Soldiers' Lives through History - The Early Modern World (Hardcover)

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: BLDT The bloody and influential battles of the period, Pavia (1525), Breitenfeld (1631), and Leuthen (1757). BLDT Where the soldiers came from and how they were recruited. BLDT Gunpowder cannons, new fortresses, and siege warfare. BLDT The relationships between the leader and the led. BLDT Morale and motivation of ordinary soldiers. BLDT Women and children with the regiment. BLDT Camp life for soldiers and camp followers. BLDT Disease, medicine, and sanitation at camp. BLDT Soldiers and veterans in town. BLDT 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.