Customer Reviews

The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough

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The author is an eminent military scholar and this work, first published in 1976, still gives readers an accurate and comprehensive introduction to its subject. Chandler has a nice command of the English language, is thoroughly versed in the details and arcana of the technical aspects of the military art of the age he writes of, and places the subject of the book very adeptly into the context of the times, with appropriate nods to politics, economics, and the cultural ethos. He further offers good insights into the influence of the preceding era's style of warfare on that practised in the age of Marlborough, as well as giving an idea of the impact of Marlborough's period on the subsequent evolvement of warfare later in the 18th century.

As in any work of synthesis, Chandler's work cannot replace primal sources such as drill manuals, letters, diaries, memoirs, etc., from participants in the warfare he covers. Nor should it be read in expectation of giving a book-length treatment to any one battle or campaign -- Chandler is clearly painting with a broader brush in hope of giving us the big picture, albeit one that gives enough detail to stand magnified scrutiny.

Those who come to the subject via Chandler's work may well be intrigued enough to delve into more narrowly-oriented works on specific arms, units, battles or campaigns. Those whom want a good slice more of the reality of the age than the decent but very, very brief overviews offered by, say, the Osprey series cannot go wrong with either a used or reprint version of this book. Let those who cavil at its quality offer a list of more complete, accurate and pleasurable books covering the same topic in the same fine but broad manner.

Informative, entertaining and well organized, The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough is an essential work for anyone interested in the European military art of the early 18th century. The book includes detailed comparisons (including diagrams in many cases) of the competing tactical systems used by infantry and cavalry of the day; in addition, there is extensive material on artillery technoloogy and employment as well as engineering and siegecraft. The individual fortunate enough to own this work, Nosworthy's *Anatomy of Victory,* and Christopher Duffy's various volumes (alas, many are currently out of print--strong arguments for publishing-on-demand) will know about as much about 18th-century warfare in Europe as any layman really needs to know.

I really enjoyed reading the Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough by David Chandler although the book could have just as easily been entitled The Art of Warfare in the Age of Vauban. While I didn't find any new information about the battles fought I found the chapters on the development of infantry and infantry weapons interesting as well as what was written about the cavalry. Most fascinating to me however were the chapters dealing with artillery and especially how the fusing of the shells was done.
While not a work I would recommend for someone interested in the campaigns of the era I would strongly encourage anyone interested in the mechanics of how soldiers fought at that time to buy this book. If you ever wondered how soldiers fired a match lock, or are interested in the use of ricochet firing in siege warfare, and many more little known tidbits then you will enjoy this book.

Chandler's treatment of this period of warfare falls far short of what other histories and studies offer. Thus, it should be viewed as a general guide ONLY, and to serve as a basic framework from which the reader can further pursue this subject.