'The infantryman always bears the brunt' according to Field-Marshal Wavell in 1945. The 'Poor Bloody Infantry,' 'The Grunts on the Ground,' the infantry have often been seen as the humble, indeed shunned, relations of others, from cavalry to tanks. This book is their story, one from the dawn of human conflict to the present day, a study that looks round the world to consider fighting, weaponry, recruitment, contexts and impact. Infantry as the shock of assault as well as firepower, as the force in state-to-state conflict and in civil warfare, in symmetrical and asymmetrical warfare, are considered, as are the different accounts of development that are offered. Central to the military and to combat, infantry has also served many non-combat roles, notably as the arm of government. Indeed, infantry can be crucial to political history and nation-building, from coups to iconic battles. AUTHOR: Jeremy Black has been described as 'the most prolific historical scholar of our age'. He has researched and written widely on British history, politics, including political ideas, and international relations, since the 17th and 18th century to the present, and especially on military history. He obtained a starred First in History at Queens College, Cambridge followed by postgraduate work at St John's and Merton Colleges, Oxford and was Professor of History at the Universities of Durham and then Exeter, and is now Emeritus Professor of History at Exeter University. He is senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia and at the British Foreign Policy Group. He has lectured extensively in various British Commonwealth countries, Europe and the USA. He has served as archives editor, council member of prestigious academic and research bodies like Royal Historical Society and the British Records Association and on editorial boards of numerous history journals - History Today, RUSI Journal, International Review of Military History, Media History etc. He has numerous honours including the MBE. From 2024 Jeremy has been Distinguished Fellow in the Center for Military History and Strategy at Hillsdale College.
