Elephants and Gunpowder

Elephants and Gunpowder presents for the first time a chronological, detailed and richly illustrated account of the development of warfare in mainland Southeast Asia during the Early Modern Period. It begins by describing the region’s medieval military inheritance that was dominated by the use of war elephants. Firearms began to appear during the late fourteenth century and would be used alongside elephants and cavalry in a long series of wars between Burma (Myanmar) and Siam (Thailand). Exciting sieges and dramatic naval combat are also discussed along with much fascinating material about beliefs in omens and divination and the impact of foreign mercenaries. While cannons re around them elephants act as mounts for noble hand-to-hand combat, as living battering rams to use against city gates and, in the form of the precious and much coveted white elephant, as both an excuse and a pretext for war itself. The text is complemented by a large number of carefully selected photographs, maps and specially commissioned artwork that present the arms and armaments of the Southeast Asian warrior and his elephants in a way never seen before.

"This booklet examines warfare in the Indochinese peninsula from the late 14th to the 17th centuries: a region where the elephant remained a prestigious war machine, at a time when firearms were progressively revolutionizing the art of war. The conflicts that periodically shook the region are presented chronologically. The author takes the opportunity to revisit combat tactics, the role and use of elephants and firearms, some of which were transported by and used directly from the pachyderms. The book includes numerous black and white illustrations and a central section of sixteen full-color plates. The whole constitutes an excellent study on a subject that is little known in our part of the world." Vae Victus Magazine No183 (translated from French)