Bryan Robson for Spellmount Bryan Robson wrote an excellent book on the Second Afghan War which covered with equal relish the military glory and the administrative and political elements. Now his book on the Suakin expeditions is a welcome addition to the colonial library here at Birch Bottom. The main enemy - Osman Digna - is sketched in good biographical detail although I would have preferred more on his tribal base. The records of the various actions indicate the administrative skill of the British army, but also its frequent inability to think clearly. General D'Amade had the same problems in Morocco. An opponent who was bright enough not to do what they wanted and owned very little had to play ball if the slow colonial armies were to catch him. General Graham appears to have been rather "thick", at best a brigade commander pushed into a divisional command. The administrative stuff is astonishing, the lack of illness was put down to the fact that the force was supplied by water from a number of condenser ships anchored off Suakin! The comparison of Indian Army units versus British is enlightening, and we have a New South Wales unit! For those who want to super-detail The Sun Never Sets and read about a very gallant enemy a most enjoyable book. More Book Reviews Passchendaele in Perspective Giant of the Grand Siécle After The Deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War Tactics and The Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon War and Chivalry Fontenoy The Campaign of Koniggratz 1886 Hannibal's War Letters on Cavalry Fuzzy Wuzzy Back to Perfidious Albion #97 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com