The Changing Face of Old Regime Warfare

Over the last 60 years, British historian Professor Christopher Duffy has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of warfare in the late Old Regime. For much of the twentieth century, historians asserted that the military forces of Old Regime Europe were stagnant, formalised, and decorative. In this view, Old Regime armies were a lacy pastel façade destroyed by the new military prowess of Napoleon. A specialist on the Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Jacobite armies of the mid-eighteenth century, Professor Duffy demanded that we understand the armies of the Old Regime as they were: serious and dangerous military institutions.

The Changing Face of Old Regime Warfare is a festschrift honouring Professor Duffy’s legacy of writing on this pivotal period of military history. The book collects 16 essays by scholars from seven countries on three continents, which together tell the story of the dynamic nature of warfare in the Old Regime.

Topics such as cavalry tactics, divisional organisation, the rise of light forces, and the effects of war-making on society accompany primary sources translated into English for the first time.

Throughout his career, Professor Duffy has written on a wide variety of topics in over 20 books, from topics ranging from the Seven Years War to the First World War, from the history of fortress warfare to the experience of Marshal Suvorov. It is fitting then, that although centred on eighteenth-century warfare, this book also includes chapters which address the Napoleonic conflicts, and First World War.

The first section, Backgrounds and Retrospectives, explores the state of historical writing on eighteenth-century warfare, as well as Professor Duffy’s contribution to it. The second section, Commanders and their Armies, explores the field of traditional military history. It provides coverage of tactical analyses, campaign narratives, and organisational and doctrinal changes for the armies fighting in the Old Regime. The third section, Voices from the Past, provides translations and analyses of military sources which have been previously unavailable to the public. The fourth and final section, New Perspectives, demonstrates the varied picture which methods such as archaeology, cultural history, and colonial history tell us about the imperial history of European states at war. This section contains the final essay of the great American historian Dennis Showalter, published posthumously here with the permission of the Showalter family.

The Changing Face of Old Regime Warfare continues Professor Duffy’s legacy of studying the armies and states of Europe in the eighteenth century, and allows a host of his colleagues to honour his fine work.

 

Section One: Background and Retrospectives

1 Eighteenth Century Warfare in a Global Perspective – Jeremy Black 

2 Writing for Pleasure: Christopher Duffy’s Historiographical Legacy – Alexander S. Burns 

 

Section Two: Commanders and their Armies

3 Military Action and Reflection: Thoughts on Frederick’s Elements de castrametrie et de tactique of 1770 – Jürgen Luh

4 The Württemberg Army in the Seven Years War – Peter H. Wilson

5 The Crisis of the French Cavalry during the Seven Years War – Frédéric Chauvire

6 French Cavalry at Austerlitz: The Historical Narrative and Data – Frederick Schneid

7 An Aspect of the Military Experience in the Age of Reason: The Evolution of the Combined-Arms Division in Old Regime France – Jonathan Abel

8 Pandours, Partisans, and Freikorps: The Development of Warfare and Light Troops across the Eighteenth Century – James R. McIntyre

9 The Extraordinary Life and Times of Military Engineer Charles Bisset – Petr Wohlmuth

 

Section Three: Voices from the Past

10 Pastor Täge’s Account of the Siege of Cüstrin and the Battle of Zorndorf:  August 1758 – Adam L. Storring 

11 Fighting in Frederick II’s favourite Musketeer Regiment: A unique series of Prussian soldiers’ letters from the Seven Years War – Katrin and Sascha Möbius

 

Section Four: New Perspectives

12 Clearing the Fog of War: Archaeological Research on the Battle of Kunersdorf, 2009-2019 – Grzegorz Podruczny

13 The Primacy of State Violence in the Austro-Bohemian Lands: Subjects, Soldiers and Shifting Social Boundaries, 1788-1816 – Kurt Baird

14 A Crisis of Battle? Decisiveness in the Wars of Frederick the Great – Alexander Querengässer

15 Embattled Representations: Indecisiveness and the Making of Victories during the Seven Years War – Marian Füssel

16 ‘…when it comes to fightin’…they’ll shove me in the stalls’: Africans, Indians, and Imperialism’s Great War – Dennis Showalter

 

"… the volume is a valuable contribution to the literature … It enlarges our knowledge of the innovative potential of eighteenth-century warfare and especially the significance of the mid-century conflicts. It points out the rising importance of the military for society more generally as both conscription and media consumption grew. And it expands the methodological boundaries of military history … it is a fitting tribute to the late Christopher Duffy." Journal of Early Modern History

"....This book, part of Helion’s From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 series, celebrates the research and writing of Professor Duffy, and is an excellent means of honouring his legacy. Every one of the 16 chapters make excellent reading in their own right, being well written, full of detail and, if warfare in eighteenth century is your ‘thing’, invaluable additions to honour Professor Duffy’s legacy." carryingsonupthedale.com

"....This collection of essays provides an insight into the diverse interests and research areas Christopher Duffy engaged with during his long career studying warfare....a fascinating collection of essays that demonstrate the changes taking place in the development of the armies of the 18th century. The compilation of works brought together by Burns and his contributors shows that far from being evolutionary dead-end dinosaurs awaiting the Napoleonic asteroid to cause their extinction, the armies of the ancien regime were a dynamic and evolving body. The contributions showcase this fluid development and as someone whose focus is mainly on the Napoleonic period, it was fascinating to see the lessons from warfare in the 18th century evolve and influence how armies mobilised, thought, and fought during the Napoleonic epoch that marked the era after the fall of Bourbons and the rise Revolutionary France." The Napoleon Series