Featured battle : Medina del Rioseco

Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Date : 14 July 1808

For the second time in three days General Cuesta drew up his forces with appalling ineptitude. The two wings were drawn up so far apart that they could not give mutual support and after the battle commenced were not in visual contact. Bessières, commanding the French, saw these errors and acted accordingly. He disposed of one Spanish wing [Blake's] and the other wing turned and fled. The French went on to take the town.

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