About book Rifles: Six Years With Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters (2004)
Most readers will be familiar with the famous greenjackets of the 95th Rifle Regiment through Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Rifles" series. This is ironic because, while Sharpe and his core followers are soldiers of the 95th Rifles, the 95th itself appears only in the very first novel and then the Waterloo installment. Therefore, this profile of the regiment should have an instant audience among fans of the popular Cornwell serial who are curious about the famed, hard-fighting outfit that lends Sharpe so much mystique, but appears very rarely in his adventures.Mark Urban has not strayed very far from his previous work, "The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes," a profile of the Duke of Wellington's intelligence chief. In his history of the 95th, Urban details their participation in the campaigns of the Peninsular War of 1809-14, and then at the climactic battle of Waterloo. However, the 95th built its reputation in numerous engagements with the French stemming from outpost duty, vanguard and rearguard actions, raids, and the storming of fortresses. As an elite light infantry unit, they participated in most of the major battles of the Napoleonic British Army, but were never at the center of such set piece action. Paradoxically then, the Rifles saw considerable action without being front and center at any famous battle.That considerable action makes the book exciting to read, and Urban ably weaves a story of Napoleonic soldiering through the personal experiences of a wide cast of characters, ranging from lowly privates to the Light Brigade's (later Division's) founder and first commander Brigadier "Black Bob" Craufurd. Heroism, chivalry, and honor stand side-by-side with privation, shirking and floggings in Urban's honest storytelling.In an afterword, Urban outlines the rise of several officers of the 95th (and the larger Light Division) into the ranks of the general officers, how they came to dominate the mid-19th Century Royal Army, and how the Rifles tactics lived on to permeate the tactics and methods of that Army. The 95th Rifle Regiment itself lives on in the Royal Army (along with the sharpshooters of the 60th Royal Americans) as HM's Greenjackets, and their adventures live and breath in the pages of Urban's excellent book.
This is a fascinating work of narrative history which follows the famous 95th Rifles through their campaigns in Portugal, Spain and France; culminating with the 100 days campaign and Waterloo. The author manages to weave many a personal story into the book along with accounts of the campaigns, weaponry, tactics, supply, day to day life, hospitalisation, discipline and desertion. Due credit is also given to the other two famous regiments in the Light Brigade (43rd and 52nd), all of whom were at the sharp end of many tough engagements with the French. That the 95th Rifles is a famous regiment is beyond doubt, their accomplishments under arms are nothing short of remarkable. Fans of the Sharpe books or TV series will recognise the Green Jackets, this book provides a historical account which is much more informative and just as entertaining as those works. I recommend this book to any one with an interest in the Peninsula War or military history in general.
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"Wellington's Rifles" is a well-written account of the 95th Regiment in the Napoleanic wars. The book achieves a solid balance between the detail required to cover the small scale battles this type of unit thrives in and the broader view that is required to pace the book through six years of campaigning. The use of six members of the unit as touchstones for the progression of the narrative works for the most part, but with the additional anecdotes found throughout the text this device may have been unnecessary. This volume also seems to keep reader more detached than was the case in "Fusiliers," but since I am not British and had not heard of the 95th before reading this book, it is possible I simply had less invested.
—William
Brilliant book about the Rifle brigade, who used rifled muskets which could hit a target at over 300 yards. A non rifled musket could miss at 50 yards! The author had an amazing amount of contemporary material to call on.The books describes the life of a soldier in the Rifle Brigade throughout the Peninsular War of 1809 to 1814. Life in UK must have been awful to make people put up with the conditions. It once again confirms my opinion that Napoleon was the most despicable tyrant, admittedly much beloved by those around him, who spread death and destruction throughout Europe.
—Tony Rothwell
