Most Brilliant Little Affair , livre ebook

Austin Macauley Publishers - G Gladding R

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

89 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

FOLLOWING THE ABSORPTION OF HOLLAND INTO THE FRENCH EMPIRE, NAPOLEON INTENDED TO USE THE ISLAND OF JAVA AS A BASE OF OPERATIONS FROM WHERE HE COULD ATTACK BRITISH INTERESTS IN INDIA AND THE FAR EAST. WHAT FOLLOWED WAS AN INCREDIBLE CAMPAIGN BY THE BRITISH TO DESTROY FRENCH POWER IN THE REGION AND A SERIES OF ACTIONS THAT BORE NO RESEMBLANCE TO THE TYPE OF WARFARE THAT WAS TAKING PLACE IN EUROPE. IT WAS A COMBINATION OF JUNGLE WARFARE, ANTI-INSURGENCY OPERATIONS AND RIVER WAR AGAINST PIRATES OF 'BOY'S OWN' ADVENTURES AND ACTIONS THAT WOULD MAKE BERNARD CORNWELL'S RICHARD SHARPE ENVIOUS.

Sujets

Histoire

Military history

Informations

Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers
Date de parution	29 mars 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781528955560
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0175€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A Most Brilliant Little Affair
The British invasion and occupation of Java, 1811–1816
R G Gladding
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-03-29
A Most Brilliant Little Affair About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One The Reason Why Chapter Two Chillingching to Weltevreden Chapter Three The Siege Chapter Four Storming Cornelis Chapter Five The Capture of Madura Chapter Six In Pursuit of Janssens Chapter Seven Janssens Surrenders Chapter Eight Pacification of Sorts Chapter Nine Expedition to Palembang Chapter Ten Djokjakarta Chapter Eleven Pirates and Insurgents Chapter Twelve Dissension and the Return of the Dutch Appendix I Gillespie’s Report into the Palembang Massacre Appendix II Franco/Dutch Order of Battle at Cornelis Appendix III The Royal Marines in the Fleet Appendix IV The British Regiments Maps Key to Map 5 Bibliography Index
About the Author
R G Gladding is an ex-serviceman and has served in both the Navy and Army. He comes from Mona Vale, north of Sydney, and met his English wife while serving in the Navy. He has two degrees in history and has been studying the history of the British and Australian Armed Forces for many years. Before retiring, he was the technical and safety training manager of the Australian Railroad Group. During the latter part of his working career, he held the Chair of the West Australian Air, Maritime, Road and Rail Transport Industry Training Council. He now lives in Chester with his wife, Maureen.
Dedication
To the memory of two veterans of a later World War against tyranny: my father, Commander (E) Herbert Charles William (Rip) Gladding, RAN, and my father-in-law, KX129177, Stoker 1 st Class, Joseph Johnson, RN.
Copyright Information ©
R G Gladding (2019)
The right of R G Gladding to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788784641 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781788784658 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528955560 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my wife, Maureen, who read and gave feedback on what I had written. My friend Eileen Simpson for her help in translating the French accounts, as my school boy French leaves a lot to be desired.

“…one of the most brilliant little affairs of its kind in the history of the British Army.”
Major E. W. Sheppard, RTR, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY
Introduction
Britain’s wars with the French, which began in 1793 against revolutionary France and then the Empire of Napoleon, quickly developed into a world war which lasted, with only a small interruption, for 22 years. In the words of Arthur Bryant in the first volume of his trilogy of those wars, “In that struggle there were only two constant factors. One was the French resolve to create a New Order; the other was the British refusal to admit any Order not based on law.” 1
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars affected nearly all the nations of the world – as most of the main belligerents were also colonial powers. With the exception of Britain, the nations of Europe involved in these wars fought at times for and against France. Only the British remained constant in their opposition to the French and found themselves, at times, totally alone and fighting the rest of Europe, with apparently little chance of winning or of survival.
Fighting took place in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, India and the Far East – as far away as the Philippines – as the belligerents fought for domination. And by 1812, the United States had joined the fray against the British – when on 18 th June, President James Madison signed the declaration of war – stating to the House of Representatives that the war was for the restoration of maritime right, an end to impressment, the final destruction of the Indian threat to frontier lands and the annexation of Canada. The real reason, however, was probably a desire to wrest Canada from the British Empire and complete the separation from Britain following the War of Independence, and to make it clear to the British that they had no right to interfere in the expansion of the United States to the west of the continent. The campaign to take Java from the French was just one small operation in that Great War, but it was unique in that it was a classic example of combined operations and amphibious and jungle warfare in the early 19 th century.
Because of the harsh discipline in the British Army in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, and the fact that commissions up to the rank of lieutenant-colonel could be purchased, the British soldier has been depicted as a drunken brute and a thug. While his officers have been portrayed as sadistic simpletons, lacking in both sense and character. Nothing could be further from the truth. There were, undoubtedly, many unsavoury characters in the British Army, as there were, and are, in all armies, and officers who were not fit for purpose and reflected the accepted stereotype. On the whole, however, the British soldier and his officers were hard professionals, who may have drunk too much and plundered too often, but served their King and Country well through manifest hardships with little reward, and lucky to survive their enlistment unscathed.
The soldiers, sailors and marines, who took part in the campaign in Java, whether British or Indian, demonstrated the highest degree of professionalism and endurance. The troops fought a jungle campaign in tropical conditions wearing the heavy, red serge coats worn by their comrades in Europe and the Americas, and if they were wounded or became ill with tropical disease, they suffered intolerably at the hands of the primitive medical procedures of the day.
When writing of an infantry battalion or regiment of the British or Honourable East India Company Armies, I have followed convention; therefore, the 1 st Battalion, 59 th Regiment of Foot, is written 1/59 th . I have also done the same with the Franco/Dutch troops, thus II Bataillon, 3e Régiment d’Infanterie de Ligne , is written II/ 3e Régiment d’ Ligne. One of the curiosities of the campaign in Java is that when the expeditionary force was assembling in India, the C-in-C, General Sir Samuel Auchmuty – who had commanded a brigade in South America in 1806, where he had a detachment of the 95 th Rifles under his command, their first campaign since being raised – instructed the commanding officers of his British battalions to each form a rifle company. These companies were then dressed in rifle green and issued Baker rifles.

Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, commanding the British Expeditionary Force
Note on the composition of the fighting units that were engaged in Java – British and French:
British and Indian infantry battalions at this time comprised of ten companies – each consisting of a captain, a lieutenant and an ensign, two sergeants, three corporals, a drummer or fifer and 90 to 100 privates, when at full strength. The total strength of a battalion generally being 1,100 officers and men (including the CO – a lieutenant-colonel – two majors, an adjutant, quarter-master, sergeant-major, medical staff, pioneers and band) formed into eight battalion or centre companies wearing a tuft on their shakoes of white over red; and two flank companies: one of grenadiers – the right flank company – wearing a white tuft, and one of light infantry – the left flank company – wearing a green tuft.
The French battalion of the period, following reforms to the infantry in 1808, consisted of six companies each of 140 officers and men, two of which were flank companies: one of grenadiers and one of voltigéurs (light infantry). Thus with headquarters staff and pioneers, a battalion could field in all 823 officers and men when at full strength.
British and Indian cavalry regiments consisted of 10 troops each with a captain, a lieutenant and a cornet, three sergeants, four corporals, a trumpeter, a farrier and between 50 and 60 privates. Troops were paired to form five squadrons: one depot squadron and four field squadrons, the latter the regiment’s fighting strength. The regiment was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, whose staff consisted of two majors, an adjutant, a surgeon with two assistant surgeons and a veterinary surgeon.
The Franco/Dutch dragoon regiment in Java consisted of five squadrons, each of 269 officers and men, and a bodyguard squadron of 200 officers and men. Each squadron had two companies of two troops.
The British and Indian Artillery comprised of battalions of foot artillery with several companies. Each company consisted of a 1 st and 2 nd captain, a 1 st and 2 nd lieutenant, four sergeants, four corporals, nine bombardiers, three drummers, 116 gunners and six guns. And troops of horse artillery, each troop consisting of a 1 st and 2 nd captain, three lieutenants, two staff sergeants, three sergeants, three corporals, six bombardiers, a farrier, a carriage-smith, two shoeing-smiths, two collar makers, a wheelwright, a trumpeter, 80 gunners, 60 drivers and six guns. And as the artillery of the Java expedition came from India, it was supported by a Corps of Native Gun Lascars, who assisted in the maintenance, movement and deployment of the artillery.

The Franco/Dutch Régiment d’ Artillerie in Java consisted of 20 companies of foot artillery form