“Mr. Davies’s superb analysis, though centering on the British experience, implicitly raises broader concerns. How, during peacetime, can armies and the civilian authorities overseeing them avoid the errors of groupthink and sustain military capabilities? It is a perennial question to which . . . there is no easy answer.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal“Vigorously argued, this intriguing thesis rests on wide-ranging research among the extensive secondary literature and archival sources.”—Stephanie Brumwell, Times Literary Supplement"Andrew Lambert has now written the definitive biography that Corbett has long deserved . . . indispensable."—Hew Strachan, War in History“This impressive book makes a significant contribution to the history of the British army during the long eighteenth century.”—Gavin Daly, English Historical Review“Davies’s book is an important example of how careful scholarship can trace the development and transmission of military ideas.”—Adam L. Storring, International Journal of Military History and Historiography“The breadth of its scope will interest readers who consider themselves already familiar with the delights of London’s eighteenth century pleasure grounds and aristocratic town houses: entries as singular as the garden of a seventeenth-century brothel, a nineteenth-century cinder heap and a twentieth-century exhibition of camouflage in Trafalgar Square combine to create a fantastical assemblage of the amazing and unexpected.”—Frederick Hervey-Bathurst, Garden History (Journal of the Gardens Trust)The Templer Medal was established by The Society for Army Historical Research in 1981 to commemorate the life and achievements of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer KG (1898-1979) (pictured) and to mark his Presidency of the Society between 1965 and 1979.The medal is awarded annually to the author of the book published during that year that has made the most significant contribution to the history of the British Army.Winner of the 2022 SAHR Templer Medal“In this wide ranging and important study, Huw Davies assesses an improvement in military proficiency that was highly significant for global as well as British history. It deserves considerable attention.”—Jeremy Black, author of Military Strategy “An eminently readable book, offering an important new perspective on Britain’s military leadership and warfare strategies in a period of significant change. Davies gives us a rare front-row seat at mess tables, desks, and command tents of eighteenth-century army personnel around the globe.”—Jennine Hurl-Eamon, author of Marriage and the British Army in the Long Eighteenth Century“This well-researched, well-written and profoundly thought-provoking and stimulating book will force us to reappraise the whole area of the British Army’s evolution from the eve of the Seven Years’ War to that of the Crimean War.”—Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon: A Life“An important exploration of how formal and informal networks shaped knowledge exchange and institutional learning during the British military enlightenment of the mid-18th century. Davies has brought together an impressive expanse of archival research in order to show how the British army learned and adapted in its first series of global imperial wars.”— Anna Brinkman-Schwartz, King’s College London
