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by Bruno Mugnai.
Softcover (7.1×9.7 inches). 388 pages. 2024.
Subtitle: Armies of the German States 1655-1690
Subtitle: Century of the Soldier No. 113
Helion deserves praise for the Century of the Soldier 1618-1721 series. The volumes never cease to amaze me with the amount of information they contain about fascinating armies, wars, and campaigns. I would probably add “underappreciated eras” to my litany, but that reflects my own ignorance of the period.
This volume covers the armies of Brandenburg, Bavaria, Saxony, and Munster. Unit compositions, commanders, changing orders of battle, and campaign exploits provide an extensive analysis of each of these states’ capabilities and actual results. Further, you get an extensive examination of uniforms, colors, and equipment of the force: infantry, cavalry, and artillery.
Fascinating to me is how the princes dealt with various emergencies and overlapping demands on their slender forces. Whether it was off to fight the Ottomans in the Balkans or close to home in and around the Netherlands, the balancing of taxation, political will, and international entanglements make this an interesting era.
One typo: “31 June 1671” (p153) is likely incorrect barring a different interpretation of the school rhyme “30 days has September, April, June, and November.”
The book contains 158 marvelous black and white illustrations, often period, 27 black and white photos, 31 black and white maps, and 16 pages of color plates with 31 uniform and 27 flag illustrations. Note that the pages containing the flags has layout problems, with some flag illustrations overlap, with the white space clearly showing where some flag should have been. Sloppy.
Another minor point: I wish many of the period illustrations reproduced in black and white, especially those of paintings, be printed in color. It’s great that the caption notes a color, but when you have a black and white image, it loses a bit of impact. On the flip side, printing a specialty book like this in color would increase the price. I can dream, though…or hope to find said paintings on the internet.
On the plus side, the commentary on the color plates runs from p280 to p292. The chart in Appendix I on regiments, battalions, squadrons, and companies includes commander, campaigns, noted dates, and uniform colors — it’s a little 1970s-1980s-ish, but wargamers revel in this type of info — run from p295 to p332. Finally, the Army Lists and OOBs run from p337 to p372 and for you campaign fans, includes info on garrisons.
This is a great package full of info for late 17th Century buffs and gamers. You can start to pull numerous tabletop scenarios from within its pages. Best of all, it’s well written for such a tome.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
