Synopses & Reviews
Key military developments occurred in the Early Modern period, during which armies evolved from troops of medieval knights to Napoleon's mass levies. Firearms impelled change, necessitating new battlefield tactics and fundamentally altering siege and naval warfare. The size and cost of military forces expanded enormously, and new standing armies underpinned the growing absolutist power of princes. Academic experts from both sides of the Atlantic review these developments, discussing the medieval legacy, Spain, the Ottoman Turks, the Thirty Years War, Prussia, the ancient regime and the Napoleonic Wars, together with sea power, the American Revolution and warfare outside the West.
Synopsis
Key military developments occurred in the Early Modern period, during which armies evolved from troops of medieval knights to Napoleon's mass levies. Firearms impelled change, necessitating new battlefield tactics and fundamentally altering siege and naval warfare. The size and cost of military forces expanded enormously, and new standing armies underpinned the growing absolutist power of princes. Academic experts from both sides of the Atlantic review these developments, discussing the medieval legacy, Spain, the Ottoman Turks, the Thirty Years War, Prussia, the ancient regime and the Napoleonic Wars, together with sea power, the American Revolution and warfare outside the West.
About the Author
Geoff Mortimer studied History and German at Oxford University, where he also taught at St Edmund Hall. His publications include
Eyewitness Accounts of the Thirty Years War 1618-48 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).
Table of Contents
Introduction: Was there a 'Military Revolution' in the Early Modern Period?--G.Mortimer * The Medieval Legacy--C.J.Rogers * Spanish Military Power and the Military Revolution--F.Gonzbliog lez de Leon * Ottoman Expansion, 1451-1556: Consolidation of Regional Power, 1451-1503--R.Murphey * Ottoman Expansion, 1451-1556: Dynastic Interest and International Power Status, 1503-56--R.Murphey * Naval Power, 1450-1650: The Formative Age--J.Glete * War by Contract, Credit and Contribution: The Thirty Years War--G.Mortimer * The Prussian Military State--D.E.Showalter * New Approaches under the Old Regime--P.H.Wilson * The Sixty Years War in North America, 1754-1815--F.D.Cogliano * Sea Power: The Struggle for Dominance, 1650-1815--R.Harding * The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars--A.Forrest * A Wider Perspective: War Outside the West--J.Black * Index