Generals

Mark Urban tells the story of ten exceptional soldiers who left their mark on Britain and the world. Some – including Wellington, Kitchener and Montgomery – are names etched in the national mythology. Others are more obscure figures whose achievements or failures may have had consequences quite different to those they had intended.

All ten of these generals revealed either a brilliant ability or a fatal flaw. Success or failure depended largely on their ability to work within Britain’s Parliamentary democracy – and against tyrants, despots and emperors who were often free to act alone.