Sir John Fortescue holds an un-rivalled place among the historians of the British Army, having written the best-known and most comprehensive account of its operations from its foundations in Norman times to the first World War. He may have rivals for certain periods of warface, notable Sir Charles Oman, regarding the Peninsular War, with whom he was friends and shared research, however his breadth and depth of knowledge was unparalleled. Sir John was invited by Colonels Sir Henry Rawlinson and Julian Byng, both would go on to have distinguished careers as Army commanders in the First World War, to lecture at the Staff College and Cavalry School. Although he gave four lectures on the development of the army as a whole and the cavalry in particular, he added two additional essays on the St Lucia campaign of 1776 and the history of the transport and supply. An excellent read by a world famous authority on the subject. Author – Hon. Sir John William Fortescue K.C.V.O. – (28th December 1859 – 22nd October 1933)
Sir John Fortescue, widely known for his multi-volume history of the British Army was invited to give the Ford lecture in 1911, he choose for his subject the British political figures who guided Britain through the Napoleonic Period. The French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars spanned more than twenty years of conflict, broken only by sporadic periods of peace, it was rightly known until the advent of the First World War as the Great War in the United Kingdom. However the biographies for these figures who sent the controlled the war effort were thin on the ground; although they sent expeditions, regulated the finances of the nation and decided which general would command the troops they remained somewhat shadowy figures. Sir John set out to shed some light on the men set the wheels in motion to enable the victory of British forces in 1814 and 1815; their diplomacy, their war aims, relations with each other and with their commanders in the field. Men such as Fox, Canning, Grenville, Dundas, Windham, Lord Rosebery, Lord Liverpool, Pitt, Lord Castlereagh are all brought to life with an eye for clarity, distilling years of research into a pithy summary of the characters of the age the political background. Sir John is even with his praise and condemnation of the action of the ministers and figures that he shines his spotlight on, so although the focus is on the British politicians, the heads of other competing states are given their due. Author – Hon. Sir John William Fortescue K.C.V.O. – (28th December 1859 – 22nd October 1933)
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