to teachers and

parents

This is a LADYBIRD
LEADER book, one of a
series specially produced
to meet the very real need
for carefully planned
first information books
that instantly attract
enquiring minds and
stimulate reluctant readers.
British ‘Tommy’ French “Poilu’ British soldier
1914 19 World War //

American G./. Russian soldier French soldier

World War I World War If World War If

Today, all modern armies look much alike.

to teachers and parents
This is a LADYBIRD LEADER book, one of a
series specially produced to meet the very real
need for carefully planned first information
books that instantly attract enquiring minds
and stimulate reluctant readers.
The subject matter and vocabulary have been
selected with expert assistance, and the brief
and simple text is printed in large, clear type.
Children’s questions are anticipated and facts
presented in a logical sequence. Where possible,
the books show what happened in the past and
what is relevant today.
Special artwork has been commissioned to set
a standard rarely seen in books for this reading
age and at this price.
Full colour illustrations are on all 48 pages to
give maximum impact and provide the extra
enrichment that is the aim of all Ladybird
Leaders.

© LADYBIRD BOOKS LTD MCMLXXVI

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mech-
anical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the
copyright owner.
A Ladybird Leader

soldiers
written by John West
illustrated by Frank Humphris

Ladybird Books Loughborough

Soldiers of Ancient Egypt 2000—1100 BC
The soldiers had spears with bronze tips.
Their arrows had tips of bone or flint.
Shields were made of wood and leather.
A king rode into battle in his chariot.
Assyrian soldiers
1100—600 BC

The Assyrian armies were very strong.

They defeated many other countries.
Th e so ld ie rs ha d he lm et s ma de of br on ze .
Some wore armour
"made of metal strips sewn on leather.
5
 Sas" and dagger
RR
1%

&2 4€> ing

Greek soldiers 650— 300 BC
Greek soldiers were called hoplites.
They wore bronze helmets,
breastplates and leg armour.
Their shields were large and round.
 Greek
helmets

Charioteers

Some spears were 7 metres long.

These soldiers had to pay for
their own spears, swords, daggers
and armour.
Poor men could not become hoplites.
King Darius of Persia 521 —486 BC
King Darius ruled the Persian Empire.
He wanted to rule the world.
His army was said to be unbeatable,
but it was defeated by the Greeks.
Darius had a bodyguard of 10,000 men.
They had spears, bows and arrows
and were richly dressed.
 Fighting men of the Holy Land
Long before the birth of Christ,
men like these fought
in the Holy Land.
10
Warriors
of the Iron Age
550 BC—50 AD

Wy
piing the Iron Age in Europe,
| swords, spears and helmets
were of iron.
Iron is much harder than bronze.
Tribesmen fought men of other tribes.
There were no paid soldiers.
11
 he Roman Army
100 BC —400 AD
Roman soldiers were very well trained;
they were the finest of their time.
They were also very well armed.
They could march 25 kilometres
in four hours.
12
 Bronze
helmet

Dagger
(pugio)
(caliga)

Short sword /J
(gladius) £3

Javelin
(pilum) Pattern for a sandal
18
 nai,
3) Officer Centurion Standard bearer

A legion was made up of 6,000 men.

A centurion was in charge of 100 men.
The standard bearer led an attack.

14
 Horn blo wer

The Romans defeated the Greeks.

They also conquered France, Britain,
Spain, Palestine and North Africa.

15
The Gauls

These were tribesmen in Gaul (France).

They were conquered by the Roman army.
When the Romans defeated them,
they became part of the Roman army.

16
The Huns

Between 400— 500 AD, the Huns

swarmed across Europe.
Under their leader, Attila, they were
hated and feared.
The Battle of Hastings
The Normans invaded England in 1066.
The Saxons had few archers
and no cavalry (soldiers on horseback).
William the Conqueror gave land
and other rewards to his soldiers.
19
The Crusades (Holy Wars)
From 1096 to 1291 AD there were
‘Holy Wars’ to capture Jerusalem
from the Turks. Crusaders went from
many parts of Europe.
They were Christians.
Turks were Muslims.
 A suit of armour
weight about 25 kg

By 1430, armour was much better.

It was not so heavy.
Thin, special steel was being used.
A knight could move more easily.
22.
The long-bow
and the cross-bow \\ Long-bow

We —
The arrow from a long-bow 4
could go through armour.
It could kill at about 200 metres.
The cross-bow was slower to use.
23
 Early cannon

This man is
using an early

) The invention of gunpowder

changed the way soldiers fought.
Armour no longer saved them.
Cannon balls could knock down
city walls!

24
The first cannon were made in 1326 AD.
Some blew themselves up!
A cannon ball could weigh 340 kg.
By 1500, cannon were being moved
on wheels.

25
 Light Jae
ss Dragoon
British and French cuff helmet g&

British Infantry French Prussian Grenadier

1751 Horse-soldier 1750 1755
After cannon, hand-guns were made.
Muskets and pistols replaced long-bows
Soldiers were grouped into regiments.
26
 Flintlock musket &Y
‘Brown Bess’ .

French Infantry Prussian Royal Fusilier

1760 5th Dragoon 1770 8

From1680, coloured uniforms were worn.

. Most-French soldiers wore white coats,
the Germans blue, and the English red.
27
 Armies grew bigger. More men were
needed. Some were tricked into joining
Sometimes they were dragged away
after they had been made drunk.
A soldier's life was very hard.

28
The men who made America a free
nation Z
> y Be

i q
|

Se)!
“Hi.
These soldiers were American settlers,
not trained soldiers.
Between 1771 and 1783, they fought
and beat trained soldiers
of the British army. *
Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon was one of the greatest

generals in history.
His mighty French armies fought in Spain
Egypt, Italy, Holland and Russia.

30
Russian soldiers and the Russian winter
destroyed Napoleon's ‘Grand Army’.
fter his retreat from Moscow in 1812,
only 45,000 men (out of 300,000)
 British
Hussar’s busby

French cap

The Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon formed a new army.

This won many victories
before it was beaten
by Russians and Germans.
32
Later, he formed yet another army.
In 1815, he was finally beaten at Waterloo
by a German army and British army
under the Duke of Wellington.
33
 The British lost nearly half the men
who were in this charge.

34
All wars are cruel and wasteful.
Many people die or arecrippled.
These men were on the winning side,
but afterwards could live only by begging.

35
 ay
fi:
ee
African warriors

Hi Soh ea
These were Zulu warriors
of 100 years ago.
They conquered a large part of Africa
and were feared by other tribes.
36
 Somali pe:
1890 Way |

Mexican
1900

Pathan (India) 1900

Soldiers of other lands
Not all soldiers had regimental uniforms.
These were fighting men too.
They were just as brave.
3y
The American Civil War 1861—1865
Americans of the Northern States
fought Americans of the Southern States
The bitter struggle lasted 4 years.
The North won. They had better weapons
and more money to buy them.
 i das j \ wre~ gue

100 years ago, North American Indians

fought to stop white Americans |
from taking their lands.
The white men had more and better
guns, so the Indians lost.
40
Soldiers of India

These soldiers of India

were wonderful fighters.
The men on horseback
were Bengal lancers.
The soldier with a rifle was i
a famous Gurkha regiment.
 Portuguese
New uniforms 1890

aa] French Japanese

"900

American
1899

In 1870, the German army

was one of the best in the world.
The armies of some other countries
copied the German uniforms.
Some also copied the spiked helmet.

42
 rst ‘khaki’ uniforms

In 1899, British soldiers in Africa

wore khaki coats, not red.
‘Khaki’ means ‘dust-coloured’.
Khaki uniforms are not so easily seen
by an enemy.
43
 From 1914 to 1918, many countries
were at war.
It is often called ‘The Great War’.
8,000,000 men died. Many more
were wounded.
44
 for the first time.
For safety, soldiers wore steel helmets.
They dug trenches and lived in them.
They climbed out to attack.
45
 The Second World War 1939—1945
Armies moved swiftly into battle
in trucks, tanks and aircraft.
Some soldiers were landed in gliders
or dropped by parachute.
46
Special ships quickly landed
men, tanks, trucks and guns
on enemy beaches.
 Modern airborne soldiers
Today, helicopters can take men,
guns and trucks into battle
in any part of the world.

48
War in the desert

» War in the snow

Modern soldiers a
are trained to fight anywhere.

49
In the past, soldiers fought other soldiers.
In war today, nobody is safe.
Any man, woman or child can be killed,
injured or made homeless.
50
Military rockets can travel
many thousands of kilometres.
Even the largest cities
could be destroyed instantly.
51
Index
page page
Africa 36, 43 Darius, King 8,9
African warriors 36, 37
Egypt 4,30
Airborne soldiers 46,48 England 19
Aircraft 45,46 Europe 11,17,21
America 29, 38, 39, 40
Fighting in desert,
American Civil War 38,39 Arctic and jungle 49
Archers 19 First World War 44,45
Armour 5,6, 7,22, 23,24 Fortress 15
Arrows 4,9, 23 France 15,16
Attila 17
Gauls 16
Bengal lancers 41 Gauntlet 22
Bows 9 Gliders 46
Breastplates 6 Gunpowder 24
Britain 15
Gurkha 41
Bronze 4,5,6,11,13
Hand-guns 26
Busby 32
Hastings, Battle of 18,19
Cannon 24, 25, 26
Headwear 32, 33
Cavalry 15,19, 34 Helicopters 48
Centurion 14
Helmets 5,6, 7, 11,13,
Charioteers 7 22, 26, 32, 33, 45
Chariots 4,7 Holland 30
Christians 21 Holy Land 10
Citizen soldiers 29 Holy Wars 21
Crimean War 34 Hoplites 6,7
Cross-bow 22, 23 Horn blower 15
Crusaders 20, 21 Huns 17
Daggers 6,7,13 India 41
 page page
lron Age 11 Shields 4,6,13
Italy 30 Soldiers:
Assyrian 5
Javelin 13)
Egyptian 4
Jerusalem 21 Greek 6,2
Knight 22 Indian 41
Mexican on
Landing craft 47 Norman and Saxon
Legion 14
Long-bow 23, 26 Pathan 37
Roman 12; 13,14,
15
Modern war 50, 51 Samurai 37
Moscow 31 Somali Dervish Su
Muskets 26, 27 Spain 15, 30
Muslims 21 Spears 7795 Al
Napoleon Bonaparte Standard bearer 14
30, 31, 32, 33 Steel 22
North Africa 15 Swords C3Fayprabara ec]
North American Indians 40
Tanks 45, 46, 47
Officer, Roman 14
Tribesmen’ 11
Palestine 15
Uniforms:
Parachute 46 first coloured 26).27:
Persia 8 German style 42
Pistols 26,27 Khaki 43
modern front endpaper
Recruits 28
Regiments 26 Waterloo, Battle of 32,33
Rockets 51 Wellington, Duke of 32, 33
Russia 30, 31 William the Conqueror 19
Wounded soldiers 35.
Sandal, Roman 13
Second World War 46, 47 Zulu warriors 36
 RRR

List of titles in Series 737

water living things

ducks and swans the tree and its world
man in the air air
man and his car seals and whales
lions and tigers reptiles
man on the sea deserts
dinosaurs the stream
castles coffee
baby animals fire q
roads chocolate and cocoa ;
song birds bread 1
trains polar regions ¢
bridges mountains ~
homes forests \
leaves teeth \
soldiers islands
sounds fruit
big animals bears and pandas
under the ground tea
apes and monkeys
Ladybird titles cover a wide range of
subjects and reading ages Write for a
free illustrated list from the publishers:
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Loughborough Leicestershire England
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