The quest for decisive warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo
In 1631 Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden - the creator of the first national army - scored a notable victory at Breitenfield in the Thirty Years War. In 1815 Napoleon was defeated by Wellington and Blucher at Waterloo. This was the age of battles - romantic, even glorious in their spectacle - a period of nearly 200 years when military endeavour was dominated by the quest for the climactic battle of annihilation in which the fate of continents might be decided in a single afternoon.
In this superb study, Russell Weigley vividly recreates the grand-scale battles of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. He examines their historical circumstances, the strategic thinking and the personalities of the military commanders, the tactical manoeuvring on the field of battle, the role of armaments and the performance of the fighting men.
