European Weapons and Warfare 1618 - 1648

A reprint of Wagner's classic study of the 30 Year's War period

The Thirty Years’ War, which encompassed the entire European continent, was one of the great watersheds of European history. It was a war which involved religious, political and economic contentions. And it was one which changed the face of Europe irreversibly.

European Weapons and Warfare 1618-1648 is a minutely-detailed survey of the armies of this extraordinary period. It discusses the developments in strategy and organization and demonstrates these with full diagrams. The techniques of hand-to-hand combat, together with edged weapons, hand guns, artillery and fortifications, are clearly illustrated with drawings taken from contemporary pictures and engravings or specially drawn from museum collections. New military ideas emerged in Sweden with King Gustavus II, who personally built up a powerful, well trained and well-armed military force, and these developments spread rapidly during the Thirty Years’ War, being of great importance too, during England’s Civil War. All of the many nations who took part in the Thirty Years’ War are examined here – their armor and weapons, their military techniques and the organization of their armies.