Just Finished Reading: Rifles – Six Years with Wellington’s Legendary Sharpshooters by Mark Urban

Part of my abiding interest in the 19th Century is that, in many ways, it’s a period of transition between a slower paced and more rigid world and something that was becoming recognisably modern. It was a time when the Industrial Revolution of the previous century was starting to have recognisable effects and when the pace of change became ever more noticeable. The military, often rightly accused of preparing for the last war, where not immune for this climate of change. The Napoleonic Wars where amongst the last to be fought by massed ranks of soldiers in bright uniforms blasting away at each other at seemingly insane close ranges. The advent of the rifle, and later the machine gun, made such tactics suicidal – though it took several wars and countless dead to convince everyone of that fact.

Accomplished historian and broadcaster Mark Urban uncovers the beginnings of this process in this remarkable tale of Wellington’s sharpshooters during the Peninsula War in Portugal and Spain as well as actions that led up to the battle of Waterloo which ended any chance of Napoleon returning successfully from exile. Tracing their exploits through a series of engagements from May 1809 to June 1815 Urban shows how the effectiveness of the rifles and the men who used them was recognised (though often reluctantly) and used with deadly effect against their French opponents who for various reasons eschewed their use. The tally of French officer dead after each battle was impressive indeed and resulted in both confusion and dismay amongst their massed ranks. Without adequate direction the regimented response to battlefield conditions – often the very bedrock of their effectiveness – crumbled under aimed fire rather than the volleys delivered by ordinary infantrymen. Everything from the darker uniforms, the use of cover and concealment and the loosening of the brutal discipline meted out for the slightest infraction of the rulebook pointed towards the armed forces of the future. In the Rifles, junior officers and even the lowest ranker were expected to show initiative and were rewarded for doing so - at least eventually. Progression up the ranks was normally based on talent – something rare indeed in a system where officers either bought their commissions or used their family’s position to influence promotion or placement in fashionable regiments.

After reading this historical page turner I certainly have a greater understanding of the background to the series of Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell based around the Rifle division during this period. Urban writes extremely well, peppering his sweeping narrative with seemingly trivial details that help bring the whole period alive in the readers mind. It was a brutal time and a brutal profession but it allowed at least some individuals – especially in the Rifles – to shape European history and to progress to ranks unthinkable in other regiments. This is a fascinating story of a remarkable regiment in interesting times. Highly recommended for anyone interested in military history.