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Soldiers' Lives through History - The Early Modern World
Dennis Showalter, William J. Astore
Book Code: GR3312
ISBN: 0-313-33312-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33312-5
320 pages, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 4/30/2007
List Price: $65.00 (UK Sterling Price: £37.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Subjects: Reviews:
  • The early modern entry in this series begins with the French invasion of Italy in 1949, chronicles the transition of the Western soldier from mercenary to professional, and ends with the French Revolution in 1789. Showalter and Astore chronicle changes in recruitment methods, weaponry, tactics, command structure, morale, daily life in camp, disease, discipline, religious considerations, and civilian attitudes. The final chapter follows Europe's soldiers overseas as they confront enemies waging warfare under new rules and conditions.
    —Reference & Research Book News     August 2007
Description: Two distinguished historians tell the story of the early modern soldier, of Europe, a figure often misunderstood, in the period spanning from 1494 to 1789. He is the freebooting Landsknecht of the sixteenth century, swaggering in dilapidated finery through the ruins he and his kind created. He is the mercenary of the Thirty Years War in the seventeenth century, rootless and masterless, brutalizing civilians for a few coins, destroying civilization's works for the pleasure of it. He is the uniformed automaton of the eighteenth century, initiative beaten out of him, fit to do no more than endure battles and floggings until he pitched into an anonymous grave. Often told in the soldiers' own words, or those of the historians of the period, nine chapters rich in description and detail cover the following topics:
  • The bloody and influential battles of the period, Pavia (1525), Breitenfeld (1631), and Leuthen (1757).
  • Where the soldiers came from and how they were recruited.
  • Gunpowder cannons, new fortresses, and siege warfare.
  • The relationships between the leader and the led.
  • Morale and motivation of ordinary soldiers.
  • Women and children with the regiment.
  • Camp life for soldiers and camp followers.
  • Disease, medicine, and sanitation at camp.
  • Soldiers and veterans in town.
  • Europeans at war around the world: India, Asia, and the Americas.
    A timeline provides context for the dates, events, and places discussed in the book; there are extensive endnotes and a comprehensive and topically arranged bibliography of recommended print and online sources. A thorough index completes the book.
    • LC Card Number: 2006039151
    LCC Class: U765
    Dewey Class: 355
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