Wot I am Reeding - Flashman on the March

The character of Flashman was first introduced in 1857 when Thomas Hughes published the tale of Rugby school life "Tom Brown's Schooldays". It's also pushing 40 years now since George MacDonald Fraser appropriated the character of Harry Flashman, the school bully in that book, and started writing the first of his historical novels that followed Flashman in later life, from service in Afghanistan, slave running in the US, service in the Indian Mutiny, the Traiping Rebellion, the Charge of the Light Brigade, Little Bighorn and seemingly stumbling from one crisis to another.

This is Flashman's twelfth outing, the latest in his "memoirs" to be released, and deals with the Abyssinian war, a barely remembered British military action in Africa that was unique at the time and seemingly unique since. In 1867 the British army marched into the African nation of Abyssinia to rescue a handful of hostages from a mad king. It cost 9 million pounds, a staggering amount at the time, divided public opinion and was considered by most to be a suicidal mission - a march of 300 miles through enemy territory, with no supply lines, hauling weaponry all the way to then storm an impenetrable fortress surrounded by enemies, fight a well trained and advanced Abyssinian army, rescue the captive Europeans and retreat, leaving the country intact.

It is staggering to know that this was not only achieved, by not a single British soldier was lost in enemy action, the prisoners released and a deranged, psychopathic and genocidal monarch was toppled in the process. There was nothing in it for the British but to rescue their comrades. They went not to conquer, but to rescue.
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