History of Warfare: Warfare in the Seventeenth Century [Hardcover]

John Childs (Author)

Book Description

Series: History Of Warfare | Publication Date: December 31, 2001

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 mercenary; although armaments developed from the pike to the socket bayonet and uniforms began to appear, professionalism remained low. From the multifaceted conflicts of the Thirty Years' War to the campaigns of Louis XIV, a richly detailed picture emerges of military life and structure in the 1600s--its conflicts and conduct, the rise of a standing army, the difficulties posed by reliance on paid soldiers, the changing weaponry, the politics overseeing it all, and the relentless world shift from ancient to modern. A Selection of History Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In summary here is an excellent book and an essential addition to the collection of anyone with an interest in this period. It is written in a readable style, has detailed information on its subject, and is lavishly illustrated. A 'must have'. JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH

About the Author

Professor of Military History at the University of Leeds, John Childs specialises in military history from the 16th to the 20th centuries. He is a Trustee of the Royal Armouries, an advisor and panellist on battlefields and fortification to English Heritage, and associate editor of the New Dictionary Of National Biography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cassell; 1st ED edition (December 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304352896
• ISBN-13: 978-0304352890
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reading, but not for novices, June 20, 2002

By 

D. Keating (Bristow, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History of Warfare: Warfare in the Seventeenth Century (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pike and Shot Era, October 21, 2001

By 

Eduardo J. Tellez A (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History of Warfare: Warfare in the Seventeenth Century (Hardcover)

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.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty but flawed, August 25, 2003

By 

David L. Luckhardt "thornezilla" (Richmond, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warfare in the Seventeenth Century (History Of Warfare) (Paperback)

This richly illustrated book is part of Casell's History of Warfare series, and the author is a professor of Military History at Leeds and has written extensively on 17th and 18th C. military. At 225 pp, the book is obviously just an overview of the century, with only 8 pp (most of them charts and illustrations) covering the Civil War in England.

Being unfamiliar with much of the 17th C. military history of the Continent, including the 30 Years War, Austro-Turkish War and Wars of Louis XIV, I found the book to be very educational without being overwhelming. But some layout and editing issues were irritating, particularly the inconvienent positioning of some critical campaign charts, and the near-total lack of specific credits or information about the many interesting period illustrations.

I've often felt that the English Civil Wars were more strongly influenced by decades of near-total warfare in all the surrounding countries than many authors credit, and that most books on the ECW seem to ignore the political, social and religious impact of Continental conflicts. Childs doesn't address this issue, preferring to stress his criticism of previous military authors' views that the 17th C. was a hotbed of military revolution and conceptual breakthroughs. He dismisses the improvements of the time by saying in his introduction, "These cautious and unspectacular changes were evolutionary, not revolutionary."

Childs also gets some basic military information quite wrong - here's his description of a museum photo on p. 153: "A collar of bandoliers, or the `Twelve Apostles' (English, c. 1650). Each wooden tube contained a musket ball plus sufficient powder to fill the chamber and flash pan. Bandoliers were principally associated with the matchlock musket; the flintlock's higher rate of fire required soldiers to carry more than twelve rounds and so the cartridge box became standard equipment". One hopes that his other sources of information are more correct!

But the charts and descriptions of European conflicts from the Baltic to Africa give a good overview of the main battles and major players, and the illustrations are well-chosen to match the material. Thorne-Bob says, "Check it out!", but consider looking at the library or picking it up on sale somewhere.