<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Well-illustrated overview of oft-forgotten Irish soldiers
Review: The Wild Geese is an exceptionally well-illustrated and very tightly written introduction to a story which spans three centuries of military history. The Irish who fled to France and Spain to take military service with the Catholic kings in the 1600s were the precursors of the famous Irish Brigades of those countries, and of our own. Although constrained by the page limit of the books in this series, the author nevertheless manages to give a good deal of information about the names, organization, deeds and histories of these regiments. He even includes anectodotes and quotes from officers and men of those units -- and their opponents. The book includes a section on the Irish exile units that fought for Napoleon, the Pope, for several Latin American armies and for the United States in our revolution and civil war. He even mentions the San Patrico battalion, a group of Irish deserters from the AMerican army who fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American war. There is even a brief epilogue dealing with how some of these units live on today in modern armies (there are historical companies in certain French and Spanish regiments that trace their lineage to the Irish regiments, as well as our own 165th infantry, the descendent of the 69th New York of the Civil War Irish Brigade). It is richly illustrated with both historical art and a set of uniform drawings (or "plates") made especially for this book.A great and rare treat that is a must for anyone interested in Irish military history.
Rating:
Summary: Well-illustrated overview of oft-forgotten Irish soldiers
Review: The Wild Geese is an exceptionally well-illustrated and very tightly written introduction to a story which spans three centuries of military history. The Irish who fled to France and Spain to take military service with the Catholic kings in the 1600s were the precursors of the famous Irish Brigades of those countries, and of our own. Although constrained by the page limit of the books in this series, the author nevertheless manages to give a good deal of information about the names, organization, deeds and histories of these regiments. He even includes anectodotes and quotes from officers and men of those units -- and their opponents. The book includes a section on the Irish exile units that fought for Napoleon, the Pope, for several Latin American armies and for the United States in our revolution and civil war. He even mentions the San Patrico battalion, a group of Irish deserters from the AMerican army who fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American war. There is even a brief epilogue dealing with how some of these units live on today in modern armies (there are historical companies in certain French and Spanish regiments that trace their lineage to the Irish regiments, as well as our own 165th infantry, the descendent of the 69th New York of the Civil War Irish Brigade). It is richly illustrated with both historical art and a set of uniform drawings (or "plates") made especially for this book. A great and rare treat that is a must for anyone interested in Irish military history.
<< 1 >>
| 
