Highlander
The History of The Legendary Highland Soldier
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
'Highlanders have long been among the most feared soldiers in the world and Tim Newark's book admirably tells their stirring tale. A great read!' Bernard Cornwell
On the fields of Waterloo, the deserts of Sudan, the Plains of Abraham and the mountains of Dargai, the trenches of Flanders and the jungles of Burma - the great Highland regiments made their mark. The brave kilted troops with their pipes and drums were legendary, whether leading the charge into the thick of battle or standing fast, the last to leave or fall, fighting against the odds.
Acclaimed historian Tim Newark tells the story of the Highlanders through the words of the soldiers themselves, from diaries, letters and journals uncovered from archives in Scotland and around the world. At the Battle of Quebec in 1759, only a few years after their defeat at Culloden, the 78th Highlanders faced down the French guns and turned the battle. At Waterloo, Highlanders memorably fought alongside the Scots Greys against Napoleon's feared Old Guard. In the Crimea, the thin red line stood firm against the charging Russian Hussars and saved the day at Balaclava.
Yet the story is also one of betrayal. At Quebec, General Wolfe remarked that, despite the Highlanders' courage, it was 'no great mischief if they fall'. At Dunkirk in May 1940, the 51st Regiment was left to defend the SOE evacuation at St Valery; though following D-Day the Highlanders were at the forefront of the fighting through France. It is all history: over the last decade the historic regiments have been dismantled, despite widespread protest.
Praise for The Mafia at War:
An engrossing history that reads like a thriller. 'The Godfather' meets 'Band of Brothers'. Andrew Roberts
An engrossing account that has the read-on factor of the finest thriller. James Holland
Newark tells an extraordinary tale with pace and conviction, and impressively unravels what really happened from the pervasive myths. History Today
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The famed kilted regiments with their pipes and drums march forth in this appealing history. A British military historian and consultant to several BBC documentaries, Newark (The Mafia atWar) opens on the stark landscape of geographical isolation: the Scottish Highland settlements. The first Highlanders unemployed farmers, enforcers, mercenaries, bandits, rebels had a fierce reputation, and by the early 16th century, the Highlanders' image was already set... as an untamed tartan-clad warrior who rushed upon his enemy like a wild animal. Newark takes the reader directly onto the battlefields, from the 1746 Battle of Culloden and the New York Highlanders' 1861 baptism of fire at Bull Run to fighting in France and Burma during WWII. A closing chapter surveys the Highlander as depicted in ads, novels, films, and toy soldiers. The book benefits from exhaustive research, unpublished manuscripts, memoirs, and letters: I clove a piece out of one of their heads just as one does an egg for breakfast and saw his white brain exposed. Such statements by the Highlanders themselves, which Newark unearthed, make for a powerful portrait of ferocity and courage. 8 pages of b&w photos.