Review: Captain Bullen's War

Readers of military history know that there is no shortage of hardcover texts covering major conflicts in the modern world. One could be excused for wondering, then, why get excited about one more?

But Joseph Cummins’ The War Chronicles: From Flintlocks to Machineguns offers much more than the standard summary of events that often passes for historical study in other such books.

This is the companion to his previous work, The War Chronicles: From Chariots to Flintlocks. What sets it — and its predecessor — apart is the structure Cummins uses for each conflict covered, which allows him to present varying levels of detail and a variety of angles.

Each chapter deals with a separate conflict, starting from the French Revolutionary Wars and continuing through to the Iran-Iraq War. Each begins with a quick reference panel listing combatants, theatres of war, casualty numbers and important individuals, and a timeline, providing all major details at a glance.

There follows an overview of the whole struggle (called the Chronicle), which is then followed by a more detailed description of a pivotal battle (dubbed the Turning Point). Information is then provided on the Commanders, and the final pages of each chapter are then devoted to the Dossier, which is a series of quirky articles that examine distinctive and often surprising aspects of the conflict.

What I found most enjoyable was when this format was applied to — for me at least — are less well known conflicts, such as the Spanish–American War of 1898. It was interesting to read about the exploits of Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders and the Buffalo Soldiers, and of the impact of the new smokeless gunpowder used by Spanish snipers ... especially on one of the first “embedded” US war correspondents.

The War Chronicles: From Flintlocks to Machineguns is an excellent addition to the library of anyone interested in military history, particularly if you like your history brought to life through detail and well written narrative.