Böcker av Ian F. W. Beckett

The story of the British Army, from the first standing army in the seventeenth century, via the imperial army of the nineteenth century, the world wars, and the people's army of the twentieth century, through to the much smaller force of the 21st century and the new challenges it faces.

Within the context of debates about both the evolution of Victorian professions and the nature of military professionalism, F.W. Beckett considers the late Victorian officer corps as a case study for weighing distinctions between the British soldier and his civilian counterparts.

The British amateur military tradition of raising auxiliary forces for home defence long preceded the establishment of a standing army. This was a model that was widely emulated in British colonies. This volume of essays seeks to examine the role of citizen soldiers in Britain and its empire during the Victorian period.

Starting with the context and origins of the war, this work questions common assumptions about the nature of the First World War and how it has been consistently and, wrongly, perceived as an exercise in futility. It also covers the course of the conflict and its consequences for states, societies, and individuals.