Jack Steel Adventure Series Books 1-3: Man of Honour, Rules of War, Brothers in Arms

Jack Steel Adventure Series Books 1-3: Man of Honour, Rules of War, Brothers in Arms
Iain Gale

Charismatic hero Jack Steel’s perilous adventures are for the first time available in one place.Meet Lieutenant Jack Steel – gentleman, soldier, hero.Upper Bavaria, 1704. The British army, triumphant, fresh from victory, stands proudly to attention, ready to fight for honour and glory. Their enemy is Louis XIV of France, a megalomaniac intent on possessing all Europe.Among this proud group of men stands Lieutenant Jack Steel, admired by his men, the finest infantry in Queen Anne's army. Much praised for his courage, his strength, and his loyalty, Steel has come to the attention of his Commander in Chief, the Duke of Marlborough.

IAIN GALE

JACK STEEL ADVENTURE SERIES BOOKS 1-3:

Man of Honour, Rules of War, Brothers in Arms

Contents

Cover (#u85754b0b-c562-515a-beab-609ca6bbcff0)

Title Page (#u730668e9-8624-5d9f-b79d-fb5219c1eb4a)

Man of Honour (#u8467a1ad-3bd8-5c90-9784-164660fb3268)

Rules of War (#litres_trial_promo)

Brothers in Arms (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Iain Gale (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

(#ulink_0071d2f8-cd55-5f0e-8bf2-81ef0ca432fe)

IAIN GALE

Man of Honour

Jack Steel and the Blenheim Campaign,July to August 1704

Dedication (#ulink_5620d961-35c5-521f-b685-4e0399abaa0f)

For Sarah

Map (#ulink_c3cdbbfc-526f-512b-b1ef-a84341b48e96)

Contents

Cover (#u8467a1ad-3bd8-5c90-9784-164660fb3268)

Title Page (#u3ef51db9-02ba-5775-a996-8e019365d828)

Dedication (#u537733ad-dde7-5f5d-a967-a5fc945167cc)

Map (#uc70f0d37-8c2b-5225-84de-93a616e9256b)

Prologue (#u62e748fe-7c0e-5ac4-b412-eb68f45a2fac)

Chapter One (#ud4d66718-7075-5c2d-8e0d-485156f5c221)

Chapter Two (#u5ca96c09-2ce0-5da4-9c39-78a13df89485)

Chapter Three (#uc039018c-e6a2-53ae-970e-d249c4f9b684)

Chapter Four (#ud67854f3-9866-50e8-b72d-6ef66bf94c70)

Chapter Five (#ue8069f98-ef70-58ba-905a-bf2f8099f490)

Chapter Six (#ua412d6af-64bd-5a13-b267-361bf0e4141c)

Chapter Seven (#ue216de16-0fea-5037-8ae7-163322b744ad)

Chapter Eight (#udd85c774-5b82-52f7-9dd1-a2ce04331b6a)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Note (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

PROLOGUE (#ulink_48005059-fe9b-51d6-b442-cf8161170e8c)

Upper Bavaria, July 1704

They had come here by stealth to carry the war deep into the south. An army of many nations: English and Scots, Hanoverians and Prussians, Hessians, Danes and Dutch. They had but one purpose: the defeat of France and her ally, Bavaria. The French King, Louis XIV, they knew to be a power-mad maniac, styling himself the Sun King. It was clear that he would not be content until he possessed all Europe, from Spain to Poland. And so it was, on this sultry day in early July, as afternoon drifted into evening, that fate brought these many thousands of men to Donauwörth, a little Bavarian town with its ancient high walls and ramparts.

Above it, at the top of a steep slope, stood a fort whose hill, inspired by its distinctive shape, the local people had long ago christened ‘Schellenberg’ – The Hill of the Bell. It was abundantly and worryingly clear to all the soldiers who now stood in its shadow, that before any decisive victory could be won, before they could bring the French to battle, drive them back to Paris and remove forever the Sun King’s threat, that this hill and its little fort would have to be taken.

ONE (#ulink_436c4333-c53d-5f85-a81d-abc22c8a134c)

The tall young officer stood a few yards out in front of the company of redcoats and stared up at the fort that towered above them on the hill. For two hours now he had been awaiting the order to advance and with every passing moment the enemy position looked more forbidding. Like almost every man in the army, he had the greatest admiration and respect for his Commander-in-Chief. But at this precise moment he had begun to wonder whether, truly, this entire enterprise might not be doomed to failure. He tried to banish the thought. To maintain some degree of sang-froid before his men. But as he did so, the first cannonball fell in front of the three ranks of red-coated infantry, bounced up from the springy turf with grisly precision, and carried away four of them in a welter of blood and brains.

‘Feeling the heat, Mister Steel?’