A History of the 17th Lancers (duke of Cambridge's Own)

The 17th Lancers were born from the chaos of empire, raised in the aftermath of Wolfe's victory at Quebec in 1759, and J.W. Fortescue traces their path from raw recruits to one of Britain's most celebrated cavalry regiments with the meticulous eye of a historian who understands that armies are made of flesh and steel, not just battle statistics. This is military history at its most visceral: the brilliant scarlet and blue uniforms, the thunder of horses at charge, the particular pride of men who called themselves 'the British Light Dragoons' before becoming Lancers, and who carried their lances with a distinction that echoed across battlefields from the Peninsular War to the Indian subcontinent. Fortescue writes with the authority of someone who has burrowed through military archives, yet he acknowledges the gaps honestly, many records lost to time, many deeds preserved only in fragmentary letters and the memories of survivors. The result is not merely a roll call of battles, but a portrait of an institution: how regiments acquire character, how soldiers develop loyalty, how the machinery of empire rides on the courage of men on horseback.