Peter Harrington – författare

A concise, detailed examination of the Siege of the International Legations and its aftermath, featuring special artwork and maps.In 1900 a violent rebellion swept northern China – the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxers were a secret society who sought to rid their country of the pernicious influence of the foreign powers who had gradually acquired a stranglehold on China. With the connivance of the Imperial Court they laid siege to the legation quarter of Peking. Trapped inside were an assortment of diplomats, civilians and a small number of troops. They were all Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister in Peking, had to defend against thousands of hostile Boxers and Imperial troops. It would now be a race against time. Could the rag-tag defenders hold out long enough for the gathering relief force to reach them?This book describes the desperate series of events as the multinational force rushed to their rescue.

The techniques of European warfare were transformed during the 15th and 16th centuries by the use of gunpowder and by substantial progress in the effectiveness and destructive power of artillery.The series of conflicts in the 1640s, known collectively as the English Civil War, was the first in the British Isles that reflected this new reality. Sieges that aimed at isolating and reducing fortified places became the dominant instrument for prosecuting the war and protective fortifications were vital, for both the besieged as well as the besieger.This illustrated guide describes how both the Parliamentarians and the Royalists made use of new fortification techniques throughout the course of this conflict.

In the last years of his reign Henry VIII needed a radically modern system of defence to protect England and its new Church.Anticipating a foreign onslaught from Catholic Europe after his split from Rome, Henry energetically began construction of more than 20 stone forts to protect England’s major ports and estuaries. Aided by excellent illustrations, Peter Harrington explores the departure from artillery-vulnerable medieval castle designs, to the low, sturdy stone fortresses inspired by European ideas. He explains the scientific care taken to select sites for these castles, and the transition from medieval to modern in this last surge of English castle construction.

The legendary story of the battle victory that made Clive of India famous, examined in detail alongside evocative maps and illustrations.After relatively lowly beginnings as a writer in the East India Company, Robert Clive rose to be perhaps the most important single figure in the history of British involvement in India. At Plassey on 23 June 1757 Clive's 3,500 native and East India Company troops faced an army of 50,000 under the French supported nawab Siraj-ud-daula. Having succeeded in keeping his powder dry in a torrential rainstorm, Clive's guns were able to open a murderous fire on the enemy. Siraj-ud-daula's attack was beaten off and the counter-attack which Clive launched swept the field; with only the French gunners fighting to the last.In this slim yet detailed volume, Peter Harrington outlines the progress of the battle, including key context and chronology.