IAN KNIGHT

Their lifestyle of hunting for sport and profit honed the Boers' skills of field-craft, horsemanship, and marksmanship, making them a formidable force in the field and well suited to guerrilla operations. This book describes the life and combat experiences of a typical Boer in this key period. Using meticulously researched analysis and comment, and the experiences of a composite character, Johannes de Bruyn, a revealing portrait of Boer life and military operations is drawn. The actions at Laing's Neck, Majuba, the Zulu Civil War and the Second Anglo-Boer War are covered in this packed and informative treatment.

The Zulu War of 1879 was devastating in its brutality. Pitting the firepower of the professional British army against the skill and determination of King Cetshwayo''s Zulu warriors, it was a mighty clash of military cultures that ended with the collapse of Zululand - the last great black kingdom bordering Britain''s African colonies. This book traces the course of the Zulu War, covering the major battles of Rorke''s Drift, Isandlwana and Khambula, and showing that the British victory was by no means easily won. The opposing forces - the British, under Gen Sir Arthur Cunnynghame and the Zulus, under their King Cetshwayo - are profiled, and their dress, equipment, organisation and military methodologies are examined in detail. This book includes material previously published as Campaign 14: Zulu War 1879, Elite 32: British Forces in Zululand 1879 and Elite 21: The Zulus

Ian Knight combines meticulous research with a depth of knowledge of his subject, and a knack for ferreting out unusual and illuminating details, with, crucially, a true flair for storytelling . . . Highly recommendedJournal of the Victorian Military SocietyIan Knights Warriors in Scarlet is a comprehensive and stirring history of the Victorian army between 1837 to 1860, from the Battle of Bossendon Wood to the Crimean War, a period of seismic change as the rapid expansion of the empire saw the British army fighting in small wars across the world.An acclaimed military historian, Knight reveals the brutal reality of colonial conflict from both sides. Drawing on first-hand accounts he shows us the reality of life for the British soldier in this era the drudgery of peacetime service for the ordinary soldier, the excitement and privations of posting overseas, the floggings and desertions, the regimental pride and comradeship.Knight vividly recreates the action on the ground, from bloody skirmishes in Southern Africa and siege warfare in New Zealand to disasters like the 1842 retreat from Kabul and Chillianwalla in the Punjab. British soldiers trained in tactics that had beaten Napoleon were forced to adapt when faced with warriors with very different skills fighting on their home ground, and yet the army won more than four-fifths of the battles they fought in this era. Knight describes how, by 1860 with their redcoats increasingly replaced by khaki, the British army was a more professional, efficient and increasingly ruthless fighting force.Impressively researched and highly readable analysis Tony Pollard, Professor of Conflict History and Archaeology, University of Glasgow

A definitive account of one of the most dramatic encounters in the whole history of Empire . . . [a] tour de forceThe Daily MailIan Knight manages to expose many of the Victorian myths while still capturing the kind of epic excitement that makes Zulu so stirring. It is a first class work of military history, not least for its evocative and extensive use of Zulu sourcesSunday TimesThe battle of iSandlwana was the single most destructive incident in the 150-year history of the British colonisation of South Africa. In one bloody day over 800 British troops, 500 of their allies and at least 2000 Zulus were killed in a staggering defeat for the British empire. The consequences of the battle echoed brutally across the following decades as Britain took ruthless revenge on the Zulu people.In Zulu Rising Ian Knight shows that the brutality of the battle was the result of an inevitable clash between two aggressive warrior traditions. He gives full weight to the Zulu experience and explores the reality of the fighting through the eyes of men who took part on both sides, looking into the human heart of this savage conflict. Based on new research, including previously unpublished material, Zulu oral history, and new archaeological evidence from the battlefield, this is the definitive account of a battle that has shaped the political fortunes of the Zulu people to this day.This new history by Ian Knight is thorough and definitive. Knight uses first-hand sources, both Zulu and British, with admirable even-handedness, to examine the bloody clash between two different warrior traditionsSunday Telegraph