Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 7 - Armies of the German States 1655-1690 Part 1 (Century of the Soldier)

History

Mugnai, Bruno

Europe

Helion and Company

In the 17th century, Italy was the third-largest country by population in Europe, after France and Germany, passing into second position for a century after 1650. Northern as well as southern Italy constituted a key place in the strategic duel between Spain and France, and the Peninsula lied on the front line in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, Italian states constituted good examples of fairly efficient governance machines, which developed many matters, included the ‘Military’. Some of these states experienced long periods of wars, to the point that the claim regarding social elites progressively demilitarized to an unequaled extent anywhere else in Europe should be considered no longer valid.\nThis second volume looks at the armies of the lesser Italian States. The armies of Genoa, the Papal States, Tuscany, Parma, Modena, Mantua, Lucca, and many others are all examined in detail never before seen in the English language. This volume also covers the nature and execution of military affairs and war in Italy. The book is lavishly illustrated and comes with 16 especially commissioned color plates drawn by the author himself.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 6 - Armies of the Italian States 1660-1690 Part 2 (Century of the Soldier)

A considerable part of the military history of the 17th century is dominated by the conflict between the Christian powers and the Ottoman Empire. Much has been written about the politics and the campaigns that led to the siege of Vienna in 1683 and the defeat suffered by the Sultan's armies, while, until today, there are relatively few studies on the long war that opposed Venice to the Ottoman Empire. The importance of the event in the context of politics not only of the Mediterranean, but of all Europe, is easily found in the number of chancelleries involved in the war, both directly on the battlefield or in diplomatic negotiations. The strategic duel involved the belligerents in the control of the supply routes, and the metropolitan territory of both sides remained almost excluded from military operations. It was a conflict where the logistics organization and the ability to supply the armies made the difference, similar in many ways to the campaigns in the southwestern Pacific during the Second World War. It could be said that the Cretan War was the first conflict of contemporary age, but fought with the means of the 17thcentury. Other aspects make this conflict a topic of great interest. Just remember that in the last years of war, men from almost all the countries of Europe were concentrated in Crete - and for the Ottomans also from Asia and Africa. Even with regard to the reconstruction of military clothing and equipment, this work finally opens a window on a period not very frequented by researchers, although these are years in which great transformation took place both in the armaments and in the development of new combat tactics. The different types of soldiers involved in the conflict have been illustrated with care in color plates, based on the most significant coeval examples and employing several unpublished sources.

The Cretan War, 1645-1671: The Venetian-Ottoman Struggle in the Mediterranean (Century of the Soldier)

Prolific Italian artist and author, Bruno Mugnai introduces the Dutch Army of the third quarter of the 17th century in the first of a new 8 volume series that covers the armies of early years of Louis XIV reign. France and the United Provinces represented opposite models of state government during the 17th century. The contrary nature of their political structure led to conflict on several occasions during this period. Military Historians have focused research onto the final phase of the conflicts such as the Wars of the Grand Alliance and the Spanish Succession, which coincides with the beginning of the long decline for both countries. Mugnai examines the evolution of the Dutch Army, its equipment, weapons and tactics, along with its uniforms and flags and ensigns. The book is lavishly illustrated and contains 8 specially commissioned colour plates that depicts the Army of United Provinces during the nation’s ‘Golden Age’.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 1 - The Army of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, 1660-1687 (Century of the Soldier)

During the 17th century, Europe experienced only four years of general peace: 1610 and 1680-82. This scenario of almost continuous strife provided the terrain for the rise of the standing professional armies. The states were eager to avoid a repetition of the chaos and destruction that had plagued Europe during the Thirty Years’ War, and therefore invested in these larger, more powerful armies to reduce the risks and costs of war. Some historians considered this act to be one of the most important institutional developments of the early modern world. The permanent armies became an organic feature of the Old Regime, a symbol of its power and strength, the means by which the prince could defend his interest and play an active role in the International policy. In the opinion of many contemporaries, it offered an opportunity to exploit strategic knowledge, to examine the effectiveness of military tactics and become aware of the increasing importance of the overall organization of the army. It would allow the military classes to occupy a significant place alongside the major European powers. In this scenario, the Imperial Army represents an interesting laboratory, which involved the multicultural Habsburg’s domains and the Holy Roman-Germanic Empire in the birth of one of the major standing army of Europe. The history, organization, uniforms and ensigns of the Imperial army and the ‘Reichsarmee’ are here presented for the first time in a single book, with a lot of unpublished iconography and data.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 2 - The Imperial Army, 1660-1689 (Century of the Soldier)

World

Conflicts between Christian powers and the Ottoman Empire displayed completely different characteristics compared to other contemporary wars fought in Europe, war without mercy being the norm. The tones adopted by Western literature to describe the Ottomans resemble the ones recently used against the communist bloc and the Soviet Union, and it is probably not a coincidence that certain prophecies about the sultan, such as his arrival in Rome and watering the horse in San Pietro, survived until the post-1945 period, replacing the Grand Turk with the Red Army's Cossacks.This book deals with the organization, the composition and the history of the army of the Sublime Porte, starting from the information contained in Western sources. This approach, despite the partial origin of the information, allows a critical examination of the sources and the formulation of a vision that is not conditioned by the clichés that often occur about such topics, returning us to a a neutral vision of the complex Ottoman 'Military' represented with all its refined and sumptuous costumes and weapons apparatus.A larger part of the work is dedicated to the different types of clothing and insignia of the different corps, their evolution and the meaning of the different symbols.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 3 - The Armies of the Ottoman Empire 1645-1719 (Century of the Soldier)

Middle East

It has been a commonly held historical belief that in the second half of the 17th century, the Spanish army suffered such catastrophic defeats that it effectively brought about the collapse of the state as a major player on the European stage. The wars, fought out in Catalonia, Franche Comté, Flanders, and Italy, resulted in a series of substantial defeats for Spain. The forces of Louis XIV carried all before them. Spain's ability to fend off the French monarch's assault was not eased by the fact that, at the same time, Spain had faced the Portuguese in the Iberian Peninsula, the English in the Caribbean, the Algerians in Melilla, as well as further insidious French assault in southern Italy and in the colonies. In this regard, it would be more correct to consider this age as a period of resilience, rather than military defeats. Equally superficially, the Portuguese War of Independence too was considered as a peripheral conflict of minor interest, while it also involved France and England in addition to the countries directly concerned.The story, organization, uniforms, and equipment of the Spanish and Portuguese armies of this age are dealt for the first time in a single book, after archive's sources and unpublished iconography.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 4 - The Armies of Spain and Portugal, 1660-1687 (Century of the Soldier)

In December 1640, the native dynasty of Braganza ascended to the Portuguese Throne. This event heralded the end Spanish domination in Portugal that had started in 1580.&nbsp;Following the Restoration, an ill-prepared Portuguese David found itself having to face a tormented but not exhausted Spanish Goliath. The new national army was raised in a such a short period of time, to be considered almost unique in European military history. The development of Portugal's armed forces during this period is a fascinating subject for investigation and reading.&nbsp;The story of Portuguese army during this period, its organization, and campaigns, together with a study of its uniforms and ensigns is published here in English for the first time. The book is presented with 8 special commissioned color plates and uses after archival and unpublished sources along with many contemporary pictures.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 5 - The Portuguese Army 1659-1690 (Century of the Soldier)

The Ottoman Empire was only marginally affected by the conflicts of the Napoleonic era; however, the period between the 1780s and 1820s was very important for the history and institutions of the multicultural state. Scholars working on the Ottomans in the Balkans, Anatolia, Egypt, and Syria have reached something of a consensus about these years as a watershed for the Ottomans. It was a moment when reform became necessary not just as a palace experiment, but as a matter of life and death for the dynasty and empire alike. Survival in the Ottoman dynastic context meant engaging in a series of multilateral negotiations, not only with foreign powers, but also with a host of new military, intellectual, and religious elite groups. These emerged precisely because of shrinking borders, mobile military forces, and refugee populations. The struggle for survival was central to the changing dynamics of Ottoman society, especially in a period when war was generally proving too costly in human and economic terms. The toll on local society was large, and also involved the territories of the empire which were not directly within the war zones.This book examines the changes and development of the Ottoman army from its campaigns against the Bedouin in Iraq in the 1780s until the Serbian uprisings in 1804-13 and 1815. It also includes a detailed description of the dress and equipment of the Ottoman soldiers of this period.

The Ottoman Army of the Napoleonic Wars, 1784-1815: A struggle for survival from Egypt to the Balkans (From Reason to Revolution)

It was a commonplace that Italy offers little of interest to military historians after the full flower of the Renaissance, and that it had been deservedly forgotten. Italian Risorgimento desperately wanted to repudiate the values of the previous centuries. In place of a politically fragmented and militarily weak collection of small states, in the thrall of Counter-Reformation Catholicism, the 19th century historians dreamed of a united, secular, industrial and well-armed country that could withstand comparison to France, England and Germany. The lack of interest on this period increased even more under the fascist regime, which preferred to elude a period in which Italian states appeared as political entities dominated by foreign interference and focusing on the unreal Imperial myth reworked from the vestiges of the monuments of ancient Rome.However, in the 17th century Italy was the third-largest country by population in Europe, after France and Germany, passing into second position for a century after 1650. Northern as well as southern Italy constituted a key place in the strategic duel between Spain and France, and the Peninsula lied on the front line in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, Italian states constituted good examples of fairly efficient governance machines, which developed many matters, included the 'Military'. Some of these states experienced long periods of wars, to the point that the claim regarding social elites progressively demilitarized to an unequaled extent anywhere else in Europe should be considered no longer valid.This first part of Volume 6 places Italian political and military within the wider European context and examines the armies of Savoy-Piedmont and the Republic of Venice.

Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 6 - Armies of the Italian States 1660-1690, Part 1 (Century of the Soldier)

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