Many books have been written about great generals, their campaigns, strategy, and tactics. Here, recognition is given to the 'other ranks'-the ordinary soldier. In words, and in the author's own profuse and graphic drawings, the solder is depicted in a long parade from the disciplined spearman of the Egyptian Pharaohs through the legions of Rome, the medieval horseman and archer and the Spanish pikeman to the Continental Army that George Washington forged from his sharpshooting countrymen. We learn about the soldier's daily life-his kit, arms, pay, food, and living conditions in and out of action over a period of more that 3,000 years. European and American armies, developed by a long process of evolution, are brought to the late 18th centruy; the high point of the age of the individual, professional, volunteer soldier. Another book by the same author, Conscripts on the March: The Story of the Soldier from Napoleon to the Nuclear Age, describes the era of the conscript and of the nation in arms, in which we live today.

S. E. Ellacott is by birth and inclination a countryman and lives in a village on the north coast of Devon. He trained in Commercial Art in Exeter and is now in charge of teaching history at a large boys' school near his home. HIs book, which he himself illustrates, have been translated into German, Dutch and Portuguese, Art shares its place as a hobby, with rifle and pistol shooting, walking and bicycling. He is a committee member of the Devonshire Association.

A book by Mr. Ellacott closely related to the subject of soldiers is The Norman Invasion which was enthusiastically received and which remains popular.

'An excellent account...much here not touched on in school text books.'-The Observer

'Well organized material is made into a vivid account that holds the reader's attention.'-Christian Science Monitor

Contents

Introduction
1 Genesis
2 The nation of soliders
3 Masters of the Inland Sea
4 The Western Barbarians
5 The New Master Race
6 Soldiers in the Crusades
7 Service in the Middle Ages
8 With pike and handgun
9 17th Century English soldiers
10 Continental developments
11 Russian and British army service
12 The American soldier
Index