The Potsdam Musket (PB) By: COL (Ret) Carl M. Kruger The so-called Potsdam Musket was created out of the humiliating loss suffered by the Prussians at the hands of Napoleon in the early years of the nineteenth century. It pulled together elements from the most effective infantry weapons of the era and enjoyed almost six decades of use by several Armies in central Europe and those of the American Civil War. The Potsdam is widely collected and many are shot in competition by members of the North-South Skirmish Association today. This book seeks to provide answers to questions on the history, development, models and markings of the Potsdam Musket.

The Potsdam Musket By: COL (Ret) Carl M. Kruger The so-called Potsdam Musket was created out of the humiliating loss suffered by the Prussians at the hands of Napoleon in the early years of the nineteenth century. It pulled together elements from the most effective infantry weapons of the era and enjoyed almost six decades of use by several Armies in central Europe and those of the American Civil War. The Potsdam is widely collected and many are shot in competition by members of the North-South Skirmish Association today. This book seeks to provide answers to questions on the history, development, models and markings of the Potsdam Musket.

- Vibrant color paintings illustrate soldiers and battles of the war - Color photos of seldom-seen period artifacts such as uniforms, weapons, and other equipment In this collection, renowned artist Don Troiani teams up with leading artifact historian James L. Kochan to present the American Revolution as it has existed only in our imaginations: in living color.From Bunker Hill to Yorktown, from Washington to Cornwallis, from the Minute Men to the Black Watch, these pages are packed with scenes of grand action and great characters, recreated in the vivid blues and reds that defined the Revolutionary era. Troiani's depictions of these legendary fife-and-drum soldiers are based on firsthand accounts and, wherever possible, surviving artifacts. Scores of color photographs of these objects--many of them from private collections and seen here for the very first time--accompany the paintings. Items range from muskets and beautifully ornate swords to more unique pieces such as badges with unit insignia or patriotic slogans and Baron von Steuben's liquor chest.More than just a glimpse into a world long past, this is the closest the modern reader can get to experiencing the Revolutionary War firsthand.

The flintlock or firelock musket is one of the most iconic weapons in history: used on the battlefields of the English Civil War, it was then carried by both sides at Blenheim, Bunker Hill, Waterloo and the Alamo, and dominated warfare for more than 150 years, with military service as late as the American Civil War in the 1860s. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork, this engaging study examines the role that the flintlock played in close-order combat on European and other battlefields around the world. Employing first-hand accounts to show how tactical doctrines were successfully developed to overcome the weapon's inherent limitations, Stuart Reid offers a comprehensive analysis of the flintlock's lasting impact as the first truly universal soldier's weapon.

Combines Troiani's artwork depicting military uniforms, with photographs of artifacts and the written commentary by Coates and Kochan.

The conduct of combat operations in open order during the 18th and 19th centuries required an improved firearm with more accuracy than the standard-issue smoothbore infantry musket. Consequently, the appearance of a new type of regular light infantry soldier and an innovative military firearm, the rifle, marked a new age in the history of warfare. During the 18th century both Austria and Prussia fielded light troops armed with rifled firearms, while conflicts in North America involved the deadly long rifle and the innovative Ferguson breech-loader. Rifle-armed specialists also fought for several nations during the Napoleonic Wars. However, it was the decades after 1815 that saw the appearance of successful rifled percussion firearms, paving the way for the widespread issue of rifled weapons. This development was accelerated by the Prussian adoption of the Dreyse 'needle gun' in 1848 and in 1849, the French Minié rifle was the first successful conical ball rifle concept to be issued to regular troops in large numbers. Illustrated throughout with stunning full-colour artwork, this study charts the development, combat use, influence and legacy of rifled firearms in a host of conflicts, from the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740–48 to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48.

From the author of the acclaimed The Thirty Years War and Heart of Europe, a masterful, landmark reappraisal of German military history, and of the preconceptions about German militarism since before the rise of Prussia and the world wars. German military history is typically viewed as an inexorable march to the rise of Prussia and the two world wars, the road paved by militarism and the result a specifically German way of war. Peter Wilson challenges this narrative. Looking beyond Prussia to German-speaking Europe across the last five centuries, Wilson finds little unique or preordained in German militarism or warfighting. Iron and Blood takes as its starting point the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire, which created new mechanisms for raising troops but also for resolving disputes diplomatically. Both the empire and the Swiss Confederation were largely defensive in orientation, while German participation in foreign wars was most often in partnership with allies. The primary aggressor in Central Europe was not Prussia but the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, yet Austria’s strength owed much to its ability to secure allies. Prussia, meanwhile, invested in militarization but maintained a part-time army well into the nineteenth century. Alongside Switzerland, which relied on traditional militia, both states exemplify the longstanding civilian element within German military power. Only after Prussia’s unexpected victory over France in 1871 did Germans and outsiders come to believe in a German gift for warfare—a special capacity for high-speed, high-intensity combat that could overcome numerical disadvantage. It took two world wars to expose the fallacy of German military genius. Yet even today, Wilson argues, Germany’s strategic position is misunderstood. The country now seen as a bastion of peace spends heavily on defense in comparison to its peers and is deeply invested in less kinetic contemporary forms of coercive power.

American Military Shoulder Arms, Volume I: Colonial and Revolutionary War Arms focuses on the arms used from the early exploratory period throughout the colonial period and the American Revolution. Arranged chronologically, it contains definitive descriptions of the pre-flintlock and flintlock shoulder arms used in North America and detailed accounts of the development and progression of military regulation shoulder arms of the major colonial powers from the early eighteenth century through the Revolutionary War. Lavishly illustrated with more than four hundred vivid photographs of muskets, rifles, carbines, and other arms, this book offers an intelligent analysis of the shoulder arms procured and used by the colonists, colonial and state governments, and the Continental Congress.

One of the most decisive battles in military history, Waterloo saw the culmination of a generation of war to bring a definitive end to French hegemony and imperial ambitions in Europe. Both sides fought bitterly and Wellington later remarked that 'it was the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life'. In this bloody engagement, more than 20,000 men were lost on the battlefield that day by each side, but it was the Anglo-Allies who emerged victorious. Their forces entered France and restored Louis XVIII to the throne, while Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he later died. Waterloo was a resounding victory for the British Army and Allied forces, and it changed the course of European history. In this concise yet detailed account, historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes tells you everything you need to know about this critical battle.

Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, this lavishly illustrated volume looks at all the different aspects of the 100-day campaign which has become synonymous with the Napoleonic Wars and saw the eventual defeat of Napoleon's French forces. Ten articles by internationally renowned historians examine the battle from different angles, from the microcosm of the bitter fighting for the fortified farmhouse of Hougoumont through to a wider perspective of the 100-day campaign in its entirety. The official publication of the Waterloo 200 organization, slipcased and highly collectible, Waterloo: The Decisive Victory offers a unique and authoritative history of one of the most important battles in world history.