Translate this Page
Anniversaries for today :
Welcome to Clash of Steel!
Featured battle : Menin
Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Date : 12 September 1793 - 13 September 1793
The French attacked vigorously and what had been reformed of the Dutch army was again shattered. The Dutch army retreated northwards leaving a significant gap in the Coalition line.
Featured image :
Roman latrines, Housteads fort
The large, deep trenches to the left and right would have been covered with long wooden boxes having holes in, upon which the Roman soldiers would have sat to 'perform their ablutions'. Water would have been running through the trenches to flush the waste away.It also flowed through the shallow gutters running the length of the latrine which was where the soldiers washed the cloth-covered sticks which were used instead of modern day toilet roll. Hence the phrase "don't get the wrong end of the stick".
Gallery updated : 2022-04-04 08:33:43
Featured review :
A Scots Grey at Waterloo
Gareth Glover
The sub-title on the cover is ‘The Remarkable Story of Sergeant William Clarke’ and that is just what this book is – a truly remarkable story. Clarke has written of his life from being a farm hand until, with the rank of Troop Sergeant Major, he left the regiment in 1825. The language is typical flowery early 19th prose. In the initial chapters much is in the Scots vernacular. Glover warns that the reader may find this challenging. But thanks in large part to Glover’s translations and annotations, which on occasions correct Clarke on matters of fact, I found the style of writing gave authenticity to the text. The whole book is a good read but some sections deserve special mention. The Gypsy King’s tale of his life as a soldier in the Seven Years war is illuminating. The account of the retreat from Quatre Bras is, in its detail, a clear indication of how well it was commanded and executed. What might have been a rout was anything but. Naturally the charge of the Union Brigade figures large and again shows us how every individual in a battle sees only his fight and never the whole battle. The final highlight, full of raw emotion, is Clarke’s description of the killing field as he was one of the regiment’s burial party on the 19th June. For example he reports seeing, among the heap of amputated limbs as he passed the field hospital, a leg which had belonged to a Highlander because it still wore the long socks which accompany the wearing of the kilt.
At times the book reads like a novel, other times a journal and at other times like the report of a war correspondent; at no time is it dull. The discovery, recognition and publication of an important manuscript are to be applauded.
We highly recommend it.
Frontline Books. Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2017
Reviewed : 2019-03-19 11:58:04
