Featured battle : Battle of the Standard

Part of Stephen versus Matilda

Date : 22 August 1138

The battle is named after the holy banners which the English carried to the field. Lack of discipline and coordination lead the potentially victorious Scots to defeat. The battlefield situation was not exploited by the English and the Scots unpursued retreat allowed David to hold many of his gains.

The Irish Guards in the Great War

Rudyard Kipling
Not a lot of military history books could be better than the war diaries and personal correspondence of the First battalion of the Irish Guards written up by Rudyard Kipling with style. Although narrowly focused on this relatively small group of men it is essentially about every soldiers war. This is because it gets down to the minutiae of single men, section and platoon actions. The sweep of strategy and the grand plans are for other places. The text is well supported with illustrations and maps.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone seeking a full understanding of the Great war.
Spellmount Ltd., 1997