Man of War

by John Masters

The heroic and unforgettable saga of one man's rise to military glory…written by one of Britain's greatest soldiers turned writer.

Miller was a career soldier — one of the best.

He had twenty years and more of active service behind him — from the trenches of World War 1, to a riot-torn India, and from the Spanish Civil War to a heroic rearguard action at Dunkirk.

His tactical brilliance and unquestioned courage played their part in those victories.

But there were other battles he had to fight — with the old guard who despised his unorthodox methods, with brother officers who could never accept a shopkeeper's son as one of their own, and with the women whose love he jeopardised in his determination to succeed.

This is Miller's story — a vivid, unforgettable portrait of a soldier.

And this too is John Masters' epitaph — the novel that only he, with his first-hand knowledge of military life, could write.

`A splendid storyteller and a master at describing battles and campaigns' - Daily Telegraph.

Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO (1914–1983) was an English officer in the Indian Army who fought in World War Two, and later a novelist. His works are noted for their descriptions of the British Empire in India.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Genres: Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1983

About the author

Masters was the son of a lieutenant-colonel whose family had a long tradition of service in the Indian Army. He was educated at Wellington and Sandhurst. On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) for a year before applying to serve with the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North-West Frontier with the 2nd battalion of the regiment, and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and the regimental depot, becoming the Adjutant of the 2nd battalion in early 1939.

During World War II his battalion was sent to Basra in Iraq, during the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Masters subsequently served in Iraq, Syria and Persia. In early 1942, he attended the Indian Army Staff College at Quetta. Here he met the wife of a fellow officer and began an affair. They were later to marry. This caused a small scandal at the time.

After Staff College he first served as Brigade Major in 114th Indian Infantry Brigade before being "poached" by "Joe" Lentaigne, another officer from 4th Gurkhas, to be Brigade Major in 111th Indian Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation. From March, 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in Burma. On the death of General Orde Wingate on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindits' overall commander and Masters commanded the main body of 111 Brigade.

In May, the brigade was ordered to hold a position code-named ‘Blackpool’ near Mogaung in northern Burma. The isolated position was attacked with great intensity for seventeen days and eventually the brigade was forced to withdraw. Masters had to order the medical orderlies to shoot 19 of his own men, casualties who had no hope of recovery or rescue. Masters later wrote about these events in the second volume of his autobiography, The Road Past Mandalay.

After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the Chief of Staff) of Indian 19th Infantry Division, which was heavily involved in the later stages of the Burma Campaign, until the end of the war. After a spell as a staff officer in GHQ India in Delhi, he then served as an instructor at the British Army Staff College, Camberley. He left the army after this posting, and moved to the United States, where he attempted to set up a business promoting walking tours in the Himalayas, one of his hobbies. The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.

In later life, Masters and his wife Barbara moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. He died in 1983 from complications following heart surgery. His family and friends scattered his ashes from an aeroplane over the mountain trails he loved to hike. General Sir Michael Rose, the former UN commander in Bosnia, is a stepson of Masters.

Reviews

[David Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have any interest in putting yourself into the boots of a professional British infantry officer of the second World War generation, this is probably the single best book of fiction you could read. Miller's military career, training and development as a soldier and commander are shared with the insight of one who has been there himself. I would consider this, although it is fictional, to be semi-autobiographical in that I believe it shares, not the actual events, but the way that Masters felt about actual events in his own life and military career. Masters is a very good writer and makes this military masterpiece accessible to almost any reader. This is the only novel on a military officer that I have read which manages to retain a balance between the patriotic vocation of a soldier and a consciousness of the flesh-and-blood cost of war.

[Stevens Parr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally, John Masters earns five stars or an occasional 4 stars from me. As a writer and story teller I believe he will ultimately be judged as one of the most significant western observers of the sojourn of the English on the Indian stage. This book is a departure from that focus, zeroing on the career of Bill Miller (Masters himself?) who rises from the wrong class, fighting through two world wars to finally become a general. The historical tapestry is right, as it always is with Masters, but the story is superficial and wrong emotionally, fatal flaws in any good novel, and very unusual for this author. If you are a John Masters completist, by all means read this book. It is far from a total disappointment. It just isn't up to his usual standards.

[A K]

my faviouret book

[Edward V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great

John Masters at his best. New battlefields for him, and some old ones, but still top quality writing in his unique style.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for combat arms junior officers. Head and shoulders above Anton Meyer's "Once an Eagle"

[Dr C Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story

Excellent read very imaginative
Was at times at times less than informative and. Lacking in reason
However very imaginative

Carry on

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather good in that it tells a war story from the perspective of an army staff officer - commanding units like a grand chess game.

Won't be re-reading it though, so only 3 stars.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style tends to be Old School but it's readable enough. This is a military book written by an ex military man. It focuses on a British man who navigates his way through the military hierarchy, dealing with conflict after conflict, especially from within. The big strengths of this novel are focused upon logistics and an insider's view of how things went during peace time before WWII and then the early war years of WWII. I'd only recommend it for such sorts. WHEN READ: June to August; MY GRADE: B minus.

[Jyothykumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

As good as any John Masters' books. Do get a feeling Masters had a dose of self-pity as he wrote this one. To be fair, though, one needs to extrapolate oneself to the early 20th century to appreciate British (& Anglo-Indian) moods inIndia.

Man of War succeeds in taking you deep into that era.

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read about the career of a British officer from the trench's of WWI, the inter war years and early battles of 1940. His hero is based on the real life figure of Field Marshal William "Bill" Slim of Burma fame.