This presents a major re-evaluation of the standard view of revolutionary armies, the range of attitudes towards the role of heroic individuals, the formation and leadership of armies, and the differences and similarities between such armies.
Beginning with an exploration of the New Model Army of the 1640s, a force whose name itself seems to denote its revolutionary credentials, the author presents ten case studies from around the globe, including the American War of Independence, The French Revolution, The Zulu-Boer War, the Waffen SS and the Viet-Cong. Through a detailed analysis of source material, he examines the images connected with these armies, both historical and recent, and assesses these images in their socio-political and nationalist contexts.

Introduction; Chapter 1 The New Model Army in the English Civil War, 1645-6; Chapter 2 The Continental Army in the War of American Independence, 1775-82; Chapter 3 The armies of the French Republic and the War of the First Coalition, 1792-7; Chapter 4 The armies of Bolívar and the war for the liberation of Gran Colombia, 1811-24; Chapter 5 The Voortrekkers, Blood River, and the Zulu War of 1838-40; Chapter 6 The armies of the Heavenly Kingdom and the Taiping Rebellion in China, 1850-68; Chapter 7 Sepoys in the Indian Mutiny, 1857-9; Chapter 8 The International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-9; Chapter 9 The Waffen-SS in the Second World War, 1939-45; Chapter 10 The Viet Cong in the Second Indochina War, 1960-75; Conclusion; Notes; Index;