Featured battle : Elandslaagte

Part of The 2nd Boer War (or Three Years War)

Date : 21 October 1899

General Kock with 1,000 Boers holding a ridge near Elandslaagte were attacked by Gen John French's Cavalry and Col Ian Hamilton with 3,000 Infantry. Acurate fire from the Boer's Mauser rifles and a barbed wire fence held up the British frontal advance, but following reinforcement the British reached the crest as Kock himself and 50 of his men counter-attacked and drove them back. They rallied, however, and Kock withdrew, the Boers melting into the countryside as was their usual tactic. However 400 Cavalry and Lancers were waiting to cut them down as they retreated.

Wellington's Foot Guards at Waterloo

Robert Burnham & Ron McGuigan
This book by Robert Burnham and Ron McGuigan is a thorough exposition of who the Foot Guards were and what they did. Some readers will think it is telling them more than they need to know. For example when it comes down to colour of eyes and hair why should that matter? It doesn’t ‘matter’ but it, along with the other factors described, does build a strong picture of who those men were as people and incidentally indicates the thoroughness of the authors research. The authors are also to be admired for sticking to their subject and not being pulled into more general descriptions of the battles; even so it is still a large 380 page volume.
Within those pages are some rather apt plates which support the text and there is an extensive bibliography. The very useful Name index allows the reader to follow many persons through the action, some with over twenty references in the text. I also liked the way that the rank and file are treated which is as well as any other book I have read. There is far more information concerning officers available to the researcher and, while acknowledging this, the authors have compensated for the lack to some extent. This includes the contents of the fifteen appendices which contain a mass of detailed information for the reader to access easily.
There are some minor criticisms which do not detract from the overall value of the book. The maps are reproductions of those appearing in a book published in 1874 which would have had, and still need, keys and supporting text. The plan of Hougoumont appears on page 136 rather than page 171 as shown in the list of maps.
In our opinion this book successfully bridges what is a difficult divide between a reference book and a good sit down read and, as such, will delight both the Waterloo buff and the casual reader.

Frontline Books, 2018