- Publisher: Casemate
- Year: 2017
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 384pp
- Illustrated: Yes
- Dimensions: 228x150mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.7kg
- ISBN: 9781612003696
- Product code: 514209
Instruments of Battle
The Fighting Drummers and Buglers of the British Army from the Late 17th Century to the Present Day
James Tanner New Hardback Illustrated
Postscript summary
While they have mostly ceremonial uses today, musicians in the British Army traditionally participated in battles, including acting as heralds and enforcers of discipline. James Tanner, a retired Brigadier, details the role of fighting drummers, buglers, and fifers, looking at their deployment, tactics and practical roles; dispelling some common myths; and describing the lives of some of the individual soldiers.
Product information
Full publisher description
Instruments of Battle examines in detail the development and role of the British Army's fighting drummers and buglers, from the time of the foundation of the army up to the present day. While their principal weapon of war was the drum and bugle (and the fife), these men and boys were not musicians as such but fighting soldiers who took their place in the front line.
The origins of the drum and bugle in the Classical Period and the later influence of Islamic armies are examined, leading to the arrival of the drum and fife in early Tudor England. The story proper picks up post-English Civil War and the drum's period of supremacy through much of the eighteenth century army; certain myths as to its use are dispelled. The bugle rapidly superseded the drum for field use in the nineteenth century until developments on the battlefield consigned these instruments largely to barrack-life and the parade-ground. But there are surprising examples of the use of the bugle in the field through both World Wars and the story is brought up to most recent times and relegation to an almost exclusively ceremonial role.
This is all set against a background of campaigns, battles, changing tactical methods and the difficult processes of command and control on the battlefield. Interwoven is relevant comparison with other armies, particularly American and French. The wider roles of drummers, especially, as battlefield heralds, as adjuncts to recruiting and dispensers of punishment are considered, as well as the other roles they and buglers assumed, out of practicability, on the modern battlefield. Stories of the drummers and buglers themselves provide social context to their place in the army.
The origins of the drum and bugle in the Classical Period and the later influence of Islamic armies are examined, leading to the arrival of the drum and fife in early Tudor England. The story proper picks up post-English Civil War and the drum's period of supremacy through much of the eighteenth century army; certain myths as to its use are dispelled. The bugle rapidly superseded the drum for field use in the nineteenth century until developments on the battlefield consigned these instruments largely to barrack-life and the parade-ground. But there are surprising examples of the use of the bugle in the field through both World Wars and the story is brought up to most recent times and relegation to an almost exclusively ceremonial role.
This is all set against a background of campaigns, battles, changing tactical methods and the difficult processes of command and control on the battlefield. Interwoven is relevant comparison with other armies, particularly American and French. The wider roles of drummers, especially, as battlefield heralds, as adjuncts to recruiting and dispensers of punishment are considered, as well as the other roles they and buglers assumed, out of practicability, on the modern battlefield. Stories of the drummers and buglers themselves provide social context to their place in the army.
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https://www.psbooks.co.uk/instruments-of-battle
514209
Instruments of Battle
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/Non-Fiction/Categories/Music
/History
/History/Military History
/Non-Fiction/Highlights
/History/Military History/Categories/Pre-World War One
While they have mostly ceremonial uses today, musicians in the British Army traditionally participated in battles, including acting as heralds and enforcers of discipline. James Tanner, a retired Brigadier, details the role of fighting drummers, buglers, and fifers, looking at their deployment, tactics and practical roles; dispelling some common myths; and describing the lives of some of the individual soldiers.
Hardback
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0
add-to-cart
rrp_info:£25.00
productId:56053
bic_code:AVGG, HBW
AVGG, HBW
£25.00
James Tanner
General
228x150mm
Casemate
No
Hardback
Military History
