This is the first of two volumes which together provide a history of British infantry from 1660 to the present. Their main purpose is to show how the regimental system has evolved and what it has meant to the infantryman himself. A principal foundation-stone is the many campaigns and battles in which the infantry regiments have fought. These range, in Volume 1, from major European wars to little-known actions in remote parts of the world during the evolution of the British Empire. Rather than presenting mere blow-by-blow accounts of the campaigns and lists of the regiments taking part, the book concentrates on what battle was actually like for the individual infantryman through the ages, and how battalion tactics changed. Taking the infantry's story from the Restoration in 1660 to the end of the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, the book also describes pay and conditions, and how the infantryman was lodged, equipped and clothed; it examines training, rations, and recreational pursuits; and it identifies the characteristics that have made the infantryman so formidable, and the origins of the customs and traditions that make each regiment unique. Above all, the infantryman is allowed to speak for himself - numerous quotations appear on his experiences in both peace and war. The author's other books include "Bomber Harris and the Strategic Bombing Campaign 1939-1945", "The Commandos 1940-1946", biographies of SS General Sepp Dietrich and Field Marshal von Rundstedt, and five editions of "History of the British Army".