The Battle Of Lechfeld And Its Aftermath August 955

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The Battle of Lechfeld and its Aftermath, August 955

Author : Charles R. Bowlus
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351894161
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (518 download)

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Book Synopsis The Battle of Lechfeld and its Aftermath, August 955 by : Charles R. Bowlus

Download or read book The Battle of Lechfeld and its Aftermath, August 955 written by Charles R. Bowlus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In August 955 a battle took place that effectively ended the incursions of steppe nomads into Western Europe. The forces of Otto the Great annihilated a huge army of Hungarian mounted archers in an encounter that is generally known as the battle of Lechfeld, a broad plain near Augsburg in southern Germany. Since even after a defeat these elusive warriors surely could have fled back to the Carpathian Basin to rebuild their strength and resume their raids, the total annihilation of the Hungarian army is mysterious. This book provides the first satisfactory explanation for the decisive nature of Otto's victory. Based on a detailed analysis of all contemporary, and often contradictory, sources, Bowlus provides a step-by-step reconstruction of the battle. This is preceded by chapters analysing the administrative and military reforms in tenth-century Germany, and the strengths and weaknesses of nomadic styles of warfare, in particular their archery, and setting out the historical context in which the battle occurred. A pioneering aspect of his research is the introduction of environmental factors, not only the limits they imposed on the expansion of the nomadic way of life into Europe, but also the impact the local environment had on the outcome of the battle.

Writing the Military History of Pre-Crusade Europe

Author : David S. Bachrach
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000300137
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Writing the Military History of Pre-Crusade Europe by : David S. Bachrach

Download or read book Writing the Military History of Pre-Crusade Europe written by David S. Bachrach and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-29 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Writing the Military History of Pre-Crusade Europe brings together fourteen articles by eminent historians David S. Bachrach and Bernard S. Bachrach. Crucial to the writing of medieval military history is a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the available source materials. Just as important is a broad conception of the range of sources which scholars can draw upon to ask and answer questions about the organization and conduct of war. The studies collected in this volume provide insights regarding many of the most important narrative works from pre-Crusade Europe, with a particular emphasis on the ways in which they can be used to write military history, as well as the pitfalls facing historians who read these texts transparently without regard for the authors’ various parti pris and limitations. In addition to their treatment of narrative works, several of the studies in this volume highlight the importance of treating historiographical texts within the broader range of source materials that illuminate the conduct and organization of war in pre-crusade Europe, particularly material sources developed through excavations, as well as contemporary images, most prominently the Bayeux Tapestry. The book will appeal to scholars and students of medieval history, as well as those interested in military history. (CS1097).

Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Upsaliensis

Author : ALEJANDRO COROLEU
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004226478
Total Pages : 1275 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Upsaliensis by : ALEJANDRO COROLEU

Download or read book Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Upsaliensis written by ALEJANDRO COROLEU and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012 with total page 1275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1971, the International Congress for Neo-Latin Studies has been organised every three years in various cities in Europe and North America. In August 2009, Uppsala in Sweden was the venue of the fourteenth Neo-Latin conference, held by the International Association for Neo-Latin Studies. The proceedings of the Uppsala conference have been collected in this volume under the motto Litteras et artes nobis traditas excolere Reception and Innovation. Ninety-nine individual and five plenary papers spanning the period from the Renaissance to the present offer a variety of themes covering a range of genres such as history, literature, philology, art history, and religion. The contributions will be of relevance not only for scholarly readers, but also for an interested non-professional audience.

Central Europe in the High Middle Ages

Author : Nora Berend
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107651395
Total Pages : 549 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis Central Europe in the High Middle Ages by : Nora Berend

Download or read book Central Europe in the High Middle Ages written by Nora Berend and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-19 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking comparative history of the early centuries of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland sets the development of each polity in the context of the central European region as a whole. Focusing on the origins of the realms and their development in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the book concludes with the thirteenth century when significant changes in social and economic structures occurred. The book presents a series of thematic chapters on every aspect of the early history of the region covering political, religious, economic, social and cultural developments, including an investigation of origin myths that questions traditional national narratives. It also explores the ways in which west European patterns were appropriated and adapted through the local initiatives of rulers, nobles and ecclesiastics in central Europe. An ideal introduction to the essential themes in medieval central European history, the book sheds important new light on regional similarities and differences.

Between Sword and Prayer

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004353623
Total Pages : 564 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Between Sword and Prayer by :

Download or read book Between Sword and Prayer written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between Sword and Prayer is a broad-ranging anthology focused on the involvement of medieval clergy in warfare and a variety of related military activities. The essays address, on the one hand, the issue of clerical participation in combat, in organizing military campaigns, and in armed defense, and on the other, questions surrounding the political, ideological, or religious legitimization of clerical military aggression. These perspectives are further enriched by chapters dealing with the problem of the textual representation of clergy who actively participated in military affairs. The essays in this volume span Latin Christendom, encompassing geographically the four corners of medieval Europe: Western, East-Central, Northern Europe, and the Mediterranean. Contributors are Carlos de Ayala Martínez, Geneviève Bührer-Thierry, Chris Dennis, Pablo Dorronzoro Ramírez, Lawrence G. Duggan, Daniel Gerrard, Robert Houghton, Carsten Selch Jensen, Radosław Kotecki, Jacek Maciejewski, Ivan Majnarić, Monika Michalska, Michael Edward Moore, Craig M. Nakashian, John S. Ott, Katherine Allen Smith, and Anna Waśko.

How Fighting Ends

Author : Holger Afflerbach
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN 13 : 0199693625
Total Pages : 494 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis How Fighting Ends by : Holger Afflerbach

Download or read book How Fighting Ends written by Holger Afflerbach and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of surrender is one of the most neglected in the history of war, and yet it is vital to understanding not only how wars end but also how they are contained. This is a book with a chronological sweep that runs from the Stone Age to the present day, written by a team of truly distinguished scholars.

The Illuminated Chronicle

Author : János M. Bak
Publisher : Central European University Press
ISBN 13 : 9633862655
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis The Illuminated Chronicle by : János M. Bak

Download or read book The Illuminated Chronicle written by János M. Bak and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-01 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Illuminated Chronicle was composed in 1358 in the international artistic style at the royal court of Louis I of Hungary. Its text, presented here in a new edition and translation, is the most complete record of Hungary's medieval historical tradition, going back to the eleventh century and including the mythical past of its people. The pictures in this manuscript—formerly known as the Vienna Chronicle—are not merely occasional illustrations added to some exemplars, but text and image are closely connected and mutually related to each other, to qualify it as a proper “illuminated chronicle”. The artistic value of the miniatures is quite high, and the characters are drawn with detail and with a knowledge of anatomy. Forty-two of the miniatures are included in the present volume. A full color facsimile will be accessible online. The 147 pictures are an invaluable source of information on late medieval cultural history, costume, and court life. In a historiographical context, The Illuminated Chronicle is an attempt at the popularization of the national history and a systematic appeal to circles beyond the old monastic-clerical audience. The Illuminated Chronicle (Chronica de gestis Hungarorum e codice picto saec. xiv.) is the ninth volume in the Central European Medieval Texts, a Latin–English bilingual series.

Deeds of the Saxons

Author : Widukind of Corvey
Publisher : CUA Press
ISBN 13 : 0813226937
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (132 download)

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Book Synopsis Deeds of the Saxons by : Widukind of Corvey

Download or read book Deeds of the Saxons written by Widukind of Corvey and published by CUA Press. This book was released on 2014-12 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book does not include the original Latin text.

The Holy Roman Empire [2 volumes]

Author : Brian A. Pavlac
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1440848564
Total Pages : 839 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (48 download)

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Book Synopsis The Holy Roman Empire [2 volumes] by : Brian A. Pavlac

Download or read book The Holy Roman Empire [2 volumes] written by Brian A. Pavlac and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2019-06-01 with total page 839 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reference entries, overview essays, and primary source document excerpts survey the history and unveil the successes and failures of the longest-lasting European empire. The Holy Roman Empire endured for ten centuries. This book surveys the history of the empire from the formation of a Frankish Kingdom in the sixth century through the efforts of Charlemagne to unify the West around A.D. 800, the conflicts between emperors and popes in the High Middle Ages, and the Reformation and the Wars of Religion in the Early Modern period to the empire's collapse under Napoleonic rule. A historical overview and timeline are followed by sections on government and politics, organization and administration, individuals, groups and organizations, key events, the military, objects and artifacts, and key places. Each of these topical sections begins with an overview essay, which is followed by alphabetically arranged reference entries on significant topics. The book includes a selection of primary source documents, each of which is introduced by a contextualizing headnote, and closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Powers and Thrones

Author : Dan Jones
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1984880888
Total Pages : 961 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (848 download)

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Book Synopsis Powers and Thrones by : Dan Jones

Download or read book Powers and Thrones written by Dan Jones and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 961 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Not only an engrossing read about the distant past, both informative and entertaining, but also a profoundly thought-provoking view of our not-really-so-‘new’ present . . . All medieval history is here, beautifully narrated . . . The vision takes in whole imperial landscapes but also makes room for intimate portraits of key individuals, and even some poems."—Wall Street Journal "A lively history . . . [Jones] has managed to touch every major topic. As each piece of the puzzle is placed into position, the modern world gradually comes into view . . . Powers and Thrones provides the reader with a framework for understanding a complicated subject, and it tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style."—The New York Times The New York Times bestselling author returns with an epic history of the medieval world—a rich and complicated reappraisal of an era whose legacy and lessons we are still living with today. When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era--and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes readers on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West, and culminates in the first European voyages to the Americas. The medieval world was forged by the big forces that still occupy us today: climate change, pandemic disease, mass migration, and technological revolutions. This was the time when the great European nationalities were formed; when the basic Western systems of law and governance were codified; when the Christian Churches matured as both powerful institutions and the regulators of Western public morality; and when art, architecture, philosophical inquiry and scientific invention went through periods of massive, revolutionary change. The West was rebuilt on the ruins of an empire and emerged from a state of crisis and collapse to dominate the world. Every sphere of human life and activity was transformed in the thousand years covered by Powers and Thrones. As we face a critical turning point in our own millennium, Dan Jones shows that how we got here matters more than ever.

Before the Gregorian Reform

Author : John Howe
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501703706
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis Before the Gregorian Reform by : John Howe

Download or read book Before the Gregorian Reform written by John Howe and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historians typically single out the hundred-year period from about 1050 to 1150 as the pivotal moment in the history of the Latin Church, for it was then that the Gregorian Reform movement established the ecclesiastical structure that would ensure Rome’s dominance throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. In Before the Gregorian Reform John Howe challenges this familiar narrative by examining earlier, "pre-Gregorian" reform efforts within the Church. He finds that they were more extensive and widespread than previously thought and that they actually established a foundation for the subsequent Gregorian Reform movement. The low point in the history of Christendom came in the late ninth and early tenth centuries—a period when much of Europe was overwhelmed by barbarian raids and widespread civil disorder, which left the Church in a state of disarray. As Howe shows, however, the destruction gave rise to creativity. Aristocrats and churchmen rebuilt churches and constructed new ones, competing against each other so that church building, like castle building, acquired its own momentum. Patrons strove to improve ecclesiastical furnishings, liturgy, and spirituality. Schools were constructed to staff the new churches. Moreover, Howe shows that these reform efforts paralleled broader economic, social, and cultural trends in Western Europe including the revival of long-distance trade, the rise of technology, and the emergence of feudal lordship. The result was that by the mid-eleventh century a wealthy, unified, better-organized, better-educated, more spiritually sensitive Latin Church was assuming a leading place in the broader Christian world. Before the Gregorian Reform challenges us to rethink the history of the Church and its place in the broader narrative of European history. Compellingly written and generously illustrated, it is a book for all medievalists as well as general readers interested in the Middle Ages and Church history.

Lords and Towns in Medieval Europe

Author : Howard B. Clarke
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351921282
Total Pages : 662 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (519 download)

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Book Synopsis Lords and Towns in Medieval Europe by : Howard B. Clarke

Download or read book Lords and Towns in Medieval Europe written by Howard B. Clarke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 662 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is based on possibly the biggest single Europe-wide project in urban history. In 1955 the International Commission for the History of Towns established the European historic towns atlas project in accordance with a common scheme in order to encourage comparative urban studies. Although advances in urban archaeology since the 1960s have highlighted the problematic relationship between the oldest extant town plan and the actual origins of a town, the large-scale cadastral maps as they have been made available by the European historic towns atlas project are still necessary if we want to understand the evolution of the physical form of our towns. By 2014 the project consisted of over 500 individual publications from over 18 different countries across Europe. Each atlas comprises at least a core-map at the scale of 1:2500, analytical maps and an explanatory text. The time has come to use this enormous database that has been compiled over the last 40 years. This volume, itself based on a conference related to this topic that was held in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin in 2006, takes up this challenge. The focus of the volume is on the question of how seigneurial power influenced the creation of towns in medieval Europe and of how this process in turn influenced urban form. Part I of the volume addresses two major issues: the history of the use of town plans in urban research and the methodological challenges of comparative urban history. Parts II and III constitute the core of the book focusing on the dynamic relationship between lordship and town planning in the core area of medieval Europe and on the periphery. In Part IV the symbolic meaning of town plans for medieval people is discussed. Part V consists of critical contributions by an archaeologist, an art historian and an historical geographer. By presenting case studies by leading researchers from different European countries, this volume combines findings that were hitherto not available in English. A comparison of the English and German bibliographies, attached to this volume, reveals some interesting insights as to how the focus of research shifted over time. The book also shows how work on urban topography integrates the approaches of the historian, archaeologist and historical geographer. The narrative of medieval urbanization becomes enriched and the volume is a genuine contribution to European studies.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology

Author : Clifford J. Rogers
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195334035
Total Pages : 1798 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (953 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology by : Clifford J. Rogers

Download or read book The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology written by Clifford J. Rogers and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2010 with total page 1798 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This set is an excellent companion to J. R. Strayer's edited Dictionary of the Middle Ages (CH, Nov'87; Supplement I, ed. by W. C. Jordan, CH, Sep'04, 42-0044). The focus on warfare allows the editors to offer larger entries on major topics (e.g., "Agincourt," "Crusades," "Feudalism") and introduce many complementary topics. The editors are concerned with Europe; they expand coverage into Asia or Africa only because of the connection to medieval Europe. Coverage also includes an abundance of entries pertaining to Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the 1,000-plus entries are about a page in length, but a few approach 50 pages. Medium and large-size entries, such as "Chivalry," "Germany," and "Slavic Lands," discuss primary sources and very valuable historiographies. A thorough index helps readers locate the Knights Templar under "Orders, Military, Levantine Orders." Cross-references and bibliographies follow each of the signed entries. Locating reliable and scholarly information on the Knights Templar and Vlad Tepes (Dracula) is tricky. Some of the bibliographies include sources in foreign languages. For example, the references for the Black Army of Hungary are in Hungarian. Noticeably missing are entries for the many wars. This set is particularly suited to research libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by W. M. Fontane.

Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany

Author : David S. Bachrach
Publisher : Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN 13 : 184383927X
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (438 download)

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Book Synopsis Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany by : David S. Bachrach

Download or read book Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany written by David S. Bachrach and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2014 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete survey of the military campaigns of the early Saxons, tactics, strategy, and logistics, demonstrating in particular the sophistication of the administration involved. Over the course of half a century, the first two kings of the Saxon dynasty, Henry I (919-936) and Otto I (936-973), waged war across the length and breadth of Europe. Ottonian armies campaigned from the banks of the Oder in the east to the Seine in the west, and from the shores of the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Adriatic and Mediterranean in the south. In the course of scores of military operations, accompanied by diligent diplomatic efforts, Henry and Otto recreated the empire of Charlemagne, and established themselves as the hegemonic rulers in Western Europe. This book shows how Henry I and Otto I achieved this remarkable feat, and provides a comprehensive analysis ofthe organization, training, morale, tactics, and strategy of Ottonian armies over a long half century. Drawing on a vast array of sources, including exceptionally important information developed through archaeological excavations, it demonstrates that the Ottonian kings commanded very large armies in military operations that focused primarily on the capture of fortifications, including many fortress cities of Roman origin. This long-term military success shows that Henry I and Otto I, building upon the inheritance of their Carolingian predecessors, and ultimately that of the late Roman empire, possessed an extensive and well-organized administration, and indeed, bureaucracy, whichmobilized the resources that were necessary for the successful conduct of war. David S. Bachrach is Associate Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire.

The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2, War and the Medieval World

Author : David A. Graff
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108901190
Total Pages : 854 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2, War and the Medieval World by : David A. Graff

Download or read book The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2, War and the Medieval World written by David A. Graff and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 854 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume II of The Cambridge History of War covers what in Europe is commonly called 'the Middle Ages'. It includes all of the well-known themes of European warfare, from the migrations of the Germanic peoples and the Vikings through the Reconquista, the Crusades and the age of chivalry, to the development of state-controlled gunpowder-wielding armies and the urban militias of the later middle ages; yet its scope is world-wide, ranging across Eurasia and the Americas to trace the interregional connections formed by the great Arab conquests and the expansion of Islam, the migrations of horse nomads such as the Avars and the Turks, the formation of the vast Mongol Empire, and the spread of new technologies – including gunpowder and the earliest firearms – by land and sea.

Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History

Author : Jean Shepherd Hamm
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 580 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (161 download)

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Book Synopsis Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History by : Jean Shepherd Hamm

Download or read book Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History written by Jean Shepherd Hamm and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-11-25 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Help students get the most out of studying medieval history with this comprehensive and practical research guide to topics and resources. Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History brings key historic events and individuals alive to enrich and stimulate students in challenging and enjoyable ways. Students from high school to college will be able to get a jump start on assignments with the hundreds of term paper projects and research information offered here. The book transforms and elevates the research experience and will prove an invaluable resource for motivating and educating students. Each event entry begins with a brief summary to pique interest and then offers original and thought-provoking term paper ideas in both standard and alternative formats that often incorporate the latest in electronic media, such as the iPod and iMovie. The best primary and secondary sources for further research are annotated, followed by vetted, stable website suggestions and multimedia resources, usually films, for further viewing and listening.

A History of War in 100 Battles

Author : R. J. Overy
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 0199390711
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (993 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of War in 100 Battles by : R. J. Overy

Download or read book A History of War in 100 Battles written by R. J. Overy and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Their very names--Gettysburg, Waterloo, Stalingrad--evoke images of great triumph and equally great suffering, moments when history seemed to hang in the balance. Considered in relation to each other, such battles--and others of less immediate renown--offer insight into the changing nature of armed combat, advances in technology, shifts in strategy and thought, as well as altered geopolitical landscapes. The most significant military engagements in history define the very nature of war. In his newest book, Richard Overy plumbs over 3,000 years of history, from the Fall of Troy in 1200 BC to the Fall of Baghdad in 2003, to locate the 100 battles that he believes the most momentous. Arranged by themes such as leadership, innovation, deception, and courage under fire, Overy presents engaging essays on each battle that together provide a rich picture of how combat has changed through the ages, as well as highlighting what has remained consistent despite advances in technology. The battles covered here offer a wide geographic sweep, from ancient Greece to China, Constantinople to Moscow, North to South America, providing a picture of the dominant empires across time and context for comparison between various military cultures. From familiar engagements like Thermopylae (480 BC), Verdun (1916), and the Tet Offensive (1968) to lesser-studied battles such as Zama (202 BC), Arsuf (1191), and Navarino Bay (1827), Overy presents the key actors, choices, and contingencies, focusing on those details--sometimes overlooked--that decided the battle. The American victory at the Battle of Midway, for example, was determined by only ten bombs. It was, as Wellington said of Waterloo, a "near run thing." Rather than focusing on the question of victory or defeat, Overy examines what an engagement can tell us on a larger level about the history of warfare itself. New weapons and tactics can have a sudden impact on the outcome of a battle--but so too can leadership, or the effects of a clever deception, or raw courage. Overy offers a deft and visually captivating look at the engagements that have shaped the course of human history, and changed the face of warfare.