The British Army 1914-18

Description

Between 1869 and 1874, Edward Cardwell, Gladstone's Secretary for War, undertook major reforms to modernise the British Army. The Crimean War, and campaigns in India, had revealed serious administrative and command shortcomings. Cardwell's legislation was aimed at curing these faults and served as the foundation of a new-style army. His successors put into practice further improvements in tactics, training and command structure and by the outbreak of war in 1914, the British Army had developed into one of the best professional fighting forces in Europe. This book details the development, composition and uniforms of this 'new' army.

Donald S V Fosten was born in London in 1924, the son of a master military embroiderer and a Court Embroidress. He worked as a student with the Herald Painter at the College of Arms before wartime army service which was initially spent with the Welch Regiment in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Austria and Germany. For many years a leading researcher and author on uniform history, he produced, with his brother Bryan Fosten, a number of books and many articles. He was a President of the British Model Soldier Society BMSS and a leading member of the Society for Army Historical Research. Robert Marrion is an expert on the forces of World War I. He has co-authored various titles for Osprey's Men-at-Arms series on this subject. Gerry Embleton has been a leading historical illustrator since the early 1970s. Gerry specialises in the medieval period, but has a keen interest in the 20th centuries. An illustrator, and author, of a number of Osprey titles, he has lived in Switzerland since the early 1980s.