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Hans Delbruck

Medieval Warfare: History of the Art of War, Volume III Paperback – December 1, 1990

by Hans Delbrück (Author), Walter J. Renfroe Jr. (Translator)

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From the eighth century through the Middle Ages feudalism determined the nature of European warfare. Medieval Warfare begins in the time of Charlemagne, who maintained a military system of freemen and of vassals bound to him in service for lands granted in fief. These pages are crowded with recreations of famous events like the Battle of Hastings and movements like the Crusades; with the brightest flowers of knighthood, and with the mercenary grandeur of Byzantium.

Hans Delbrück shows how feudal military organization varied in different countries and why the knightly forces could not hold up against the barbarous Normans. He studies military developments in the kingdoms that rose with the collapse of the Carolingian Empire, as well as the trend toward mercenary armies. When the Swiss peasants, forming the first true infantry, defeated the Burgundian knights in the fourteenth century, the era of modern warfare had begun.

Print length

712 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of Nebraska Press
Publication date

December 1, 1990
Dimensions

6 x 1.57 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0803265859
ISBN-13

978-0803265851
Lexile measure

1470L
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From the eighth century through the Middle Ages feudalism determined the nature of European warfare. Medieval Warfare begins in the time of Charlemagne, who maintained a military system of freemen and of vassals bound to him in service for lands granted in fief. These pages are crowded with re-creations of famous events like the Battle of Hastings and movements like the Crusades; with the brightest flowers of knighthood, and with the mercenary grandeur of Byzantium.

About the Author

This edition marks the first appearance in paperback of Walter J. Renfroe Jr.'s English translation of Medieval Warfare. The other three volumes of Delbrück’s History of the Art of War were also translated by Renfroe and are available as Bison Books.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Nebraska Press; Revised ed. edition (December 1, 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 712 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0803265859
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0803265851
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1470L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.57 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #306,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #665 in Naval Military History
- #5,765 in European History (Books)
- #8,102 in Engineering (Books)

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19 ratings

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Mike Goo

A different take on Medieval Warfare

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2011

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I was attracted to this book because of the emphasis on German history. The majority of books on this subject in English focus too heavily on England (which was a backwater kingdom during this period). Many of the battles and engagements in the book I had never heard of and I found it very enlightening.

The book was originally written in German and published in Berlin in 1923. So some of the grammar can be disjointed and I attribute this to the translation. But this doesn't detract from the ideas that Delbruck puts forward, since modern scholars are still debating the ideas of Medieval knighthood. I think he really wanted to brush away the romantic Victorian notions of Knights that were (and still are) prevalent at the time.

I think it was refreshing that he did not devote a whole section to the hundred years war. As a German he knew that Medieval Germany was constantly at war during the Medieval Period and chose to focus on it. So this book puts a heavier emphasis on the defeat of the Hungarians, the Teutonic conquest, the campaigns of the Holy Roman Emperors in Italy, and the feuds of the German nobility.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the history of the Swiss military machine. Most books treat the Swiss as skilled mercenaries that suddenly materialized out of the ether to batter their enemies. Delbruck analyzes how the Swiss military system came into being during their battles for independence during the Medieval Period. History that is mainly relegated to footnotes in the majority of histories.

So read this book if you are really dedicated to studying Medieval Warfare and history and tired of the same Anglo-centric histories.

6 people found this helpful

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Denny H

Medieval European History

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2012

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This is the third volume produced by Dr Delbruck challenging the accuracy and reliability of earlier works to correctly evaluate military history. One of his main premises was to challenge the viability of some of the earlier writings of military history and to use modern methods to come to a more realistic assessment of the size of armies and their capabilities.

This is a major and monumental work, from Charlemagne to the emergence of the Swiss. It illustrates the relative swings between the cavalryman and the infantryman as the king of the battlefield as technology advanced, so that by then end of the period, the mounted armoured knight has had to give way to the Swiss pikemen in squares. From thereonin, the knights would transform themselves as cavalrymen.

An excellent, thoughtful and entertaining work on strategy and tactics.

One person found this helpful

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Brian A. Powell

A Good, but Academic Treatment

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018

This period starts with the Carolingian Empire, devolves into the fragmented feudal baronies, and features the Crusades and a new appreciation for infantry. As time moves on England, France, and Spain consolidate their central monarchies, mercenary bands become the dominant component of military forces, and the Swiss revolutionize warfare with their bristling squares of spears and pikes. At the end of the era, firearms and cannon have been improved and have begun to transform the battlefield.

Professor Delbruck proceeds on his course of debunking myths and arguing against his fellow academics. Thus, the work is both dated (written prior to World War I) and academically dry. There are insights and debunking enough here to make it a worthwhile read.

One person found this helpful

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George R Dekle

A Refreshingly Different Look at Medieval Warfare

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2000

Most historians speak of the Middle Ages as a period when cavalry had the ascendancy over infantry. Delbruk argues that there was no such thing as cavalry during the Middle Ages, and until the coming of the Swiss phalanx, not much in the way of infantry. Simply putting an armed man on horseback doesn't make him a cavalryman any more than handing a weapon to a peasant makes him an infantryman. Cavalry was a disciplined group of horsemen fighting as a unit. Mounted knights were an undisciplined group of horsemen fighting as individuals. A troop of cavalry should be able to defeat an equal number of knights, but a single knight defeats a single cavalryman. For a good description of what the military aspect of mounted knighthood was all about, read Delbruk's description of the encounter between two knightly armies at Pillenreuth. That alone is worth the price of the book.
Delbruk doesn't stop with a description of the military art of knighthood. He studies every aspect of medival warfare, drawing insightful and iconoclastic conclusions.

27 people found this helpful

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Glenn McDorman

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2002

It is in this volume that Delbruck's sense of racial superiority shows the most. Although the longest volume in the work it deals almost exclusively with warfare among medieval Germans. He virtually ignores the Crusades, the Reconquista, the Hundred Years War, and Manzikert. His argument against including the Crusades is that they did not do anything to change warfare in Europe, but later mentions that the English experiences in Syria led to the development of the long-bow. This definitely should have been explored more.
The best move Delbruck could have made to improve this volume would have been to split it into two books. Had he done that he could have dealt with the Hundred Years War in the same way that he dealt with the Punic Wars, gone into more detail about the Crusades, explored the Reconquista and the Norman migrations, and given the Byzantine Empire the focus it deserves.
Delbruck's analysis of the Swiss (whom he constantly refers to as "German") contribution to modern warfare is amazing, however, and makes the work worth reading.

6 people found this helpful

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