The boys' book of battles

Preface

The contents of "The Boys' Book of Battles" have been chosen with two requirements in mind: first, that each selection should be of real interest in itself ; second, that the selections, taken together, should give a graphic picture of the development of warfare from the earliest times to the present day. In view of these requirements many battles have been included that have but little historical importance, but that are described in an intensely thrilling way or that are illustrative of interesting phases of warfare.

The selections have been taken, not only from books of history, but from fiction, poetry, and biography as well. This broad treatment is more than justified by the increased interest and value of the selections available. It would be difficult, for example, to find a more vivid or illuminating picture of all phases of a modern battle than in "The Fight before Sedan" which is taken from a novel, while the lilt of the verses in "The Battle of Naseby" drives home the fighting spirit of the Puritans as no prose description could.

Thanks are due to the following pubHshers for generously permitting the use of the copyrighted material specified below : —

G. P. Putnam's Sons: The Victory of the Khita. From "Notes from the Nile," by H. D. Rawnsley.

PREFACE

A. C. McClurg & Company.

The Storming of the Sky-City. From "The Spanish Pioneers," by Charles F. Lummis.

Harper & Brothers.

The Battle of the Pyramids, and The Crossing of the Beresina River. From "The History of Napoleon Bonaparte," by John S. C. Abbott.

The Macmillan Company :

The Fight before Sedan. From "The Downfall," by Emile Zola.

Contents

The Victory over the Khita Pen-ta-ur 3

The Battle of Marathon E. S. Creasy 12

The Lemnian: A Story of Thermopyl^ . . John Buchan 23