The Letters of Private Wheeler, B.H. Liddell Hart
The Letters of Private Wheeler, B.H. Liddell Hart
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The Letters of Private Wheeler
An eyewitness in action at the Battle of Waterloo

Author: B.H. Liddell Hart

Narrator: Roger Davis

Unabridged: 12 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/28/2022

Synopsis

'In a later age he would have become a successful war correspondent ... We have no more human account of the Peninsular War from a participant in all its battles. Vivid images - of people, landscapes, events - flows from his pen ... One of military history's great originals' John Keegan, DAILY TELEGRAPH

These letters, in the form of a frank and amusing diary, were written by a private in Wellington's army who fought throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Private Wheeler's record covers the Peninsular Campaign, keeping order during the coronation of Louis XVIII (whom he called 'an old bloated poltroon') and his later posting to Corfu.

Most of all, Wheeler's account of the historic Battle of Waterloo - written before the muskets of battle had cooled - reveals him to be a master of lively anecdote and mischievous characterisation.

About B.H. Liddell Hart

B. H. Liddell Hart, (1895-1970) was a British soldier, military historian, and military theorist. His books include Scipio Africanus, Sherman, Why Don't We Learn from History?, and A History of the First World War.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Monty

Written accounts of the Napoleonic wars by private soldiers are as rare as hens' teeth, and it is wonderfully serendipitous that a box full of Private (later Sergeant) Wheeler's letters survived in his family for several generations before finally being discovered and published in relatively recent......more

Goodreads review by Aidan

The definitive account of the life of a ranker in the Napoleonic Wars. Absolutely full of insights into how Wellington's infantry lived and fought.......more

Goodreads review by Rob

First rate memoir of a ranker... rare itself. Made even more interesting by the famous Liddell Hart editing and commenting.......more

Goodreads review by James

I love first hand historical accounts. Wheeler describes his life in the British army from 1809 to 1828, through the Napoleonic wars and beyond. His perspective from the position of a common soldier gives you a different understanding than something written as an official account. My interest in this......more

Quotes

They are simply marvellous. Wheeler was a naïve writer of real power - a natural story-teller, a provider of portraits, someone whose gift was to bring everything he wrote about to life TES

In a later age he would have become a successful war correspondent ... We have no more human account of the Peninsular War from a participant in all its battles. Vivid images - of people, landscapes, events - flows from his pen ... One of military history's great originals DAILY TELEGRAPH

These letters have already become a minor classic ... deftly edited, they are clear and telling in the accounts they give of a soldier's day-to-day life, a mixture of danger, boredom, discomfort and occasional delight GOOD BOOK GUIDE

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