Synopses & Reviews
This is a fast-paced survey of the history of war in the Eurasian world from classical Greece to the French Revolution. Defining the period as the era of pre-industrial warfare, Frederic Baumgartner describes the broad differences, as well as the similarities, in the armies through those 2,000 years. He suggests that the Greek hoplite, the Roman legionary, the nomadic horse archer, the medieval knight, the Swiss pikeman, the early musketeer, and other military types have more in common with each other than with the soldier of the twentieth century. Although he concentrates on the wars and military systems of western Europe, Baumgartner devotes considerable attention to those societies that had a significant impact on European warfare. The Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, the Central Asian nomads, and the Ottoman Turks are examined as are the countries of eastern Europe. Naval history is well integrated into the work with special attention given to galley warfare in the Mediterranean between Christendom and Islam. Fortification and siegecraft are also discussed extensively.
Baumgartner has produced a significant original synthesis of scholarship on military history. It is not a series of biographies of great commanders or studies of the tactics of great battles, although a number of battles are examined in some detail to illustrate the tactics, fighting style, or weapons system typical of a particular era. Baumgartner is more concerned with illuminating the close relationship between social and economic change and military change throughout history. This work will be useful as a textbook for a college-level course in military history or as supplemental reading for classes in Western civilization.
Review
From Spear to Flintlock is designed for use as a text to supplement an undergraduate course in military history and it suits its purpose well. In clear and concise prose, Baumgartner moves steadily through the centuries, examining the major battles and military leaders of each period.The Historian
Synopsis
This is a fast-paced survey of the history of war in the Eurasian world from classical Greece to the French Revolution. Defining the period as the era of pre-industrial warfare, Baumgartner describes the differences and similarities in the armies through 2,000 years.
Synopsis
This is a fast-paced survey of the history of war in the Eurasian world from classical Greece to the French Revolution. Defining the period as the era of pre-industrial warfare, Baumgartner describes the differences and similarities in the armies through 2,000 years.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-335) and index.
About the Author
FREDERIC J. BAUMGARTNER is Professor of History at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
The Greek Phalanx
The Roman Legion
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Byzantine and the Arab Empires
The Early Middle Ages in Western Europe
Feudalism
Holy War in the Middle East
Castles and Siegcraft
War in the High Middle Ages
The End of the Medieval Military
The Fifteenth Century: Pikes and Guns
War in the Renaissance
Naval War in the Mediterranean
The Rise of the Atlantic Fleets
The Sixteenth Century
The Dutch Revolt
The Thirty Years War
The New Model Army and Navy
The Wars of Louis XIV
War in the Early Seventeenth Century
The Wars of Frederick the Great
To the French Revolution
Suggested Readings
Index