Featured battle : Molyatychy

Part of Second or Great Northern War

Date : 30 August 1708

The Swedish rearguard under Roos was camped about three miles from the main part of the Swedish army. Prince Michael Golitsyn lead a force of 9000 Russian infantry and 4000 dragoons shrouded in mist across a marsh. The Swedes were caught by surprise and two hours of fierce battle ensued until forces from the main Swedish camp came to the aid of their rearguard. The Russian withdrew in good order. Technically a Swedish victory but the Tsar was delighted with the first ever attack by Russian infantry on their invaders.

The Irish Guards in the Great War

Rudyard Kipling
Not a lot of military history books could be better than the war diaries and personal correspondence of the First battalion of the Irish Guards written up by Rudyard Kipling with style. Although narrowly focused on this relatively small group of men it is essentially about every soldiers war. This is because it gets down to the minutiae of single men, section and platoon actions. The sweep of strategy and the grand plans are for other places. The text is well supported with illustrations and maps.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone seeking a full understanding of the Great war.
Spellmount Ltd., 1997