Annual Booklist 2021 : Malcolm Archibald
Malcolm Archibald is a novelist and historian who has written crime and military fiction as well as non-fiction work on the whaling industry. His novel Blood Oath was the 2020-2021 winner of the SAHR Prize for Military Fiction. For more on his work, see: http://www.malcolmarchibald.com/
When I was asked to create a list of my favourite military books, I thought the process would be simple. I was wrong. I chopped and changed, selected, altered, chose another, smiled at memories and passages and eventually chose the following five.
All have some meaning, often because I used them as reference to a book I have written, or because of some personal or family history. I could have selected the Records of the Royal Scots, which my grandfather owned. He was in the regiment from 1897 to 1919, rising to A/RSM during the First World War. Or A Matter of Honour by Philip Mason, an account of the Indian Army which is constantly by my side when I write my Windrush series of Victorian war fiction. Or, indeed, a score of other books I have used for background information, education or just for sheer enjoyment. I nearly included the first fictional military novel I ever read, Dando on Delhi Ridge.
However, after much soul searching, diverted by interesting passages, and a few false starts, I decided on the selection below. Of necessity, it is subjective rather than objective, but these titles are dear to me.
The Washing of the Spears (Donald R. Morris, 1965)
This book was the first piece of military history I read, and it opened a door into a world about which I knew nothing. I was at secondary school at the time, and although I studied history, what we were taught seemed dry and boring compared to Morris’s text. The book appealed to me because it covered the Zulu culture as well as the British army, allowing the reader to see both sides of the equation. Although I have read many Zulu war books since, The Washing of the Spears is the one I come back to, and the one that I reread. The quality of the writing is superb and the phraseology leaves lasting images in the mind.
Bugles and a Tiger, (John Masters, 1956)
The first volume of John Masters autobiography is another book that sticks in my mind. There might be other books that cover the 1930s in a Gurkha regiment, but Masters’ is a superb writer and his details of men and incidents carry great weight. His description of the expeditions along the North West Frontier in the closing years of Empire, before the 1939-45 War, show the bond between officers and men, and between Gurkha and British soldiers. Masters was only the latest of his family to serve in India, and this book reveals how important family ties were with Indian regiments.
The Battle for Quebec 1759 (Matthew C. Ward, 2005)
I must admit to some bias here, as Dr Ward was one of my lecturers when I attended Dundee University as a mature student! Even given that detail, this book is an excellent narrative history of the progress of the Seven Years War in North America up to and including Wolfe’s capture of Quebec. There are other books on the subject, notably Dan Snow’s Death or Victory, but none read so well as Ward’s. Coupled with the slim regimental history, 78th Fighting Frasers, plus official reports and private letters, Ward’s book provided a fine reference for my fictional Blood Oath. Ward is a recognised leading expert on the North American campaigns of the Seven Years War.
The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough (David Chandler, 1976)
When Chandler wrote this book, he was Deputy Head of the Department of War Studies at Sandhurst, and as such an expert in his field. His expertise shows in this, the most technical of my choice of books. This is not an easy-read book for a sunny Sunday afternoon, but as a reference to most aspects of early eighteenth century warfare it can hardly be equalled. There are chapters on infantry weapons, the role of cavalry, how senior officers handled their men, and engineering. As European warfare in that period was frequently based around the defence and assault of fortresses, the chapter on ‘The art and science of fortification and siegecraft’ is especially interesting.
Victoria’s Scottish Lion: The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde (Adrian Greenwood, 2015)
Most people with any interest in military history will have heard of the Thin Red Line, when the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders repelled an advance by Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava. Some might know that Colin Campbell was the man in charge during that encounter. However, as this biography reveals, Campbell was far more than a one-battle wonder. He was a consummate warrior, a loved commander with a humane streak for the welfare of his men, a victorious commander and arguably the best British general of his time. (Hugh Rose, Havelock and others might dispute that!) As well as being the first British field marshal to come from a working class background, he was a veteran of the Peninsular War, slave revolts in the West Indies, troubles in the United Kingdom, the Opium Wars, the Sikh War, Crimea and the Mutiny. Campbell’s career could nearly be a microcosm of early 19th century British military experience, yet more people today will have heard of the American General Custer than Campbell. That, surely is wrong. Hopefully Greenwood’s book rectifies this educational omission.
Lastly is a book I feel should be written. I have two in mind for that category. The first is a book about the European regiments of the HEIC, from the rankers’ point of view. Why did they join the HEIC? Were they pulled by ideas of military glory and profit? Or pushed by poverty or some other reason. Where were they from? How did they find India? What were there thoughts and observations? Did many settle there? Or did they long to return home? The second is the absolute opposite. The role of the British Army in the UK in the 19th century. As well as quelling civil disturbances and getting ready for near civil war during the Radical and Chartist outbreaks, they were used to put down riots and guard prisoners at executions. They rioted and fought each other, marched against encroaching crofters, watched for invading French and controlled religious dissent. Altogether the home stations could be busy.