698 
MILITARY HISTORY AND TACTICS. 
Arr. VIII. Elements of War; or Rules and Regulations of the Army in Miniature; 
shewing the Duty of a Regiment in every Situation. By Naruanter Hoop, Liedte- 
nant, H. P. 48th Regiment. 
THE complaint made by volunteers 
and young officers, against the regula- 
tion book, is, that it is rather too con- 
12mo. pp. 157. 
cise. Mr: Hood’s little volume is, for 
thé most part, an abridgment of this, 
and therefore wholly useless. 
Art. IX. A Treatise on the Art of War; containing the Principles of Offensive and De- 
ensive Operations ; with Rules for carrying on the Petit-Guerre, or War of Posts; and 
the Methods of Attack and Defence in Sieges. Extracted from the Encyclopedia Britan- 
nica. 
8vo. pp. S04. 
IT was suggested to the proprietor of 
the Encyclopedia Britannica, that in the 
present circumstances of the country a 
republication, in a convenient form, of 
the article rt of War, might be of ser- 
vice: the proprietor (Mr. Bell) took the 
hint, and the work before us made its ap- 
pearance. 
The imminent danger of fnvasion has 
summoned the nation to arms: the shop- 
keeper, the manufacturer, the farmer, 
and the gentleman, have offered their 
voluntary services. in defence of their 
country. The number of citizen soldiers 
is so large, and the duties of the regular 
service so pressing, that the discipline of 
the volunteers must almost wholly de- 
pend on the exertions of their own inex- 
perienced officers, who must derive their 
knowledge almost entirely from books. 
Twenty-four 4to plates. 
The works required for this purpose, be- 
side the regulation book, are those which 
explain at fulllength, and in the plainest 
manner, whatever reélatés to the disct- 
pline of the battalion or squadron, and 
_the service of light troops, both horse and — 
foot. In the forming of sieges, and the 
conduct of battles, the only business, and 
the only difficulty of the volunteers will 
be to obey implicitly the orders of those 
who have been professionally brought 
up to the study of tactics. We are 
not sensible, therefore, of the slightest 
advantage to be derived from this tred- 
tise by any but regular officers, and we 
cannot suppose, that any of these would 
be destitute of books infinitely better 
qualified to teach them their duty than 
the work in question. 
Art. X. Rules and Regulations for the Field Exercise and Maneuvres of the French In- 
fantry, issued August \st 1791. 
Translated from the French, with explanatory Notes, 
by Joun Macvonatp, FJ. R. 8. F. A. 8. late Lieut. Col. of the Royal Clan Alpine Re- 
giment, Commandant of the Royal Edinburgh Artillery, and Captain of the Corps of Engi- 
neers on the Bengal Establishment. 
IT is the duty of every British officer 
who aspires to a thorough mastery of his 
profession, to be acquainted not only 
with the system of tactics adopted by 
his own countrymen, but also with that 
in use among the other nations of Eu- 
rope. Above all, it is incumbent on him 
to be versed in the maneuvres of the 
French army, against which his active 
opposition will almost always be directed. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonald has stu- 
died with attention the mechanism of 
the French army, the movements of 
8vo. 2 vols. 
which seem characterized by rapidity, 
as those of the British are by firmness 
and compactness. The principal dif- 
ferences, and advantages and disadvan- 
tages of the two systems are pointed out 
in the notes to this work, the text of 
which is the common regulation book of 
the French infantry: the plates by which 
the manceuvres dre illustrated are nu- 
merous and well executed, forming alto- 
gether an extremely valuable addition to 
the travelling library of a British of- 
ficer. 
