Featured battle : Aughrim

Part of Jacobite Rebellions

Date : 12 July 1691

The Jacobites, Irish and French, commanded by the Marquis de St Ruth prepared a set piece battle behind a trecherous bog, aiming to lure the Williamite army, commanded by the Dutch General Ginkel into it and their destruction. Initially the tactic seemed to work as Ginkel's Huugenot troops found themselved stuck fast and cut down, but at the point when St Ruth thought victory was his, he was decapitated by a round-shot and Ginkel found some dry ground across which to launch a devastating flank attack. The Jacobite cavalry turned and fled, deciding the day. Known as the bloodiest day on Irish soil as more that 7,000 lay dead by the end.

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