‘Battles and wars are not won unless the infantry is standing on
the land that once belonged to the enemy. They live under the
hardest conditions and suffer the most danger. It is the pits, a
place to stay out of...’ The combat-hardened words of US foot
soldier Radford Carrol will ring true with warriors of every
nation. Since time immemorial, the ‘poor bloody infantry’ has
done the dirty front-line work of war. They bear the brunt of
fighting and often suffer disproportionately in comparison with
the other arms of service, and yet the history of infantry
tactics is too rarely studied and often misunderstood. Curator
of military history and archaeology for Lancashire Museums,
Stephen Bull sets the record straight in this fascinating, in-
depth account of the fighting methods of the infantry during the
Second World War. He focuses on the infantry theory and the
combat experience of the three major players, the British,
German and American armies, while his close analysis of the
rules of engagement, the manuals,