Philip McCutchan (1920–1996)

"Lieutenant of the Line" is the second in this series. A soldier's life in the 1890 British army in India is a far cry from life at home. The life of the ordinary soldier is one of hardship coupled with cruelty from superiors. The higher the rank, the more the indifference towards the lower ranks. The book is a great description of British aristocracy playing at war.

James Ogilvie lives by the choices he makes. With a combination of bad luck and his own willingness to misinterpret orders, he show more always seems to be on the edge of ending his career or life. But miracles can happen. show less

I’ve never been a huge fan of McCutchan’s Halfhyde nautical fiction, but McCutchan hits his stride in works dealing with the Royal Navy in WW II. Cold War is part of a series that follows the career of Cameron who had been on the Ark Royal when it was sunk near Gibraltar. Now he’s navigating officer on the HMS Sprinter, a frigate escorting a convoy to Russia and carrying two important officials, one a British Minister and the other a Russian general, so the stakes are higher than show more usual.

As is typical in wartime, nothing goes as planned and after the two VIPs, Minister of War Production Harcourt Prynne and Marshal Yurigin, had been transferred to the Sprinter in preparation for a fast trip to Murmansk, they have an engine breakdown, the captain is killed by a flying splinter, and the new captain is having eyesight problems. Cameron is now the Executive Officer, and everyone is tired of the bombasity of the new warrant officer Fasher, in charge of the guns, who loves applying punishment more than anything else. Adrift in a blinding snowstorm, their radar shows a large capital ship heading straight toward them on a collision course.

The tension that appears in other works about the Royal Navy in WWI between reservists and regular Navy is apparent here as well and the title is clever, referring to much more than the weather on the Arctic convoys.

Fans of nautical fiction will enjoy this book. I intend to read more in the Cameron series and more in the line of nautical books published by Endeavour Books which offered me this book in hopes of an honest review which I am glad to do. show less

The Scots journey home is diverted to fight the Boers in their rebellion against the Queen. Ogilvie is spying again with another damsel to be saved. The Battle for Spion Kop is disaster for both sides as modern weaponry demand new and very different tactics. The Thin Red Line will not serve.

This is #5 of the James Ogilvie series. Capt Ogilvie has left India for the shores of South Africa and the Boer War. Nice to see the story move away from India. That was starting to wear thin. Again he is called upon to indulge in a secret mission. This time under the disguise of helping a maiden in distress.
This was a story worth reading, helping me in my understanding of the Boer War and the attitude of one side to the other. It is well written and a great book of historical fiction.