by RNS | Jan 24, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Raffaele D’Amato & Andrea Salimbeti, Post Roman Kingdoms (Osprey, 2023)
The Dark Ages is a term long out of favour for the period between the end of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of the organised mediaeval world. But in some ways, it is still apt because of the lack of sources and artefacts. In this useful survey, Raffaele D’Amato and Andrea Salimbeti extract what they can from the evidence to reveal Britain and Gaul undergoing often violent reconstruction and the military means by which they did so.
In their introduction, the authors stress the importance of a transitioning sub-Roman period rather than a neat break with the Roman empire, though they subsequently talk mostly in terms of Post-Roman. We can see that transition in the helpful chronology the authors provide before getting into their more detailed survey. That begins with Post-Roman Gaul. The authors outline the history of the region with Roman authority collapsing amid armed migrations. We should, however, expect the retention of some Roman military methods in the new era, and so it proved, particularly with regard to titles and unit designations even as the main armies collapsed.
The action switches to Post-Roman Britain and the rise of the warlords in the wake of the Roman military evacuation. The authors visit the stories of Ambrosius and Arthur before touring the new kingdoms and moving on to their military organisations. That includes an interesting review of army sizes, illustrating how difficult the sources are to work with for this period. Archaeology is placed front and centre for the authors’ descriptions of equipment, arms, and clothing, though here too difficulties emerge with the paucity of finds and their interpretation. And there the book ends abruptly except for an excellent bibliography for a book of this type.
Post-Roman Kingdoms achieves its purpose in surveying the military aspects of the ‘dark ages’ in Gaul and Britain. The evidence is well laid-out, and though the authors sometimes edge into very technical territory with their sources, they just about keep the reader on track, informing without overwhelming. This being an Osprey book, you would expect quality illustrative support by way of artefact photographs and imaginative colour plates, but these are better than most Ospreys I have read, particularly the artwork. Overall, anyone interested in the post-Roman period of military history will find this book an excellent starting point for further exploration.
by RNS | Jan 18, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Les Brown, British Escort Destroyers of the Second World War (Seaforth, 2022)
Destroyers were the workhorses of the Royal Navy throughout World War II. They performed numerous tasks as part of the battle fleets and on their own. In this Shipcraft series book, produced mainly for modellers, Les Brown surveys those destroyers tasked with escort duties and offers his views on the wide range of model kits on the market with examples from experts who have built them.
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Brown begins with an overview of RN escort destroyers that were designed to fill a gap between fleet destroyers and the slow corvettes, sloops, and corvettes that were deemed inadequate for serious escort work. The two main classes of escort destroyer Brown covers are the Town and Hunt class vessels, but there were quite a few more that also receive coverage. Brown details the armaments, propulsion systems, and other design features, and I found the compromises made between what was requested and what was practical particularly interesting.
As is customary with the Shipcraft series of books, the modelling section occupies the middle chapters. Brown surveys, with pros and cons, the available kits in many different scales, ranging from 1:1250 to Deans Marine’s 1:96 designed primarily for radio control modellers. He also reviews the accessories you can buy for these kits. The mouth-watering Modelmaker’s Showcase follows where top model-makers show off their skills, including a stunning scratch-built radio-controlled Hambledon in 1:72 scale. This chapter flows into a series of side-view images of individual destroyers, showing their camouflage patterns and the colours used. Brown discusses camouflage then details the modifications added to many of the destroyers along with some technical drawings. A useful selection of books and websites for further investigation concludes Brown’s book.
I haven’t yet read a Shipcraft book that I did not like, and Brown’s addition to the series is no exception to that trend. Brown clearly knows his stuff and how to write it down even for the less technically knowledgeable reader. The accompanying photographs, artwork, and models illuminate the text to produce a satisfying read as well as a very useful guide to modelling these hardy vessels.
by RNS | Jan 6, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Laurence Spring, Campaigns of the Eastern Association (Helion, 2022)
Oliver Cromwell is unquestionably one of the most famous names in English history. After all, he led the army that all but won the Civil War at Marston Moor in 1644 and dealt the coup de grâce to the Royalists the following year. Maybe. But Laurence Spring wants to put Cromwell back into the context of the Eastern Association from which he emerged, while emphasising the other deserving players in the drama. This book is the result.
Spring begins with Oliver Cromwell appointed to captain a troop of horse and join Essex’s army. Then we are off into the war, shadowing Cromwell within the broader context of operations in which he was involved. Cromwell, though a divisive character, was tasked with raising a regiment of horse to defend the counties of the Eastern Association in February 1643. Spring’s attention is with the army as it moves on to the siege of Reading and beyond. He then returns to Cromwell and brings his narrative up to speed with wider events. This also allows Spring to analyse Cromwell’s actions and his sometimes dubious self-promotion.
In July 1643, the Earl of Manchester took command of the Eastern Association. Spring discusses the internal problems of the army and narrates its operations through 1643. Army reorganisation continued in the winter, then it besieged Newark to open the 1644 campaign season. That resulted in a serious reverse, but undaunted, Manchester kept up the pressure through the capture of Lincoln. Spring follows Manchester to the siege of York, which in turn led to the momentous Battle of Marston Moor with Cromwell commanding the left wing of the Parliamentarian army. Spring analyses that battle, and Cromwell’s pivotal role, in considerable detail. Following Marston Moor and York’s fall, Spring traces the campaigns of Crawford and Manchester then the Newbury campaign, which did not go to plan and led to recriminations in the ‘Winter of Discontent’.
Newbury proved to be the last straw dividing Cromwell from Manchester, an argument that led to mutinies in much of the army and the formation of the New Model Army for the 1645 campaign season. That opened with Cromwell sent to the west to aid Waller then into Oxfordshire with his own command. Spring leaves him there to follow Crawford and other commanders as they merged into the new model army, thus creating a national army and ending the Eastern Association in all but name. Spring concludes with a brief account of Cromwell’s rise after the war and a survey of others connected to the Eastern Association. He adds some appendices on Eastern Association cornets, a commentary on the colour plates of flags included in the book, various administrative and organisational aspects of the Eastern Association army, the Journal of Colonel Montagu’s Regiment, and a list of captured Royalist colours. A lengthy and very useful bibliography occupies the last few pages.
There is no doubting Laurence Spring’s credentials as a military historian of the early modern period. He is also an engaging writer, one who is able to analyse effectively while maintaining his narrative. This is therefore a fascinating book but probably not for beginners in English Civil War studies; Spring can get into the weeds at times. He also leans into his primary sources a bit too easily where a historian’s oversight might be more useful. Nevertheless, Spring’s understanding of his subject and his ability to transmit that to a wider audience makes this a valuable and enjoyable book.
