed they could
it.
easily
It
in
this
the need for a country to be
defence so as not to encourage any
ability to
its
is
rival
to overestimate
was because Germany and
win
their
conflicts that they
embarked on world wars. Appeasement does not work, but only encourages the overconfidence never be afraid to
talk
of aggressive foes.
about war or
perceived weakness encourages war.
dissuades
prevented a its
armed
A
nation
must
forces.
Only
Responsible aggression
it.
the second
In
its
third
half
of
the 20th century,
the
United States
world war by acting strongly and aggressively
dealings with the Soviet Union and
its allies.
destruction did prevent a third world war.
It
in
Mutually assured
can only be hoped that
future politicans do not ignore these lessons of history. Learning
them TIM
all
over again
will
be very costly
in lives.
NEWARK
INTRODUCTION
7
E
.
VALMY, 1792 Valmy
new age
signified a
would be the
When
untrained French citizen army' drilled
ranks of the Prussians,
proved the decisive factor Battle of
one
of warfare,
fuel of conflict.
in
in
were ranged
was
it
which ideology
the revolutionaries of the against the well-
morale that
their high
the victory that day - although the
Valmy was more of a psychological
victory than an out-
right military one.
The
armies raised by the French revolutionary govern-
citizen
ments fought many a
and wars, something of an irony
battles
for
regime born out of idealism and the desire for international
fraternity.
Equality,
'Liberty,
French soldier at Pontoise that
anyone
an enemy,
who
in
Fraternity or Death,' declared a
disagreed with the revolution
pitting
made
1794, a slogan which
it
clear
was considered
France against the rest of Europe. The French
revolutionary armies supposedly brought 'freedom from oppression'- but they did so at the point of a bayonet.
previous eras, wars had usually been fought for
In
advantage and material gain. This remained true too, but
now
there
righteousness.
It is
was
in
political
the 1790s,
the additional factor of ideological
this conviction that identifies
self-
these wars as
marking the beginning of 'modern warfare'. Furthermore, suc-
became more and
cessive French revolutionary governments
more extreme under the stresses war became
a
method
that
French forces
of maintaining their increasingly desper-
ate grip on power.
In this
campaigns of
and
Hitler
much so
of conflict, so
French movements
sense, the military and ideological
Stalin
can be said to have their roots
Prussian forces
in
Prussian
the French revolutionary regimes of the 1790s.
'CITIZEN SOLDIERS' A revolution implies a break with the past, new government simply makes much more previous regime's Tocqueville
change
is
in
power
that
power
all
in
The
France has
only
become
the relics of the past have
steadily transformed into a powerful bureaucratic state run Paris,
and with increased control over
could put massive armies into the will.
field to
This continued to be the case,
fact
in
its
people, the state
enforce
its political
even more
so, during
the rule of the revolutionary governments, except that whereas in
the past soldiers had been hired or impressed into service,
they were
now all
'free
hence the
birth of
the
'I
have no
pity for
men' and had
spilled,
be persuaded to
fight
-
'citizen soldier'.
the enemies of
nonier of the French Revolutionary
have
to
and continue to
my
Army
spill,
country,' in
Caen
the blood of
wrote a can-
in
manoeuvres
1793. 'They
my
brothers,
of the
Prussian and French
de
been pruned away.' From the 17th century, France had been
from
Above: The opening
use of the
French Revolution,
his analysis of the
more conspicuous now
far
but very often the efficient
structures. According to Alexis
that the centralization of
movements
•* French and
armies around Valmy
UNITE DIMSIBILI
DE LA
September Left:
in
1792.
The beginning
of
ideological warfare: a
REPIBLIOIE
French Revolutionary
LIBERT EGALITE FRATERMT
poster of 1793 promises '
Liberte, Egalite,
Fraternite
ou
la
Mort
Prussian guns
PRU! «
A
EUROPE Paris "
who
demand vengeance, and those who have
all
part of counter-revolutionaries
Vengeance and they
played the
traitors
angry hands.'
so that
fear motivated these politicized soldiers,
whole nation was roused
had to do
and the rest.
at
turn roused other, less politically involved,
in
until a
deserve death
Or
was
direct
these
in
anger.
men towards
All
at least, that
was
comrades
the government
the perceived
fury of these 'citizen soldiers'
spirit of
and
enemy
would do the
be the
first
holocaust
nothing behind to disquiet
When
massacres
in Paris
the
city's
guardian fortress of Verdun
more than 1,000 were hacked
prisoners, both political
to death
provoked by the threat
come
to the aid of the French royal family. In
Prussia and
its
German-speaking
allies
a climate of fear
and
anger which helped
rible
punishment
king.
The
reaction of the Parisian
of the Tuileries
the revolutionary
and take the
mob was
to
in
in
storm the palace
surprisingly,
its
known
Paris
and
who
criminal,
as the 'September
might have been expect-
the belief that such fervour could be
foreign enemies, but the In
an
army
of revolutionaries
clash with the
earlier
day Belgium), the poorly trained and organized French force had
royal family prisoner.
anger ruled the streets and, not
to the
August 1792,
they harmed their
if
fell
Austrians on the border with the Austrian Netherlands (modern-
a
invaded, threatening ter-
to the citizens of Paris
leave
good time
it
Revolutionary generals had been promoted, only to be put
fled.
France and punish the revolutionaries - created
the event
had already proved unstable.
to
of Prussia to invade
in
directed at
neighbouring countries considered
Liberty,
common enemy, we
Prussian-led force, the revolutionaries vented their anger on
Suspecting that the upheaval of the revolution had weakened
some
premier holocauste] to
us.'
THE ROAD TO VALMY France,
-
\le
massacres'. The government
the idea.
VALMY
advancing to meet the
in
ed to gain confidence
Below: The September
' '
Fear and
rabble-rousing
on
trial
also
and then executed amid scenes of paranoia that would
afflict totalitarian
armies
However, commitments the Prussian army and
in in
the 20th century. other foreign theatres affected
its allies.
Austria could not field as
many
soldiers face Prussia's
professional at
Valmy.
army
politicians believed that die. 'In
enemies within should be the
first
to
the towns,' declared Fabre d'Eglantine, let the blood of
w
men
as
it
would have
German army
that
liked for the invasion of France, while the
advanced
into
France
was
only 80,000
men
lis?
T-i
•
tW'
-:%.'/
L r"
*
Jr&y&isMr
MM
"3liM&^M
VALMY
9
21
against the Prussians.
Yron found themselves
in
Despite the
Brunswick's force pressed on towards
the front
line
Casualties:
SEPTEMBER Prussians withdraw
300 French 300 Prussians
^W
the road,
artillery fire,
where
it
came under more cannon
An
fire.
artillery
duel followed, but to no decisive effect on the advance.
smoke
fog and gun
Brunswick placed
lifted,
As the
main army
his
opposite Valmy, but the view that materialized did not please him.
The French were well positioned and
the battlefield. They did not look
was -*.
M
y~
f
Mt Ml Vvron Yvron
^
»
%^
\
7-hour duel
X
- - - ^ KELLERMANN AND DUMOURIEZ ^x
m .
.^
\
n^
*" "*
*^
L
Etang-le-Rot^-'
\
"*^ H
sion
Reims
*
\\V* \*
VV
*•/ "^^fc -^ X-^-~x V '
men
his
begin the
to
the one quality his soldiers possessed above
He placed
his hat, bearing the revolutionary
cockade, on his sword and shouted 'Vive
\J* \.DdmmartinS
--* *„
was perhaps
everything else.
his
1°
Brunswick ordered
advance. As they did so, Kellermann understood that aggres-
To St Menehouldi
\
» ..Valmy
no hurry to leave
in
the anarchic rabble that he
expecting.
Nevertheless,
Braux-St-Cohiere*
like
men were triggered
nation!'
la
into wildly roaring 'Vive
France! Vive notre general!'
was one
It
moments when armies ponder whether
la
With
la
of those decisive
The
to fight or flee.
^la-^anchette
I
French did not run and so Brunswick the advance.
An
artillery
nerve and halted
lost his
duel then took place while Brunswick
agonized over what to do next.
In
council with his officers, he
decided not to proceed with the battle and, as darkness
French
left
It
was
the
fo.reign threat.
a bizarre 'victory', with
the psychological impact of that morale
>To Chalons-sur-Marne
fell,
the battlefield bolstered by the knowledge that they
had stared down the great French withdraw to high ground
"
Maupertius
was perhaps
it
little
blood actually shed, but
was enormous.
It
demonstrated
the most important aspect of any
army, more so even than training or weapons, and the French Revolutionary
strong,
that,
nation! Vive
which was
half
Brunswick, had hoped
what
for,
its
commander, the Duke
and the numbers continued to
of fall
throughout the campaign. Brunswick had considered linking up with other armies on the French
frontier,
but
news emanating
Army possessed bucketloads
of
it,
giving
birth
Above left: The movements of the Prussian and French
troops on the second
day
of battle at Valmy.
from Paris about the bloody anarchy there persuaded him to
march
his force directly
General
Dumounez
on the French
took
from the
capital.
command amid
the French defences and marched his
Left:
Army
afflicting
away
of the North
Belgium and southwards towards Sedan,
frontier with
French troops -
commanded the chaos
the Argonne forest giving him a natural barrier between his
army
revolutionary colours his hat
-face
Brunswick,
though,
outmanoeuvred the
French, penetrated the Argonne and forced Dumouriez to take
up a position caution further
in
in
the southern part of the forest area. Brunswick's
following up his advance allowed
reinforcements
Kellermann, to bring the
Having only
of total
more than
link
try to cut off
Chalons and force the French
'VIVE
directly
men
army up
under
his
command,
was withdrawing encouraged
the French retreat on the road to into battle near the village of Valmy.
LA NATION!' ck's
advance
thick fog.
guard
moved towards
Out of the gloom came the
the
French
roar of a can-
nonade. Kellermann's French reinforcements on the
10
under
to 36,000.
up with the Austrians from the north,
but a false report that Dumouriez
Brunswick to
25,000
strength of his
some 34,000 men
Brunswick wanted to
Dumouriez to receive
hill
of
in
down
Prussian soldiers at the Battle of
and the Prussians.
by General
Kellerman, wearing
Valmy on
20 September 1792.
to a
new form
of
ideologically
driven warfare.
Goethe was with the Prussian army
at
new epoch
rades thus: 'From here and today there begins a
the history of the world, and you can say that you
significant
Massenbach
were
similarly felt that
it
ly
given the world a
new
fire...
shape.
The 20th
It is
of
September has
Valmy', one
merely 'the
affair of
artillery that
had proved
its
worth.
in
which
'In
the
it
in
the
and establish a victorious
French
would
Army,
Revolutionary It
ideologically driven
cannot be in
army
there said,
campaigns of
quickly. For
example,
army suffered
at
strong
Hongen
a rout, leaving
ties for only forty injured
artillery.'
inherit
been
have
however, that
and
Without the
all
no
the subse-
by the French were victorious. An is
opponents do not budge, then
the war of the Revolution,' he concluded, 'France always excelled
Italy,
of Europe.
quent battles engaged
it
had been the
initial
Germany and
use to become master of the whole
Napoleonic Wars.
own
performance with hyperbole. Napoleon Bonaparte called
and then embark on a series of foreign wars that would see
engine of war that Napoleon would subsequently
the most important day of
the century!' Perhaps the Prussians were dignifying their
that after Valmy, France's revolutionaries felt
is
along with parts of
a
moment: 'The French Revolutionaries have come
through their baptism of
clear
France conquer Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland,
in
there.'
was
is
secure enough to proceed with the execution of the royal fami-
cowed com-
ceived the importance of events, consoling his
Prussia's Colonel von
What
The poet
Valmy and he per-
its
in
in
confrontation, but
own morale
if
March 1793, Dumounez's
more than two thousand
casual-
Austnans.
Above: The main confrontation near the mill
on the
captured
hill
in a
of
Yron
dramatic
painting by J.B.
FEAR AND ANGER
Laukhard noted
Fear and anger motivated the early
The
volunteers were not as straight as a
French Revolutionary Army. The threat of
die,
as were the Prussians, and were not
foreign invasion or counter-revolution
as polished, well trained or
encouraged tens
of
thousands
volunteer for military service
1792. The
rallying cry of
in
of
men
1791 and
1789 was
'Every citizen should be a soldier and
every soldier should be a
to
citizen.'
Prussian military observer called
A
this spirit of dedication:
handling a gun or marching did they
around
know how
their tunics
I
in
body and
and declared for the
good
that they
fighting
were ready
knew were
liberty
step; nor
death.'
to tighten their belts
Quoted
as the Prussians
Wars 1787-1802byT.C.\N. Blanning
in
did,
soul.
Nearly
all
those
encountered at that time knew for
in
to die
of their patrie. The only
alternatives they
skilled in
yet they were devoted to the cause they
served
whom and for what they were
or
The French Revolutionary
(Arnold, 1996).
its
can collapse
Mauzaisse
after a
painting by Horace Vernet, 1831.
ASSAYE,
803
1
Garamhara
^ m„ * MwJ — -m ^m
Hi,. * /## *
Assaye
MARATHA
r^
*
f
V#
- - - -
and nine hundred Europeans.
r
lord
1
«*f*eepulgaon
continent and entitled native population, itary
presence
I
in
' Infantry
British forces
Wellesley s N British
I
movements
reconnaissance
advance to
in
^Barahjala
\
victorious
and the nawab was exe-
to raise
it
which
Britain
in
then used to increase
of the
the ascendant, but unlike those
European
its
mil-
Mughals, the most dominant power
southern Asia up to that point, had been
in
in
decline since
were
clearly
the Americas,
where
British
native cultures never really rose to the challenge
movements
the sub-
massive revenues from the
1707 with the death of Aurangzeb. The
cross river at ford
route
Indian forces Indian
'
^
was
by the
Despite the over-
further.
The influence Cavalry advance to protect infantry
Clive
(native soldiers trained
cuted. This victory secured Britain's possessions
X.Waroor
^
_
two thousand sepoys
British)
whelming odds,
s
-T^-v.
force of
military
posed by
power, the rulers of India understood the
?-'' Indian defensive line
nature of the force they
were up
against. While the British
considered themselves as successors to the Mughals, there
was an indigenous
force
in
the form of the Maratha confed-
eracy that also claimed the right to rule cy
Above The
Considered by the Duke of Wellington to be
British
advance against the
Maratha army
at
the Battle of Assaye
Assaye
army faced
British
on 23 September 1803.
tutored Right:
A Maratha
cavalryman The army the Marathas
colonial
native
which
in
it
his finest victory,
a small but well-trained
equipped and well
forces well
European combat techniques.
in
whelming odds, of
was one
Won
against over-
demonstrated the indomitable
powers when faced with
militarily
spirit of
the
sophisticated oppo-
was an
impressive combination of traditional warriors in
armour with lances and swords and Europeantrained infantry
armed
nents.
Assaye also served as an
early
showcase
for the
Duke
of Wellington's talents.
European imperialism began
earnest
in
in
the 16th century
with the conquest of the Americas. European soldiers operat-
the
New
with muskets and
ing
supported by cannon.
prising ease.
in
which were
World overcame the native cultures with
A number
of factors
logistical organization
accounted
for this,
sur-
among
and extraordinary bravery,
by means of which handfuls of Spanish conquistadors were
kingdoms such as
able to defeat great similar pattern
native cultures
and
Siberia,
while
French and
in
A
the world, with
being confronted, found to be ill-prepared
far less able to
niques which
that of the Aztecs.
was repeated elsewhere
withstand the early modern warfare tech-
confronted them. in
British
India
The Russians conquered
the trading stations of Portuguese,
merchants were turned
into the
stepping
stones of empire.
BRITAIN IN INDIA Britain's
involvement
in
India during the
18th century had
reached a crucial point with the Battle of Plassey
when Robert
Clive defeated the
nawab
The nawab's army was ten times the
in
1757,
(governor) of Bengal. size of Robert Clive 's
was
India.
The confedera-
a grouping of various influential clan chiefs under the
Delhi'
ASIA
Ganges
INDIA
Calcutta"
Arabian Sea
.ASSAYE
Bombay*
Bay of Bengal
Hyderabad
— -«
I3»
ismMmmi
^
ml
peshaw
Above: A contemporary
leadership of a
engraving shows British
warred with one another,
troops advancing
in
the
face of Maratha artillery
also
combined
was
in
(chief minister); at times, the clans
particularly for leadership, but they
various coalitions to resist the British. The
three Maratha wars fought
during the Battle of
result
Assaye.
and 1817-18.
in
1775-82, 1803-05
warlike tribes of India through the introduction of European tactics ral
and French
By the
competing imperial powers, such as the French, the
overawe
peshaws and
clan
chiefs
rapidly
transformed their feudal
armies and equipped their soldiers with Western-style military training.
In
native armies could rely on twice as British.
artillery,
many cannons
Major Thome, a veteran of many battles
complained of
'the
muskets and
a very short time,
in
these as the
the region,
changes that have taken place among the
which, combined with their natu-
them
numerical superiority, has rendered our conflicts with
sanguinary
Recruiting European military advisers, frequently from one of the
discipline,
courage, often bordering on enthusiastic frenzy, and their
hunger
in
late its
the extreme'.
18th century
opponents
for the
was no India.
longer easy for Britain to
And
yet,
such was
wealth to be derived from India that the
took on ever more effort to
it
in
difficult
subdue the
their
British
and challenging campaigns
in
an
native population. Against such a back-
ground, the Battle of Assaye emerges as being typical of a period
in
which
British forces
gunned - otherwise impressive
outfought - rather than outnative armies.
It
is
also inter-
13
estmg
were commanded by
to note that the British
become
later to
'.ellesley,
Duke
the
Assaye demonstrates the strength of
British fighting skills in
the face of superior numbers; Wellington,
years later which
was
moment
his finest
young
a
of Wellington.
when asked
in battle,
formed
answered
was
it
his
men up on
were reported
to
gage tram was well
northern India, and Battle of
candidate for peshwa.
Britain's
was
It
were determined
in
had
lost
the
river,
1803
began the advance. Maratha
arose. This time
began if
forcefully. his
younger brother Arthur to offer protection to Peshwa
Baji
Rao
II,
who
had been defeated by the Holkar
Other
clan.
it
fortified,
river further
rear,
it
but because his bag-
he did not mind losing
for the duration of the battle.
but they
still
possessed superior numbers and
knew he would
to duel, Wellesley
was prolonged and so he ordered
his
men
SHEER AGGRESSION British
equipped pieces of
It
was an
impres-
and
cavalry; 10,000 infantry, trained
the Western style by French soldiers; and 200
in
artillery. All
commanded was 4.500
Wellesley
lars,
mostly sepoys, and
this,
Wellesley
half of
was supremely
ciency and organization
in
regu-
these were cavalry. Despite
confident, demonstrating
effi-
abundance.
Later historians have praised Wellesley 's logistical abilities
above
how
triumphs
his
frequently proved decisive ry,
and
in battle,
it
is
important to consider
the British supported their armies in
most armies had supported needed
they
from
the
their troops
lands
they
British forces in India,
by taking what through.
who
frequently
difficulties of a
campaign. The
however, adopted a system
they bought food and supplies from merchants their
camps. This not oniy resulted
but also ensured
the
goodwill
relatively
which
in
who came
to
less incidental fighting,
the
population.
local
be obtained
at
these
mili-
sourced from merchants acting as spies. The
wealthy
who were
in
of
Intelligence information could also tary bazaars,
it
passed
Understandably, this alienated local people,
fought back and added to the
because
in India,
campaigns. Throughout histo-
enjoyed the support of merchants
British
not slow to exploit their generosity. Wellesley did
not invent this system but, with his excellent eye for detail,
he ran
it
superbly and
gave him an added edge over
it
his
Maratha opponents. Having
left his
baggage
he instructed to be position of his in this
train in
fortified,
enemy
at
the village of Naulniah, which
Wellesley rode out to inspect the
Assaye. Wellesley
was
process of reconnaissance, getting to
scape of the forthcoming
battle
well practised
know
the land-
so as to be able to use
it
to his
advantage. Ignoring the suspect knowledge of his guides, he
discovered a ford across the Kaitnathat he could to
speed up the transport
vulnerable.
It
of his troops without
meant he could
Wellesley led the
way
also
surprise
make use
of
making them the
into the river, but as his troops
enemy.
waded
forward, with
the kilted troops of the 78th Highlanders leading the way.
penetrated Maratha territory and stumbled across an army at
some 30,000
a
artillery
lose the encounter
Sheer aggression was the only way to win
sive array:
commu-
The Marathas
the advantage of having their troops protected by
clans then objected to the British intervention. Wellesley
the junction of the Juah and Kaitna rivers.
caval-
west and
formidable array of cannons. As the two lines of
more
it
to intervene
governor general of Bengal, sent
Richard Wellesley.
nication with
British at the
only a matter of time before
there would be a further clash, and the British
and
central
attempt to favour a
1779 they defeated the
in
Wadgaon, following
m
up. Fortunately
ceased when Wellesley
have crossed the
could have threatened Wellesley 's
The Marathas had replaced the Mughal dynasty
it
the opposite shore.
regular British troops and ry
WAR WITH THE MARATHAS
opened
artillery
half-hearted fire and
Wellesley placed his Madras sepoys between two units of
forty
with one word: 'Assaye.'
some Maratha
into the water, for him,
fixed
their
this contest; the
bayonets and charged the well-trained
Maratha troops. The two Maratha commanders, Berar and Scindia, lacked the fighting,
but
their
courage of Wellesley and senior
Hanoverian, remained
in
78th Highlanders halted at
mighty
volley,
European
command
55m
retired
adviser,
from the
Pohlmann,
of the Indian troops.
artillery
soldiers at the Battle of
Assaye. Wellington
considered this one of
(180ft), fired their
then charged and plunged
a
The
Below Maratha
rake the lines of British
in
muskets
in
a
with their bayonets.
the hardest-fought battles of his career.
'
«*
British forces
k ,
Casualties:
»
across river
.
*
——
1.500 British and Allied 1,200 Maratha
Assaye
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T
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SCINDIA AND BERAR
Above: A typical sepoy soldier
armed with
It
was
Western-style uniform.
These men formed the
backbone
of Britain's
empire-building armies in
ing, in
theatres of
fired a
second
war from
volley,
India to Spain.
Maratha
line of
reel-
which
finally
in
the 78th Highlanders
artillery,
broke Pohlmann's troops on
the southern flank. The Madras sepoys followed up on this
entire
British
men
Pohlmann's
now swung
line
the fighting and a second horse
him. His bravery
and
round
pushed
back to the Juah. Wellesley became caught up
must have
stark contrast to that of the
concerned with
was
fatally
men;
inspired his
Maratha leaders,
personal safety.
their
wounded beneath it
certainly
stood
in
who seemed more
Faced by a renewed
the late 18th and early
success and also broke the Maratha
19th centuries.
triumph, however,
Above right: On 23 September 1803 British Maratha troops back
and broke them, forcing
them back
into
Assaye
some
of the
was
there to
away by
their
sepoys became disorganized
and the sepoys
regrouped. At the forefront of the action, Wellesley had his
horse shot from beneath him. Highlanders
came under
On
intense
sive square with ramparts
the northern flank, the 74th
fire
and had to form
composed
British attack,
crossed the
a defen-
of the bodies of their
the Marathas decided they had had enough and
river,
leaving behind
much
of their
equipment.
Wellesley 's victory decisively curbed Maratha power
cavalry, but the British
protect their flank
and then across the
Juah
Carried
line.
and vulnerable to the nearby Maratha cavalry
troops chased the line of
The
this sort of hard, close-quarters fighting that the British
Having taken a
0.8
PeepulgaoD———
favoured and which would frequently send their enemies
musket and wearing
°5
kilometres
.Waroor
Allied Cavalry
•
miles
but his losses had been heavy, with
India,
tral
troops dead and
wounded -
a casualty rate of
some
in
cen-
1,500
more than 27
per cent. The Marathas had lost at least 1,200 dead and had
abandoned 98 cannons on the tory at
Argaum ended
battlefield.
A
further British vic-
the war, but the British had
many more
river.
dead comrades. They stood British cavalry to gallop past
village of
their
ground long enough
for the
and clear the ground before the
final
to fight
CLOSE-RUN THING
The General was
though in
the thick of the
action the whole time.
No one could
have shown a better example. a
man so
I
never
cool and collected...
I
in
India against
tough opponents, and
conquest of the subcontinent was
ence not achieved
Assaye.
saw
campaigns
can assure you,
till
until
our troops
a very
the middle of the 19th century.
we could have succeeded. A Personal
got the order to advance the fate of the
Quoted
day seemed doubtful; and
History by Christopher Hibbert
numerous cavalry done
their duty
I
of the
if
the
enemy had
hardly think
it
possible
in
Wellington:
(HarperCollins, 1997)
their
hard-won experi-
TRAFALGAR, 1805
A
truly decisive
sea battle
Nelson demonstrated breaking the
once and
line of
for
all
which Vice-Admiral Horatio
in
mastery of naval
fire
power by
French and Spanish ships and ended
Napoleon's ambition to conquer
Nelson's bold action
copied by naval
his
became
a
Britain.
much-admired manoeuvre,
commanders ever
after.
This sea victory
Seapower had always been important -
in
that
it
protected
maritime lines of trade and therefore the creation of wealth but
in
the 16th century,
in
the
wake
Above: The
:'
the a
British naval
new
level of impor-
tance for a number of European nations. The Dutch,
British,
Spanish and French navies fought each other to secure
power would dominate the oceans
hugely profitable colonies and control of the sea lanes that
.entury.
led to
them. This fighting
at
stage of
with the French ship of the discovery of the
Americas, seapower had assumed a
Redoutable about to surrender to Nelson's flagship Victory.
sea continued for more than two
The
devastation of the close fighting
ensured that
final
the Battle of Trafalgar,
is
clearly
shown
by the wrecked Redoutable on the
left.
hundred years, with none
A
major players gaining a
of the
advantage over the others.
clear-cut
Although
maritime arms race led to the creation of bigger and
more powerful
faster ships, capable of maintaining
arrays of
the Netherlands had declined
and losing
protect their overseas empires had
main contenders
weakened and
ability to
the
left
it
sea power as Britain and France.
for global
Napoleon was serious about conquering Europe and then
who
He was
fearless under fire and as a
arm while engaging
his right
ship near Tenerife
'a
before the Battle of the
Nile. After
from
became
timber from a French flagship.
the decisive battle on this front.
own
his
peerage or Westminster Abbey!'
ed to receive
a coffin
1794
in
Spanish treasure
a
He often discussed
1797.
in
death, settling on either
the world, he would have to win the war at sea. Trafalgar
If
impairing the
in battle,
eye during the assault on Corsica
his right
in
Horatio
inspired the dearest devo-
had been badly wounded twice
result
sight
power, thus their
Vice-Admiral
stature,
in
a fighting leader
tion of his followers.
cannons. By the end of the 18th century, Spain, Portugal and in
diminutive
Nelson was
the battle, he
his captains
was
made
delight-
out of the
NELSON AGAINST NAPOLEON
'ENGLAND EXPECTS'
With France dominating the continental landmass, there
When
he received Napoleon's orders to ferry troops to
was
Naples
in
Britain could
little
the Royal Navy
French
was
maritime
emphasized colonies
in
assault on Corsica
power
its
During
ambitions.
power by
West
the
to limit
there, but at sea
strong and Britain used this to contain
naval
its
do
Indies.
1794
in
Above: Horatio Nelson
from the Mediterranean.
(1758-18051, one of
with the French fleet
A
the
number
taking a
However,
failed
and
1790s,
of French
more ambitious
a
had to retreat
Britain
Spanish attempt to
was
Britain
join its
foiled at the Battle of
forces
Cape
St
knew
the Mediterranean, Admiral Pierre Villeneuve
that Nelson
was
therefore set
waiting at sea to engage him
in battle.
He
the Bucentaure and slipped out of Cadiz
sail in
with a combined force of 33 ships (18 French, 15 Spanish).
Nelson
commanded 27 ships-of-the-line and was impatient On 21 October, Nelson caught up with Villeneuve,
for action.
who into
head back to Cadiz. Nelson formed
tried to
two columns and drove them
at right
his ships
angles towards
Britain's greatest
commanders and at Trafalgar.
The
Vincent
the ragged
1797.
in
line of
French and Spanish ships.
victor
portrait
is
by Lemuel Abbott,
c.
1797.
1798
In
a British fleet
under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
returned to the Mediterranean and defeated the French at the Battle of the
This re-established Britain's control of
Nile.
HMS
Nelson's flagship,
and he directed line,
it
was
Victory,
first in
towards the twelfth ship
Villeneuve 's flagship.
He ordered
in
the column
the opposing
his signaller to hoist
the region and posed a threat to the French port of Toulon.
up flags conveying a message to the rest of his
Furthermore, Nelson's victory helped to encourage the cen-
'England expects that every
tral
European
Napoleon.
In
powers
to
join
new
a
sion of Britain. With Spain as his
ally,
possibility of finally achieving
naval
French broke out of Toulon and Indies, but
there
Channel through
British in the English
under the "command of Admiral
West
coalition
1804 Napoleon began preparations
were
was
against
for an inva-
the tempting
where he threw the Austrians
summer
and the
was now
in
for Italy but
was
Britain
distance and the grapeshot,
a grape,
and give
for breaking a ship's like a
shotgun,
was
resistance which
might be offered to a boarding
Nelson ordered one
final
'Engage the enemy more
columns
British
message
to fly
from
his
party.
masthead:
closely.'
of ships closed
on the French and
the Spanish and French ships and the British sailors lay
his
balance at Ulm (see
In
was
and shifted
fleet at Cadiz
October 1805
it
set
intercepted off Cape Trafalgar, near
Cadiz, by Nelson's British fleet.
two round shot and then
gun-
by other British
Spanish
The French and Spanish
the Mediterranean.
a practical order to his
1805 Napoleon
given a different objective: the re-establishment of
French power sail
of
France into central Europe, off
in
fleet:
his duty.' Captain
intended for close-quarter fighting to clear the deck of any
As the
of northern
Austerlitz, pp. 20-23).
captains: 'Put
gave
do
will
typical of that delivered
hull at a
The
Villeneuve.
into the Atlantic
had decided against the invasion of
army from the coast
Belleisle
a joint fleet operation
Pierre
back and seeking the safety of the port of Cadiz, where they
by the
HMS
her that.' Round cannonball shot
harried by British vessels into turning
this turn of events,
of
one probably
dominance over the
were then blockaded. With
Hargood ners,
man
down on
hell
line, all
broke loose. Broadsides erupted from
their decks.
They had
to accept this first assault,
because they were approaching head-on and could not yet fire their
guns
in
unison. Under the withering
fire,
masts
Men were blown to pieces and crewmen became impatient. 'Shall we not show our splintered and sails collapsed.
broadside and
fire?'
replied Hargood,
asked an
officer
'we are ordered
to
on the
Belleisle. 'No,'
go through the
line,
and
Having raked the Bucentaure with
^m- -)>-
V
NEPTUNO
shocked
10
on one another. The
fire
to
CAX
Flagships
SCIPION^
^^
y y^
;an franc/sco de as/s
^
k
grenades and
kets,
vulnerable
to take cover - and sure
'^ Nelson
dies,
enough
TEMERA
REDOUTABLE
English ships break^ _
?E
LEVIATHAN
\1
the French and c „„ nich PmQ
"conoueror
SANTA
ROYAL SOVEREIGN
Lucas thought he had
*^NEPTUNE NFPTUf
SANLEANDRI „,. u,.ANDRo\
™
"1
^r
__
r
set
M u
ONAUTE
it
save
BAHAMA
MONTANES
DEFIANCE
on the other
it
side. In the
cannons
its
its
and was
when
the
meantime, the Victory kept
Redoutable, breaking
into the
apart
it
were now stuck
captain's feet. All three ships
sinking fast but
falgesiras
=Cll£RIP"0\
Victory,
free and sent a boarding party aboard the French ship.
Fpluton achille
of triumph
together and they drifted helplessly. The Victory finally broke
Ifougueux
spartiate
into
beneath
MINOTAUR
moment
his
about to send his sailors aboard the
firing
INDOMPTABLE
imonarca
^
exposed. Barely a quarter
Redoutable was rammed by the Temeraire, which crashed
ANA—
PRINC^.
two columns attack to split the French and Spanish fleet
wounded
a French sniper
SAN JUST0
Villeneuve surrenders
^j/tf AGAMEMNON^
fleet in
fully
Nelson below deck. *|
^
Nelson s
particularly
of his refusal
of an hour into the fighting British sailors had had to carry
NELSON
^ ^f
was
engagement because
kind of
in this
Nelson
cutlasses.
IsanagJStin
27 ships
BRITANNIA
armed with mus-
to be carried out by sailors and marines
him as he stood on the deck
Ocean
this as his oppor-
.
Vravo
%
Atlantic
saw
and he wanted the fighting
tunity to board Nelson's flagship
^k .MONTBLANC RWMtW* OUG(My TROU(N
inflict-
crew were
British
see the French suddenly shut their gunports,
but Captain Lucas of the Redoutable
French and Spanish retreat
the Victory round-
fire,
ed gently and closed with the Redoutable. Both ships ed heavy
English attack
^v French and Spanish warships m—
OCTOBER 1805
21
English warships
and the Temeraire his ship.
The
alight
if
moment
at the
to
the British did not help him
Meanwhile, beneath the decks of the
Nelson was dying
Victory,
of his great victory.
fighting continued for five terrible hours as both sides
becoming disabled as
blasted away, ships
i
was
It
would not surrender, Lucas threatened
masts were
their
^OLWHEMUS Si!,
'LDEFOriSO
'
! /
were wrecked, the
*
*'"
'--
••:
'
12 miles
^
bruised him from hip to neck, but
tain of
10 French and Spanish ships run for Cadiz
columns line of
being the
larly badly,
by God!' The Victory suffered particufirst
to enter the
enemy
line
marines
in
the midst of the fighting.
line of
and duly
the
enemy
Villeneuve
with his columns, he had created a
numbers
superiority of
was compelled
the centre of the battle.
in
to surrender
and ten of
his ships
broke off the battle to head for the safety of Cadiz. The
- breaking the
Spanish and
receiving fire from
good naval
French ships during the
all
Battle of Trafalgar on 21
giving their
all
quarters. Nelson
and
officers of the period, coolly
his officers, like
paced the decks,
men encouragement.
October 1805.
BREAKING THE LINE Once the
come to
British ships
tremendous
British
had penetrated the
The
enemy line and own broadsides
were masters
damaged
but none of
them had been
wind rose
after the battle
many
of the
enemy
Trafalgar did not
French sailors and destroyed 20 of her guns.
ade
their
own musket
French had placed snipers
fire to in
this,
;ould ignite the sails, although
y ship
and not
kill
crew.
claiming that their
in reality
commander's its
marines
the rigging of their ships, but
Nelson had a personal disdain for
aval belief that the
British
the ferocious volley. The
job
he shared a
was
to capture
ships
lost to
and prevented the
enemy
were badly
the enemy. The British
from tak-
ships as prizes, but the dead Nelson
became one
of
Britain's greatest military heroes.
France - Napoleon
added
of their
could not be denied his victory and he
broadside of the Victory
first
own
Many
crashed into the Bucentaure and instantly wounded 200
effect.
of the sea, having captured 17
ships and sunk one.
ing
close to their foes, they fired their
that
he stood on deck and
French and Spanish fleet began to disintegrate. By breaking
local shall,
still
Eventually Nelson's tactics proved their worth and the
the
go through she
sails.
its
splinter
urged his crew on, sharing a bunch of grapes with his cap-
\
SAN JUAN D£ HEPOMUCENO
Above Nelson and his British ships - in two
a
'
-
M BERWICK
both ships
three of
all
Hargood was knocked down by
Captain
:
/
Belleisle losing
until
Cape Trafalgar
fAchilles prevail
broken. The Belleisle fought the Fougueux
;»Kfj;jr;
end the naval duel between
was
British exports to
aries of
still
Europe - but
Britain controlled the seas.
and
it
did define the
Britain
used
its
No
later at Austerlitz,
land,
while
other nation could contest
sea power
in
create and maintain a global empire that ^d ever seen.
and
bound-
dominance. Napoleon remained master of the
going on to victory two months
this
Britain
as determined as ever to block-
the 19th century to
became the
largest
'
Above: This painting by Denis Dighton
shows
Nelson struck
down by
French sniper's
a
bullet.
British captains routinely
walked the decks ships, defying in
of their
enemy
fire
order to maintain the
morale
of their
crew
Far from being a motley assortment of
on to blow a gale of wind, and the
them.
We
impressed seamen, the majority of
English immediately set to work to
clever
manoeuvres before, and
Nelson's sailors were professional
shorten
crewmen who performed
as
well
under
sail
much
and reef the
regularity
topsails, with
and order as
if
their
fire.
One French
captain at Trafalgar
ships had not been fighting a dreadful
was
particularly
impressed by how
battle.
We were
all in
amazement,
quickly the British sailors recovered
wondering what the English seamen
from the trauma
could be
The act
of battle:
that astonished
was when
the action
me
was
the
over.
most It
came
made
of. All
our
either drunk or disabled, officers,
seamen were and we, the
could not get any work out of
never witnessed any such I
shall
never forget them. Quoted
in
The Oxford Illustrated History
of the Royal
Navy edited by
J.R. Hill
(Oxford University Press, 1995)
AUSTERLITZ, 1805
—
-
French armies
ARCHDUKE FERDINAND
+
^Prague
M
French movements
r
a v
Russian and Austrian armies
- -
a
ALEXANDER OlmiitZ"^
""""***
Bohemia
Russian and Austrian movements
i
\ /
Xausterlitz
Briiniw
WURTTEMBERG
BERNADOTTE
F
\
DECEMBER
2
/
AUSTRIAN ARMY
NAPQLEOiS
^
BAVARIA
J
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AUSTR A Linz ***»„__
X'ulm OCTOBER
napoleon^ -
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1805
'Augsburg
SOULT x
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HUNGARY
^MARMONT
Above: Napoleon
SALZBURG
wearing the uniform
Innsbruck
of
the Grenadiers a Pied of
Tyro SWITZERLAND
.
p
|
Carinth
neyM,
Lienz"* **%
s
^
the Imperial Guard
ia
^
prava
.Villach
N
e n e
t
i
closeness to and
J.
concern
commander.
1
ffffll
a»*
"Trieste
10
Cam'
x
^•Venice ^6
Left:
50
miles c,e a
his strength as
a charismatic
MASSENA
c
for his soldiers
added to
T
•***
a
portrait by Paul
Delaroche. Napoleon's
ARCHDUKE CHARLES
V
Napoleon's
strategic
%a
movements
1
kilometres
8o
!
early
December,1805 as
he confronted the forces
Russian armies. of
Napoleon Bonaparte's finest
Austerlitz
showed him as
a
victories, the Battle of
master of manoeuvre, with
outperforming the larger one ranged against half.
Success
left
but, believing
him unassailable
he was
invincible,
in
it,
and
his force
splitting
it
in
western and central Europe,
he then invaded Russia and
precipitated the collapse of his empire. Overconfidence can be a
commander's greatest enemy. Like Julius Caesar, Napoleon
and foremost a
first
matic military leader. His troops believed that head, they could not
mere
politicians.
fail
- he was
He was
a
'man
if
he was
of destiny'
took their
do
mood
AUSTERLITZ
to procure provisions for us.' directly
charis-
aloof.
at their
from him.
'I
seemed somewhat
cold and
Perhaps he had been looking forward to a more resound-
ing victory.' In fact
he was
ill,
but the sight clearly disappointed
Vossler.
Even when things started to go wrong
French
soldiers
retained
belief
in
[Napoleon] passed close to a grenadier
their
who
in
Russia,
commander.
the foot,' observed Heinrich von Brandt, 'and this brave
called out, "Oh, sire!
We would
Why were you
'He
had been wounded
man
not at our head yesterday?
have crushed the Russians."'
up against
also observed to care closely for his
men. 'Our beloved Emperor,' wrote Captain Coignet, thing he could
recalled Lieutenant Vossler. 'He
in
was
'did
Many
in
1
of the Austrian
One
in a
every-
soldiers
passed the Emperor,'
DICTATOR OF FRANCE Napoleon's military reputation 1
was
796-97, where, leading France's
forged
Army
of
string of victories against larger armies.
in
northern
Italy,
Italy in
he achieved a
He combined
fierce
and
Paris.
-nna-
FRANCE
battlefield
aggression with skilled strategic manoeuvring, which
enabled him to defeat the superior numbers of the attacking
them piecemeal. Success on the
becoming the primary achievement government
in
Paris
and
in
enemy by
battlefield
the
of
was
fast
Revolutionary
1797 a coup d'etat ushered
in
the
pro-Bonaparte Directory.
British control of the sea.
Nile
ended
political
this
power
Below: The French
camp, on the night
in
an attempt to weaken
The French defeat
at the Battle of the
hope, but Napoleon further increased his grip on in
1799 when he claimed personal recognition
for the various military
with a Consulate. The
for
Peace treaty or
life.
finally
and desire
dissuaded from
for
successes by replacing the Directory
civilian
administration
servant of the military and Napoleon
was
was now firmly
the
at liberty to indulge
not, there
seemed
to
be no end
French expansion. He was only
his plans to
invade Britain by the Royal
Navy's control of the seas, emphatically confirmed at Trafalgar in
1805 (see
Trafalgar pp. 16-1
Armee, a body to
assume time
this
of
hegemony over
in itself.
was
Meanwhile,
in
a hereditary empire, in part to ists
into the
Grande
with which he proposed the rest of Europe. By
often appeared that the military successes of the
Revolution meant that war
an end
The force with which he
some 200,000 men
his 'rightful'
it
9).
was then absorbed
intended to invade England
1798, France invaded Egypt
In
Consul
to his ambition
being pursued by Napoleon as
May 1804 Napoleon undermine the
proclaimed
plotting of royal-
against his regime.
before the battle of Austerlitz, painted by
Louis-Francois Lejeune
(1775-18481
Napoleon
in
1808.
men.
own
With tional
ambitions through conquest. Britain
Napoleon's sole remaining opponent, an interna-
peace was established
at
Amiens
in
AUSTERLITZ MANOEUVRES
March 1802. The
By 1805,
was confirmed
Coalition to
Britain's
prime minister,
Pitt,
had assembled the Third
talks to his
generals and inspires his
his
existence of a military dictatorship
May
that year
when
in
a popular vote
France
confirmed him as
in
First
both
Italy
oppose Napoleon. Having made fresh conquests
and Germany since 1802, Napoleon
now
in
took the
AUSTERLITZ
against his
initiative
enemies
in
vres. In October,
men
at
sought to
two months
army
his
were
enemies
of Austria
was
through the Alps from
command
under the
moved
men
were
in total,
prevented from coming
by a force of 20,000 Frenchmen
The
of Ney.
right flank
Archduke
Prague, while both the
in
men were
Italy
near Brunn.
fragmented.
Austro-Russian force
allied
southwards from Olmutz, hoping
first,
Napoleon's
men
65,000
and Russia, with 90,000
Olmutz, and 80,000 more
in
of
hopelessly
Ferdinand, with 18,000 men,
emperors
had
after the Austrians
against France. Advancing north from Vienna,
he began to concentrate His
manoeu-
By November, Vienna
to surrender.
it
occupation, just
move
1805 he
in
brilliant military
he surrounded an Austrian army of 30,000
Ulm and forced
was under
Europe and
central
wrong-footed them with a series of
and cut
overwhelm
to
communications with
his line of
Casualties:
Vienna. Situated near the village of Austerlitz, Napoleon deliber-
made
ately
his
attack from the
army appear vulnerable
French 9,000 Russian and Austrian 26,000
order to provoke an
in
allies.
NAPOLEON'S TRAP As
anticipated,
Defeated Russians
on the morning of 2 December, the Russians
and Austrians sent
their
main assault against the French
wing. The French reeled back and the
men
along the
exactly
line to exploit
the
troops
his
was
but this
hidden
initially
now
he
campfires,
their
right
sent more of their
momentum,
what Napoleon wanted. With
by winter fog and the smoke of
allies
counter-attacked with Marshal Soult leading a corps against the heights of Pratzen, an act which
the
split
allied
army
Soult then turned to attack the extended allied
half.
in
flank.
left
against only 9,000 French losses.
commanded
Russian army
wrote to
wife Josephine.
his
'I
have beaten the Austro-
by the two Emperors,' Napoleon
am
'I
a
Tomorrow and
I
I
be able to
shall
rest
in
weary.
little
many
the open for eight days and as
in
have camped
I
freezing
nights.
French corps
now
and Austrian position
should be able to snatch two or three hours' sleep there.
The Russian army
is
not only beaten but destroyed.'
Below: of
assaulted the
on the
allied right
at
the Battle of Austerlitz.
the castle of Prince Kaunitz,
Surprised, the Austrians and Russians fled.
Two more
Above: Napoleon's aggressive assault on the centre of the Russian
Artillery soliders
Napoleon's Imperial
Guard. Trained as an
MASTER OF EUROPE
artillery officer himself,
Brunn-Olmutz road. The Russians resisted bravely, but fighting the veterans of
was
This
also the
became
ership
in
hard
Napoleon's army proved their worth.
moment when
a decisive factor,
Napoleon's charismatic lead-
because
his soldiers
wanted
to
Austerlitz
mance
This
one
of Napoleon's
the exotic Mamelukes,
African costumes.
most dedicated
who were
dressed
in
These Mamelukes were marvellous
cav-
North
riders,'
observed Coignet. 'They could do anything they chose with
With
their horses.
head the
curved sabres, they would take a man's
one blow, and
their
sharp stirrups tore the loins of
they encountered.
One
of
off with
men
their
them came three
different
times up to the Emperor bringing a Russian standard. The time, the
Emperor wished
to stop him, but he
dashed
in
third
again,
and returned no more.'
French cavalry at Austerlitz: the instruction of
dered
One
me
my
recommend
too highly
arm, which has ren-
such important services, needs to be well instructed.
been massacred, and
my
Eventually, the Russians allied
could not
could say that instruction does everything. The Russian
cavalry did not lack courage all
'I
cuirassiers... This
[at Austerlitz],
Guard has
lost
and
still
it
has nearly
nobody.'
were overcome and by
nightfall
army had collapsed, sustaining some 26,000 casualties
AUSTERLITZ
makes
because
it
there
felt
was
and
Emperor Francis
The
was
it
reach himself.
czar's forces
at the
peak of
nothing he could not achieve.
He
this point
onwards
he began to over-
that
German
believed he could conquer the
and eastern Europe, and he spent the following decade
By
suit of this ambition.
1
807 he had crushed
sought to control Russia and
1812
in
this resulted
which he was forced to
disintegrating
army
that left
in
Prussia;
brilliant
Napoleon made the mistake
Moscow
of
victories
many
in
he
with a
1940,' wrote Alistair
such as
dictators
he underestimated the strength and endurance of 'As with Hitler
pur-
finally,
the catastrophe of
from
retreat
states in
him vulnerable.
Raised to dizzying heights by
were too
gave
of Austria
Austerlitz a decisive battle for the rest of his career,
was from
Home,
his
'the
humiliated, the victor given too great a
in
that
enemies. defeated
sense of
superiority for the long-term future to consolidate the victory. Austerlitz raised
Napoleon to the pinnacle of
turned his head and or combination
the
after
into unconditional surrender.
success and
Austerlitz,
Napoleon was more prosaic about the performance of the
Europe
retreated ignominiously to Russia. Napoleon his
at Austerlitz of
of Napoleon's greatest victories
of central
had been forced
please him by gaining a victory. Coignet describes the perfor-
alry units,
was one
him mastery
of
filled
it
his
success,
it
If
also
with the delusion that no force
forces could
now
stop him conquering
the world.' From Austerlitz onwards, Napoleon's days were
numbered as the
allies
grew
in
strength against him.
Napoleon was expert its
in
use on the battlefield.
Above: Napoleon victorious at the Battle of Austerlitz, having
defeated two emperors It
was
the climax of his
military career
and
That evening the Emperor came out of
NIGHT BEFORE AUSTERLITZ
convinced him that he
Captain Jean-Roch Coignet
was unstoppable
remarkable for two aspects of
Painting by de Mesnier First,
his tent,
is
his
life.
twilight,
was
carried four lighted torches. This
1799
1816, a remarkable feat of
signal for a
and secondly, he wrote
guard took up handfuls of straw from
survival;
fascinating
memoirs
and recorded a
of his times
particularly
moving
moment between Napoleon and soldiers
on the eve of
in
Austerlitz:
his
battle
their
charming
sight: the
bivouacs and set them on
Holding a bunch lighted
It
and the horse-grenadiers
throughout Napoleon's campaigns, from to
them
his horse, started
off with his escort to visit the outposts.
was
he served as an active soldier
and mounting
in
cried out, "V7ve lEmpereur!"
the
I
air.
am
thousand
The whole corps took
it
sure that two hundred
flares
were
The bands
lighted.
Russians, from their heights,
more
seven army corps, and seven in
men
and
the
than
a hundred feet above us, could see
fire.
other,
in
and
played and the drums beat to arms. The
whole
each hand, the
them one from the
up,
all
and tossed
front of
lines of fire
mem.'
From The Narrative of Captain Coignet: Soldier of the Empire translated by
M. Carey (Chatto
& Windus,
1897)
AUSTERLITZ
WATERLOO, 1815
The
battle that
marked the end
how
classic demonstration of
of the road for
a
more
Napoleon was a
practical
commander,
such as Wellington, could defeat a charismatic warlord. By understanding the landscape of war
brilliantly
and using
mander In
of
them
com-
over.
How wrong
Above: Scots Greys cavalry charge the
French at the battle of
they were.
Waterloo by Lady
in this
It
did not take long for the people of France to forget the hor-
Right:
The opening
movements
disintegration of his
Prussia
army during the disastrous
reasserted
itself
retreat
from
and joined forces with
Napoleon had
inflicted
on the rest of Europe and they
the
at
encounter that ground him in
down
of
1813,
an
the Peninsular
War
Leipzig
further. In
Spain and Portugal from 1808 onwards, the
manded by more.
In
result,
1814 the
although he
who became
Wellesley,
Wellington as a
was
reduced French
inflicting
the
in
British,
'Iron'
military
com-
Duke
of
power even
French armies around
not the disasters of his last campaigns. The economic disarray
Waterloo
in
between
17
being all
felt in
France
was
said to require a 'strongman' to sort
it
out and Napoleon seized his opportunity. Less than a year
after his exile to
several minor defeats on them. Forced to abdicate, island of Elba
and Louis
XVIII
was
sail
and landed near
his closest Paris,
guards-
gathering
support wherever he went.
The
Napoleon was exiled to the
Napoleon set
men, he marched through France towards
capital
before his enemies and
Elba,
Cannes. Accompanied by a thousand of
beaten, Napoleon had demonstrated his old brilliantly
and
pined for his return. Ex-soldiers recalled only the glory days and
invaded France and occupied Paris;
Allies
genius by manoeuvring
24
Battle
of the
Allied, Prussian
June 1815.
and Russia
Austria
painting
Butler.
NAPOLEON'S RETURN rors that
all.
1812, Napoleon's world had started to collapse with the
Moscow.
relieved; the long struggle
it
both to protect and to conceal his troops, Wellington devised a battle-winning formula that finally toppled the greatest
was
enthroned. The rest of Europe
with revolutionary and then imperial France appeared to be
rest of
Europe was
horrified.
As Napoleon entered the
and resumed control of the French government and
army, the Allied powers
met
declared him an outlaw. By
1
at
June the
midable array of armies: 95,000
its
the Congress of Vienna and Allies
British,
had raised a
for-
Dutch and German
Belgium
and 18
,
* * '^
Sea
ifth
J^»
jFXP
L L« N
Bruttels
-ATERLOfl
EUROPE
command
troops, under the
been
assembled
of the
Belgium;
in
Gebhard von Blucher marched
Germans raised
left
some 280,000
Wellington; 210,00
to join
on
largely
his
charisma - the one attribute
him - Napoleon managed soldiers,
to raise a force of
75,000 of them veterans
who needed
urging to join their erstwhile emperor.
Faced by such an overwhelming that the only
way
strategies and he
north
in
was
highly skilled at
to
move
quickly
of his
most
brilliant
was
was one
It
it.
Swiftly he
advanced
order to defeat the Prussians and the British separate-
before they could
join forces.
On 16 June Napoleon
collided
with the Prussians at Ligny. His aggression paid off and the Prussians reeled back.
4bove The Duke of Wellington, by Goya
In
the meantime. Marshal Ney took on
a British vanguard at Quatre Bras, a strategically useful cross-
(1812).
Napoleon wanted Ney to help him
roads.
has been alleged, by the Napoleonic historian Peter
It
Hofschroer,
making
that Wellington
a stand at Ligny,
them and then not doing assemble
his troops.
demonstrate the ing the
If
political
deceived the Prussians into
claiming that he would support
gave himself further time
so, this
true,
is
the
off
finish
to
could be said to
it
astuteness of Wellington, indicat-
superb grasp of the
war
realities of
that
would
later
help him at Waterloo. Other historians disagree, saying that
Wellington pledged support only
Napoleon knew
alliance,
to defeat these armies
and defeat them one by one.
ly
under
Prussians
and a Russian army of 167,000 slowly advanced
westwards. Relying
little
of Wellington, had
along the Rhine frontier; 75,000 Austnans were
lay
in Italy;
that never
Duke
124,000
which he was
make
Hofschroer does, however,
emphasizes the
fact that
Germans formed the Napoleon.
Some
amounted
to
that
was
he
not attacked,
which
in
forces facing
25,000 troops from various German states
it
Duke
one-third of the
of Wellington's
was Wellington who commanded
gave Napoleon most trouble on the day and
toughness of many ground, that
when he
point
a valid
Waterloo was a battle
majority of the Allied
more than
army. That said,
if
Quatre Bras.
at
made
it
British
such a
the army
it
was
which stood
regiments,
the
their
titanic struggle.
Prussians, but the British vanguard proved far tougher to deal
with than anticipated, giving Wellington time to gather most of his forces at
CHARISMA VERSUS GOOD SENSE Having pushed the Prussians back to Wavre, on 18 June
Waterloo.
Napoleon turned
his attention to
of the French generals
Brussels
WELLINGTON
*
I "'""ALL
\
\
s
j
18
JUNE
V»"
-WATERLOO
'La Belle-Allian\e ^" "
\ -S;
/
*%*
JUNE/
~ Braine-Le-Comte
Nivelle
X
stSU'
cially
Marshal Soult, but Napoleon rounded on him: 'Because
you have been beaten by Wellington you consider him general, but
NAPOLEON
*X^ *St^
'
«
"
i^B
Allied
armies
Allied
movements
French armies
JUNE
(see Assaye, pp.1 2-1
*\ *
17
good
a
bad general and the
affair will
not be
more
seri-
in
Spain and India
Wellington analysed the landscape of
thus screening them from the
JUNE
from any opening stantial
C embloux
\
his British
regiments on the
J
J
fortified positions
Namur
protecting
them
ahead of
his flanks
and
up the cohesion of any enemy advance.
Above
was being
all,
Wellington in
cautious and chose a defen-
the hope of holding the French long enough for
Bluchers Prussians to
,
enemy and
bombardments. He used the sub-
centre, thus breaking
sive position
gamore
artillery
walled farmhouses of Hougoumont, La Haye-Sainte
and Papelotte as
A
join
him and then together they could
overwhelm the French.
m
Charleroi
les
1
French movements
a
reverse slope of a low plateau running along the Ohain Road,
\w/ ''
5),
and placed the majority of
battle
\\
m*XV* LIGNY
The whole
English are bad troops.
is
ous than swallowing one's breakfast.'
GROUCHY**
\
you that Wellington
Wellington did not underestimate his adversary. Employing
A +
\
tell
the practical methods of war he had learned
QUATRE BRAS /%*%
17
I
.Wavre
t
\\
Spain
X T BiiLOW
17
Some
rather anxious about the forthcoming encounter, espe-
1
BLU CHER
British in
were
1
\
Wellington at Waterloo.
had fought the
N
JUNE
17
who
10
Disdaining caution and trusting to his soldiers' passion for
1
1
kilo
netres
15
him as style,
their leader,
Napoleon took the offensive
although his respected
abilities
in
his old
as a battlefield surveyor
and waving
squares
many
the battlefield,
managed
swords
their
returned dense volleys of
fire.
who
British,
ridge of
of these British regiments had also
escape the worst of the opening barrage of
to
although French cannons were carried forward dur-
artillery,
down
the battle and used to lay
ing
the
at
Formed up behind the
between the
destructive
fire
in
cavalry assaults.
'[The French] fired into us with grapeshot,' recalled Morris of
the 73rd Highlanders, 'which proved very destructive, making
complete lanes through dash
closed our
wounded
and then the horsemen came up
files,
we
and they were forced again to
did not, however,
cannon - waiting there to
We
grapeshot. thick as hail
saw
upon
to
had
throwing the dead outside, and taking the
inside the square;
They
retire.
us;
the openings. But before they reached us,
in
go further then the pieces
try
the effect of
the match applied, and again
us.'
It
was
brutal fighting,
made
of
some more it
all
came
as
the worse
by the fact that neither side would give way.
By
six o'clock
it
was
the storm. His troops had stood firm and alry that
Left:
clear that Wellington
gave way. But danger was
still
it
was
men and
led another brave assault
the French cav-
the soldiers
present.
on the
As Napoleon rallied
this
up with one
final
blow.
He would send
them against the weakened
was covered by
barrage that pummelled the Allied
artillery
Napoleon sent
his infantry
dense columns, cheering usually British
their
enough to make any
were unmoved.
In
formations forward
in his
lines at
most
several times, but the
Allied centre,
which
Allied right flank,
Allies held their
the farmhouse of Hougoumont. Behind the
addition to this,
onslaught.
work their
for the
lines.
it
was
had rained heavily
was muddy, making
it
hard
French soldiers to cross the ground and slowing
impetus.
Mud
also absorbed cannonballs, stopping
them
from bouncing dangerously across the ground. Despite
this,
the French captured Papelotte and by four o'clock the Allied line
was pushed
back.
It
was
important to keep the pressure
on because Napoleon wanted to crush the ssians arrived, thus
Ney took
it
Allied
army before
on himself to order a
massive French cavalry attack. Napoleon believed the assault
was an hour too
rx x Final Allied
f
Chateau de.
Hougoumont
early.
W
^
STANDING STEADY :avalry thundered
towards the
are formations in :
jmrades and raised the bayonets on the
3ts
tips
so they formed a hedgehog-like defence. urging such obstacles e
WATERLOO
Allied lines,
which soldiers stood
and
French cavalrymen to
their
charge
circling
the
Allied
armies
Allied
movements
French armies
'-
French movements
V\\*VW^ 4^L v ^ ^Trench ^ \ J± W V* ^^
x^
attack
attack
\ * s
v
™
cavalry
attack
Imperial Guard
^^
nerve
their lines failed to
break under the
faint-hearted foe dissolve, but the
the previous night and the farmland
Allied
Waterloo on 18
June. Napoleon attacked
at mid-day. In
emperor, such an advance
his
Below: The French
advance against
appear to have deserted him on the day. Opening with a
massive
fought
Brown Bess musket.
and
Ney took the Old Guard beside the
who
Wellington at
Waterloo - loads
fol-
and experienced troops - the Old Guard.
Instead of leading
for
British line. This
Having managed to hold the Prussian advance, Napoleon
loyal
his
they swept over the farmhouse of La Haye-Sainte.
lowed
of
the 69th Foot - typical of
concentrated on the approaching Prussians, Ney
time,
An infantryman
had weathered
Prussian attack
Above:
Prior to
Waterloo, British troops held the French advance at
the cross-roads of
Quatre Bras. Here,
made, they
FRONT-LINE FIGHTING
Some
of the
toughest fighting at
Waterloo was endured by the infantry,
British
or the chagrin of being defeated,
horses up to the bayonet's point; and
not; but
one of them, leaning over
existence with his
made
who formed square formations
deliberately walked their
a thrust at
me
his horse,
with his sword.
he endeavoured
I
know
British soldiers
to terminate his
would
use at
later
Waterloo to defend
being too long for his purpose, he took
I
form the
square formation they
own sword; but that
themselves against before the assaults of French
could not avoid
artillery
and cavalry. Nineteen-year-old Thomas Morris
was
in
a defensive square at
Waterloo while he served
in
Regiment and describes
his
my
closed again,
it,
eyes.
and
When opened them
encounter
my enemy was
thrusting at
in
bayonet under
by one of my rear rank men, and whether
farmhouse were
remembered
a 71st Highlander.
him
in
bom-
came
several times
nothing could impede
was gone
in
moved forwards the
same
ordered
a
eight o'clock.
The
We
our last
advance.
mob. Napoleon's time had run
out.
left
He nad
Helena
The
in
like
Wellington. Three days
British
the middle of the Atlantic,
Battle of
later,
Napoleon surren-
and was exiled to the remote island of St
where he died
Waterloo was a tremendous
in
1821.
victory, bringing
an end to the French Revolutionary period and discouraging the re-emergence of any government intent on dominating
Allies
had refused to be
were pushing
attack elsewhere on the battlefield.
general
two
us.'
intimidated by the Old Guard and the Prussians
own
was
our advance. This
in
time.
a
charisma-based warfare had proved insufficient to defeat a
dered to the
retiring at
in
prevent the British and Prussians linking up and his
failed to
commander
were charged
their
riding up,'
the battlefield
a square, with
'We formed
We
it.'
desperately to the end, but others had had enough and
our centre, to receive cavalry. Shortly the whole army
received orders to advance.
It
fire,
support his troops.
highly valued. 'Wellington
columns, four deep, the French
effort;
line to
on
Sergeant Morris edited by John Selby
batteries of Allied artillery that furiously
was
fell
Painting by Lady Butler.
(Longman, Green, 1967)
barded the advancing French columns. Fearless under
His presence
French cavalry attacks.
Quoted from The Recollections of
the anguish of the wound,
Wellington coolly rode into the front
and
his cuirass,
on
up with
the act of
me. He had been wounded
was
raising himself
one hand, he placed the point of the
The next charge
it
and
lying
lying just in front
with a French cavalryman: the [French] cavalry
the ground,
I
of me, within reach,
the 73rd
one of our bayonets, which was
involuntarily
Isolated
French
Wellington
units
fought
continental Europe. With Napoleon defeated, military competition
from France withered, enabling
expand be the
its
Britain to
prosper and
empire around the world. The 19th century would
'British century'.
MEXICO The culmination
1847
CITY,
of the United States 's struggle to
dominate the
North American continent, the battle for Mexico City
was
a
decisive victory built on
dogged determination and American
military professionalism.
It
nearer to becoming a major After winning
was determined
m
the
War
of
its
it
Rio Grande.
the world.
in in
1782, the United States Its
clash with Britain
failed to provide a satisfactory military out-
to confirm the
boundary with Canada, but
more
fruitful
was
the United States's steady advance west-
wards, led by traders and pioneers. The major power to contest this territorial In
expansion
tories to the
28
ability of
Mexico to maintain a
southwest of the United States and
MEXICO CITY
New
offer
April
1
836 demonstrated, Mexico was
not long before the United States
further.
In
1845, the
began to claim land as
of 3,500
US
United States far
sent by President Polk to uphold these claims. to acquire California of California,
and
New
Mexico
(the
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts
Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming). However,
was
south as the
regular troops under General
his financial
rejected and Mexican troops crossed the Rio
Grande to Below: US troops storm
clash with Taylor's army.
It
was
the excuse Polk needed and
in
1846 the United States declared war on Mexico.
Mexican positions during the battle of Cerro Gordo
was Mexico.
1836, the declaration of independence by the Republic of
Texas tested the
was
wanted
modern-day states of
in
was
settlers
An army
Zachary Taylor Polk also
it
weakness
power
did discourage any further continental interventions by Britain.
Far
exploited this
annexed Texas and
independence
come, serving merely
found wanting and
also took the United States a step
to control North America.
1812
the defeat at San Jacinto
grip in
on
its terri-
California.
As
Scott's
A STRING OF VICTORIES Some
60,000 American volunteers joined Taylor's army
Texas, but the Mexicans
in
which
Americans
outmanoeuvred Santa in
were confident and possessed an
Anna's army, opening the road to Mexico
City.
— Pacific
army four times
numbers, the Americans
bigger. Despite the
gained the upper hand
in
culminated
in
light artillery.
the two-day Battle of Buena Vista
in
(the victor at the
second US army,
in
C^
February
which Taylor defeated Santa Anna
1847
Santa F
JANUARY 1847
These
Battle of the Alamo). Shortly prior to that, a
r— mm
T
northern Mexico with a succession of
helped by their superior use of
victories,
Ocean
" -\
JV f
UNITED STATES
TEXAS
SAN DIEGO.
o **
Fort Jesup
Paso
El
„
V>
MEXICO
January 1847.
in
^
Although they had experienced a string of defeats, the
Mexicans refused
army
to
and President Polk ordered
to surrender
march on Mexico
FEBRUARY 1847
his
BUENA VISTA
Because the landward approach
City.
(500 miles) across
country, a third
difficult
was
9,000 under General Winfield Scott
army
of
delivered by landing
tested, with Vera Cruz falling
in
March 1847.
men
US
commanded
the
Mexico City and ended
Above of the
right:
1846-48. While
forces invaded
California,
the Mexicans requested an
Presuming the Americans were
armistice.
now
General Scott
CERRO GORDO
overstretched,
artillery fire
US
from Chapultepec, the
and the Mexicans were chased out
been followed
up
assault
complains
promptly,'
was
successful
of the mill. 'Had this victory
Grant,
doubt
'no
the Mexicans used this time to reposition their troops and on
Americans and Mexicans would have gone over the defences
8 September they resumed fighting.
of
Chapultepec so near together that the place would have
en
HALLS OF MONTEZUMA Alongside the in
command
skills
officers
who
into
and Scott, the
had been trained
US
at the
US army
collection of
Military
Academy,
own
fall-
our hands without further loss. The defenders of the
works could not have of Taylor
Mexico was aided considerably by a talented
took an army to the
Mexican
was open and
The course
Mexican-American
War from
US
road to Mexico City
SEPTEMBER 1847
320 kilometres
Cruz
Cerro
Gordo, but the Mexicans were encircled and defeated. The
troops that captured
the war with Mexico.
at
fired
taken by the Americans
upon us without endangering
was
men.' Grant perhaps
considerable -
in
a
too
little
critical,
that day's fighting had
more than 750
their
for the losses
been quite
casualties, reducing Scott's
army
capital.
West
Point.
Thomas
J.
who would
They included Robert
Jackson and George later
War on opposing War
Lee, Ulysses S. Grant,
McClellan, junior officers
B.
become commanders sides.
Grant rode with Scott
in
the American
in
The experience gained
them
certainly helped
left a
E.
in their
the
final
future
in
bulk of Santa Anna's
the Mexican
careers. Ulysses S.
approach to Mexico City and
concise account of the battle for the Mexican
The
Civil
army was
inside
City
when
the armistice broke down, but he also had a significant number of troops installed
a nearby mill at
in
Molino del Rey and the
fortress of Chapultepec. Grant claims that Scott thought
were manufactured grain.
in
the
mill,
but
it
Aqueducts supplying Mexico
was
guns
his
for a day.
On
artillery
and
let
them bombard two
the morning of 13 September,
columns, each with 250 volunteers, took scaling ladders and attacked the Mexican-held fortress.
US Marines were among
the
was another
It
of the fortress, an action that later featured
Marine Hymn, inspiring the verse
Montezuma
Shores of
to the
Marines involved
in
bitter strug-
troops to scale the walls
first
line
Tripoli.'
in
the
famous
'From the Halls of
So brave were the US
the fighting that 13 of their 23 officers
Major Twiggs, overall commander of the
was seen
important to Santa Anna.
barrelled hunting
of the
aqueducts were incorporated
into
defences, with earthworks thrown up between them
night, the
US forces were
place by daybreak on 8 September. Although within range of
rifle
to
carry
into action, but
his .favourite
double-
he did not survive the
combat. The Mexicans were no less brave and the defenders included one hundred young cadets of the Military Academy,
which was based
artillery.
General Scott's subordinate General Worth led the assault on
in
Chapultepec
attacked.
received brevets.
The great stone arches
Molino del Rey. Advancing during the
up
days before the
storming parties,
crucially
to protect the
was
brought
five
from these two
them
city's
hill
would be another
It
actually a store for
City ran
points as well, making
the
Scott
gle.
capital.
Mexico
to less than 7,500. fortress on the
1847 |
CITY^j'j^Tera
MEXICO
1
Scott's force next
had to face Santa Anna and an army of 13,000
JMARCH
SANTA ANN*
200miles
and the approach therefore went uncon-
negligible
I
Scott
/
'it Tampico*
across the Gulf of Mexico to Vera Cruz. Mexican naval
power was
Above: General Winfield
Matin
Gulf of Mexico
was 800km
craft
^
'° ^TAYLOR
under Colonel Stephen Kearny, had marched westwards and claimed California for the United States
SCOTT
in
the castle. Eventually the fortress
taken and Scott's army directed military organization
its
attention to
Mexico
was
City.
US
and preparations had proved superior to
that of the Mexicans.
MEXICO CITY
presented the appearance of a "city of the dead", except for this firing
by unseen persons from house-tops, windows, and
US
around corners.' The rilla
soldiers quickly
suppressed the guer-
and General Scott took up residence
activity
dent's palace, a
complex
Montezuma'. The war was
the presi-
in
nicknamed the
of buildings
'Halls of
over and peace negotia-
virtually
tions began.
Mexico gave the United States complete
Victory against
dominance of North America. and from
It
had no
on became
this point
rivals
on the continent
a global power.
An
empire of states was completed by the acquisition of on the
Pacific
with Mexico.
Coast and the securing of
Some Americans wanted was
Mexico, but this
deemed
not
already gained 1,300,000 sq ritory,
New the
km
its
internal
territories
southern boundary
President Polk to annex
USA
necessary. The
had
(500,000 sq miles) of extra
ter-
including the regions of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona,
Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
US government gave
In return,
5th
This remarkable conquest, however, had not been achieved
some $100
without a high cost:
US
ease.
Some
were
voices
raised
campaign expenses
War, one of the earliest conflicts to be captured
criticism.
in
the Mexican-American
troops, mostly from dis-
million of
and the death of more than 13,000
Two soldiers of the US Infantry during
Left:
the Mexicans $1 5 million.
on
Ralph Waldo
film.
They wear the
wide non-regulation
Emerson
ARCH BY ARCH
it
oy arch along the aqueduct that led to the
Americans encountered some resistance
capital city, the
form of Mexican to outflank
Mexican troops on the
recalled, 'breast
ditches,
[2.5-3m]
in
deep
men
priest
came
to
by occupying the
city road
water and grown up with water
in
its
The howitzer was taken destination.
claimed that the tensions unleashed
led to the
With the
er,
for a
certainly
time at
he consented or that
I
little
When
I
knocked
for
in
the road.
least;
not.
the belfry, It
was
declined
Civil
worn
by volunteers during
this
campaign.
have
the southern states over Below: The final series of combats in the US assault on Mexico City.
new territories
War.
my command,
Spanish then at
and besides,
He began
where
door.' it
I
intended to go
see
to
his
duty
in
United States armies
\ MOLINO
same
among
——
Mexican movements
MEXICO CITY
SEPTEMBER
^^^^^
a pultepec
l8 SEPTEMBER
light
The gun was assembled and
sent shot
smA Am
14
'
^Ch
whether
in
the
prison-
United States movements
^H Mexican armies
i+*fc'
I
——
Texcuco
San Cosme Garita \
San Angel
the Mexicans on
Churubusco
m^
12
a crucial action, further reducing the resolve of
V city walls.
They began in
to cut
^=======^_
-t-
^5£§l n
VALENCIA
houses outside the
passageways through the houses towards the walls
20
AUGUST SCOTT
'
By the night of 13 September, Americans troops were in
historians
retreat
the defenders.
encamped
in
Some
Me> tans
admission a
polite,
would save himself from becoming a
and opened the
did,
placed
American
clothing typically
the arsenic which brings
us.'
the issue of extending slave ownership into the
DELRET
and
poison
plants.
explained to him that he might save property by opening the door,
who swallows will
and carried
to pieces
who, while extremely
to the door,
to admit us.
the
however, were not over eight or ten feet
width.
by the
in
an effort
in
be as the man
him down. Mexico
This took us over several ditches,' he
belfry of a church.
These
Grant led a small unit
artillery fire.
will
declared: 'The United States will conquer Mexico, but
AUGUST
"
anticipa-
Augustin
'%
>v^ ""
y V\
tion of having to
storm the
city.
But during the
night,
Santa Anna
Chalc
VS.
and
his
army withdrew.
His last act
was
to release
all
the occu-
pants of the prisons, hoping they might cause the Americans
some
trouble. Politicians
Scott, asking
from Mexico City
him to respect the
now approached
rights of their citizens.
The next morning, US troops formed ed. 'On entering the city the troops
a
column and proceed-
were
fired
upon by the
Vs
N
^T
Vs. l
~-"-f)
MEXICO CITY
streets
were deserted, and the place
II
// V-, miles
5 I
1
The
1
1
I
hostile citizens.
1
1/
released convicts,' reported Grant, 'and possibly by deserters
and
o
VS.
|
1
aquaduct
Above: Escalante's painting of the Battle of
Molino del Rey, one of series of
a
combats fought
during Scott's approach to
Mexico
City.
We wear all kinds
FANCY JACKETS The US army
was
that
marched
into
Mexico
not wholly prepared for the rigours
of campaigning.
swollen
its
Many volunteers had
ranks and uniforms varied
considerably,
if
summer 1846, Dana wrote
they were worn at
J.T.
to his wife while advancing
on Monterey, offering an account of appearance:
to his taste,
some
his
hats,
all
some
and
of uniforms here, each
some
some
white,
jackets and pants,
all. In
Lieutenant Napoleon
one
blue,
is
fancy
some Quaker
just the way, too, that
our fellows went into
my old straw hat, pants,
some
colours of cottonelle
straw and
that
shirtsleeves,
battle...
I
have on
those blue-checked
made by your dear hands,
are torn
m
which
out,
and
that loose coat
you made,
which you recollect washed white.
much danger
think there is
shooting
me
for
I
don't
of a ranchero
an officer of high rank.
My trimmings
don't
pairs of those
check pants have worn
show much. Both I
pretty well out'
Quoted
in
Mexican-American War
1846-48bv Ron Field (Brasseys, 1997)
both legs and pretty well worn
MEXICO CITY
GETTYSBURG, 1863 The Confederate cause
the American
in
Civil
War was never
better led than by General Robert E Lee, but at Gettysburg he
misjudged
enemy and
his
suffered a crucial defeat. His deter-
mination to break the centre of the Union
nated
doomed
a brave but
in
line of
frontal assault.
defence culmi-
From
this point
onwards, the Confederacy was on the defensive. Robert
E.
learned the lessons of Napoleon very well. Lee understood
the
art of
manoeuvre and the impact
aggression.
It
was
precisely
of strategical
and
alized
what the South needed.
and prosperous
more
states, the
not expect to win. The North could million,
call
president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, both of
had been trained
In a
pro-
agrarian South could
on a population of 22
while the states of the South had just 5.5 million
at
West
knew
Point,
could give the South
strength.
al
[-
-
Pennsylvania
such as from
leverage far beyond
political
Britain.
Confederate
capital of
Richmond by sending
threaten Washington, D.C.
Army
^H
Confederate movements,'
'-
Chambersburg*
* flf
Martinsburg n
"2*1
*\ *
VLEE
North. His
by George
led
W
?C
i
7
Creek. Despite inflicted
battle that
he
felt
thought that himself.
In
in
his
summer
fail;
perhaps Lee even
1863, Lee swept through the
order to strike Washington, D.C, from the
troops
stumbled on
Union soldiers
at
Lee was the greatest
Confederate
generals, but
this time,
as armies advanced through
would send out Hill,
was
Washington
his
BURNSIDE
enemy
a
one
parties of troops to search for food
they
territory,
of Lee's divisional
good supply
men
off to
of
shoes
commanders, heard
at the
town
the battlefield which led
improved
in
fire
wan-
soldiers
Left.
into the
of
town on
Union
July they
1
were confronted with two
who were on
cavalry,
reconnaissance.
and major battles
power kept the Confederates
1862
at bay.
The news
developing at Gettysburg duly reached Lee,
deploy his troops and bring the North to
Virginia
that a fight
who
fire
was
decided to
battle.
With more and more Confederate troops flooding
into
27 JUNE 1862
»V
Gettysburg, the Union brigades
GAINES MILL
fell
high ground overlooking the town.
Richmond.
*V^*-
.West Point
McCLENNAN
MALVERN MILL
1**
of the
armies during 1862-63,
which culminated
it
encouraged Lee
to think
back and took control of the It
was
a defensive
move and
he had the advantage: that
if
he
just
kept up the pressure of his attack, then the Union forces would Harrison' an-sH.anding
\Williamsburg
cave
in.
He was
power and
thinking
artillery
in
vening 50 years. Repeating
power meant
Napoleonic terms, but infantry
had evolved considerably during the rifles
and more devastating
that the tactical advantage had shifted
fire
inter-
artillery
from the
in
three-day conflict at
Gettysburg.
with repeating breech-loading carbines and this superior
i^FREDERICKSBURG
E>13 DECEMBER
power.
The manoeuvring
Union and Confederate
dered
AND HOOKER
brigades
1-6 MAY 1863
the face of
that there
of Gettysburg and sent
As the Confederate
gather them.
and supplies.
Although heavily outnumbered, the Union forces were armed CHANCELLORVILLE-
let earlier
Napoleonic attitude on
to disaster
Maryland
,
E.
battle.
BATTLE BY ACCIDENT At
»
Above: General Robert
success encourage a
LEE
McCLENNAN
Valley
By now, Lee's troops believed
they could not
M CREEK
A.P
1
out-
c:
•
,-
was
he rejected a
\ SEPTEMBER 1862
/
* Front Royal
1863, Lee
of the
tFrederick
^
brilliant victory.
he was a genius and
However,
May
Lee fought
this,
casualties on his
favour of attacking one flank after the other,
in
thereby winning a
In
more
at Chancellorsville, but
Gettysburg and Lee rapidly had to plan a
Harpers Ferry
movements were McClellan and Lee
such an aggressive
north.
1-3 JULY 1863
B.
became trapped behind Antietam
Cumberland
7 meade' * GETTYSBURG
,
Hagerstowrv^
West Virginia Virginia//
**
»
a cavalry force to
September 1862, Lee crossed the
In
Potomac and invaded the
River
frustrated by a Union
defensive battle
Carlisle
Confederat onfederate army
actu-
its
June 1862, Lee forced Union troops away from the
In
numbered and outflanked
Ulpn movements
whom
similar circum-
in
might also attract important support abroad,
It
opponents and withdrew undefeated. Uniortpny
that
stances Napoleon would have taken the offensive. Early victo-
tactical
longed war with the North, which consisted of more industri-
cautionary voice would
have recommended a defensive campaign, but Lee and the
ries
Lee, the leading general of the Confederacy, had
A more
whites and 3.5 million slaves.
the
ashington
lichmond
'
X
who
Above- This painting by
offensive to the defensive. Troops
Thure de Thrulstrup
charge could be annihilated before they reached the opposing
shows the Union
line
along Cemetery Ridge
line in sufficient
withstanding the
appreciate
Confederate assaults. A
first
Union
artillery carriage
this,
numbers
even
launched a daring
to break through.
Lee
did not fully
after the lengthening casualty lists of the
years of the war, and continued to believe
the efficacy of
in
charismatic leadership.
aim
of then turning
in
on the centre.
A
mighty
barrage
artillery
began the greatest combat ever fought on American diversionary Confederate assault
defence meant that
The convex Union
line of
reinforce each of
Meade's
were
along
stretched
went up against
was
A
Hill.
easier to
whereas communications
flanks,
the
it
soil.
Culp's
concave
Confederate
lines.
rushes forward to
support the infantry.
By the second day
line of
Meade had deployed
his
Union troops effectively along the high
ground, which ran from Culp's
Cemetery Ridge
Hill
the centre, to
in
let
pass,
on
Little
The Union army would not be drawn hour Lee
Major General George
of the battle,
his right flank, along
Round Top on
into
his left.
an attack and every
more and more Union troops
arrived to rein-
force the defensive position. Lee had lost any advantage of
impetus he might have possessed on the
compelled to organize
his troops
first
day and was
opposite the Union positions,
but on lower ground. Deciding he could wait no longer, Lee
launched an assault
in
Longstreet's troops surged up the Little
Round Top, where Colonel Joshua
manded
men from
A
L.
Chamberlain comleft
Alabama troops launched themselves
at
Maine, but the Union troops stood firm.
year before Gettysburg, Chamberlain had been Professor
of Rhetoric
and Modern Languages
at
Bowdoin
College,
where
he had succeeded the husband of the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
He was
a passionate supporter of the
abolition of slavery
and
movement
this fervour fired his
Round Top. For over an hour Chamberlain and
the late afternoon.
slopes towards
the 20th Maine on the extreme edge of the Union
flank. Line after line of
the
wooded
for the
defence
at Little
men
resisted
his
repeated Confederate assaults, but with more than one-third of
LITTLE
ROUND TOP
Lee aimed I
his
to envelop the Union left flank, sending Longstreet's
Corps against the weakly defended
Little
Round Top with the
men
casualties and ammunition running low, he had to face
what looked
like
the
final
attack that
would overwhelm them.
Digging deep into his courage, he ordered 'Bayonet!' His
men
GETTYSBURG
33
knew
exactly
guns. Yelling selves
what was required and
fiercely,
down
the
200 survivors
hill
fixed bayonets to their
of the firefight
Having exhausted themselves with countless the Alabama troops broke; back.
Little
PICKETT'S
sive
third
in his
left
flank
fell
was
CHARGE
Meade would and
this
mam objective.
day of the battle neither side was
willing to give
not be triggered into going on the offen-
compelled Lee to once more consider the deci-
sive assault that
would leave
his
opponent
he decided to break the Union army
massive attack in
uphill assaults,
surrendered, while others
Round Top was saved and the Union
back. Lee had failed
way.
some
Elsewhere, Confederate attacks were also beaten
secure.
By the
threw them-
and charged the Confederate forces.
at its centre.
an age of modern
fire
It
was
a
in
reeling. This time,
half
by launching a
Napoleonic gesture
power. Lee assembled
troops for this major thrust, and although
-
but
some 15,000
Major General
George
E. Pickett
was
only one of three divisional
name would
ders leading the soldiers, his
ed with the attack. Announcing hour
bombardment
artillery
responded by
comman-
forever be associat-
their intentions with a
Cemetery
of
from both
shifting extra troops
two-
Meade
Ridge,
his flanks to rein-
force the centre of his position.
The main Confederate attack began thousands fields
of Lee's soldiers
towards the Union
in
mid-afternoon as
advanced through the wheat-
lines in front of
Cemetery Ridge.
'Now the enemy's guns have quieted down and our heads up above the breastwork
are poking recalled
Steven Allen Osborn,
army. 'Then the cry
is
along the
all
Union soldier
a
raised "There they
in
line,'
Meade's
come!"
It
was
a
grand, but awful sight to see those three lines sweeping for-
ward
to almost certain death. First there
is
the report of one
lone [Union] cannon up to our right, quickly followed by the
most
awful, unearthly roar of letting go of
along our
line.
opposite us ing
To the
we
ground but
right of
us their
line
some 60 guns
kept advancing but
could see they were staggered and were giv-
rallied
and came
Meade had removed
his
on.'
out the
artillery
Confederate bombardment, but
now
way
of
the
rushed them forwards
so that they could rake the advancing Confederates with deadly volleys. Lee's troops ing
showed
incredible bravery, press-
on through the withering storm of
fire.
Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead thrust his hat, held
it
high,
Who
cold steel!
Confederate
sword
into his
and shouted: 'Come on boys! Give them the will
follow me?'
In
an
earlier age, a deter-
mined charge with bayonets might have cleared the Union lines,
but
now
as the surviving Confederates approached
within range of Union
by yet more
fire
muskets and
rifles,
they were ravaged
power.
Armistead walked on with
his hat held high
and reached the
stone wall that formed part of the Union defences, but around
him there were only a few hundred had begun the advance.
It
was
a
men
out of the 15,000 that
slaughter and Armistead
'
himself
was
shot dead as he stood
Meade immediately
among
the Union cannons.
counter-attacked and swept
troops that had penetrated his
away
Those lucky
few
the
Charge' has been called the 'high water mark' of
ous eras the bodies
be
the Confederacy because ery and daring of
its
it
killed,
represented the supreme brav-
troops and
its
commanders, but no army
could withstand such a shock as this and Lee's reputation
A photograph by
Left:
Alexander Gardner of a
dead Confederate
sharpshooter
suffered a severe blow.
He had brought
the edge of destruction and
was
the Confederacy to
forced to fight a war of
defensive manoeuvre ever afterwards, no longer able to chal-
at Little
lenge the
North
with
bold
The days
advances.
of
the
sacrifice
on
this scale for
vice of political ideals
later
of
the
erty
declared
The three days
left:
in
his
of fighting at Gettysburg.
Pickett's
was
Charge (middle)
the tragic and
deciding
combat
of the
was delayed
devotion; that
end
of the
1865. Gettysburg also represented the
Napoleonic approach to war and announced the
beginning of modern, industrialized warfare, with an escalation
in
fire
power and consequently
need
a
for
strong,
bat-
graves, but
the unity of a nation and
in
the ser-
of far greater
Lincoln visited the battlefield four fighting there with the political
lib-
Lincoln
Gettysburg Address, 'we take increased devo-
cause
we
for
which they gave the
last full
measure
here highly resolve that these dead
The
in vain.'
Park and the dead
battlefield
were buried
beginning of an age
would be more
entrenched defensive positions-
battle.
have died
mass
of previ-
on the
left
'From these honored dead,'
nation.
tion to that
into
14,529
were 3,903
wars
In
was deemed worthy
and linked the
Confederacy were numbered, although the actual surrender until
missing.
dead were usually
Abraham
respect. President
months
Round Top, July 1863 Far
of the
be looted and then thrown
tlefield to
killed,
missing; Confederate losses
wounded and 5,425
18,735
Union casual-
battle:
days amounted to 3,155
wounded and 5,365
to
bloody
a particularly
alive
line.
returned to Lee and he could do nothing but withdraw. 'Pickett's
was
Gettysburg
ties for the three
in
was preserved as
in
which the
a cemetery.
It
shall
of
not
a National
marked the
lives of a nation's soldiers
highly valued.
Above. Confederate General Armistead, with his hat
on
his
sword
point, leads the final
charge against Federal cannons.
Above
right
Major
General George Meade,
CHEERFUL BUT ANXIOUS
and
'The Confederates were cheerful, but
infantry,
anxious at the delay. They were restless
cover of any
to
be "up and at 'em"; eager
commander of the Union Army at Gettysburg,
what they knew was
used
them commenced and
his defensive
positions brilliantly to
draw on the attacks
enemy had
to
more
have
telling
when
sort.
Here was a
situation
of
their fire.
Many of the men, and
disabled long before a
response for about two hours the enemy's batteries slackened
Then the order
for the infantry
charge was given, and the
trying than the quiet inactivity of
to their feet with
several valuable officers were killed or
ended... The line
upon the
exposed as they were without
the morning.
inevitably before
the exact range of our
shell told with effect
Quoted from Pickett's
movement was
Harrison
(New
men
sprung
a shout of delight.
Men by Walter
York, 1870)
of
Army was exhausted.
battle,
andjust overshooting
trie artillery
ordered: but the
line
remained steadily
the Confederate until
it
opposed
to them, as usual, their shot
fixed.
Our
artillery
continued to pour
in
a
GETTYSBURG
25
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MACMAHON
Wm French armies
FRANCE
French movements
•
German armies
German movements German-occupied France
In its
swift
that
its
and
pounded the failed to
was
efficient defeat of France, Prussia
army was Europe's new,
invincible
demonstrated
power.
Artillery
Sedan and dashing French cavalry charges
city of
have any effect on the superiority of such
power.
fire
the end of a flamboyant era, but overconfidence
the victors would subsequently encourage
Germany
to
It
among embark
defeated Austria
rapidly
at
the Battle of Koniggratz, making
Prussia the undisputed leader of the north
German
states.
Bismarck knew that the south German states, no longer
shadow
of Austria,
would have
to
be brought
another war, and Emperor Napoleon
III
in
of France
line
Germany's march to these world wars began with Prussia's of aggression
in
the 1860s and 1870s. Otto von Bismarck,
foreign minister of Prussia from 1862 onwards, aspired to unite
the
through
gave him the
opportunity he needed.
the loose confederation of of Prussia,
and
it
achieve this end.
was In
German
a series of
oversaw the growth of Austria, states. In
36
which also
1866
laid
this rivalry
was alarmed by
the events between the
German
backed Hohenzollern claim to the Spanish throne. France
opposed
to
Denmark
Army so
it
could match that
claim to leadership of the
broke
III
diplomatic argument then developed over a Prussian-
wars which helped him
and Holstein. Bismarck then
of the Prussian
A
states.
states under the leadership
1864, Prussia and Austria fought
to secure control over Schleswig
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR Napoleon
down
into
German
war and Prussia
in
July
1
this,
and Bismarck irked Napoleon
870. Napoleon
III
was
confident
his last
major international test
ended
triumph.
in
It
was
in
in
into declaring
his decision
war
because
1859 against Austria had
a grave error.
French military organization could not match that of Prussia,
and whereas the Prussians mobilized
rapidly
by using
invasion of France
was
swift, culminating in the in
on two disastrous world wars.
wars
Above: The Prussian
trains to
French army being
surrounded and defeated at Sedan.
'
SEDAN
**M were slow and incompetent
transport troops, the French their preparations for war.
Prussia against France, and three
command
of General
in
The south German states joined with
German armies under
von Moltke and
the
his efficient general staff
clashed with the French along the Rhine
to
380,000 Germans - and outmanoeuvred by the Prussian general staff,
who
had learned the lessons Napoleon had
them more than Below. French cavalry attack
German
infantry
became
during the Franco-
it
Prussian War, but are
ry: in
overwhelmed by ful,
German
fire
pattern that
power,
was
repeated at Sedan
*
i
half a
century
movement bore tremendous integral to
France
in
German
earlier.
fruits in
This trust
inflicted
on
war
of
in
a
the clash with France, but
military thinking in the
1870, the Prussian
next centu-
method proved too success-
too quickly, and an overconfidence
in
it
After a rapid series of defeats. Napoleon control of the
better
army
to his generals.
and culminated on
Gravelotte-St
Privat,
led to the disastrous
tled
up a French army
The
at
in
were
little
Battle
of
fighting
by the
control of the battlefield
and bot-
Metz. Ill's
victorious gen-
rushed to relieve these battered forces by
leading a 120,000-strong
with the
relinquished
18 August with the
General MacMahon, one of Napoleon erals of 1859,
III
results
where despite hard
French, Moltke remained
frontier.
The French were outnumbered - some 224,000 troops
FRANCE
German
army
into northern France.
forces along the River
take a defensive position
in
a
bend
Meuse
Clashes
forced him to
of the river at Sedan.
Then further German forces suddenly enveloped him, creating a catastrophic situation. Napoleon
III,
who was
trav-
a
stalemate of the
First
Second World War.
World War and dramatic setbacks
in
the
elling
with the army, had the
wounded MacMahon
replaced
by Ducrot. The French had their backs against the Belgian
frontier with Moltke's
west and
south,
200,000 troops pressing
from the
in
north.
was
It
call
on
a desperate situation,
their cavalry to
and by noon the French had to
break out of the encirclement. Four times
Above: Red-trousered French Zouave soldiers clash with Prussian
the French cavalry charged the
CAVALRY AGAINST GUNS The
was the
fighting at
a battle
German
circle
in
Sedan began which
artillery
especially relentless. Arranged
ority in artillery:
enormous
had a
much
felt
but to
distances,
make
most often exploded
And no
other resources
oneself as small as possible All
German equipment,
in
went
off
in
the
were
the furrow
air
left
where
round Sedan the eight hundred pieces a girdle of bronze,
were
blasting the fields with a continuous thunder fire, all
all
was
inferi-
whereas the French ones with fuses
shorter range and
one was cowering...
ing
a semi-
the French suffered from an
'[German] percussion shells almost
before reaching the target.
of
in
It
with
role,
day-long bombardment. Emile Zola, the novelist,
present at the battle and
at
September
1
played a predominant
firing at
and
this
once,
converg-
the surrounding height aiming at the centre, would
burn and pulverise the town within two hours.'
commander
Gallifet, left.'
It
was
modern
'Would the cavalry
fire
of the cavalry, 'so long as there's
a gallant effort,
power
like,'
replied
one
of us
admired even by the Germans, but
treated such daring mercilessly.
William Russell, the famous war correspondent of The
on the heights above Sedan, they subjected the town to a
terrible
lines.
charge again?' wondered Ducrot. 'As often as you
04.00 hours on
at
artillery
German
Times,
was present
at the battle,
watching
nied by their king, Wilhelm
the war.
I,
it
who were
tions of the Prussian general staff,
from the posialso
accompa-
and Bismarck, the architect of
He described the impact German
infantry
guns had
on one of the French cavalry charges: 'The leading regiment of [French] cavalry ly
changed
moved
out of the hollow at a walk, quick-
They were mounted upon white and
to a trot.
grey horses, and presented a very gay appearance sun.
They were going
the trot
was quickened
onds they seemed annihilate them.'
to
to charge.
in
As they reached the
to a gallop,
and
sweep down upon
in
two
the top,
to three sec-
the infantry, as
if
to
infantry near Sedan.
brother,'
wrote Napoleon
midst of
my troops,
of Your Majesty.
I
I
III.
'Not having been able to die
can only hand over
am
my sword
into the
the
in
hands
Your Majesty's good brother - Napoleon.'
was an empty attempt at friendship. Sedan was a
humiliating
It
and
crushing defeat for the French and one which would have long-
Europe
lasting effects for In just
into the
20th century.
one day the French had endured some seventeen
thousand casualties, and more than one hundred thousand
were taken
diers
German
prisoner.
sand. The capture of Napoleon lapse of the French Empire
German
capital finally
and
in
were
in
new
Paris as a
forces then
went on
republic
peace treaty was
May.
The terms were tough
an
In
infantry advancing
such an impressive charge would have
earlier age,
unnerved the infantry before them, but the advantage
now
with the infantry, armed with powerful breech-loading
rifles.
of the
German
states
for France,
which ceded the regions
were thoroughly impressed by
leadership and Bismarck
lay
was
to besiege the
of Alsace and Lorraine, both important industrial areas.
Above The Prussian
col-
signed his surrender on 2
fighting continued into 1871 until a
signed
sol-
just nine thou-
meant the immediate
when he
September. Revolution followed proclaimed. The
III
losses
won what he had
The
rest
Prussia's
intended when,
in
during the Battle of
Sedan
was
not
until
the front had reached within a couple of hundred
yards of the [German]
came the
rattling of a
which was kept up
of a volley,
roll
catherine-wheel. The result
The leading squadron was dissolved
ble.
was almost
gage themselves, while others held up
incredi-
I
becoming
Second Reich.
It
overconfidence
in
its
would never forget
with
was
the beginning of the
also the beginning of
Germany's period of
its
was
was proclaimed
emperor. This
own
military abilities. France,
this humiliation
and fought
however,
bitterly
the next
time German armies returned.
trying to disen-
hands as
their
like
heap of white
into a
men were seen
and grey horses, amidst which
Wilhelm
Russell, 'that there
infantry,' recalled
out the whiff and
1871 at Versailles, a united Germany
'It
to avert
if
the charge of the squadron behind them... The ground present-
ed
in
one moment
most
a
singular appearance.
was
It
as
though someone had strewn a carpet with fragments of white paper, with here and there dots of brighter colour.'
HUMILIATION By
1
ians in
7.00 hours, the town of Sedan
and desperate
soldiers,
of
all
an effort to escape. Napoleon
look healthy as he rode his horse
holding out against the slaughter.
He ordered
chivalric but
was
filled
them
III,
ill
with panicking
civil-
clogging the tiny streets
but rouged to
among
make
himself
his soldiers, realized that
Germans would
only lead to further
be raised and sent a
that a white flag
humbling message to Wilhelm
I.
'Monsieur,
my dear
Above. Napoleon
WILLIAM RUSSELL,
,.--
::--i:
;
:'.:iT-:- ---.-
:u
and Bismarck,
III
Heft'
who
contrived the war against France, after the
former had surrendered
DEBRIS OF EMPIRE
torn off infantry
'What debns a ruined empire leaves after
piled
itj
It
caps or
belts,
were
lying
his
was almost impossible
to ride
up here and
there...
One man
I
felt
a most intense desire to be executed on
He was
staggering
through the streets for fear of treading
the spot...
on bayonets or sabres. Heaps of
under the weight of an enormous bag
shakos, piles of musketry,
on
military belts,
and purses he had taken from the
all
sorts of
equipments, knapsacks and
and thousands of impenal eagles
his shoulders,
literally
on
learned that
it
was
dying,
and
cut off the uniforms of those
silver
who had
and
with gold lace
fallen.'
Quoted from William Russell: Special
way towards
Correspondent of The Times edited by
and afterwards
Roger Hudson (The Folio Society, 19951
his
the [German] frontier;
dead and
filled
I
with
watches
army
at
Sedan.
Painting by Wilhelm
Camphausen.
ISANDLWANA, 1879
Isandlwana
was one
of the greatest
blows struck against the
forces of 19th-century imperialism; events there reminded the
most
of the globe
from Africa to Asia, and even the European
settler republic of the United States
had become the domi-
Above: C E Fripp's painting of British soldiers fighting a
cowers not nous opposition.
to underestimate the capabilities of indige-
Initially
advanced
overwhelmed
it
in
cowed by rapidly
a savage
British fire
towards the
wave
power, the Zulu British line
and
of hand-to-hand fighting.
nant power
wars.
in
North America after a succession of colonial
Artillery, rifles,
machine guns and sound
used by Europeans anywhere resisters,
who
in
logistics
were
the world to subdue native
frequently only had access to
weaponry from
desperate
last
stand
against the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana in
1879.
The annihilation shook
of British soldiers
By
t
the
Western way
seemed unmatchable. European empires ISANDLWANA
held
Two
of warfare
a different age.
sway over
sense of confidence
battles to
its
in
the 1870s, however, shook this
roots.
the empire to
its
roots.
AFRICA
SANDLWANA Cape Town
Left:
Lieutenant General
Lord Chelmsford, the
commander
British
22 JANUARY 1879^
at
\
\
CETSHwm
British forces British retreat
Isandlwana. Zulu forces
The Zulu advance
Right.
on the
Zulu attacks
British position at
Isandlwana.
/
/
took the
It
I
traditional Zulu battle
I
*
*
f
> '
'
•'
I
\
\
V*
Si
/
^^^ >'
'
^
/
t
->-
I
f
of the beasts'.
/
*
I '
I
formation of the 'horns
/
I *
I
''
/
/
UMXAPHE
/> ''
/
-''',«
LORD CHELMSFORD (ABSENT)/
t
DURNFORD
^f
Survivors flee
kilometres
In
June 1876,
at
the Battle of
Little
Bighorn, Lieutenant
thought
to
politic
defend the
and prove
rights of settlers
Colonel George A, Custer and a couple of hundred officers and
the British dominated the region by challenging the most
men
powerful native group.
a
of the 7th
US
Cavalry
were wiped out during an
machine guns before he set the
superiority
of
his
off,
take
to
but he refused, believing
men.
rifle-armed
Americans were also armed with good
But
rifles
overwhelmed the poorly prepared American later,
attack on
encampment. Custer had been advised
Sioux
the
in
Native
Three years
an even bigger disaster awaited British soldiers, the
troops
who
had forged an empire,
in
when
southern Africa
they were faced with native warriors armed just with spears.
The
REASON FOR FEAR
history
of
Lord Chelmsford, Africa, led
Europeans and the seizure in
of territory
respect of the identity of those
arrival
by force was only
who were
of
new
responsible for
the annexations; prior to the activities of the British and Dutch, at
many
of the local peoples
had suffered a similar fate
the hands of the Zulus, an aggressive people
conquered neighbouring
dom
in
the region.
ownership
In
tribes
some
sand native
men were
five
commander thousand
auxiliaries into Zululand
reason to fear an
enemy armed
Martini-Henry
rifles. British
and formed
a
who
had
powerful king-
the Transvaal, Boer settlers disputed
of the land with the Zulu king
Cetshwayo. At
when
Britain
supported the claims of the Zulus, but
British
Empire assumed control of the Transvaal,
it
first,
the
was
were even more forty
was
knew he
on
in
southern
and eight thou-
January 1879. His
11
weapons and he had
rifles
could
fire
up to 12 shots
machine guns, rockets and
destructive.
little
only with spears and outdat-
Cetshwayo had
artillery
a larger force of
thousand warriors, but to stand any chance against
modern army
it
with the British
would have
Ulundi
in
was
a large pincer
into three
a
to close as quickly as possible
firing line.
Chelmsford's plan
army
of British forces
British soldiers
supplied with the latest
a minute, while Gatling
southern Africa shows that the
British
into Zululand.
ed
LITTLE
1878, an ultimatum
could not accept. The next month, a British army advanced
and they easily
force.
December
In
presented to Cetshwayo, one which the
Cetshwayo's
to capture
movement, but
columns, weakening
January, Chelmsford set up
camp
to
its
do
this
capital at
he divided
overall strength.
his
On 20
with his centre column at
Isandlwana, at the base of a distinctive-looking mountain called a nek, after
its
resemblance to a saddle. Scouts
told
him that
Zulus were gathering nearby and he decided to confront
them
ISANDLWANA
41
the effect of their
A
Zulus.
and
rifle
on the Zulus,
shells had
was
artillery fire
terrifying to the
gunner describes the effect
British
wondering where the
their explosive
'looked round
recalling that they,
bullets [artillery shrapnel]
came
from,
which they could not understand, the shrapnel bursting yards [45m] from it
them and the
no wonder they were
is
enough
see
a volley sent into
startled, for to
was no
make an
when
cannons
shells.
a
to
the hollows at the
in
they should
low to avoid the incoming
lie
While they hid from the worst of the gunfire, they made
low sound
of
fight.
of angry bees.
each group of Zulus
tired of their warriors lying
They began
ing pace, but at a distance of British
swarm
of a
commanders
up and
to stand
humming
the
like
became
centre
down and advance
to
120m
about
in
the
taunted
at a walk-
from the
(400ft)
they shouted their battle cry of 'uSuthu!' and
line
was
charged. The sight
towards the camp
and breaking up
in
fell
back
a panic, with the Zulus outpacing
them
British
terrifying.
that not
all
soldiers
Confusion overtook every-
their formations.
one and Zulus soon surrounded every
many
using
the British artillerymen stood back from
fire,
Eventually, the local
them
in
impact.
around the mountain. They quickly
of the flat grassland
learned that their
effect of the
experienced
far less
often aimed too high to
At Isandlwana, the Zulus sheltered
edge
The
less daunting, for although the Zulus had
own, they were
of their
them and
came from was
it
to startle the bravest of them.'
British rifles rifles
about their ears,
midst and not knowing where
their very
fifty
bullets flying
sometimes so
soldier,
the warriors could reach their victims.
Soldiers fought blindly and bravely, lashing out at everyone
was
close to them. The desperate nature of the fighting
recorded by a Zulu warrior, uMhoti of the uKhandempemvu:
whose bayonet
then attacked a soldier while he
was
trying to extract
He dropped
der.
threw
were
me
and
I
it
ing
I
inflicted
whelming numbers
who
before half his
dawn two days
men
of the 24th
in
the
later.
It
was
camp - a mere
1
a fatal decision. Leaving
,700, including
Regiment - he advanced
700
infantry
A
far larger force of
to battle with the other
twenty thousand Zulus
around Chelmsford's flank and countryside about
8km
(5 miles)
lay
hidden
in
now moved
the undulating
from Isandlwana.
if
was
still
and he
in
in
a crescent formation, called 'the
which flanking attacks would crush
the enemy. As long as the enemy,
in this
case the
British, held
the perimeter of their position they would be safe, because
ISANDLWANA
My
this
body
brave man.'
of Zulus
had survived
in
secured the victory and those the
camp
tried to flee along the
path to the river at the rear of Isandlwana. There they
brought
down by
Zulus
who
Queen's colours after Isandlwana.
in
and
heavy casualties. Eventually, the over-
cut off the escape route.
were
had encircled the mountain and
No one was
spared, even
if
they
pleaded for mercy. More than 1,200 white soldiers and their native allies
were slaughtered, with the Zulus
suffering at
thousand dead, with many more badly wounded.
camp
at nightfall, but only
daylight revealed the true horror of the defeat.
The Zulus launched attacks
42
his shoulder
rolled over, lifeless.
Lord Chelmsford returned to his
horns of the beasts',
in
Above: A desperate
least a
ZULU ATTACK
sticking
attempt to save the the British defeat at
half.
the shoul-
with sweat and quivering terribly with the chok-
had received from
Britons
in
me round the neck and him. My eyes felt as they I
into his vitals
Both sides
stabbed him
'I
and
was almost choked when succeeded
grasping the spear which
was covered
I
shield
and seized
his rifle
on the ground under
bursting,
forced
it,
my
pierced
Empire, at militarily
its
zenith
humiliated.
in
The
The
British
the popular imagination, had been rout
was avenged by
the end of the
was
a foretaste of
year with the defeat of the Zulus, but
it
further, challenging colonial struggles
southern Africa.
in
'
FACING THE ZULUS
The dark masses
and under admirable
in
open order
discipline, followed
each other
in
at a steady
pace through the long grass.
quick succession, running
moved
would then suddenly sink
portion of the Zulus broke into three
of men,
lines, in
ten
knots and groups of from
men, and advanced towards
knot of
five
five to
us...
A
or six would rise and dart
through the long grass, dodging from side to side with
heads down,
shields kept low
and out of sight. They
steadily
rifles
into the
long
and nothing but puffs of curling
smoke would show their whereabouts. Quoted
in
The Anatomy of the Zulu Army
by Ian Knight (Greenhill Books, 1995)
and
round so as
exactly to face our front, the larger
Having
grass,
ISANDLWANA
43
GEOKTEPE, 1881 weapons and -
-
Russian Army
first
Russian advance
khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan and invading Siberia to set
Turkoman Army
Sana
°>
K
strategic organization, the Russians took the
steps towards creating an empire by defeating the Tatar
up trading strongholds.
The Russian Army grew a r j
turies until e s e r
Russian Army advances from the Caspian Sea
when
ry
it
strength over the next
in
reached the point
the government
in
two cen-
the middle of the 19th centu-
confident enough to challenge
felt
the Turkic states of central Asia, those which sat upon the ancient
Route to China. Russia wished to expand
Silk
its
com-
mercial opportunities by selling manufactured goods to these
^NOVEMBER KizilArvat*
TURKMENISTAN
people, and Russian merchants therefore had to be respected,
having frequently been threatened
"*
A* Bami
Ru ssian Army base or f.nal attack
ment.
addition, the
In
humiliation of the
>
GENERAL SKOBELEFF
Beurma Artchman"
IMPERIAL RUSSIAN
"*\ * #>
Bakhar Zen
Ak Tepe
•
Yangi Kala
4-7 JANUARY
Crimean War and they wished
uncomfortable
to re-establish
by making the
their military prestige, especially
ARMY
the past with enslave-
in
Russians had recently suffered the
British feel
in India.
16-24 JANUARY
^^ -^f
Turkoman';':
the
In
mm smAR
Russian
1860s,
expeditionary
Uzbekistan and captured the key trading
TURKOMAN WARRIORS
Samarkand.
GEOKTEPE
In
the
870s the Russians turned
1
Khiva, capital of the
captured
Turkomans,
forces
cities of
lying to the
entered
Tashkent and
their attention to
south of the Aral
Dengeel Tepe "
&
PERSIA
N
Sea on the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. By
e
the end of these campaigns, the empire had been expanded
by 210,000 sq
|
km
(80,000 sq miles) and the Russian frontier
had advanced 500km (300 miles) southwards. The Turkomans
had not been wholly beaten, however, and merely retreated
T
50
into the wilderness.
It
was then
that the Russians found
them-
:
selves
1
1
sc
trouble.
in
THE BLACK DESERT Above- The systematic
The culmination
advance
capture of Geok Tepe
of the
Russian
of Russia's
conquest of central Asia, the
showed
the Russian's mastery of
army through Central Asia towards Geok
modern warfare and
Tepe
but inferior military power. The decisive victory brought
in late
early 1881.
1880 and
their determination to break a defiant
Russia's borders closer to the British Empire
threatened to lead to further Russian dominance
'Do not publish I
shall
be
this,'
in
inflict
them, the longer they
hit
killed nearly
resound
in
20,000 Turkmen
in
at
We
survivors will
words
at St still
a century later.
4a
to reverse this process.
the 16th century
sand and
into
dead
retreated.
land.
Two
Even first
it
Adopting western European
and
for
hundreds of kilometres
fossil shells, alternating
with bar-
was
It
was
to
this
desert that the
Russian armies went after them,
camels
their
in
their
died.
expedition gave up and returned. The second expe-
despite the death of
its
general, carried on to
Geok Tepe,
the mud-built fortress capital of the Turkomans. The Russians
bombarded the but
when
they
fort
and slaughtered men,
came
repulsed them.
rial
in
army
that had
storm
to
it,
As the Russians
picked off the stragglers.
For centuries, Russia had suffered from the raiding camin
of
1878 and 1879. Heatstroke, bad water and fever thinned
dition,
be quiet afterwards.
it
Turkomans
hold
'black desert',
seabed, but the sun long ago evaporated the water and
turned
upon the enemy. The harder
paigns of Mongols and Turks, but
began
a
The
Geok Tepe. The
more than
once
ranks.
will
dunes
ren tracts of cracked clay, stretch across central Asia. This
it
I
1882 and the savage sentiments therein
central Asia
and
shifting
direct pro-
is in
not soon forget the lesson.' Skobeleff spoke these
Petersburg
India
Asia.
by the Peace Society. But
Asia the duration of peace
portion to the slaughter you
you
in
said General Skobeleff with a smile, 'or
called a barbarian
as a principle that
in
Kum means
Kara its
all
It
was
the
retreated,
if
the Turkomans
a disastrous defeat for an impe-
but conquered the Turkomans years earlier
1873. Across the Northwest Frontier
dered
women and children,
maddened tribesmen
the Russian threat
was
really
in India,
all
the British
that great.
won-
GEOK-TEPE .Ashkhabad
General Skobeleff liked a challenge. His contemporaries
considered him a years,' an
rising star.
'Though he has
American attache
stupendous
military
genius
lived but thirty-five
to the Russian
is
such
Army
him as one of the great soldiers of
Below: A Turkoman stands inside the ruins of the
Russian
m
college,
Skobeleff
was
a veteran of the
made governor
in
action and
ramparts around
Geok Tepe, stormed by the Russians
in
1881.
had
Central Asia, being
Prussians
1870s
staff
was determined
to
avenge the defeat
with tenacious precision.
of
A
'his
speak of
this century, side
with Napoleon, Wellington, Grant and Moltke.' the
wrote,
that... history will
by side
product of
observed
campaigns
the
of the
of Uzbekistan.
He
1879 and set about
it
Skobeleff's
first
major step was to construct a railway track
across the desert so as to maintain his communication and supply
line.
his supplies
A
telegraph
was then erected
steamboats, Skobeleff was ready, and
on
central
Asia
removed some
in
April
of the Turkic
1880.
his troops
Through
tribesmen
selves with the Turkomans at
Once
it.
who
descended
negotiation,
had
allied
he
them-
Geok Tepe and they supplied
him with thousands of camels. Leading
armed with
alongside
had been delivered across the Caspian Sea by
a handful of artillery,
just a
thousand
men
machine guns and rockets,
Skobeleff attempted a rapid strike against
Geok Tepe. The
GEOK TEPE
45
assault failed, but
it
demonstrated
way he
vinced him that the only a full-scale siege.
He now
and one hundred guns
his
determination and con-
called for twelve
and
their
commander, Takma
In
thousand
men
eight thousand soldiers.
daring,
in
Sardar, personally led a raid
Takma Sardar was wounded
prompted Skobeleff
whose
in
the
write to his officers,
to
raid
'An
and
enemy
bear this
in
mind and take
all
all
commanders must
military precautions
on
all
occa-
so as not to be caught unawares.' The Turkomans
appealed to the
British in India for help, but
Instead, they had to rely
sand warriors tribes to help
were
on themselves and some
who were
ignored.
thirty
thou-
raised from the surrounding Turkic
Once
counter-raids harassed both sides. capital, ly.
within sight of the
Skobeleff halted his army and scouted the area close-
He deduced
city's
that the nearby fort of Yangi Kala supplied the
water and assaulted
this first, capturing
quickly.
it
At daybreak on 4 January 1881, the Russians pushed out
it
leader can throw himself upon his adversary's bayo-
net deserves serious attention, and
sions...
All
horses were captured, including Skobeleff's personal
charger.
advance with
his general
the towns of the Tekke Turkoman
All
peoples en route to Geok Tepe were stormed. Raids and
lacking
against a detachment of Cossacks and transport horses. of the
November 1880, Skobeleff began
with
to reinforce his army.
The Turkomans themselves were not
FINAL ASSAULT
was
could take the city
from Yangi Kala to within
where they
the
laid
730m
took place during which the
siege trench.
desperate onslaughts on the Russian the Russian
they
left flank,
bodies. By 7 January, the
Geok Tepe,
(800yds) of
A battle then Turkomans made a series of
first parallel
left
line.
one spot on
In
more than three hundred
first parallel
trench
was
strength-
ened and the second had been begun 365m (400yds) away from the main ramparts. At dusk on 9 January, a large body of Turkomans burst out
them.
from the town, overwhelmed a Russian force and took the
second
Skobeleff sent out reserves from Yangi Kala
parallel.
and the Turkoman attack
faltered; the
Russians had recap-
but only at the cost of
many
dead. However, a simultaneous attack on the Russian
camp
tured their trench and
by Turkoman
artillery,
horsemen was driven
ordered the digging of a third
ment
on the east side of the
of the ramparts
On 16
January, twelve thousand
final sortie
off.
parallel trench,
from the town and
Russians were prepared for
Skobeleff then
and a bombardcity
began.
Turkoman warriors made
a
a terrific fight took place, but the it
and
their artillery plus
bayonet
charges forced the Turkomans back into the town with heavy losses. Skobeleff
now
ordered his miners to go to work dig-
The Turkomans prepared
ging tunnels beneath the ramparts. for the inevitable assault.
On
Left: Central
the night of 23 January, Russian volunteers carried dyna-
Asian
warriors hold the head of a captured Russian.
mite into the tunnel dug beneath the town's eastern rampart.
The next morning, Skobeleff ordered the main
assault. At
07.00 hours, Colonel Gaidaroff began the attack against the southern ramparts with 36 cannons
concert against
firing in
The wars between the Turkic tribes and the Russians
in
the 19th
century were ruthless
in
the extreme and neither
the
mud
walls.
At the same time, the mine, containing two
tons of explosives, a
column
dred
of earth
defenders
was
ignited
under the eastern rampart and
and smoke rose up
were
killed
into the
air.
if
of
the
Above: General Skobeleff,
Turkomans thought
it
was an earthquake and began
to panic,
but others bravely stood their ground as the Russians surged into the
commander
of the Russian
expeditionary force that
confronted the
breaches and fought with bayonet against sabre.
Turkomans At 13.30 hours, Gaidaroff broke over the southern rampart
and entered the town. Soon in
all
three Russian columns were
the town and advancing through the narrow lanes. The last
stand of the Turkomans took place around the sacred
Geok Tepe, from which the town took Sardar had tried to sion, but
as the artillery.
of his
rally his
even he had
last of
to
own men
its
his warriors
were
dragoons and cossacks.
of
mine explo-
into the desert
mown down
General Skobeleff then entered the
hill
name. Takma
after the
admit defeat and fled
mercy
captured.
Several hun-
Many
immediately.
side could expect
by Russian
city at
the head
in
their capital,
1881 at
Geok Tepe.
-^
Above: Turkoman warriors
armed with
antique muskets and a variety of archaic
equipment, including
RUSSIAN INVASION OF INDIA
which
Despite his devastating victory over the
invasion of India.
Turkomans, General Skobeleff would
commander
not be seduced into grander schemes.
difficulties
The English
subjugate Akhal
I
take
in
and read, of a Russian I
should not
like to
to enter India with,
and 90,000
guard the communications.
be
men needed 20,000
of such an expedition. The
If
to
mail armour and shields
5,000
Although lacking the
more modern weaponry
camels, what
of the Russian
would 150.000 need! And where would
would be enormous. To
Army,
warriors such as these
tried to
journalist Charles Marvin
goad him
practical:
do not
it
think
writing
in
the
Quoted /nd/'a
in
transport?'
gave the Russians
The Russian Advance towards
difficult
latter
by Charles Marvin (London, 1882)
time
a very
when
the
invaded their land
Orenburg, to Khiva, to Bokhara, and to
would be
not understand military
we get the
5,000
get that transport we had to send to
claim regarding India, but Skobeleff
'/
only
men, and needed 20,000 camels. To
into a sensational
remained
we had
feasible.
men
in
I
do
Mangishlak for animals. The trouble
was enormous. To invade
England
Army and Navy Gazette.
The Turkomans had in
India
we
should need 150.000 troops: 60.000
lost six
thousand
five
hundred people
the defence of their city and eight thousand during the pur-
Russian losses were
suit
by the Russian cavalry. The
just
over a thousand. Despite this disparity
total
Skobeleff's losses during this campaign
those
in
all
previous campaigns
in
in
numbers,
were greater than
the conquest of central
Asia since 1853. That said,
it
was
a decisive victory
Turkomans never again achieved independence
and the
until after
the
collapse of the Soviet Union
more than
that time on,
remained part of the Russian
central Asia
a century later.
Empire and the Communists subsequently kept despite several bloody revolts
in
it
From
that way,
the 1920s.
GEOK TEPE
^
SAN JUAN HILL
J 898 Caney
El
JULY
1
%
•
16.30 hours El
Caney captured
t
(
/
i
H ,/ j*
# (
•/*
Santiago de Cuba
.»*^
^
,,„ ^WyS
O
\
\
\
\
ijuly
\
San Juan
;
1
\
1
Vr
1
X
/
#;
'!
,
attack Kettle
#V
SHAFTER
lst lnfan ^y Division
*
FIFTH
Hill
ARMY CORPS
v
Above. Theodore Roosevelt as Colonel of
i-i--.../* **
-,,...„ [7
Spamsh
JULY
i
•••
retreat
to Santiago
the 1st
*
I
Rough
^
~
|
#\
CUBA
\
IJULY Santiago de Cuba
-
US US
forces
HarboT
Riders'.
Roosevelt was keen on
,
c Caney
a
war against Spain and
\
gained greatly from his
M\^. „ \
involvement battle of
in
the
San Juan
Hill.
SAN JUAN HILL*
j
^^. US FIFTH ARMY CORPS
Spanish harbour defences
a
Spanish defensive lines
n
Siboney
Caribbean Sea
—
Spanish retreat
•
Spanish forts
the demolition,
New
22-24 JUNE 1898
kilometres i.g
The United States began in
its
climb to global power status with
Cuba, of a remnant of Spain's once mighty
World empire. With more enthusiasm than
American soldiers scrambled to the top Spanish
rifle
fire.
Riding a horse
Theodore Roosevelt
utilized
in
of a
hill
military
in
skill,
the face of
the midst of the action,
the victory to
become
president of
the United States.
tion
in
the Philippines, which lasted
until
insurrec-
1902, led to the
United States absorbing Spain's former possessions as
own and also
saw
helping to
the
more used
make
it
its
an imperial power of substance.
US Army transformed from
to fighting
SAN JUAN HILL
soldiers fighting a tropical
those fought
Events
on the American
It
blue-clad troopers,
frontier, to khaki-clad
in
later
Cuba
in
~~ war
•-
of attrition not dissimilar to
the Second World
War and
Vietnam.
also elevated a politician,
tions for his country,
who made whether
it
no secret of
was
or intervening as a peace-keeper
December 1897, the US
in
in
the person of
his imperial
building the
ambi-
Panama Canal
the Russo-Japanese War.
battleship
Maine was sent
to
Cuba, ostensibly to protect the rights of American citizens.
When
at
anchor
in
the port of Havana, the Maine exploded
and 266 people were
killed.
incident provided the
excuse the United States needed
to
aggressive stance, urging Spain to renounce
its
continue
its
Above
left:
The US
advance on San Juan Heights forced the
Theodore Roosevelt,
In
The Spanish-American War and the subsequent
48
;
£] El
attacks
^B Spanish forces •••
US Volunteer known as the
Cavalry,
sovereignty over Cuba.
Sabotage was claimed and the
In April
1898,
Spam
declared war on
Spanish to retreat to the
Cuban
capital,
which
they then besieged.
1 Gull o
P^ew
f
Orleans
1
^Ht
Atlantic
w est
Mexico
Ocean
Indies e s
u Havana^^^^^^^
'
jh cu 0j^-
J*r™
SAN JUAN HILL Caribbean Sea
US Congress announced
the United States, and the hostilities
had begun.
June 1898, the US
In
numbering some seventeen thousand
mand
of
Florida,
27km
Fifth
men
Army
creeping up a steep, sunny
that
Corps,
under the com-
Major General William Shatter, set
sail
and landed on the southern coast
from Tampa,
Roosevelt had hoped
for,
men
but his
bravely clambered up the
the meantime, the 1st Infantry Division climbed up the
In
(17 miles) east of Santiago.
not the dashing cavalry charge
the face of gunfire from the Spanish defenders.
hill in
some
Cuba,
of
It
the tops of which roared and
hill,
was
flashed with flame.'
steeper slopes of San Juan
under effective covering
Hill
fire
from Gatling guns. The Spanish numbered only 4,500 against
TARGET SANTIAGO
6,600 Americans,
was
General Shaffer's target
was moored
in
the bay. The
where the Spanish
Santiago,
US Navy wanted
to attack, but first
cartridge
the land force had to clear the Spanish out of their coastal batteries.
The main Spanish
Caney.
wanted
Shafter
defence outside Santiago
line of
known as San
a series of ridges,
Juan, and
attack
to
in
lay
on
the village of
El
Caney
El
Rough most
his
own
had
of their horses
advance mainly on Below: A
in
had to be foot.
On
1
fought during the
war against Spain, armed with a KragJorgensen
rifle.
painting
by Frederic
is
Remington.
first
that Shafter
US
was
was overcome and
could not take
finally
of Santiago
Americans under
were
hills
it
205
taken, too, and with
and 1,177 wounded
killed
US
waiting
San Juan
at
now
presence
in
It
was
a calamity
and
more prolonged campaign.
Philippines,
Roosevelt called his presence
The attack had been
far
at
Roosevelt had shown bravery under
brilliantly fire,
his
The
celebrity he gained
this exploit
Regular troops followed his lead and the attack began. They
ably
in
'had no glittering bayonets,' wrote Richard Harding Davis, the
With the assassination
correspondent for The Times, 'they were not massed
became
Roosevelt took control,
array There
were
a
few men
in
leading
his
men
DEATH OF A ROUGH RIDER the attack on San Juan
Roosevelt's
Rough Riders
and 73 wounded.
lost
Theodore 15
killed
O'Neill, a
former
and mayor from Arizona:
The most
regular
serious loss that
1
and the
regiment could have suffered
befell just
from
now
shifted
his
much
'crowded
executed, but
leading the assault
comrades advanced on
his political ambitions, securing
of
a single
foot.
helped him consider-
him the vice presidency.
President McKinley
in
1901,
he
president and led a vigorous campaign to build up the
United States's international strength.
1ST US VOLUNTEER CAVALRY
before Hill,
Among them was
Captain William 'Bucky' sheriff
in
advance, bunched together, and
CAPTAIN WILLIAM 'BUCKY' O'NEIL,
In
forward.
sailed
potentially a
San Juan
from
exposed on horseback while
Colonel
but
ended Spain's
it
the Caribbean. American attention
much so
and eventually Lieutenant
Hill,
feared their
which sank every vessel without
fleet,
craft lost.
to the pacification of the
THE CROWDED HOUR
the outer
would be captured by the land advance and they
American
command.
it
out of the safety of the harbour, only to encounter the
hour'.
battlefield
how-
fire,
taken, with the
The
Confusion reigned on the
than the
to the latter's service
completely collapsed. The Americans
Hill.
Kettle
extremely hot weather, so
in
lost
fleet
Cavalry to begin the
objective at San Juan, which
The advance took place
as the
Rough Riders
July 1898, the
smokeless
far better
the results were dramatic. The Spanish
behind and the unit had to
left
joined dismounted elements of the attack on the
who
the confusion of embarkation,
US
infantryman of the type
who
known
unit of volunteer cavalry
Riders. Unfortunately,
Caney was
defences
troops forward to assault San Juan's heights.
had raised
end
a fact that put an of the
that fired a
proved
unnerved the Spanish and both
El
attack going ahead on time and Major General Kent led his
politician
rifle It
Spanish retreating towards Santiago.
Santiago's water supply. However, poor terrain prevented the
Theodore Roosevelt was an ambitious young
rifle,
US Army. The courage
the
ever,
and cut
first
a bolt-action
a five-shot magazine.
in
American Krag in
were armed with the superior
but they
Mauser Model 1893,
fleet
we charged. Bucky
strolling
up and down
smoking a
cigarette...
that an officer cover...
As
O'Neill
was
front of his
men,
He had a theory
O'Neill
moved to
lie
to
and
fro, his
down, and one of
sergeants said, "Captain, a bullet
sure to
hit
out of his mouth, and blowing a cloud of
smoke, laughed and Spanish bullet
me." A
ought never to take
men begged him his
in
is
you." O'Neill took his cigarette
isn't
little later...
said, "Sergeant, the
made
heel a bullet struck him
came
that
will kill
as he turned on his in
the
mouth and
out at the back of his head.'
Quoted from The Rough Riders by
Theodore Roosevelt (New York, 1899)
OMDURMAN, 1898 A
power was
and Western
irresistible
machine gun and repeating the
23-26 AUGUSTl
Wadi Hamed
late
1
9th and early 20th centuries.
same guns would be used
trialized
to
inflict
huge swathes
in
1815,
in
World War
First
horror of indus-
full
strongly against
it,
but
it
could
z -Shabltka logistical
resources
in
at
zenith. Since
its
and numerous other
of Africa,
still
all
of
territories
Empire was past
British
heyday, with the United States and
and
the
had swollen to include
it
around the world. Economically, the
,
empires
a brief reign of casu-
Empire was almost
British
the defeat of Napoleon India,
was
warfare against Western troops themselves.
By 1898, the Wadi Bishara.
It
supremacy, though, because during the
alty-free
these
powers used the
colonial
to maintain their vast
rifle
its
Germany both competing upon enormous
call
financial
order to send military forces anyLeft:
where Jebel Royan"
27
In
AUGUSTi
SUDAN Wadi
el
the world to protect
of the British people
that empire
Abid"
British
gunboats
Defensive
Sururab
line
31 I
Sudanese forces
and enrichment,
had become attracted to the idea
was
means
the
to spread their idea of civilization
civil
be an agent of good
.
The
servants.
in
Empire was
British
the world, taking pride
felt to
the abolition of
in
previously anarchic countries. But
order
in
ers
remained a ruthless weapon
it
in
the opinion of oth-
imposing
for
any peoples reluctant to welcome such
i
British will
'benefits'.
When
on
Major
General Kitchener sailed out to the Sudan to avenge the death
Sudanese movements
of General
Guns Hills
skull of
tf ~
W
the
Gordon,
man
killed at
Khartoum, he wished to turn the
responsible into an inkwell.
OMDURMAN t .;f Jebel Surgham KHALIFA
Jfh(r
El
AVENGE GORDON
Egeiga
General Charles Gordon
ABDULLAH^
was
a classic British imperial figure.
Intensely religious and a fierce opponent of slavery, he a brilliant soldier
who
was
had led the Ever Victorious Army,
also
made
up of Chinese peasants, during the Taiping Rebellion (possibly the bloodiest
war
of the 19th century)
appalled by the Chinese his hands. In 1884,
killing
in
of prisoners
China,
who
he was
until
had
fallen into
he was sent to Khartoum to supervise the
evacuation of Egyptian forces from the Sudan following a fero-
The overwhelmingly decisive defeat
of superior
numbers
sword- and spear-wielding Sudanese rebels by Egyptian soldiers point
in
ening
The of the
armed with machine guns marked
the evolution of military technology.
new age Battle of
power
of
It
British
of
and
a ferocious
heralded a
fright-
OMDURMAN
Mohammed Ahmed
Mahdist forces besieged Gordon held out for almost a year, a
relief
public opinion
Western weapons. Machine guns and
rifles killed
were
five
hundred. The lure of such
fire
Khartoum. Although he
in
force failed to save him, and
the general, along with his garrison,
offered a devastating demonstration
Mahdi
of Dongola.
Omdurman
and wounded more than twenty thousand desert tribesmen,
50
ciously successful uprising by the religiously inspired
of industrialized warfare.
while British casualties
along the Nile into the
Sudan where they
Omdurman. Below: A Sudanese warrior of the type
who
fought against the slavery and the establishment of firm principles of law and
AUGUST
Kerren
of the
around the globe. Traders and soldiers had been followed by
30 AUGUST'
movements
The advance
Anglo-Egyptian force
'
Sayal
British
interests.
confronted the rebels at
missionaries and
British forces
its
addition to the earlier motivations of trade
many
\ 28-29 AUGUST
in
was massacred.
was outraged and when
decided to reconquer the Sudan
in
the 1890s, the ghost of
'Gordon of Khartoum' loomed over the expedition. terms, the British government
British
the British government
was alarmed by
In
practical
the increase of
British
and Egyptians
the battle of
at
Omdurman.
EGYPT
k
AFRICA
.nDURMAN-
Atlantic
Ocean
*£^
Ml the region and wished to
Afaove. Although
French and
inaccurate
maintain an Anglo-Egyptian influence over the Nile Valley.
in its
representation of the British
this
wearing red (by
contemporary poster
advance of
entire
this
brilliantly,
army
of ten
time
fully
he
prepared
in
the
charge of the Anglo-Egyptian
aware that only a decade
thousand Egyptian troops under
earlier
British
tremendous
fire-
power delivered by the Anglo-Egyptian Army.
mand had been wiped
out at
Moving along the River
El
Nile
an
a
flotilla
of
gunboats.
Kitchener had a railway track constructed beside the river to bring up supplies.
Among
his artillery,
he included 20 machine
guns. His army - consisting half of British regular soldiers and half
of
British-trained
Egyptian troops - proved
Osman
Digna and
conflicts over a period of
two
it
defeated them
years.
in
a string of
The Sudanese rebels now
decided to concentrate their forces at Omdurman, near the Nile
and
just north of
Khartoum.
com-
Obied by Mahdist tribesmen. with
capable of dealing with the Sudanese tribesmen led by Khalifa Abdullah and
Omdurman
does give an impression of the
Major General Horatio Kitchener was put
campaign and
time they wore
khaki uniforms), this
the battle of
Italian colonial interest in
more than
FIRE
On
POWER UNLEASHED
the morning of 2 September 1898, Kitchener's army,
some
twenty-six thousand strong, faced forty thousand tribesmen led
by
Khalifa
Abdullah.
The previous
day,
British
cavalry
had
clashed with the Sudanese, and Kitchener's troops spent the night
in
a fortified
camp
called a zariba,
surrounded by fences of
OMDURMAN
e
Above. An Cavalry and Camel Corps retreat 1
r
Kerren
>
W /*
by
of
1
Sudanese attacks
Kerren
Hills
Camel Corps
*
return
I
delivered by the British
»V
/W
and guns mside zariba «£f repe attacks ,\#
Infantry
\
V
British Infantry
Army. Winston Churchill rode as one of the
v
•
El
X
The early-morning Sudanese assault on the
J ^r' ^-"»
Left:
British position.
attack
j"
Jf ~
»
*—\L -*"\
cavalrymen.
Egeiga
advance
x ^>gainst Sudanese
|
Jkp-
Sudanese tribesmen^ driven off M.
+'
y
^e~"\i
l
_'
Sudanese^ attacks
V ^ *' ^ +''
\
A
Right:
The Anglo-
//'-'J
Egyptian counter-attack.
\
'
I
Jebel
Final
Surgham
N
Sudanese attacks
52
OMDURMAN
Sudanese
attacks
%
V
\ El
'',7. '».,
1^
I
/
OSMAH EL-DIN
/W/U/tt MfltfLLM
SEPTEMBER
09.00-11.00 hours Cavalry and *
great cavalry charges
i
Hills .
the charge of the 21st
Caton Woodville
Lancers, one of the last
J. j.
A T
attacks
R.
06.45 hours i
i
X
v ^'
i
illustration
SEPTEMBER
^
Egeiga British
gunboats
^.
_^ >
'>>,,
^*
Jebel Surgham
I
I
/
I
*
I
!
I
f
^O
91
» t
,
, nror<
chafe charge
.
woke
thorn bushes. Trumpeters
4.30am because
the troops at
British
Kitchener expected an attack at daybreak. His cavalry rode out
and saw the cloud
of the zariba
advance of
of dust that indicated the
Khalifa Abdullah's warriors.
young cavalryman serving
Winston
the enemy's approach: 'They are advancing
God,
Prophet and his Holy
his
Churchill
Khalifa...
spears, but they did possess
some
rifles,
within
2,600m
British lines, Kitchener's artillery
boats on the nearby
opened
They
river.
of the cavalry for a charge
(8,400ft) of the
in
the
air,
others
white flags toppled
in their
which exploded
yet they rose again, as other
over...
pressed forward to die
faces,' recalled Churchill.
for Allah's
sacred cause...
ble sight, for as yet they had not hurt us at
all;
it
seemed an
and
a
ran through the
Henry
rifles, fire.
minute and
make
too great. 'Everyone expected
a charge,'
remembered
in all
Churchill.
we
our minds since
Of course there would be a charge...'
swords, while the
their officers carrying pistols or
held
bamboo
down
lances.
into the ditch,
rounded by angry tribesmen
1,800m- (2,000yd-) mark,
who
horsemen
British
where they were
instantly sur-
slashed at them with swords
warriors backwards, but others cut at the legs of the horses,
The best
trying to
British soldiers
were
their
own
wounded - the
guns became overheated, having to be
their
replaced by reserve
rifles.
in
survivors
Bravely and recklessly, the Sudanese
the face of this withering
fire,
over their dead comrades, but none of them reached the several hundred metres away. Only
casualties could be counted, as
dead and wounded tribesmen
opposed
It
was
emerged out
brave performance, but
of the ditch
it
a
life
and
on the
A
to the thousands of
its
final
The
some enemy
actually achieved very
blood.
It
The
little.
was
a
battle
power.
fire
charge by the Sudanese cavalry drew admiration for
boldness, but
won and
them.
killed or
battlefield.
as the Sudanese
rallied
had already been decided elsewhere by infantry
zariba,
fell
savage encounter and
entered the ditch were
biggest British loss of
withdrew, happy to have drawn
leaping
60 Anglo-Egyptian
that lay before
Those cavalrymen who
soldiers.
to pieces.
men who
one-quarter of the
12 rounds a
firing
dismount the
were immediately cut
with their older Martini-
in
and the Maxim machine guns began
tribesmen carried on
falling
these
impetus
their carbines, but the
was
The charge took 30 seconds and the plunged
terri-
opened up from Lee-Metford magazine
The Egyptians then joined
growling
When
and spears. The impact of the charging horses knocked some
volleys of British fire rifles.
going to
men
rest of the
unfair advantage.'
As the warriors
riverbed.
Cavalry glamour overrode military sense and the 21st Lancers
men
was
his
them were supported by two a dried
in
the one idea that had been
charged on,
The
It
was
started from Cairo.
above the enemy, sending shrapnel among the warriors. 'Some burst
we were
'That
up, joined by the gun-
fired shells
he used
infantry,
to the conflict.
horses into action and raced
their
before
visible
end
they know, however, that the hand-
have been to dismount and use
which they used,
that
came
the tribesmen
advanced
troops leapt into view, the sensible option for the cavalry would
effect.
little
Little did
thousand warriors hidden
the middle
in
tribesmen
ful of
were mainly armed with swords and
of his army. His troops
When
across the desert.
cheering for
fast,
regimental cavalry charge. Having achieved a
The 21st Lancers urged
a
they think they are
going to win.' Khalifa Abdullah rode on a donkey
albeit to
was
last
cavalry to obtain an old-fashioned
the 21st Lancers and he described
in
Army's
victory with his technologically
its
effort
was
also pointless.
The
battle
was
Omdurman. The Mahdi's
Kitchener marched into
tomb, a sacred shrine to the Sudanese, was wrecked by
BRITAIN'S LAST Kitchener
moved
his troops out of their zariba
towards Omdurman.
It
was
a
artillery fire
gamble and a reserve force of the
Khalifa's warriors duly
launched two more assaults against the but
line,
fire.
At the
both were
same
repulsed
by
rifle
and the holy man's body thrown
head was
and advanced
Anglo-Egyptian
machine gun
Above: Major General
CAVALRY CHARGE
but
retained,
Kitchener's plans for
it,
diers visited the steps
when Queen
he was advised to bury in
it.
heard
inscribe
on a stone step
the single word 'Avenged', but they thought better of
time. Kitchener launched the
of
British sol-
Khartoum where Gordon had been
murdered and some suggested they
and
into the Nile. His
Victoria
it.
Lord Kitchener of
Khartoum, portrayed as
commander
of the
Egyptian Army. He led
PRIVATE
the expedition sent to quell
Sudanese rebels
WADE
RIX, 21ST LANCERS
in
the 1890s.
LANCE AGAINST SWORD Pnvte in
Wade
Rix
was
depression
a troop
the 21st Lancers involved
cavalry charge at
remembers
commander in
the
Omdurman. He
the brutal fighting that
my lance
entered the
of a white robed figure
who had
double^dge sword
to strike.
his
it
was parry and
my horse on
Luck was with
The
us, the
thrust as
1
through the melee.
horse bravely
stream bed and we were through without
quickly
angry Sudanese warriors:
another
deep
spurred
man's body shattered Vie lance and
the dried riverbed to be surrounded by
leapt into the
robe. Then
scrambled up the opposite bank of the
cast the broken pieces from me.
my horse
eye
enormous impact and the weight of the
erupted when the cavalry plunged into
'As
left
raised
drew
my sword just in
man pointed his
1
a scratch.'
1
time as
flintlock,
him down and blood splattered
1
struck
Quoted
in
The Last Charge by Terry
Brighton (Crowood Press, 1998)
his white
:-.-cu"vi\
53
TSUSHIMA, 1905
3SjS?l
"
4
Japan's dramatic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy signified
new
the birth of a
in
were too quick and too
battleships
fashioned
power
military
Russian vessels.
Western empires
that their
Just as victory over
supreme self-confidence
was
It
Modern Japanese
Asia.
armed
well
dire
a
in its
triumph against Russia gave
Up
to that point,
for the old-
warning to the
military
system, so Japan's
in
Japan had been testing
the early 20th its ability
as a
would-be power and had suffered setbacks.
Japan was
initially
successful
in
1895
By 1902, however, Russia's presence
Britain in
was
little
war with China
was as concerned as Japan about
in
free to deal with the Russian presence
54
it.
Manchuria, and Japan achieved a diplo-
which
Britain
not to support any similar Western intervention. This
joint
won
the latter could do about
matic success by signing an alliance
agreed a
'Korea
itself
'If
moved
large
Manchuria becomes the
in
cannot remain independent.
It
is
in
1901,
a matter of
life
in
shows an
old-
RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR came
Tension between the two nations 1904,
when Japan
Manchuria
laration
for the
later,
it
of war.
to a
head
February
in
attacked Port Arthur, the key naval base
was
Russian
fleet.
Like
Pearl
a surprise attack launched before
Russian ships were severely
Japanese torpedo boats and the Japanese troops landed
in
port
was
in
Harbor several
any dec-
damaged by
blockaded.
northern Korea and marched to
the River Yalu to provide support for the naval actions. The
Russian troops were dependent on the Trans-Siberian Railway to bring reinforcements, but this
would take time and Russian
Japan
commanders unwisely urged an
instant reaction to the inva-
left
1900, with the
battleship being
destroyed by a more
modern and
for Japan.'
pledged
Manchuria. The two
protectorate of Korea, but
Above: This Japanese
faster
Japanese torpedo boat.
decades
in its
over Korea, but Russia had intervened to grab possessions
by the Japanese and there
China, Russia
property of Russia,' declared Japan's foreign minister
and death
the confidence to embark on
major campaigns against the Western powers century.
in
of troops into Manchuria.
1870 had given Prussia
in
own it
numbers
fashioned Russian
power might be waning.
France
outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion
sion.
Outnumbered, but perhaps
superiority as a
trusting to their
sense
of
Western army, a Russian force confronted the
^W1 JAPAN bkyo
TSUSHIMA"****
Japanese and was completely routed Japanese pressed on further With the
at
first,
soldiers, Port Arthur
the Japanese tried to storm
fered tremendous losses. Russian
reduced to a succession of
which
failed to
meant the
suicidal attacks
break into the
was
but suf-
fighting
was
by the Japanese,
They
port.
it
and machine guns
artillery
set behind trenches and barbed wire
of
the Battle of Yalu. The
Manchuria.
more Japanese
arrival of
put under siege. At
into
all
however, pro-
did,
vide a foretaste of the terrible effects of desperate charges against entrenched positions,
well
defended with machine
guns. Eventually, after almost a year, a Japanese did
overwhelm
surrender
in
January
Elsewhere clashed
ing
in
1
905.
Manchuria, the Japanese and Russian armies
were endured by both sides
on the Western Front
Japanese
human wave
and Port Arthur was compelled to
bloody but indecisive battles. Tens of thousands of
in
casualties
a vital outpost
in
the
First
victory at the Battle of
in
a prequel to the fight-
World War. Even
Mukden
in
after a
March 1905, the
Russian land forces refused to withdraw from Manchuria and a costly stalemate
seemed
set to last indefinitely.
DECISIVE SEA BATTLE In
October 1904, Russia's
ports
under the
would take over
Baltic Fleet set sail
command
six
months
Admiral
of for
it
to reach
the war against Japan. Bizarrely, while
through the North Sea,
from
its
home
Rozhdestvenski.
Manchuria and it
rumours spread
was of
still
It
join
sailing
an attack by
Japanese torpedo boats and the Russian ironclads responded
Above
The
right:
strategic positions
movements
of
and
the
Russians and Japanese in
Manchuria
in
1904-5.
Right: Admiral
Rozhdestvenski,
commander
of the
Russian Baltic Fleet at the battle of Tsushima.
Far right: The foredeck of
the Japanese battleship
Mikasa, the largest
warship fleet
in
the Japanese
and Admiral Togo's
flagship.
by
firing
least
upon
British fishing
seven fishermen.
battleships to
shadow
boats near Dogger Bank,
the Russian fleet as
its
own
passed through
it
the Bay of Biscay.
of
Good Hope, the Russian
fleet reunited in the Indian
in
line-ahead formation with Rozhdestvenski's flagship Suvorov at its
head, Togo
ships. In a
Suez Canal and around the
Dividing to pass through the
Cape
During the afternoon of 27 May, as the Russian fleet sailed
killing at
was outraged and sent
Britain
made
manoeuvre reminiscent
head of the Russian fire.
the most of the superior speed of his
fleet
Having crossed the
of Nelson,
and subjected
T, he
it
he crossed the
to devastating raking
then turned his ships to
sail
Above: The Russian battleship Oslabia of
the Baltic fleet
Below: Smaller and speedier Japanese boats sink a Russian battleship at
made one
Ocean and
sailed
more stop
to prepare for battle. Sailing next for the Russian
on to French Indochina, where
port of Vladivostok
Tsushima
Strait,
in
Siberia, the Baltic Fleet
between
and
Korea
Rozhdestvenski's fleet appeared
it
approached the
Japan.
impressive,
On
paper,
consisting
of
eight battleships, eight cruisers, nine destroyers and several
smaller ships, but these craft
manned by
In contrast, just
Army as
its
model
in their
design and
as modernizing Japan had taken the Prussian for land forces,
influenced by the British fleet. British
were dated
poor-quality crew.
Its
so
its
ships
navy had been deeply
were
the latest
built to
designs and featured increased armour protection of the
guns, but with
little
extra weight
added which would have
affected manoeuvrability and speed.
The Japanese
fleet
eight cruisers, twenty-one destroyers
and
had sixty
*ne latter having already proved themselves
Vice-Admiral Togo's
vedand TSUSHIMA
well trained.
in
crewmen
along their flank and subject
them
to
even more
fire.
The
Tsushima
'
LESSONS LEARNED AND UNLEARNED MAY 1905
27 Sea
of
^
Japan
September 1905
X
+*'*' +
Tsushima brought the Russo-Japanese War
*-•* ^^^•^.^
+'
control over Manchuria, although
G
^
*
N
if x
M
it
shaped the world
government
and a revolution followed
year.
in
before another swept
Japan's success meant
^^
60 torpedo boat
14.10 hours Russian ships attempt single-line formation
°
miles kilometres
Japanese attacks Russian warships
3
it
now viewed
demanded
ships allowed
cross
in
them
to
front of the
Russian fleet to deliver devastating
fire
power.
Japanese
shells rained
Japan's aggressive stance
in
the Pacific region. The defeat of Russia also encouraged
in
their poorly
fire.
armoured ships
and within two hours two Russian battleships and one cruiser
which time Admiral
Rozhdestvenski had been wounded and three Russian ships, including his
own
now tried
pedo boats
to finish off the badly
ping mines
in
to withdraw, but
front of
Togo sent
his smaller tor-
damaged Russian
them as they
tried to
over two hundred years, had
with trast,
some
rest of the fleet
was
ten thousand sailors dead or
fruit in
The road
relinquished.
some connection
said to have
war
War
with neither side gaining a clear advantage despite the huge loss-
es of men.
British
and German observers had seen
hand, but the conclusion they
won
drew from
to
incompetence and Japanese
to
wounded.
In
stark con-
the Japanese had barely lost a thousand crew and only
be
in
the
first
it
was
this at first
that any future
few months. They lack of
believed
experience had
would not be repeated by
led to the stalemate, mistakes that
other Western armies, which would use rapid mobilization and initial
manoeuvre
dragged
to outwit their
opponents before they could be
into trench warfare. In other
would not be repeated
three torpedo boats.
in
Vietnam could be
revealed the dreadful dev-
war needed
it
in
caused by modern entrenched warfare,
that Russian
make
both the Second
to events at Tsushima.
the Russo-Japanese
astation that could be
to the
drop-
craft,
sunk or captured,
either
would bear
this
escape. Only one
Russian cruiser and two destroyers managed to
The
battle-
had been sunk. The battered
flagship,
Baltic Fleet
Vladivostok.
were
Asia
Militarily,
battle continued until nightfall, by
the 1930s, which led to
World War and the period afterwards when most colonies
had been destroyed.
The
in
alism could be fought and defeated. The illusion of Western
Russian ships sunk
both speed and accuracy of
down on
own
nating
been shattered and in
its
war
military invincibility, established
Russians were outclassed
as an equal to
itself
the right to establish
other Asian nationalist factions to believe that Western imperi-
Russian attacks
^^
1
Japanese
not to be long
led to the estab-
empire. The militarization of Japanese politics followed, culmi-
Japanese warships
-^^ --
I
/
of the
was
it
of the czar
While that revolu-
away completely and
it
other great powers and
21 destroyers
S cruisers
speed
same
the
lishment of the Soviet regime.
v*
Above The superior
of the early 20th century.
tion failed to topple the czarist regime,
8 cruisers
/y J W S destroyers
because
Russia's defeat further undermined the
4 battleships
ADMIRAL ROZHDESTVEHSKI
1931 that
until
overseas empire. The war,
ADMIRAL TOGO
/
a
would not be
it
part of Japan's
however, had an impact way beyond those immediate con-
Russian cruiser and 2 destroyers escape
1
became
formally
cerns,
\ '
Nl /V ^«. - -" /
x [y /|\
fire
vx
13.30 hours Japanese form up
/
it
Russian ships under .^T and being sunk
within
fell
Japan's sphere of influence and Japan also maintained a tight
Japanese and Russian ships between 5km (3 miles) and 7km (4.5 miles) apart
^^
to a hasty end. In
the Treaty of Portsmouth, Russia agreed to
withdraw from Port Arthur and Manchuria. Korea
Japanese torpedo boats pursue and finish off Russian fleet
+ +
at
in
Europe.
words, such a catastrophe
How wrong they were.
FATHER OF A DEAD JAPANESE SOLDIER
IMPERIAL SACRIFICE
As Japan so
it
built itself into
used the state
established shrines for a
modern
state,
religion to establish a
strong loyalty to the nation, one that
had not existed
in
pre-modern Japan.
rather than the nation, but by in
1900
this
order to
reinforce the importance of sacrifice to
the nation, the Japanese
its
government
war dead, the
the Yasukuni Shrine
My son grew up
son and
died.
healthy.
Then he joined the emperor's
in
Tokyo. As the numbers of dead grew
forces and died a manly death
in
the war against Russia, these shrines
southern Kyushi
became
central to the
Japanese notion
of dying for the emperor.
Soldiers had fought for their region
view was changing, and
most notable being
visiting his son's
One
father
memorial was recorded
making the following pledge: 1
married very young and for a long time
had no
children.
My
wife finally bore a
in
a great
heard that he had died cried with joy,
son there could be no Quoted
in
for
and
in
battle.
for the
because
fine
When
emperor,
my warrior
finer death.
The Undefeated by Robert
Harvey (Macmillan, 1994)
1
1
4 FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE,
Germany's confident advance through Belgium brought to a
halt
French soldiers, taxis
from
Paris.
of the stalemate
France
into
was
the latest technology
some
soldiers to the front
The
delivered to the battlefield
'Miracle of the Marne'
was
in
the beginning
in
all
else,
Britain,
other armies to follow.
made
its
institutions
which believed
some
it
had proved
its bril-
were studied by many
had
little
to learn
rivals.
from anyone
its
spiked pick-
lay in its organization,
commanders down
from a
to individual units
of highly trained and motivated soldiers. Preparation
was
a
key dynamic and years were spent preparing for campaigns, with generals playing war
FIRST BATTLE OF THE
and factories to produce the most powerful
available.
Germany was
a nation prepared for war.
Germany's greatest weakness was
its
games
MARNE
1860s and 1870s,
it
and
it
It
had
doubted
little if
German
believed that a European
only winnable, but could be society.
strength. Ever since
won
at
states
it
the
cost to the rest of
little
regard for the armies of Russia or France
Britain
would
really
want
to
be involved
war on the Continent. Such was Germany's supreme dence when
in
war was not
entered the
First
World War.
When
in
a
confi-
faced with
the prospect of war on both Western and Eastern fronts,
regiments.
The German Army's strength general staff of talented full
It
Germany by adopting
a nod towards
elhaube helmet for
including trains to deliver
the experience of Prussia and the other
previous campaigns against Austria and France (see
Sedan, p.XX), and
Even
weapons then
on the Western Front and the subsequent hor-
By the beginning of the 20th century, the German Army was
liance
was embraced,
to assess options
and under-
Germany chose
to
move
secure the frontiers of
its
swiftly against France industrial
in
order to
Rhineland region before
turning east to concentrate on the potentially bigger problem of
Russia. This thinking
World War.
was repeated
during the Second
91
Above: German troops
advancing across in
them
of
rors of trench warfare.
the model for
taking reconnaissance trips to study possible battlefields. All
by the bold and aggressive defence offered by
1
a field
Champagne towards
French positions on the river
Marne.
MARNE
Right
First Battle of
the
Marne, 1914. The
French armies
German opening
French attacks
offensive through
French fortresses
Belgium, which
was
finally halted at
the
river
German armies
German
attacks
•
German
front lines
•
German fortresses
Marne.
North Sea
LANDS ~ Antwerp
W
e,de
KING ALBERT
Brussels
f Cologne
BELGIUM MONS
f
*/\
t
•/
' \
CHARLEROI
/ Maubeage
ȣ.
m \r
Liege
V^"© Namur
23AUGUSTX 26 AUGUST LECATEAU
•
21-22 AUGUST
t
„---«.
•
/
'
Rouen
Xguise 29 AUGUST
-J WURTTEMBERG
LUXEMBOURG
Below: British forces
Battle of the
f
A %» 20 AUGUST
-^T
*>
•
/ Troyesi
%£.
**
* ~N
*
Epin; ia»
FRANCE
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