This
latest edition of Osprey's Men-at-Arms series concentrates on the US military
involvement in China up to the start of WWII. That period of time was one of
great turmoil inside China with constantly changing political situations and a
few time of outright hostilities. This is particularly true of the US
involvement in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Europeans had managed to inculcate
themselves into Chinese life by pretty much taking over settlement areas in many
of China's cities, especially where it involved trade in and out of the country.
Naturally, there was seen a need to protect these enclaves and that is where the
major powers, including the United States, sent their troops.
This was also a time when the need to protect the flow
of traffic on the major waterways was important so the US, along with other
countries, sent gunboats to patrol the rivers and fend off attacks from
marauders and pirates. This time period is probably where the term 'gunboat
diplomacy' got its start.
In this book the author tells the story of these
turbulent times and the units, Army, Navy and Marine, that took part in the
various operations. A good portion of the book concentrates on the Boxer
Rebellion as that was the major military event of this period, though there were
other smaller conflicts. Men-at-Arms is basically a book on uniforms and the
superlative illustrations of Mike Chappell show the various uniforms and
equipment of the men of this period. These were pretty much the standard issue
for troops of the time, but with a few additions for the theater of operations.
The book also includes a number of quite rare photographs that should prove to
be quite interesting to the enthusiast. For movie buffs, there are two older
films 55 Days at Peking and Sand Pebbles, that are about this
time period and well done.
In all, one of Osprey's more interesting titles and one
that I know you will enjoy reading as much as did I.
July 2009
For more on the complete line of Osprey books,
visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is
Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can
get a catalogue of available books.
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Contributors.