Customer Reviews

German Medieval Armies 1300-1500 (Men-at-Arms)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The usual good basic coverage by Osprey, covering the Holy Roman Empire. Wars were frequent, between principates, towns and cities, leagues, robber barons, religious groups. It's no wonder that Germany would be the site of some of the bloodiest campaigns during the later Thirty Years' War. There is also an excellent section on the Hussites and their unique method of fighting the Empire. There is even a halfway decent map in this one! The excellent color plates by Angus Mcbride start with chainmail and end with full gothic plate armor.

Yet another enjoyable book from Osprey.
Here we have a lavishly illustrated summary of the military history of Germany in the late Middle-ages, 1300-1500. A time of escalating conflicts, internally and externally, this era witnessed not only major and minor wars, but the advent of great intellectual and theological advances in the various principalities we now know as Germany.

Martin Luther protested against corruption in the church, and translated the Bible into a vernacular language for the first time. Many notable universities flourished in the German states at this time. The technology and logistics of warfare changed drastically. Firearms grew in prominence on the battle-field. Armor evolved from chain-mail or scale, to the glorious Gothic-plate suits which most people envision when they imagine the knight in full battle-gear. German armorers were second to none!

Warfare was a common occurence, and all manner of people practiced warrior skills and possessed arms. Both common-citizens and aristocracy formed leagues and guilds-of-arms to defend their country, city, property, family, and freedom from the depradations of their neighbors.

For quite some time, much of the material one found on Medieval warfare focused almost exclusively on the Anglo, Celtic, and Franco regions of Europe, or the Crusades. Now, these are also very fascinating, but there has not been much coverage of the Germanic and Slavic regions. You will learn about campaigns in Eastern Europe, the Hussite wars, in which Jan Ziska led a unique wagon-borne army that fought from improvised field-fortifications assembled from their vehicles. Conflicts with the notorious Swiss pikemen, and the battle of Visby in Gotland are also covered.

As with other books in this series I thought that this was a decent intro and summary to the topic. I enjoyed the color plates. However, I would have liked to have seen a MUCH more extensive Bibliobraphy so that you could continue your research into the topic. This series kind of leaves you at a dead end.

Dieser Band ist etwas besser als der erste dieses Duos. Was ich in jenem geschrieben habe, trifft zwar auch hier wieder zu. Doch insgesamt ist dieses Heft stimmiger. Leider nicht vollkommen. Aber wo findet man schon so etwas?

The usual men-at-arms quality and concise coverage of all facets of the topic. This second title on the armies of Medieval Germany is illustrated by the late Angus McBride and reveals some of the bizarre costumes and armor decor of the knights and mercenaries of this period.

Men-at-Arms is a unique series, but unless you really want to fully dive into Medieval Germany pass on this book. The best part of this book was the detailed artwork, but search Google for little while and you can get similar art.

The writing is a terrible mess. It is unfocused and confusing. He does not write in any general direction and meaning. Reading any other book on this topic by choosing pages randomly would be smoother than German Medieval Armies.

Save some money and don't buy it.