Engines for empire : The Victorian army and its use of railways / Edward Spiers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Spiers, Edward, Author.

Series:

Studies in Imperialism Series

Studies in Imperialism ; 127

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Army.

Great Britain. Army--Transportation.

Great Britain.

Military railroads--England--History--19th century.

Military railroads.

Great Britain--Colonies--History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : Illustrations, black & white|Line drawings, black & white

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Engines for Empire examines the use of the railway by the British army from the 1830s to 1914, a period of domestic political strife and unprecedented imperial expansion. The book uses a wide array of sources and images to demonstrate how the Victorian army embraced this new technology, how it monitored foreign wars, and how it came to use the railway in both support and operational roles. The British army's innovation is also revealed, through its design and use of armoured trains, the restructuring of hospital trains, and in its capacity to build and repair railway track, bridges, and signals under field conditions.This volume provides insights on the role of railways in imperial development, as a focus of social interaction between adversaries, and as a means of projecting imperial power. It will make fascinating reading for students, academics and enthusiasts in military and imperial history, Victorian studies, railway history and colonial warfare.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of maps and illustrations

Acknowledgements

Public order: the army and railways

Map

Railways and home defence

Railway experiments in mid-Victorian wars

Operational railways

Strategic railways in India

The Sudan Military Railway

Railways on the veld: the South African War, 1899-1902

Conclusion: Railways and the preparation for war, 1914

Appendix 1: Working methods on the Sudan railway, 1884-85

Appendix 2: Indian volunteer railway units, 1869-1901

Select bibliography

Index.

Notes:

In-house editor: Emma Brennan.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 01. Nov 2023)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

OCLC:

1467874547