Covers amateur armies during the French Revolutionary Wars, the War of
1812, the Spanish-American War, the Boer War, the pre-1914 conflict in
Ireland, the Spanish Civil War and the Bay of Pigs.
Amateur Armies examines the military and social history of volunteer
armies around the western world from the failed French invasion of South
Wales in 1797 to the disastrous anti-Communist invasion of the Bay of
Pigs in Cuba in 1961.
It brings together some fascinating military actions across more than a
century and a half of history and explores the social and political
context in the countries involved. Stephen Cullen's absorbing and
original book is the first general survey of the role of amateur armies
during the period.
Included are chapters on a series of wars in which militias played
critical parts. In each case, their actions and effectiveness are
described as is the background from which they came, and the social and
political circumstances in which they operated. This pioneering study
offers a valuable insight into each of the amateur armies covered and
opens up an important and hitherto neglected aspect of military history.