Featured battle : Seven Pines (Fair Oaks)

Part of American Civil War

Date : 31 May 1862 - 01 June 1862

Attempting to profit from the two Union wings being separated by the Chickahominy River, and McClellan's indecisiveness in waiting for McDowell, Joe Johnson's numerically superior Confederates attempted to envelope and destroy the isolated Union left wing south of the river. Poor orders and staff control, however, meant that all coordination was lost, and the assault turned into piecemeal frontal attacks which were beaten off by the Yankee's causing more southern casualties than northern. Gen. Johnston himself was wounded by a shell fragment, causing Robert E Lee to be given command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The BEF in France 1939-1940

John Grehan & Martin Mace
A most interesting compilation of some of the despatches sent by the senior Army and Naval commanders involved. Here presented is the raw material, the facts, as they were seen at that time by those people without the benefit of hindsight to enable them to make any adjustments to the narrative. The material covers some of the initial deployment of the BEF and its eventual evacuations from around Dunkirk and Cherbourg. Warmly recommended with the reservation that one needs either a very good knowledge of the geography of northern France or a large scale map to hand.
Pen & Sword Military, 2014