Sir John Fortescue’s The Hard Learned Lesson

Two disastrous campaigns against the rising tide of Revolution.Among British Army historians the reputation of Sir John Fortescue stands virtually without equal. His comprehensive fourteen volume history is a work of unparalleled achievement in its field. Fortescue combines thorough source material research with insightful academic observation of the conduct of the campaigns he describes and of the decisions, errors and strategic and tactical options of their principal protagonists. The Leonaur editors have carefully selected passages from Fortescue’s magnum opus to create a series of books, each focusing on a specific war or campaign.The bloody birth of revolutionary France heralded a period of conflict and instability which would hold Europe in its grip for decades. The ideology, which was central to the principals of revolution, demanded that its influence be spread abroad. This inevitably meant war with the nations for whom the regicide of Louis XVI was a terrible portent of potential futures. Driven by ideals, rather than military practicalities of any kind, the army of Revolutionary France could and should have been defeated quickly. France’s opponents were, however, burdened with procrastination and mismanagement. While the disarray of the British and their allies increased, France gathered resources, gaining confidence and ability, until it became a formidable foe. In later years Wellington would claim that the campaigns in the Low Countries taught the British Army how not to behave. The lesson, though brutally severe, was a timely one for the revolution’s most talented offspring, Napoleon Bonaparte, was about to enter the arena of war and politics.Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.