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An investigation into the organisation, strength, and military action of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1683 - both at Vienna and other theatres of war.

While the First, or 'Great', English Civil War of 1642-6 was largely contested at regional and county level, in often hard-fought and long-lasting local campaigns, historians often still continue to dwell on the well-known major battles such as Edgehill and Naseby. This book redresses this imbalance.

A detailed account of the 'Swedish Deluge' of 1655 - 1660, the devastating wars fought in the reign of Swedish King Charles X Gustavus.

Sieges dominated the English Civil Wars: one study suggests that for every major battle there were perhaps as many as eight sieges, and probably more than 200 towns, castles, and country homes in England were besieged. However, sieges and fortifications have long been the poor relation in the histories of the period. While up and down the country, numerous siege-sites and fortresses are being studied by historians and archaeologists, so much of this is being done in relative isolation, and unlike the study of battles, seldom has there been an opportunity to bring this research together, to present and compare findings.To provide a forum for experts and the curious alike to share results and to learn from one another was a key driver behind the first ever conference dedicated to the study of fortress warfare during the English Civil Wars. Newark-upon-Trent was besieged three times during the English Civil Wars, and is home to perhaps the best surviving fortifications in the country. It was appropriate, therefore, that the town should host the English Civil War Fortress Symposium in November 2022.The co-hosts of the symposium, the Battlefields Trust, and the Fortress Study Group have both run their own conferences in the past, but this symposium was the first time that these two internationally renowned organizations have come together to stage a joint event. The success of the symposium was a recognition of the standing of both societies, as well as the efforts of the organizers. But most importantly, it was a demonstration of the interest in this important topic.The symposium brought together a variety of projects and studies covering the archaeology of sieges, fortifications and the public, and the challenges, approaches and results connected to the rediscovery and preservation of fortifications.The papers in this book of proceedings include: Peter Gaunt - Keynote speakerRichard Leese - Moreton CorbetDavid Flintham - King's Lynn under siegeKevin Winter - The sieges and fortifications of Newark-Upon-TrentNick Arnold - Uncovering a small fort in DevonDavid Radf - Defences and siegeworks of Oxford

"True, the concept of Britain dates back to Roman times, but it was James I that founded Britain in the modern sense. With his accession to the throne in 1603 for the first time Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland were united - with James bestowing on himself the title of 'King of Great Britain'. Before this time, Scots and Irishmen may have served in the English Army as mercenaries, but it was known as an English Army - but now the King's (or British) flag flew over the castles and forts throughout the land. The army raised by Charles I in 1625 for his war against Spain -and subsequently, with France - is most famous for its failure. However, it is one of the best-documented armies of the early 17th century. Using archival and archaeological evidence, the first half of the book covers the lives of the officers and men serving in the army at this time - as well as the women who accompanied them. The author discusses the origins of officers and why they decided to serve in the army - and how the men from England, Scotland and Ireland were recruited (as well as how they were clothed and what they ate; the medical care; and the tactics used by the army at this time). It also covers the hidden faction of tailors, armorers and merchants who helped to put the army into the field. The second half of the book covers not only the expeditions to Cadiz, the Isle de Rhe and the siege of La Rochelle, but also their effect on an England who feared a Spanish (and later a French) invasion. Also covered are the campaigns of Count Ernest von Mansfeldt's and Sir Charles Morgan's armies at this time, which fought at Breda, Dessau Bridge and against the forces of the Holy Roman Empire. The final chapter looks at what became of the soldiers and their widows once the army had been disbanded - therefore, the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in Early Modern History, including the English Civil War and the Thirty Years War." --Publisher description.

French Armies of the Thirty Years' War presents the development of the French army, one of the first standing armies in Europe, from 1617 to 1648. It shows how Louis XIII and Richelieu made the most of the complex legacy of the Wars of Religion.The three musketeers, Cyrano de Bergerac, Louis XIII, Richelieu, Condé, Turenne, La Rochelle, Rocroi... these few words sum up the literary and historical representations most people can associate with the tumultuous events of the first half of the seventeenth century.French Armies of the Thirty Years' War begins in 1617, the year that Louis XIII really took power by distancing the queen mother and ordering the assassination of Concini and ends in 1648 - five years after the death of Louis XIII - the year of the Westphalia Peace Treaty. This period was mostly dominated by the personality and works of Richelieu, who entered the king's council in April 1624. He gave the king an ambition: 'to procure the ruin of the Huguenot party, humble the pride of the great, reduce all subjects to their duty, and elevate your majesty's name among foreign nations to its rightful reputation'. By his death, on 4 December 1642, this program had been accomplished.The first military action of this period, called the 'Drôlerie des Ponts de Cé', was the uprising of the nobility who supported the queen mother against the king in August 1620. In reality, the rebels were roundly defeated by the king's armies, but very few units actually fought. In his memoirs, Richelieu, who was on the queen's side at the time, gives a detailed analysis of this defeat. In particular, he drew from it principles that he was to follow throughout his life, and he realized: 'that which is held only by a precarious authority does not last long; that those who fight against a legitimate power are already half-defeated by their own imagination'. These political beliefs gave Louis XIII and Richelieu a powerful instrument that was to emerge transformed from the Thirty Years' War.The army that Marie de Medici left to Henri IV's heir was small and inexperienced, but the Wars of Religion at the beginning of Louis XIII's reign, combined with Richelieu's actions, gave the French kingdom an increasingly efficient army. Commanded by great captains such as the Duc de Rohan, the Viscomte de Turenne and the Prince of Condé, the army was highly successful, as shown by the long list of French victories, from Isle of Ré (1626) to Lens (1648).

After the Peace of Westphalia, several German states developed a disciplined 'Military' that produced outstanding armies. Germany supplied mercenary troops to major and minor powers in Europe, and the military state, usually exemplified by Prussia, became a crucial part of German history.However, Germany was apparently weak and internally divided into a multitude of states that constantly faced a hostile environment formed by belligerent great powers. Moreover, the German 'Military' was the resultant system of collective security, internal conflict and resolution that allowed a rich variety of political traditions to coexist relatively harmoniously. This system tried to preserve Germany against formidable attacks without making it a danger to the security of its neighbors. In contrast to the political culture of later German states, that of the 'Reich' was inherently defensive, preferring peace to war in both domestic politics and external relations. The book deals with the armies of the German Empire for the first time in a single book, with unpublished iconography and after extensive research in the German archives.Praise for previous volumes of Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: 'This book is a must for anyone even partially interested in the Imperial army during the late seventeenth century. The level of detail must be highly commended, the author has gone to great lengths in researching this volume and it shows throughout the volume.' - Arquebusier'This book is extremely detailed, and highly useful for historians, the inquisitive, war gamers and figure modelers.' - IPMS/USA

This is the first book about Ukrainian Cossacks for English-speaking readers. Based on historical sources, the book will relate and show in detail the appearance, clothing and equipment of the Ukrainian Cossacks and their methods of warfare.This book shows in detail the evolution of the Ukrainian Cossacks' appearance. The author reconstructs the clothing, equipment, and weaponry of Ukrainian Cossacks from the late 16th to the early 18th century. Numerous historical sources, references, documents, pictorial sources, and descriptions left by eyewitnesses have been consulted. Archaeological finds from battlefields related to the Ukrainian Cossacks were also examined. The author considers both the clothing and equipment of ordinary Cossacks and separately the clothing and military equipment of the officer corps - Cossack petty officers and hetmans. Special attention is paid to banners and various accouterments. The reader will learn about the variations between the Cossacks, the difference between the Registry and Sichev Cossacks, how they fought, and what tactics were used on the battlefield. Also considered are the separate formations of Ukrainian hetmans modeled on Western European armies and mercenary formations of the last quarter of the seventeenth to early eighteenth century - the Serdyuk and Kompanitsa. The book contains over 170 illustrations, iconographic sources, images of battles, archaeological artifacts and various types of clothing and equipment. There are also color plates of the author's reconstructions of banners, images of banners from the collection of the Swedish Army Museum, and 20 colored figures of Cossacks and representatives of Cossack elders in the author's style familiar to readers of the Helion series.

Soldiers' Clothing of the Early 17th Century is a comprehensive study of the clothing worn by soldiers during the Thirty Years War and the British Civil Wars. The book delves into the changing fashion trends of soldiers' clothing during the early seventeenth century, with detailed chapters on various items of clothing, the contracts and supply system, and challenges the idea that there was no uniformity at the beginning of the century.There have been books written about military clothing during the early seventeenth century before, but never in this detail. This book is the result of over 30 years of research in the archives of record offices and libraries, recording minute details of clothing and coat colors. By examining thousands of archives and pamphlets, it challenges the idea that there was no uniformity within regiments or companies at the beginning of the century. Hundreds of contemporary illustrations, paintings and even surviving items of clothing were consulted to discover the soldiers' appearance.The first part of Soldiers' Clothing of the Early 17th Century looks at the individual items of clothing and how fashion changed over the years., as well as the contracts granted to merchants who supplied this clothing and the abuses that were made by some merchants and the corruption of the officers at the soldiers' expense. Some soldiers were so poor that they had to sell their clothing to survive. It was also part of the humiliation of a prisoner of war to be stripped of his clothing. It also investigates the supply system of these clothes, which could further lead to corruption, and how they were transported to the armies to be distributed to the armies.The second part looks at the clothing of the various Parliamentary and Royalist Armies, the army sent to Ireland during the 1640s, and the Scottish Armies during the Bishops' and Civil Wars. It also attempts to solve the often-asked question of whether the trained bands were issued with clothing.Finally, there is an examination of clothing issued to the armies of Denmark, the Dutch Republic, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Sweden. Since soldiers' clothing did not begin at the start of the Thirty Years War, in these chapters, the author looks at the issue of clothing from the turn of the century, if not before.The book is essential for those interested in seventeenth-century military history, fashion, and re-enactors and wargamers of the period. Although the book does not include patterns and advice on how to make each item, it provides an in-depth and fascinating look at soldiers' clothing during the early seventeenth century.

The Battle of Narva, in which Charles XII of Sweden defeated Peter the Great of Russia, occurred during the Great Northern War. Peter the Great's Disastrous Defeat describes the campaign, presents new research on the battle, details the opposing Swedish and Russian armies, and explains the continued development of the Swedish army.Swedish military might and regional power had expanded immensely during the seventeenth century. A series of successful conquests had transformed the little northern kingdom of Sweden into a regional great power centered on the Baltic Sea. By the end of the century, the accession to the Swedish throne of Charles XII, a mere youngster without known military experience, convinced the neighboring monarchs that it finally was payback time. In 1699, King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway, King Augustus II of Saxony and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Tsar Peter I of Russia formed a triple alliance against Sweden. The three monarchs wanted to reconquer lands lost to Sweden during its expansion. King Frederick wished to regain the lost Scanian provinces and Holstein-Gottorp. King Augustus coveted Swedish Livonia, while Tsar Peter desired the ports on the eastern Baltic shore. Soon, Tsar Peter of Russia declared war and attacked Swedish Ingria in the Gulf of Finland. A large Russian army laid siege to the vital port of Narva in modern-day Estonia.Having already successfully invaded Denmark and forced King Frederick of Denmark and Norway to withdraw from the war, King Charles turned his attention to the eastern front and Russia. After a long and arduous march, the Swedish army arrived on the outskirts of Narva in late November 1700. The Swedish King ordered his men immediately to attack the Russian fortified defense lines. With the help of a blizzard and with the wind at their back, the Swedes attacked and broke through the Russian defenses. Panicking, the Russians fled and ultimately surrendered to King Charles. It was a crushing defeat. Tsar Peter lost the entire army, including most senior commanders who fell into captivity, too. The battle had the immediate effect of the Russians evacuating the whole of Ingria.In Peter the Great's Disastrous Defeat, Michael Fredholm von Essen describes the events and tactics that led up to and resulted in the Swedish victory at Narva, presents new research on both the siege and battle and explains the continued development of the Swedish army under King Charles XII.

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 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.

The resumption of conflict between 1648 and 1651 is frequently referred to as the Second and Third Civil Wars. The period marked not only a return to war, but to a bloodier, more violent conflict that had perhaps been seen before in the British Isles. Massacre, summary executions, wonton destruction and assault on the civilian population were commonplace. In early 1648 a political faction called the 'Engagers' gained control of the Scottish Government and sent an army into England to support numerous pro-Royalist risings across the country. Poorly equipped and trained with low morale, the Scottish 'Engager' Army and its Royalist allies were no match for the New Model Army led by Cromwell. The two sides met at Preston in August 1648 and after an initial clash, the Scots finally surrendered at Warrington two days later.Following the execution of Charles Ist in January 1649, the Scots supporting his son Charles IInd went to war against England, now a republic. A second invasion of England was launched, and the Scots found themselves corned at Worcester by English forces, once again led by Oliver Cromwell. The battle, the last major action of the British Civil Wars was fought on the 3rd September 1651, was described by Cromwell as 'a crowning mercy'.The venue for the 2022 conference was Worcester Cathedral. The obvious theme for the conference was the Scottish invasions of England in 1648 and 1651. Not only did Worcester witness the last major battle of the British Civil Wars, but the Cathedral was used as a temporary prison to hold the Scottish prisoners.The papers in this book of proceedings include: Ronald Hutton - Key Note Speaker and ForewordStuart Jennings - Colonel Francis Thornhagh and the Battle of Preston, 1648Peter Gaunt - A Tale of Two Risings: Was the second civil war in England and Wales primarily pro-Royalist or anti-Parliamentarian?Malcolm Wanklyn - The Control of Command in the British Wars 1642-1651 Edward Furgol - Three armies into one? Scottish Engager military organization in 1648

Until now historical works have neglected to fully consider the events of the British Civil Wars with respect to the logistics and supply systems. As such, this book evaluates and challenges these narratives of the wars by tackling historical debates through the lens of these logistics and supply systems at an operational level. How the military logistics and supply systems of the period functioned is revealed, including what methods of supply were used, what decisions and events these systems impacted, and how these related to strategic and tactical outcomes of the wars. The book investigates the facets of land, coastal, and riverine transportation, the supply of manpower to the armies, and the supply of food, clothing, and shelter to multiple forces across various conflicts throughout the British Civil Wars. With an application of a broad range of both civilian and military sources, this research employs archival and manuscript materials from national and local archives across the British Isles, contemporary tracts, letters, books, and pamphlets, as well as secondary literature from a variety of historical fields--from military history, economic and social studies, as well as reconstructive archaeology. As a result, the study outlines regional disparity in military logistics systems due to reliance on pre-existing civilian structures and methods--which had not been developed with a military purpose in mind and resulted in substantial logistical and supply differences that consequently, and heavily, favored one faction over another.Many questions that have bedevilled previous historiography--and some that remain contentious even today--are likewise explored through this new perspective. This includes, but is not limited to, countering the simple narrative that Royalist armies were terribly supplied in comparison to Parliament, placing the Royalists' Gloucester campaign in its correct strategic context, highlighting Catholic recruitment to Cromwell's forces in Ireland, and providing a reasonable and informed explanation for Prince Rupert's decision to fight at Marston Moor--all through the lens of logistics and supply. It emphasizes the absolute necessity of interactions between civil and military authority across multiple levels to supply early modern forces, providing a more nuanced history of civilian and military interactions than the popular view of soldiers imposing their will on a suffering population.The book's analysis of logistics and supply during the British Civil Wars, a focus not undertaken in such detail so far for the period, will provide a compelling read for those with interests in the operational realities of warfare during the seventeenth century more broadly, and the British Civil Wars in particular.

In autumn 1621, at a fortified camp near Khotyn (Chocim), in the Principality of Moldavia, allied Polish, Lithuanian and Cossack armies faced a large Ottoman army led by Sultan Osman II. It was the concluding act of a war that had started with the defeat of a Polish army at Cecora one year earlier. As such it was actually part of the longer conflict, waged over the Commonwealth's and the Ottoman's influence over Moldavia. Throughout the whole of September and the first half of October 1621, the allied army managed to defend their camps against Turks, with both sides taking heavy losses from the hardship of the siege operations and worsening weather conditions. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Khotyn (9 October 1621) which did not particularly favor either of the sides. All the same, stopping the Ottoman was seen as a huge success for the Commonwealth, while attitudes on the Ottoman sides were far from victorious. The aftershock of the war led to the rebellion of janissaries in 1622, resulting in the overthrow and murder of Sultan Osman II.The book focuses on the Khotyn campaign of 1621, describing the day-by-day actions of the combatant armies - assaults, sallies and raids - during the whole of the siege. Additional theaters of war, such as Cossack operations from the summer of 1621 and Tatars raids against the Polish interior, are described as well. The reader will also find here details of the organization and strength of the fighting armies, information about the battle dispositions of the troops at Khotyn and commanders leading the troops. Actions leading to the outbreak of the open conflict between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire are explained in a separate chapter, providing a good historical background of the war. Another chapter covers the outcome of the war and the ways that influenced the internal and external situation of both the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire.As with his previous works, the author has utilized a large number of primary sources: from the diaries of soldiers taking part in the campaign, through chronicles, official letters and documents from the period to army musters. Among the documents used are not only those written by Poles and Lithuanians, but also documents from Cossacks, Germans and Ottomans. Modern works, especially from Polish and Ukrainian historians, have also been used, in order to provide the most up-to-date and in-depth research. As this topic has previously not had much coverage in English, this book will be a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in Zaporozhian Cossacks and in the Ottoman Empire in the early seventeenth century.

Enriched with previously unpublished documents, this serves as an essential resource on the Great Northern War for historians, museum professionals, artists and military history enthusiasts.This book is a continuation of the special series devoted to the Swedish Army from the time of Charles XII. It examines in detail the uniforms and equipment of the Swedish cavalry during the Great North War. Based on iconographic and written sources, the development, changes, and differences in the uniforms and equipment of officers, non-commissioned officers, troopers and musicians, of both the Horse and the Dragoon regiments, as well as their horse furniture are covered.A separate chapter examines changes in the uniform of the Royal Drabant Corps. The book uses material from published studies and articles, as well as previously unpublished documents and other little-known illustrated material. The text is complemented by paintings, details of paintings, and engravings of Swedish cavalrymen created during the period of the Great Northern War. Many of the details from the paintings are shown here for the first time.The author has used numerous artifacts and portraits, as well as archive sources, on the theme of the Swedish army during the Great North War from the collections of Swedish museums as well as those of museums in both Russia and the Ukraine. As in the first volume dedicated to the Swedish infantry and artillerymen, the book presents photographs of various finds of items of Swedish equipment found on the battlefields of the Great North War.Additionally, the book presents many of the author's reconstructions of uniform items of the Swedish cavalry, in both color and black and white, especially created for this book. The presented information will prove invaluable to professional historians, museum staff, artists, participants in the various military-historical re-enactment societies, as well as to those enthusiasts who reconstruct the armies and battles of the Great North War on their wargaming tables.

Between 1639 and 1660, more than 1,000 places across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were fortified. These included towns and villages, castles and manor houses, as well as new places of strength. They ranged in complexity from the simple strengthening of existing medieval walls to the sophisticated re-fortification of major towns. Often overlooked in the context of European military engineering, and in terms of the so-called 'military revolution' of the period, the design and construction of the Civil War fortress progressed during the period, evolving from the basic ditch and rampart of the early years of the fighting to the massive stone-built citadels of the Protectorate. Over half of these so-called 'fortified places' witnessed some sort of military action, although it is wrong to conclude that the fortress warfare of the period was purely about sieges. The Town Well Fortified is a brand-new study which looks at the strategic and tactical importance of fortifications, and their influence on the respective war effort of all sides, particularly in terms of logistics, and the concept of 'protected corridors' which connected key locations and dominated campaigns. The book also places the fortress in its geographical context, and considers how the local topography influenced placement and design. Given the years of peace enjoyed by much of the Three Kingdoms prior to the Civil Wars, it is no surprise that fortress construction was heavily influenced by European practice, although the fortified landscape prior to 1639, including a heritage stretching back as far as Roman times (and beyond), was also important.The design and construction of the fortifications is also considered, both in terms of the theory, especially from the military manuals of the time, and then the practice, including several contemporary and eyewitness accounts. The book also examines actual numbers, locations, and types of fortresses, including an assessment of the type of fort known as a 'sconce'.Secondary sources have been re-examined, and brought together with ongoing research, including recent archaeological investigations (which, among other things, consider just how earthworks were built), in this ground breaking-study which offers a fresh interpretation of the subject of fortresses during the Civil Wars. The use of up-to-date research is reflected in the book's spotlight on the current and yet largely unpublished investigations at King's Lynn, London, and the Isle of Man. But the inclusion of findings from the Civil War Fortifications Register project ensures this book genuinely encompasses the whole of Britain and Ireland.This is the result of more than thirty years of research, including the author's thorough and ongoing study of London's fortifications, the King's Lynn under Siege archaeological project, and the results from the development of a register identifying every place fortified during the Civil Wars across the entire British Isles.

The Principality of Transylvania was a new state, organized in the decades that followed the dissolution of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, towards the middle of the Sixteenth Century. The rulers of Transylvania were vassals of the Ottoman Empire but enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy in matters of domestic policy. The second half of the Sixteenth century was a difficult period for the young state, caught between two warring factions, the Ottomans and the Habsburgs.In the first half of the Seventeenth century the Transylvanian Principality underwent a process of international affirmation which culminated whit its involvement in the Thirty Years' War. Prince Gabriel Bethlen (1613-1629) implemented several military reforms that strengthened the professional elements of the Transylvanian army. He also recruited a regiment of German infantry that was kept in service for several decades. The traditional components of the Transylvanian army, like the noble, the Székely and Saxon levies were maintained but their importance was diminished. George Rákóczi I (1630-1648), continued his policy and fought in the Thirty Years' War as an ally of Sweden and France. The two rulers had transformed Transylvania into a regional power while ensuring peace and prosperity inside the country. In 1657 Prince George Rákóczi II, attempted an ambitious military and diplomatic venture by trying to occupy the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He had a strong army at his disposal; he secured alliances with Sweden, the Cossacks, Moldavia and Wallachia, but it was not enough. The campaign was a military disaster and most of the Transylvanian army was captured by the Tartars. In the meantime the Ottoman sultan organized a punishment campaign that devastated the whole country. In addition, in 1660, Transylvania lost its most important fortification on the Western frontier, the fortress of Oradea. The last decades of the autonomous Principality of Transylvania were marked by desperate efforts of survival under the constant pressure of neighboring empires. From a military point of view the focus shifted on organizing a defensive chain of fortifications provided with permanent garrisons and well supplied with modern weapons. This was not enough to stop the Eastern expansion of the Habsburgs who managed to occupy Transylvania in a few years (1686-1690) through shrewd diplomacy and a little military effort.The first chapter of this book offers a broad overview of the history of Transylvania and its rulers in the Seventeenth century. The most important political events are presented in connection with social, economic and military developments. The second and third chapters are dedicated to the military organization of the principality with detailed presentations of all its components like: military categories, weapons and equipment, recruitment of troops, mobilization, motivation and compensation, fortifications, military regulations and justice etc. Campaigns and battles represent the main focus of the fourth and last chapter with detailed descriptions of some of the most important military achievements of Transylvania during the early modern age.

New research on an army that details the military system of Qing China, which fought a variety of enemies ranging from Ming Chinese, Mongols, and Tibetans to Russians and Western Colonial armies.This book describes and analyses the Manchu, or Qing, army in all its aspects. The emphasis lays on the Qing army in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, because this is the time when the Manchu military system developed its own characteristics and reached maturity. Furthermore, having achieved this and in the process conquered one of the largest empires ever gained, the Qing army changed but little before c. 1850, when the Taiping War marked the beginning of the end of the Qing empire, as well as changed the character of the Manchu military system.In its heyday, the Qing army achieved a number of significant victories. First, it conquered Ming China. The Qing consistently achieved victories against numerically superior Ming armies. The Qing military operated as combined arms armies, successfully combining the various strengths of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. The Qing army was for cultural and historical reasons particularly strong in cavalry, as could be expected from a power that had incorporated numerous Mongols in its ranks. On the strategic level, this intimate level of cooperation with steppe nomads and the deep understanding thereby achieved of steppe politics and political systems of nomad states enabled the Qing state to extend its borders further to the north and west than any previous sedentary ruler of China.In the tropical countries to the south of China, the Qing army experienced both victories and serious losses, especially to disease. In this they showed similarities with the various European armies of the time. The Portuguese colonial troops in southern China proved no obstacle to Qing conquests.Perhaps the clearest indication of the versatility of the Qing military system was its successful containment of the very active Russian expansion then underway. The two treaties of Nerchinsk in 1689 and Kyakhta in 1727 delimited the Manchu-Russian border exactly where the Manchus wanted it to be, and the border selected by the Manchus remained unchallenged until the second half of the nineteenth century. Indeed, the border delimited at that time forms the backbone of the national borders of the region to this day.In this book, Michael Fredholm von Essen presents new research on an army and military campaigns previously seldom described in English. He explains the development of the Manchu Conquest and Imperial Qing Armies and details the military system of Qing China, which until 1912 fought a variety of enemies ranging from Ming Chinese, Mongols, and Tibetans to Russians and Western Colonial armies.While numerous academic works in recent years have been published on all aspects of Manchu history, culture, and language, none deals exclusively with the Manchu military system and, when these works touch upon military affairs, they are often vague on detail and inconsistent. A comprehensive Manchu military history still remains to be written, but to do so it is first necessary to understand how the Manchu military operated in practice, as opposed to theory and scholarly wishful thinking. This book set out to do exactly this.

A revisionist history of the later Covenanter Rebellions, impacting on the later Monmouth and Jacobite Rebellions. The book provides in-depth analysis of Government and Covenanter forces, while narrating the battles of Rullion Green, Drumclog, Bothwell Brig and Aird's Moss.

This mini-series combines the great military treaties with period illustrations to describe the military art in the late 17th century. Volume Two covers the cavalry & artillery plus the conduct of campaigns & engaging the enemy.

John Hampden and the Battle of Chalgrove challenges the traditional accounts of Hampden's fatal wounding on 18 June 1643 and subsequent death.

This book charts the raising, equipping, maintenance and deployment of the various militia and auxiliary cavalry formations established in and around the City of London during the English Civil War by Parliament.

This narrative of the war in Ireland from October 1641 to September 1643 critically evaluates the performance of the Irish or Catholic armies and reveals the underlying shape of what would otherwise seem to be a shapeless sprawl of battles, sieges, skirmishes, massacres, and cattle raids.