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Author: Pádraig Lenihan
Publisher: From Reason to Revolution
ISBN: 9781911628514
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The proportion of wartime soldiers dying of disease as against combat injury, ran at about 70-75 percent in armies campaigning in Europe in the century and a half (1648-1789) between the end of the Thirty Years War and the French Revolution. During this time, field armies doubled in size and regimes usually fought for limited territorial gains, so it was safest to 'occupy, entrench, and wait'. Consequently, this was an era of massive and protracted encampments: the Christian army that sat down before Belgrade in 1717 had more mouths than any city within 500 miles, but lacked basic urban amenities like regular markets, wells, privy pits, and night soil collectors. Yet the impact of sickness on military operations has been neglected. This study uncovers how many soldiers sickened and died by consulting quantitative data, such as casualty returns and hospital registers, generated by the new state-contract armies which displaced the mercenary hordes of the Thirty Years' War. As plague began to recede from Europe, this study explains what exactly were these 'fluxes and fevers' that remained to afflict European armies in wartime and argues that they formed a single seasonal continuum that peaked in late summer. The isolation and incarceration of the military hospital characterized the response of the new armies to 'disorder' and to revivified notions of contagion. However, the hospital often prolonged the late summer morbidity/mortality spike into mid-winter by generating 'hospital fever' or typhus, the lice-borne disease that erupted whenever the cold, wet, hungry, transient, and unwashed huddled together. The cure was the disease. This scope of the study includes French army operations in some of its contiguous campaigning theaters, north Italy (1702 and 1734), the Rhineland (1734), Roussillon (1674), possibly Catalonia (1693), and, further afield, Bohemia (1742). The study also includes three case-studies involving the British army that include Ireland (1689), Portugal (1762), Dutch Brabant (1748), and the Rhineland (1743). The outliers are studies of Habsburg operations in and around Belgrade (1717 and 1737), and Russian operations in Crimea (1736).
Author: Pádraig Lenihan
Publisher: From Reason to Revolution
ISBN: 9781911628514
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The proportion of wartime soldiers dying of disease as against combat injury, ran at about 70-75 percent in armies campaigning in Europe in the century and a half (1648-1789) between the end of the Thirty Years War and the French Revolution. During this time, field armies doubled in size and regimes usually fought for limited territorial gains, so it was safest to 'occupy, entrench, and wait'. Consequently, this was an era of massive and protracted encampments: the Christian army that sat down before Belgrade in 1717 had more mouths than any city within 500 miles, but lacked basic urban amenities like regular markets, wells, privy pits, and night soil collectors. Yet the impact of sickness on military operations has been neglected. This study uncovers how many soldiers sickened and died by consulting quantitative data, such as casualty returns and hospital registers, generated by the new state-contract armies which displaced the mercenary hordes of the Thirty Years' War. As plague began to recede from Europe, this study explains what exactly were these 'fluxes and fevers' that remained to afflict European armies in wartime and argues that they formed a single seasonal continuum that peaked in late summer. The isolation and incarceration of the military hospital characterized the response of the new armies to 'disorder' and to revivified notions of contagion. However, the hospital often prolonged the late summer morbidity/mortality spike into mid-winter by generating 'hospital fever' or typhus, the lice-borne disease that erupted whenever the cold, wet, hungry, transient, and unwashed huddled together. The cure was the disease. This scope of the study includes French army operations in some of its contiguous campaigning theaters, north Italy (1702 and 1734), the Rhineland (1734), Roussillon (1674), possibly Catalonia (1693), and, further afield, Bohemia (1742). The study also includes three case-studies involving the British army that include Ireland (1689), Portugal (1762), Dutch Brabant (1748), and the Rhineland (1743). The outliers are studies of Habsburg operations in and around Belgrade (1717 and 1737), and Russian operations in Crimea (1736).
Author: Martin Howard
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399084852
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310
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Book Description
The American Revolutionary War, fought 250 years ago between Britain’s North American colonies and the British colonial government, was a conflict of global significance. It had a profound influence on the history of the United States, Britain and the wider world, and an enormous body of literature has been devoted to the subject. Yet there is no comprehensive account of the military medicine practiced during the war, which is why this thorough, graphic and highly readable study by Martin Howard is so timely and valuable. His account describes the medical story of the War between Lexington and Yorktown in absorbing detail. He covers the key military events, the medicine and surgery of the period, and the medical departments of the opposing armies. The narrative is enriched by the vivid eyewitness testimonies of soldiers, doctors, and civilians. Previously neglected topics such as biological warfare and the impact of disease on black soldiers and the Native American population are explored. The human toll of epidemic disease had a significant impact on the outcome of the war and vital lessons were learnt. The war was associated with improvements in military medicine and the professionalization of American medicine. Martin Howard’s ambitious work will be stimulating reading for all students of the American Revolutionary War, particularly those with a special interest in the history of medicine.
Author: Gregory Hanlon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429768400
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299
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Book Description
European Military Rivalry, 1500–1750: Fierce Pageant examines more than 200 years of international rivalry across Western, Central, and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean rim. The book charts the increasing scale, expenditure and duration of early modern wars; the impact of modern fortification on strategy and the movement of armies; the incidence of guerrilla war and localized conflict typical of the French wars of religion; the recourse by warlords to private financing of troops and supplies; and the creation of disciplined standing armies and navies in the age of Absolutism, made possible by larger bureaucracies. In addition to discussing key events and personalities of military rivalry during this period, the book describes the operational mechanics of early modern warfare and the crucial role of taxation and state borrowing. The relationship between the Christian West and the Ottoman Empire is also extensively analysed. Drawing heavily upon international scholarship over the past half-century, European Military Rivalry, 1500–1750: Fierce Pageant will be of great use to undergraduate students studying military history and early modern Europe.
Author: Alexander Querengässer
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1804514950
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 341
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Book Description
When one thinks of the wars of the eighteenth century, one thinks of the significant clashes of great military powers: the War of the Spanish Succession and the Battles of Blenheim and Malplaquet, the Great Northern War and the Battles of Narva and Poltava, the War of the Austrian Succession and Fontenoy, the Seven Years War with Roßbach, Leuthen and Zorndorf, or the American War of Independence with Saratoga and Yorktown. All of these engagements appear again and again in the lists of the great battles of world history, and there are reasons why they deserve a place in them. Yet none of them brought an end to the war in which they were fought. Not so the Battle of Kesselsdorf, which is largely forgotten today and will probably never find its way into an anthology of world- historically significant battles yet surely deserves such a place. For the immediate consequence of the victory of the Prussian army under Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau over a Saxon army on the heights near Kesselsdorf was the peace agreement at Dresden. In it, Austria once again renounced its claims to the province of Silesia, which had been lost to Prussia in the First Silesian War. In addition, Prussia rose to the rank of the great European powers and became the regional hegemon in northern Germany, while ambitious Electoral Saxony lost considerable political importance in the Empire and in Europe.
Author: Peter H. Wilson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674292855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 981
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Book Description
From the author of the acclaimed The Thirty Years War and Heart of Europe, a masterful, landmark reappraisal of German military history, and of the preconceptions about German militarism since before the rise of Prussia and the world wars. German military history is typically viewed as an inexorable march to the rise of Prussia and the two world wars, the road paved by militarism and the result a specifically German way of war. Peter Wilson challenges this narrative. Looking beyond Prussia to German-speaking Europe across the last five centuries, Wilson finds little unique or preordained in German militarism or warfighting. Iron and Blood takes as its starting point the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire, which created new mechanisms for raising troops but also for resolving disputes diplomatically. Both the empire and the Swiss Confederation were largely defensive in orientation, while German participation in foreign wars was most often in partnership with allies. The primary aggressor in Central Europe was not Prussia but the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, yet Austria’s strength owed much to its ability to secure allies. Prussia, meanwhile, invested in militarization but maintained a part-time army well into the nineteenth century. Alongside Switzerland, which relied on traditional militia, both states exemplify the longstanding civilian element within German military power. Only after Prussia’s unexpected victory over France in 1871 did Germans and outsiders come to believe in a German gift for warfare—a special capacity for high-speed, high-intensity combat that could overcome numerical disadvantage. It took two world wars to expose the fallacy of German military genius. Yet even today, Wilson argues, Germany’s strategic position is misunderstood. The country now seen as a bastion of peace spends heavily on defense in comparison to its peers and is deeply invested in less kinetic contemporary forms of coercive power.
Author: Martyn Bennett
Publisher:
ISBN: 1789622379
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
In this collection of essays, a range of established and early-career scholars explore a variety of different perspectives on Oliver Cromwell's involvement with Ireland, in particular his military campaign of 1649-1650. In England and Wales Cromwell is regarded as a figure of national importance; in Ireland his reputation remains highly controversial. The essays gathered together here provide a fresh take on his Irish campaign, reassessing the backdrop and context of the prevailing siege warfare strategy and offering new insights into other major players such as Henry Ireton and the Marquis of Ormond. Other topics include, but are not limited to, the Cromwellian land settlement, deportation of prisoners and popular memory of Cromwell in Ireland. CONTRIBUTORS: Martyn Bennett, Heidi J. Coburn, Sarah Covington, John Cunningham, Eamon Darcy, David Farr, Padraig Lenihan, Alan Marshall, Nick Poyntz, Tom Reilly, James Scott Wheeler
Author: Robbie MacNiven
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1804516007
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
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Book Description
In the early 1770s, the 33rd Foot acquired a reputation as the best-trained regiment in the British Army. This reputation would be tested beyond breaking point over the course of the American Revolutionary War. From Saratoga to South Carolina, the 33rd was one of the most heavily-engaged units – on either side – throughout the war. The 33rd’s rise to prominence stemmed from its colonel, Charles, Earl Cornwallis, who took over in 1766. In a period where senior officers wielded huge influence over their own regiments, Cornwallis proved to be the best kind of commander. Diligent and meticulous, he focussed on improving the 33rd in every regard, from drills and field exercises to the quality of the unit’s weapons and clothing. The 33rd subsequently became known as the ‘pattern’ for the army, the unit on which other successful regiments were based. Prior to the outbreak of fighting in the American colonies in 1775, the 33rd’s abilities, particularly in new light infantry drills, were frequently praised. At one point they even assisted in training the elite regiments of the Foot Guards. The 33rd missed the first year of the Revolutionary War, but sailed in early 1776 as part of the ill-fated expedition to capture Charleston, in South Carolina. After joining the main British force in North America outside New York in August 1776, the 33rd was brigaded with the best units in the army, including the composite grenadier and light infantry battalions. Over the next five years the regiment engaged in every major battle of the Revolutionary War, from Long Island and Brandywine to Germantown and Monmouth – it even had one unlucky company of recruits present at Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights, and the subsequent surrender at Saratoga. In 1780 ‘The Pattern’ was part of Britain’s southern expedition, which put Cornwallis in command of the Crown’s efforts to subdue the Carolinas. Here the 33rd provided perhaps their greatest service – and fought their most desperate battles – at Camden and Guildford Courthouse. They marched to eventual defeat at Yorktown, but not all of the regiment’s companies were captured, and some continued to serve actively elsewhere right up until the end of the war. This work is partly a regimental history, giving the most detailed account yet of the 33rd‘s actions during the Revolutionary War. It is also, however, a broader study of the British Army during the revolutionary era. It assesses what a single regiment can tell us about wider issues affecting Britain’s military. Everything from training, weapons and uniforms, organization, transportation, camp life, discipline, food, finances and the role of women and camp followers is addressed alongside the marching, fighting and dying done by the men of the regiment between 1775 and 1783. Primary sources, particularly engaging accounts such as those of Captain William Dansey or John Robert Shaw, a regular enlisted man, provide an engrossing narrative to this part social, part military history of the British Army at war in the late eighteenth century.
Author: Eric Burns
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781592137695
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
In The spirits of America, Burns relates that drinking was "the first national pastime," and shows how it shaped American politics and culture from the earliest colonial days. He details the transformation of alcohol from virtue to vice and back again and how it was thought of as both scourge and medicine. He tells us how "the great American thirst" developed over the centuries, and how reform movements and laws sprang up to combat it. Burns brings back to life such vivid characters as Carrie Nation and other crusaders against drink. He informs us that, in the final analysis, Prohibition, the culmination of the reformers' quest, had as much to do with politics and economics and geography as it did with spirituous beverage.
Author: Don N. Hagist
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 180451599X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
During the American Revolution, British light infantry and grenadier battalions figured prominently in almost every battle and campaign. They are routinely mentioned in campaign studies, usually with no context to explain what these battalions were. In an army that employed regiments as the primary deployable assets, the most active battlefield elements were temporary battalions created after the war began and disbanded when it ended. This work is the first operational study of these battalions during the entire war, looking at their creation, evolution and employment from the first day of hostilities through their disbandment at the end of the conflict. It examines how and why these battalions were created, how they were maintained at optimal strength over eight years of war, how they were deployed tactically and managed administratively. Most importantly, it looks at the individual officers and soldiers who served in them. Using first-hand accounts and other primary sources, These Distinguished Corps describes life in the grenadiers and light infantry on a personal level, from Canada to the Caribbean and from barracks to battlefield.
Author: William C. Davis
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806130606
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
Documents the everyday life of the common soldier during the Civil War, including information on what life was like for the soldiers in basic training, combat, and imprisonment.
