123 Meme (pre-emptive edition)

Saw the 123 Meme at Zen, Shane, and now Dan… not tagged by any of the aforementioned, I thought it would be interesting exercise considering what was next to me (which gives a clue about the mag article I’m currently writing).

The rules:

  1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
  2. Open the book to page 123.
  3. Find the fifth sentence.
  4. Post the next three sentences.
  5. Tag five people.

image The book: Sarah Percy’s Mercenaries: The History of a Norm in International Relations.

Using the subsidy system, Britain supplemented 65,000 of her own troops with 30,000 Germans.  Most came from Hessen-Kassel but a mix of troops came from other German principalities, and they were collectively, if incorrectly, referred to as Hessians.  George III, because he was Elector of Hanover, was also able to borrow Hanoverian troops, who replaced British garrisons in Minorca and Gibraltar and so freed up more soldiers for service in America. 

The American Revolution was not only a meeting of two differently composed armies; it was a clash of different beliefs about war.

That’s the fifth sentence plus the three that follows.  For the rest, read Sarah’s very interesting book that looks at the use and marginalization of mercenaries in ways you won’t find elsewhere. 

My tag: Steve at COMOPS, Jason the Armchair Generalist, the nameless and faceless at Kent’s Imperative, Mike at HoTS, and David at Kings of War.  And to twist the rules again, one more because it will be fun to read: the Swedish Meatball.

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