Reading on the Great Procession #1 - The Battle of Rocroi, 1643.

This new book from Helion in their Century of the Soldier series is a remarkable re-examination of this iconic and, as suggested by the research of author Alberto Raul Esteban Ribas, potentially misunderstood battle between superpower rivals Spain and France on 19 May 1643. After his excellent previous book for Helion ‘The Battle of Nordlingen’ this latest, ‘The Battle of Rocroi 1643’ analyses the common-held myths surrounding the battle using a vast amount of French and Spanish primary and secondary sources, as detailed in the extensive bibliography.

The book is well written and an engaging read. I couldn’t claim to know much of the detail of the battle but after finishing the book (on a 13-hour train trip from Goa to Bangalore) I now have a much better understanding of battle and events relating to it., and Mr Ribas’ conclusions certainly bear thinking about and put events in a new light.

The author takes us through the political and military background, the armies of France and Spain, the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself, outcomes and repercussions. The final chapter is the author’s analysis of the battle, which you will have to read yourselves and perhaps come to your own conclusions or agree with his.

As ever with Helion books of this quality, it is full of contemporary black and white illustrations, several very useful maps showing each phase of the battle and eight pages of specially commissioned colour plates by Sergey Shamenkov depicting the officers and men of both armies. Lastly the two appendices detail the orders of battle of the French and Spanish forces which will be especially handy for wargamers among the readership.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the battle and the later Thirty Years’ War.


ISBN 978-1-915113-97-9. 168 pages. Paperback.

I’ve brought quite a few books with me to review and plan to do so as we continue our travels.

The Anglo-Spanish War, Volume 2: Jamaica 1655-1660

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was writing a review of volume 1 on this subject. The Anglo-Spanish War 1655-1660, Volume 2: War in Jamaica picks up where the first volume left off with the English occupation of Jamaica after their bungled attempt on Hispaniola and takes us through the next five years of conflict on the island, the rest of the Caribbean and indeed the world, concluding with the Restoration and transition of Jamaica into a Crown colony.

This is No. 74 in Helion’s seemingly never-ending production line of excellent books in the Century of the Soldier series, and it is every bit as good as volume 1, and at over 300 pages is BIG, but reading it was an education and a pleasure. Apart from the vague notion that the English took the island off the Spanish and that Errol Flynn in his persona of Captain Blood may well have been knocking around at the time the detail of how we (the people of Britain) expanded our colonial ‘empire’ in the West Indies in the mid-seventeenth century by means other than simply working towards some ultimate ‘Grand Design’ (beyond Cromwell’s vision of rampaging across the Caribbean taking Spanish territories at will),which is essentially how it all panned out.

Anyway, the book is divided into two main parts plus three appendices. Part 1 covers the campaign in Jamaica, split into chapters on the campaigns of 1655-56, 1657-58 and 1658-1660. Despite suffering appalling losses from disease the British were well led and regularly reinforced, whereas the Spanish were rent by divisions among their commanders and were surprisingly badly supported by their other Caribbean or American colonies or their homeland. The account of the campaigns is well written, easy to follow and packed full of fascinating detail, with admirals and generals I have largely never heard of, all supported by new and contemporary maps and, my favourite bits as ever, contemporary quotes liberally dotted throughout the text which always add a little ‘something’ to the narrative. The book contains eight colour plates, each of contemporary maps of the island which I found fascinating.

Part 2 contains chapters on the Jamaica garrison, maritime affairs, and Jamaica as a colony. As with part 1 these chapters are full of detail, and the problems of maintains garrison (that is, trying to keep ahead of the horrendous mortality rate of soldiers based in Jamaica), naval operations, whether official or conducted by privateers, against the Spanish and the trials and tribulations of maintaining the colony through increased trade, sugar cane production, religion, an interesting section on the effects of alcohol, and trying to encourage more settlers, throughout the entire period.

Finally we get three appendices. The first provides us with a complete order of battle for the naval and land forces in the summer of 1655, the second covers the island of Tortuga and a glimpse into the lives and operations of the privateers and pirates, and the last on the English occupation of the Cayman Islands.

Overall then, this is an excellent, well researched (using a vast array of primary and secondary sources) companion to volume 1, and does a great job shedding light on a campaign not often the subject of such in depth research.

For a Parliament Freely Chosen.

I’ll be the first one to admit that beyond a vague awareness of some troubles prior to the Restoration of the Stuarts I was non the wiser when it comes to the events described in this new volume from Helion. ‘For a Parliament Freely Chosen’ by Andrew Abram is No. 68 in the truly excellent Century of the Soldier series.

So, I read this book with much anticipation that I’d learn something new relating to one of the last episodes of rebellion during the last days of the Protectorate. I was not disappointed. The causes and entire course of the rebellion are covered in great detail using a wide variety of primary and secondary sources. The established view of Booth’s rebellion was that it was simply a local pro-Royalist uprising that went badly wrong in every aspect. The author challenges this view with a detailed analysis and reconstruction of Booth’s rebellion and its impact on Cheshire, adjacent counties amd England as a whole giving us a new insight into its causes and outcome.

Of particular interest is the description the events leading up to the rebellion, with descriptions of post-Civil War Cheshire and life under Cromwell and the Protectorate. There’s plenty of information relating to the persons and forces involved and of the final battle of the rebellion at Winnington Bridge. Paradoxically, given that the revolt was not seen as a Royalist-inspired one, but an objection to Parliament’s ‘government by army’ approach, even in defeat the rebellion was a success as it helped usher in the restoration of Charles Stuart, so not a bad result in my honest and partisan opinion.

As usual the book contains a vast array of contemporary black and white illustrations as well as present day images of various places of interest referred to in the book. The maps are clear and helpful for those not familiar with the geography (I was brought up in the NW so I know the area well). I like the content of the appendices as they contain the letters of Booth and his opponent General Lambert; reading contemporary personal correspondence always feels to me the best way of getting ‘into the heads’ of the various key players, and these do the job admirably.

Finally then, I learnt a great deal from reading this book, especially as I said right at the start that these events were an unknown to me, until now that it is, and I now consider myself to be much more aware of the events that befell the NW of England and N Wales in 1659. A thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable read and for English Civil War buffs I guess it must find a place on their book shelves. Highly recommended.

“Cannon Played from the Great Fort” A review

I promised to review this and two more new Helion books in an earlier post. Here is the first. 

I like to keep count of the number of books Helion have published in their various series; in this case ‘The Century of the Soldier’ and this book is No. 64. “Cannon Played from the Great Fort” yet again fills a gap in the readily accessible information and knowledge we have on the tragedy that was the English Civil War. The major battles of Marsdon Moor, Naseby, Edgehill and the like have been done to the proverbial death but little, to my understanding at least, has been written about the numerous sieges which took place.

This book focuses just on sieges the undertaken in the Severn Valley, of which there were many, great and small. After an introduction into the science and practice of siege warfare during the mid-17th century there are chapters on each of the years 1643, 1645 and 1646 (there were no siege operations in the region during 1644). The conduct of the sieges of Bristol (1643 & 1644), Gloucester (1643), Shrewsbury (1645) and Worcester (1646) are each described in great detail, supported by contemporary correspondence and records. These chapters do a splendid job building up to the penultimate one which is a well-reasoned analysis of Royalist sieges versus Parliamentarian ones. I will leave the reader to judge which if any side outperformed the other; suffice to say it makes excellent reading. Finally the conclusion contains interesting sections on the overall strategy, and the key technological and intellectual defensive and offensive tactics that were developed and used during the war in the Severn Valley.

To conclude, this is yet another triumph for Helion and author Richard Israel. The subject has clearly been researched deeply and the book is well written and easy to read. Illustrated throughout with 30  photographs of the surviving fortifications, key buildings and landscapes as they are today, 13 reproductions of contemporary drawings and 10 really useful maps, all of which help our understanding of the period and the sieges under analysis. An excellent addition to the series.

The Armies of Sir Ralph Hopton, 1642-46, from Helion and Co.

Another gem from prolific author Laurence Spring, courtesy of Helion and Co. arrived last week, number 62 in their extensive Century of the Soldier series. Hopton is a well known personality for enthusiast of the British Civil Wars, throughout which he was an active supporter of the King. The book doesn’t just focus on the man, and his life, service and death, but also looks in detail at all aspects of a soldier’s life from, for example, recruitment, clothing, training, arms and equipment. In doing so, the book follows the well tried structure of other Helion publications. Contemporary sources have been used extensively, and these are noted in the bibliography. 

The accounts of Hopton’s campaigns, of the three Royalist armies he commanded during the war, are well written and like the rest of the book include excerpts from contemporary correspondence which in my opinion at least always adds to an understanding of the human side of war. The maps accompanying these chapters, outlining the campaigns as well as several maps of key battles, are clearly drawn and helpful, especially when used in conjunction with the narrative.

No Helion book of this genre would be worthy without the usual central spread of glorious colour illustrations showing the dress of soldiers and detail of the colours carried by the regiments. A nit picker or button counter could say that a soldier in Hopton’s army would look just the same as one, say, in the Kings Oxford army, but I don’t hold that viewpoint. These illustrations relate to this book, which is reason enough to include them.

The several appendices cover various aspects of Hopton’s forces, such as lists of regiments and officers in the Cornish Army in 1643, rates of pay and another extensive list of regiments that served with Hopton throughout the wars, including the fates of their commanding officers. One feature I particularly like is the chapter covering “what happened next” to the participants in the campaigns, senior officers and common soldiers alike. 

Overall then, this is another marvellous escape into the subject. I actually like the trend of publishing very focussed studies of the various and varied aspects of the Civil Wars, and in my opinion it works well as we, the reader, gain the benefits of the author’s very deep digging when researching their book. It could easily fail and end up as a rather dull thing, but Laurence’s growing series of books are excellent and for any serious student of the era this publication is a very welcome addition . I’m STILL  not going to start another collection of ECW figures this year!  

Despite Destruction, Misery and Privations, a review.

One of the colour plates from the book showing an armoured a Cossack warrior.

I’ve now read this new book from Helion, No 61 in their ever expanding Century of the Soldier series. Actually I didn’t just read it, I devoured it. Amazing detail. Very easy and enjoyable to read. Well written. Fascinating, in depth and informative. This is the only English language book of its kind that I’m aware of, and the author Michal Paradowski has done a very thorough job indeed, consulting a huge range of Polish language sources to give us a superb description and analysis of the Polish-Lithuanian armies in their war against Sweden in Prussian between 1626 and 1629. 

The author sets the scene nicely and presents us with a detailed analysis of the workings of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the peculiar issues hinging on having an elected King. The many and various components of the army are broken down and described clearly, down to individual regiment and company levels in most cases. As always I am intrigued  by the contribution made by ‘British’ officers and common soldiers, including several well known figures  from the 30 Years War and the British Civil Wars. 

One thing about books in this series that stands out is the quality and quantity of illustrations within each publication. This one is no different and it is jam-packed full of black and white illustrations, most of which are contemporary, and a centre spread of 16 pages of gorgeous colour plates showing examples of troop types found in the army, including eight detailing a great many Polish flags of the period, quite a few which I’d never seen before. The colour plates all come with handy descriptions at the back of the book. There are also some excellent maps outlining the campaigning against the Swedes. There is an extensive list of appendices including some muster rolls, details of garrisons and even a Polish to English dictionary as relevant to 17thC warfare.

This well-researched volume (judging by the extensive bibliography) is destined to take its place as the definitive book in English on the subject, so if this subject is of interest to you, this book should be your ‘go-to’ reference. Helion (and the series editor Charles Singleton) are yet again to be commended on their insight in fostering new authors and the choice of material they publish. Incidentally I know Michal is working on further volumes, including one on the Polish Army and it’s role in lifting the siege of Vienna in 1689, so I am looking forward to these immensely. 

I’ve had to have a major rethink about the composition of my 28mm 17thC Polish army. I probably don’t have too many winged hussars but do need more Cossacks  and some Western infantry and cavalry, which I have somewhere in the depths of ‘the box of Doom’). 

Christmas comes early with another much anticipated book from Helion

 This arrived today. I’ve been watching the post for a few days now and my delight at the arrival of this, the latest in Helion’s Century of the Soldier series has meant that all engagements in my diary for the next few days have been cancelled, or would have been had there been any of course.... I will post my review as soon as I can this week. Enough time wasting now, as I have a book to read.

By Defeating My Enemies: A review

                                       

I have to say that I am very fortunate to be asked to review new books published by Helion and Co. This one is another excellent addition to the Century of the Soldier series and to the growing catalogue of books covering the Great Northern War. 

Charles XII was, in my opinion at least, a complex and very ‘driven’ character. This new biography “By Defeating My Enemies” by Michael Glaser is No. 60 in Helion’s superb and rapidly expanding ‘Century of the Soldier’ series is I think the first such work published in English in more than a generation and goes a long way to unpicking his character in great detail. After bringing us up to speed on the growth of the Swedish empire in the 17th century, the book explores every aspect of Charles’ life as absolute monarch and as an exceptional (if not always victorious general), facing multiple foes and seemingly insurmountable odds, and sharing the depredations of campaigning with his men. We start with his early life where the author analyses how his experiences as a young man influenced him in later years. Every chapter of Charles’ military achievements is covered in great detail; his early victories, the fateful march through the Ukraine, the crushing defeat at Poltava and the many years in exile in the Ottoman Empire. The final chapters take us with Charles as he escapes from exile, his return, defeat at Ruben and his controversial death in the trenches outside Fredriksten in Norway. The analysis of this final chapter in his life is fascinating and particularly enlightening, presenting the differing views relating to the fateful shot and where it came from. I had always been of the opinion that Charles was killed by ‘friendly fire’, intentional or otherwise, but the unpicking of the evidence makes that outcome increasingly unlikely. The final chapter looks at Charles the man, and does so extremely well (so far as that is possible) covering such delicate subjects as his sexuality, religion and alcohol to name but a few.

This book is full of excellent maps, reproductions of contemporary prints and more recent black and white photos (including those of Charles’ remains when he was exhumed and X-rayed in the early 20th century). There are also a number of colour photographs of Charles’ surviving boots and uniform.

This is an excellent and scholarly book, one that is easy to read and informative. It will certainly find a place on my book shelves, as indeed it should for anybody interested in Charles and the Great Northern War. I can’t recommend it enough.

The Lion from the North volume 2 reviewed.

Number 59 in Helion’s ground-breaking series ‘Century of the Soldier’ is ‘The Lion from the North, the Swedish Army during the Thirty Years War: Volume 2, 1632-1648’. I’ve been waiting (not very) patiently for the arrival of this book, by Michael Fredholm Von Essen, for what seems like a long time. Pretty much everything I’ve read about the war stops shortly after the Swedish victory and Gustavus Adolfo’s’ demise at Luthen in 1632, so it is an understatement to say that is a most welcome addition. I’m not going to regurgitate the contents page, suffice to say that the author provides us with a scholarly analysis of the development of the Swedish army under the genius administration of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna and the military skills of his Field Marshals. This excellent book is the result of a significant amount of research judging by the impressive array of contemporary and later sources listed at its conclusion. 

Well written, impressively detailed, lavishly illustrated, with 32 colour pages showing Swedish uniforms, flags and a lovely map of ‘Germany’ and the various ‘circles’ during the period covered, this book opens up a whole new area of research in the post-Lutzen Swedish army which hitherto, to my knowledge at least, has been largely overlooked in the English language. 

Not only do we get an account of operations leading up to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, but we get, as one would expect, an informed description of the Swedish army and how it was raised, maintained, armed and organised as well as pen pictures of each of its main commanders. As a bonus there are chapters on the war against Denmark, the development of the navy and a fascinating insight into the ultimately doomed Swedish attempts at setting up and maintaining  colonies in North America and West Africa. 

The publisher, editor and the author are to be commended on producing such a fascinating and engaging book. The result is no less than outstanding for anyone interested in the Thirty Years War. 

Fighting for Liberty, 1685

The full title of the latest from Helion's Century of the Soldier series is “Fighting for Liberty. Argyll and Monmouth's Military Campaigns Against the Government of King James 1685".

I’ve read a bit about Monmouth’s rebellion and remember fondly the kids’ Sunday evening series The Pretenders (not the Roger Moore one!) from 1972 when we had Harlech TV, but know next to nothing about Argyll.

The book (The 57th in the series!) follows the usual tried and tested Helion format, starting with the background to the political situation that led to elements of the ‘British’ establishment plotting to overthrow the unpopular, despotic and Catholic King James II. This leads neatly into a detailed account of the landings and progress of the rebellions in the West Country and the West of Scotland and the Government’s (ie James II’s) ruthless  response to both. The narrative is richly punctuated with excerpts of contemporary correspondence, and the bumpy courses of both campaigns are allowed to unfold in a readable and engaging way. I was left with thinking that Monmouth and Argyll were very close to success. As I’ve just said, James’ attempts to thwart the rebellion before it even started were draconian to say the least, but clearly unsuccessful in preventing the invasions. The progress of both Monmouth and Argyll’s campaigns are explained clearly, as are the various skirmishes and battles. We don’t just get a narrative written from the perspective of the main protagonists ( from both sides) but one covering the planning, recruitment and organisation of the armies, the logistics and sense of tension in the country that built up while James’ camp struggled to get a grip of the situation. Obviously the book devotes a great deal of space to the events leading up to Sedgemoor and the battle itself, and does so in great detail. The author also devotes an interesting chapter to James’ cold blooded and arguably less than judicial retribution against the rebels. Such was life in 1685. 

As we have come to expect, the book contains 16 pages of beautiful colour plates by Patrice Courcelle, of soldiers and colours, as well as many very useful maps and black and white illustrations and orders of battle. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and can recommend it highly.

Century of the Soldier Conference 2019

This should be good if previous events are anything to go by. Now how do I manage what for us would be a weekend in London?

Century of the Soldier Conference, Royal Armouries, Leeds

Yesterday John the Red and I made the short drive (just over an hour)  down to Leeds to attend this conference organised by Helion and Co Publishing. The venue was the excellent Royal Armouries museum, although sadly there wasn’t much time to view the sumptuous array of exhibits.

The focus of the conference and the various speakers’ presentations was on the impact of, and to a great extent the almost seamless link between, the Thirty Years War on Britain, hence the subtitle, “Britain turned Germany”. We all know that many officers and leaders who rose to fame or ignamony  (delete as applicable) during our civil wars cut their teeth fighting in Europe. If I learnt just one thing from these (with one exception) excellent presentations it was that Europe during the Thirty Years War was literally awash with English and Scots, with something like 120000 serving throughout the conflict. Most of the rank and file were to die of disease and never return home which is a sobering thought. James I/VI actively recruited fairly hefty contingents of properly organised regiments to support his son in law Frederick ( a naturalised Englishmen), Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia, and Scottish daughter Elizabeth, in their fight to regain the throne of Bohemia. He also ‘borrowed back’ the Anglo-Dutch and Scots Brigades off the United Provinces to further this aim. Indeed there was a sizeable British army en route when the Imperial army defeated the Bohemians at White Mountain in 1620. A great wargaming what if....?  English/Scots/British-flagged regiments and armies served alongside or as part of the major Protestant players in the war, even while the English Civil War was raging. Some, including a number of senior commanders, preferred to remain in Europe rather than fight their countrymen at home. Regiments were recruited (often by emptying the jails) for service not just in Western Europe but further afield, such as Poland, Russia and for Venice against the Turk. But I am rambling. When the papers for this event are published by Helion buy them.

Briefly then, the speakers presented the following:

Prof Steve Murdoch - Britain and the Thirty Years War***
Dr Adam Marks - England and the Thirty Years War
David Flintham - "They have sent to Holland for engineers". Continental influence on military engineering in the ECW.
Martin Paradowski - Aston, Butler and Murray. British officers in the service of the Polish Vasa kings 1621-34 ***
Keith Down - Garret Barry - Soldier, Military Theorist and the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Simon Marsh -A case of Drakes. James Wemyss and light artillery development during the Civil wars
Dr Arran Johnson - General Leslie and the building of the Scottish Army ***
Prof Martyn Bennett - Creating the high commands in 1642

The sessions marked thus *** were in my humble opinion the best and for me the most enlightening, but that does not detract from the content of the other speakers' presentations.

So, and excellent day out. Lots of interesting stuff listened to and learnt. The world put to rights. Wargaming ideas thrashed out in the car.  Thanks to Helion and Charles Singleton (a fellow Old Lidunian).