Queen Victoria's Little Wars

Magnificent job,describes the various military expeditions, little wars, rebellions, mutinies(well only one was the only big threat to the Queen Victoria Empire, the Indian Mutiny)and all the small affairs to repel a proboked attack, to save or to protect resident Britons, to avenge an insult or to stop any other Empire from extending it.A lively and compelling study of the Savage wars of peace and the eccentric personalities who fought them,from 1837 to 1901 continuos warfare to protect British Interest in Asia, Canada, Africa, Arabia, this is not a complete work but is one of the best, Mr. Farwell gave us a fascinating overview highly readable with many entertaining historical anecdotes of British colonial wars and bloody confrontations, well written.I know that there are other works that name all the battles or small campaigns(like the work of Philip J. Haythornthwaite "The Colonial Wars Source Book")but a fascinating and exciting story that was omitted was the Fashoda Incident,this was going to be one of the greatest collision of rival imperial ambitions, the French with their historic claims of the Nile try to take control of a small town call Fashoda and this was a big threat to the British control of the Suez Canal and Egypt so after the famous battle of Omdurman Kitchener was send to stop the young Colonel Marchand, at the end the Fashoda crisis was eventually resolved, the British gave the French a free hand on Morrocco and the French forget about Egypt.Even with out this the author made an exciting book and a valuable addition to military history, maps and pictures,well laid out, nice appendix, one on the British Regiment system essential to understand the British Military Mind and the other a easy to follow list of the Little wars from 1837 to 1901 this is a partial record of the conflicts for the "PAX BRITANNICA"

This is a fascinating book, and will be enjoyed both by students of the Victorian era military, as well as casual readers of history in general. What binds the various mutinies/insurrections/battles/etc. that cover the sixty years of the widest span of British imperialism is the superb writing style of Mr. Farwell, who has a sense of humor and irony, and looks at each conflict from the standpoint of the British army and the government (and royal) policies that directed it, as well as that of its native protagonists, the vast majority of whom simply wanted to govern themselves without foreign influence. The bravery of both sides is noted, and although the British were outmanned in most of these theaters of conflict, the assets that saw them through time and time again was the esprit de corps of its troops and the leadership of its generals. Those generals that didn't quite make the grade are duly noted and criticized. Even if you are familiar with some of the events in this book, it is still recommended for the continuity of characters and British character that Mr. Farwell brings to each chapter. I couldn't put it down.

This extremely well-written book tells the reader, in somewhat condensed form, about the various wars, excursions, etc., that happened during the long reign of Queen Victoria. I don't think that it's completely comprehensive, because to even say a little about each event would mean this book would be three or four times its length. The author hits the "highlights" (if you will), and the reader who is interested in further in-depth resarch can do it on his or her own. There are a plethora of books about the various actions of Imperial Britain during the 19th century, but this one short book gives the reader guidance for them. It's a book that contains much savagery, but there is a touch of humor also, which relieves the almost constant tension. There are also thumbnail biographies of the most important personages of the times, which are quite helpful. This is an excellent short book on the apex of the British Empire.

I think this book is a gem. It is not just an accumulation of small to larger military campaigns during Queen Vs era. It allowed me to get a better understanding of the British attitude towards other cultures, military. Filled with small but entertaining details and characters, you normally don't hear about in history books. Just loved reading it.

A very readable account of the military aspects of Queen Victoria's reign. An excellent book for my military library.

This is an extraordinarily interesting little book. I'd always known that England produced many incredibly hardy, intrepid and adventurous individuals - mostly men, but some women (like Gertrude Bell) - but this book highlights the exploits of many I'd never heard of. It is a captivating book, well written and engrossing throughout. I'd read it years before, and recently ordered it as a gift to a dear friend who has traveled extensively throughout the world, often in wild and unforgiving territories. I cannot recommend this book too highly!

This is a fine history book, informative and easy to read. There's good coverage of the period of Victorian colonial expansion, when Britain found itself drawn into numerous small conflicts and transformed into a worldwide empire. The empire's blunders, of which there are many, are given space too; Farwell is pretty objective in his narration. But I came away with an appreciation for the overall professionalism with which British overseas colonies were managed.

I had never heard of most of these wars and I read a lot of military history. The actions in Afghanistan in the 1800s sure sound the same as today or the 10 year invasion by the Russians in the late 70s ("The Soviet-Afghan War").

I enjoyed reading this - what it isn't is a chronological history of all the small wars - there are far too many, but it dips into the lives of the leaders, what drove them and their skills, it isn't dry like a text book could be - also the role of Queen Victoria behind the scenes. So many small battles and campaigns in obscure places, not every one was a victory or well planned out. If you're interested in Victoriana it's great for wetting the appetite to dig more into obscure episodes.I plan to look at other titles by this author - this is well and deeply researched.

Until recently I have not read much on the 19th Century British Army and found this book a mine of useful and interesting information. It's well written and easy to read, The author says right from the start that he has not tried to cover every battle that the Victorian army fought in which is possibly just as well as the book would have to be hundreds of pages bigger than it is. Well worth a read and a useful reference boo for the future.

We certainly threw our military weight around

Seems British army was very busy

Brilliant