Includes bibliographical references (pages 510-512) and indexes.

From the Boer War to the Great War, 1900-1914 -- The Great War, 1914-1918 -- Between the wars, 1919-1939 -- The hard road to Alamein, 1939-1942 -- From low ebb to high tide, 1942-1945 -- Beating retreat, 1945-1960 -- The wind of change, 1960-1997.

"The story of the British army in the twentieth century has never before been told or analysed in a single volume. Michael Carver's authoritative and readable book begins in an era in which the virtues of the lance and sabre were still being advocated in competition with the new-fangled rifle. It ends in an era in which a lance corporal in Bosnia was fixing his position by satellite, and troops in the Gulf were being trained in how to deal with biological and chemical warfare. Between these two eras were the transforming experiences of two world wars, of new tactics and above all the continuing impact of new technology"--Jacket.