Ireland 1649–52: Cromwell’s Protestant Crusade (Campaign, 213)

nice book

And this campaign is clearly one of them. The Irish haven't forgotten those terrible years.The complex background for this military campaign is abridged in the beginning of the book, and the reader benefits from the explanation of the political and religious differences and events that lead to the campaign. Also the short summaries of parlamentarian and royalist commanders are very good.It is clear that Rathmines changed the coming campaign and that Jones decisive victory facilitated Cromwell's work incomensurably; but we must not forget that Cromwell accepted the comission before Rathmine! And initially it looked like a really though nut to crack.As it was, Cromwell made an almost unblemished mopping up campaign that is very well reported by the author who chooses some of the more important military actions to detail, leaving the maps to show the movement of troops and other less important events. But stains are unavoidable, and in "reporting" those stains the author has considered different approaches :- The massacres of surrendered enemy troops are given detailed attention, but most of the blame are attributed to hot tempered officers (I partly agree with the author, but they probably wouldn't have happened if there were clear orders otherwise);- The Civilian massacres are a theme somewhat avoided by the author;- The Clonmel defense (the only big difficulty and, in several ways, defeat that Cromwell faced in the campaign) is very vivid and detailed.Graham Turner plates are very good, with a "you are there" feeling; the line drawings are also quite good.Good maps, photos and birds eye views (except the Drogheda siege; it's impossible to understand the map because it's in the center of the book!!!) complement this worthy work.

I found Michael McNally's addition to the Osprey Campaign series to be quite informative and interesting reading. Given the difficulty of writing a four-year campaign in less then 100 pages, I thought the book did a pretty good job summarizing the events and people at hand. The book managed to packed a lot of information in relatively short amount of pages afford in this format. Most of it centered around Cromwell's campaign and a short shift given to Henry Ireton's effort that finished up the overall campaign after Cromwell's departure. The book gives Oliver Cromwell a pretty fair hand considering that from most Irish accounts I read on him, he is more or less regarded as some sort of anti-Christ by the Irish Catholics. The book also reflects how the English Civil War should be really called "British Civil War" as this conflict in reality, spread throughout the entire British Isles.I found the support materials like photographs, Graham Turner's illustrations and their regular maps to be well presented and useful in understanding the written material. They proves to be a major assets to this book. However, the two "3-D" battle maps provided here, one on Siege of Drogheda and another on Siege on Clonmel proves to be prime example of how not to make a map. The one on Siege of Drogheda is worthless. The map is too small, detail are tiny and worst of all, there is a crease right in the middle of the crucial part of the action. Unless I break the back of the book, this map is an example of sheer incompetence in the world of military history publishing. Clonmel also suffered from the same effects although its more readable because the crease is bit more left of the main action. Osprey's own map design people should be flog for this mess. It should be clearly noted that none of this mess is the fault of the author. Responsibility of ill-designed maps lies with the Osprey.Otherwise, I found the book highly recommendable and anyone looking for a good introductory material on the Irish Front of the "English Civil War" would be wise to give this book a chance.

The English Civil War was fought not just in England but also in Ireland and Scotland. During my trip in 2008 to Ireland we passed many Irish castles and ruins which our guide blamed Cromwell or had an associated Cromwell story. I was aware that Cromwell fought in Ireland but didn't know the specifics.This book clarified much of what went on at this time. Cromwell, a sitting member of Parliament, led the Army dispatched to Ireland to put down the remaining Royalists and their Irish allies. The campaigns fought in Ireland were controversial and led to the attitude many Irish have towards Cromwell today. In several cases men who surrendered to Cromwell were executed and on at least one occasion civilians were murdered. It seems that Cromwell, like Sherman, believed in prosecuting war to the fullest in order to end it quickly.Maps, battlefield illustrations, photos and artwork bring the subject to life. If you are interested in the English Civil War in general or the Irish campaign in particular this is the book for you. However, a background in the civil war would be helpful.

The Osprey Campaign series is notable for its illustrations, maps, and the visual detail that the publisher and illustrators provide. This volume deals with an incident about which I know really nothing, being aware only that Cromwell campaigned in Ireland. The author recounts the events in question with enough clarity and precision for the novice to follow the course of the campaign and its general results. It's also interesting to discover that though the campaign was billed as a "Protestant Crusade" apparently there were Irish Protestants who fought on the side of the Royalists, and also on the side of what were called the "Confederates". The campaign was rather bloody, and characterized by mass killing of even prisoners. One of the other reviewers notes that the author avoids the use of the word "massacre" in recounting the incident at Wexford. Frankly, I didn't notice this, and was appalled by the callousness of the murders anyway.I generally like the Osprey series, and this is a valuable addition to the other books I have.

A really excellent book

I hoped that this book would cover both sides of the conflict, but it is almost entirely a book about the New Model Army in Ireland. Irish military dress is limited to a single small photo of a reenactor with a pike and an equally small pencil drawing. Very disapointing. If you track down George Gush's "Rennaissance Armies 1450-1650", you will find far more info on the Irish in two pages than you will here. There are some numbers of Irish forces (refers to as Royalist) listed in a coupe of seiges covered. This title is a let down and definitely not worth buying. It should have been sold as "Cromwell's New Model Army". Save your cash.

This book is a must for any interested none expert like me on the civil war era concerning Ireland,well written,full of detail, all conflict is terrible and this was no exeption.The artwork is very good throughout, the only negative the battle diagrams are unusable.I feel after reading this i have a fair grasp of the whole episode including what Cromwell did and did not do and that is why we buy these books,well done Mr Mcnally.Reccomended.