Bayonet to Barrage: Weaponry on the Victorian Battlefield

Technological advances in weaponry during the reign of Queen Victoria significantly altered the battlefield, influencing combat strategies and the experiences of soldiers. Innovations such as the percussion and breech-loading rifle, machine gun, and artillery changed the nature of warfare, allowing for longer-range attacks and more efficient killing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 15 September 2020
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The evolution of weaponry during Queen Victoria's reign had a profound impact on the battlefield. In the first Anglo-Sikh War in 1845, the bayonet played a crucial role in determining the outcome. However, just over fifty years later, in the second Boer War, the combatants were separated by vast distances. This transformation was due to significant advancements in firepower.

Stephen Manning, in his meticulously researched and vividly written study, delves into the developments in firepower and how they shaped the perception of battle by the soldiers of the period. The introduction of innovations such as the percussion and breech-loading rifle had a significant influence on the fighting in the Crimean War of the 1850s and the colonial campaigns of the 1870s and 1880s, particularly in the Anglo-Zulu War and the wars in Egypt and Sudan.

One of the most notable advancements was the machine gun, which was used to deadly effect at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. Equally dramatic were the advances in artillery, which took warfare into a new era of tactics and organization.

Manning's work provides the reader with an accurate and fascinating insight into a key aspect of nineteenth-century military history. It sheds light on how technological advances transformed the nature of warfare and the experiences of the soldiers who fought in these conflicts.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 164 x 241 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526777218