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In his foreword to this book, Winston Churchill rightly calls it a 'plain yet careful record of the fortunes and services of the 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars in the Great War (which) deserves and will repay attentive study from those to whom the history of the regiments of the British Army is of vivid interest'. The 4th Queen's Own were one of the Army's elite cavalry regiments which fulfilled their traditional role in the open warfare which characterised the campaigns in 1914 and 1918 at the beginning and end of the Great War. In between, of course, came the static horrors of trench warfare, when, as Churchill tactfully says: 'the fond hopes which cavalry Generals and cavalry soldiers cherished of a great eruption of cavalry through the German lines as the culmination of a decisive battle never materialised'. Nevertheless, the 4th took part in the retreat from Mons in 1914; the first and second battle of Ypres - in which they experienced the first German poison gas attack - and the battles of Loos, the Somme and Arras. In 1918 they saw action in both the great German spring offensives and the victorious allied counter-attacks that summer and autumn. Illustrated with maps, photographs and appendices containing rolls of honour, decorations, lists of officers etc. this is a complete unit history for those interested in cavalry regiments in the Great War.

The Northumberland Fusiliers (the 'Royal' title was conferred in 1935) was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army, the 5th of Foot. I say 'was' because it no longer exists as such, having become the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968. But all this is well after the period covered in this book. The regiment was raised in Holland in 1674 as an Irish regiment by Lord Clare and in 1688 it officially became part of the British Army; in 1747 it was numbered 5th Regiment of Foot. During the next 155 years it fought in more than fifty campaigns and battles across the world - in N America, Canada, S America, West Indies, the Peninsula, India (three VCs were won during the Mutiny) and finally S Africa where this history ends. One of the appendices contains extracts from the Army List between 1688 and 1900.

This history of what the author proudly calls ''a famous troop'' of the Royal Horse Artillery begins with the battery''s formation by Captain (later Maj.Gen.) Sir George Fisher in 1801 in time for the Napoleonic Wars. In these the Troop took a distinguished role at the Battle of Waterloo - the charge of ''G'' Troop being the subject of a painting which forms the frontispiece of this book. The unit next saw service during the Indian Mutiny in which it took part in the campaign in Oude province. After helping disperse a somewhat farcical Fenian revolt in ireland in 1867, ''G''Troop took part in the Boer War, being present at the Battle of Magersfontein, the relief of Kimberley and the war''s final campaign. This fine unit history is illustrated by plate portraits, maps of the Waterloo and South African campaigns, and is accompanied by an appendix listing the unit''s officers.

This is the ''Bible'' for the many enthusiasts of British Naval history in the age of Nelson. What Sir Charles Oman did for the Peninsular War, William James (d.1827) did for the Napoleonic Wars at sea: writing a comprehensive, massively detailed account of the real-life actions that lay behind the fiction of C. S. Forester and Patrick O''Brian. James had the advantage of writing at the time of the events he describes so well, and wrote hundreds of letters to survivors of the wars at sea, as well as scrutinising every despatch, ship''s log, foreign report and private narrative that he could lay his hands on. ''Never,'' wrote the ''Fortnightly Review'', ''was there a man more painstaking, more indefatigable, more scrupulously conscientious.'' Vol. I (1793-96) gives a brief history of the Royal Navy from 1488 until 1793 and the outbreak of the first war with Revolutionary France when the main narrative begins with Lord Howe''s operations at Toulon, his victory on the ''Glorious 1st June'' and the capture of French islands in the West Indies. Vol II (1797-1800) covers Lord Hood''s victory at the battle of Cape St Vincent and Nelson''s triumph at the Nile. Vol III covers the Battle of Copenhagen and concludes with Nelson''s great victory and death at Trafalgar. Vol IV (1805-1809) concentrates on Vice-Admiral Colloingwood''s post-Trafalgar operations and the actions of Sir Richard Strachan, and Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge. Vol V ( 1809-1813) looks at actions in the Dutch East Indies and the 1812 War with the United States. Finally, Vol VI (1813-1827) wraps up the Napoleonic Wars by examining the war at sea during Napoleon''s 100 days campaign which ended at Waterloo, and the exploits of Admiral Duncan. Illustrated with charts, diagrams, and frontispiece engravings of famous Admirals, this is quite simply the definitive account of the Napoleonic Wars at sea, finally back in print.

From the doomed attempt to seize the Russian guns by the Light Brigade at Balaclava, to the Siege of Sebastopol itself, artillery played a major part in the Crimean War. This official history of the Royal Artillery Regiment in the conflict is therefore indispensible to a full picture of the war. Colonel Jocelyn''s detailed account of operations opens with a description of the Regiment''s organisation on the eve of the war, and discusses the changes brought about by the experience. Part II of the book deals with the military operations themseves, opening with the Battle of the Alma, the start of the protracted Siege of Sebastopol, the chaotic Battle of Balaclava and the bloody Battle of Inkerman. Although an official history, the author is unsparing in his criticism of errors when they occur. Each section of the book is accompanied by appendixes listing the forces, guns and officers present at each encounter. In addition there are 71 tables, 41 engravings, and ten maps."...Essential reading for a general view of the war as well as the details of the key part played by the artillery" Major Colin Robins