French Armies of the Thirty Years’ War

French Armies of the Thirty Years War 1618-1648 by Stephane Thion is another one of those books from Helion that pops up and elicits a whoop of joy, from me at any rate, covering as it does a period of great interest to me and many others. The French army of the period is somewhat of a mystery to me due largely to the absence of anything of substance in the English language. This new book more than serves that need in providing a comprehensive description of the French army during the period, from a small poorly trained force to a highly efficient, successful and well led army that was more than a match for its many enemies on the battlefield.

The author breaks the period down into three blocks. The first looks at the French army between 1534 and 1616, the second the years before the French entry into the Thirty Years’ War, that is, up to 1635, and the final block the war years of 1635 to 1648. The changes and improvements in the army across these blocks of time are explained clearly and helps set the scene for the chapters that follow.

We are given brief examination of the uniformity, or lack of it, found in the French army above regimental level together with the background behind the decision to limit the number of colours or ensigns carried by an infantry regiment in the field. This was a steady rather than instantaneous transformation, and there were of course exceptions to the rule (the Guards held on to more standards and each cavalry company bore their own ensign).

Much of the book is devoted to the French army on campaign between 1620 and 1648. Each of the main actions are covered and this section includes detailed orders of battle which will be particularly for wargamers wishing to recreate any of the battles of the period.

What is absolutely outstanding is the prolific use of eyewitness accounts and contemporary correspondence, which personalises the narrative, not just throughout the book, but as a discrete and engaging chapter.

One of this books main strengths are the illustrations it contains. We are presented with 14 glorious full colour pages of specially commissioned images; eight illustrating typical soldiers’ dress of the French army and six depicting many of the regimental flags carried by the army. The book also contains a significant number of black and white illustrations, many of which are contemporary images of a wide range of subjects, be they battles, soldiers’ drill movements.

This is an excellent book, clearly one that has been a well researched labour of love, and takes on a detailed subject admirably, presenting it in an easy to follow yet scholarly fashion. Highly recommended.

ISBN 978-1-804514-48-1 soft covers, 213 pages.