Warfare in the Seventeenth Century

by John Childs

Book Overview

During the 17th century, technological evolutions in fortifications and arms meant that wars grew longer, armies larger, and military formations more disciplined. Yet, militias remained primarily... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0304352896
• ISBN13: 9780304352890
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Cassell
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.1" x 10.7"

Customer Reviews

A good introduction to warfare in early modern Europe

Summarizing a century of warfare in approximately 200 pages is, as John Childs acknowledges in the introduction, a challenge involving choices of inclusion and omission. Childs's choice is to offer only a compressed account of the various campaigns in favor of focusing on the waging of war in Europe in the 17th century. While Childs does include summaries of the key wars waged during this time - three of his chapters provide accounts of the Thirty Years' War, the wars of Louis XIV, and the other prominent conflicts of the era - such an approach allows him to use the battles of the period to illustrate the techniques and tactics of war in those decades. By freeing himself from the burden of a detailed account of the disparate conflicts which spanned the period, Childs is able to provide a perceptive account of European warfare in the 17th century. He uses the Thirty Years War to illustrate the problems posed by mercenary armies, problems which led to their replacement by the end of the century with standing national armies. Such forces increased the need for better organization and taxation, which reinforced the trends towards greater centralization and monarchial authority. Yet Childs is dismissive that these developments reflect a "military revolution" in early modern Europe, pointing out sensibly that the developments and their timespan reflect more of an evolutionary development rather than an revolutionary one. With its helpful maps, numerous illustrations, and useful glossary, Childs's book is a good introduction to the evolution of combat in early modern Europe. It offers information on nearly every aspect of warfare, from tactics to personnel to logistics, along with a bibliography for anyone seeking to continue their readings on the subjects the author has covered. For anyone seeking a starting point to understanding the wars of the era or how combat changed over the course of the 17th century, this is the book to read.

Excellent collection about military history

This title is for lovers of good reading and for those who enjoy military hystory.

Nice Overview of 17th Century Warfare

This lavishly illustrated book provides a nice overview of the complex series of wars that comprised the 17th Century. The book briefly covers the 30 Years War, the English Civil Wars, and the wars of mid-century, as well as the wars of Louis XIV. There is even a chapter that discusses the wars outside europe. The pictures and maps are really what make this book nice. The text is concise and to the point. The only drawback here might be the often cursory attention paid to some topics. To cover an entire century of complex warfare in one slender volume is bound to leave many gaps. Still, the reader will find a nice introuction to this period, and can use this book as a stepping stone to move on elsewhere in readings.

Interesting reading, but not for novices

First, I must admit that I have not read much about warfare in the 17th Century, other than some articles in Military History magazine. Therefore, I expected to learn a lot from this book. I was not disappointed, although I found some sections difficult to follow.Overall, the book is excellent. The author's research is thorough, his writing detailed, and conclusions well founded. His main thesis of the book is that warfare in the 17th century was not revolutionay, but evolutionary. He provides ample evidence to support this point. He describes the technological advances that changed tactics and techniques on the 17th century battlefield, and also highlights crucial war, battles, and sieges that occurred in this era.All of this makes for some fascinating reading, and the illustrations (maps, diagrams, images, pictures, etc) are excellent. My one main issue with the book is that it is hard to follow during certain sections. I think that the author assumes that the reader possesses both a decent knowledge of the events of the 17th century, and of European geography when he describes certain events. For instance, in the section about the wars of Louis the XIV of France, the author describes battles that occur all throughout Europe within the span of a few pages. I found myself flipping back to the reference section of the book, and maps to try and keep track of battlefield locations, and the key leaders involved. Therefore, I do not know if this is the best book, if you are new to this era of warfare, like I am. Otherwise, I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this "evolutionary" period of warfare in history.

The Pike and Shot Era

At last a great work that try to write the truth of the Pike and Shot era, The seventeenth century for a lot of historian was the beginning for the modern warfare and the innovations of the famous Gustavus Adolphus were nothing new, but thanks to John Childs we now can read the history as it should be understanding that this century changes were evolutionary, not revolutionary.All the conflicts are study with maps and illustrations, Thirty Years War, English Civil War(Cassell have a volume only for the English Civil War by Bob Carruthers and Stuart Reid which I also recommend) Franco-Spanish War to the Wars of Louis XIV, a great chapter about the Conduct of War 1650-1700, the Famous Rise of the Standing army and all the aspect of this Wars that make Europe seen so much bloodshed. The Majors conflicts are study and this book will help you as a good introduction to some difficult theme like The Thirty Years War started as a religious war but eventually evolved into a political struggle between the Hapsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire and the Bourbon dynasty of France. Embroiled in this conflict were Austria, German Catholic princes, and Spain against France, Sweden, Denmark, and German Protestant princes.Maps of the famous Siege of Breda(Arturo Perez Reverte have a great Novel from this siege, is fiction but would also help you understand the conduct of the soldiers in the beginning of the The Thirty Years War, "EL SOL DE BREDA") to some great battles like the Rocroi were the Spanish Tercios lost their reputation of the best Infantry of Europe(they were the best on their time)and as I say before with the help Paintings of some battles this is a Book for all the Historian to the re-enactors.Well this is a unique book, I like it and recommend it.