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Sir John Fortescue holds a pre-eminent place amongst British military historians, his enduring fame and legacy resting mainly on his life's work "The History of the British Army", issued in 20 volumes, which took him some 30 years to complete. In scope and breadth it is such that no modern scholar has attempted to cover such a large and diverse subject in its entirety; but Sir John did so and with aplomb, leading to a readable and comprehensive study. This fourth volume covers the period from 1789 to 1801; as the tocsins of the French Revolution rang around the European continent their effects would lead to almost unceasing warfare for the next twenty years. During the Revolutionary Wars, the British Army would mature during the campaigns of the First Coalition against France always giving a good account of themselves, but their small number meant that the course of the campaign would not lead to victory. The effectiveness of the British Army in sea-borne assaults on French possessions across the world, would lead to much success but also bitter grumbling of Britain's coalition partners.