The Seven Years' War in Germany was characterised by an increasing use of 'light' troops in conjunction with regular infantry and cavalry as part of an ongoing evolution in military tactics. This book draws attention to these tactical developments and also provides an analysis of the allied army that fought alongside Frederick the Great in Germany. Composed of troops from the electorate of Hanover and contingents from Hessen-Kassel, Brunswick and Prussia, this force was funded by Britain and led by a Prussian officer, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Later, British troops joined this army as it operated throughout western Germany, and together the allied army won a great victory at the famous battle of Minden in 1759.

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763), known as the French and Indian War in North America, was perhaps the first war that might be called a world war. It involved the major European countries, North and Central America, the coast of West Africa, the Philippines, and India. A major player in the war was Frederick the Great (1712-1786), the king of Prussia and a great military leader. The first major work on the monarch and his role in the war for more than a century, this book sheds light on many aspects of military and European history.

During the long and costly conflict known as the Great Northern War [1700-1721], Peter the Great and his newly formed Russian army, which was modelled on western European lines, defeated their Swedish counterparts, who were generally regarded as being the finest troops in Europe. Angus Konstam examines the development, equipment and organisation of the Russian army following the death of Peter the Great, and describes its emergence from three decades of experimentation and political involvement as a major military power during the Seven Years War. This first of two volumes covers the Russian infantry, with its companion, Men-at-Arms 298, focusing on the cavalry.

The closest thing to total war before the First World War, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These methods ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by personal diaries, memoirs, and official reports.

In this engrossing narrative of the great military conflagration of the mid-eighteenth century, Fred Anderson transports us into the maelstrom of international rivalries. With the Seven Years' War, Great Britain decisively eliminated French power north of the Caribbean — and in the process destroyed an American diplomatic system in which Native Americans had long played a central, balancing role — permanently changing the political and cultural landscape of North America. Anderson skillfully reveals the clash of inherited perceptions the war created when it gave thousands of American colonists their first experience of real Englishmen and introduced them to the British cultural and class system. We see colonists who assumed that they were partners in the empire encountering British officers who regarded them as subordinates and who treated them accordingly. This laid the groundwork in shared experience for a common view of the world, of the empire, and of the men who had once been their masters. Thus, Anderson shows, the war taught George Washington and other provincials profound emotional lessons, as well as giving them practical instruction in how to be soldiers. Depicting the subsequent British efforts to reform the empire and American resistance — the riots of the Stamp Act crisis and the nearly simultaneous pan-Indian insurrection called Pontiac's Rebellion — as postwar developments rather than as an anticipation of the national independence that no one knew lay ahead (or even desired), Anderson re-creates the perspectives through which contemporaries saw events unfold while they tried to preserve imperial relationships. Interweaving stories of kings and imperial officers with those of Indians, traders, and the diverse colonial peoples, Anderson brings alive a chapter of our history that was shaped as much by individual choices and actions as by social, economic, and political forces.

SPECTATOR, NEW STATESMAN, SUNDAY TIMES AND TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015 Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, dominated the 18th century in the same way that Napoleon dominated the start of the 19th - a force of nature, a caustic, ruthless, brilliant military commander, a monarch of exceptional energy and talent, and a knowledgeable patron of artists, architects and writers, most famously Voltaire. From early in his reign he was already a legendary figure - fascinating even to those who hated him. Tim Blanning's brilliant new biography recreates a remarkable era, a world which would be swept away shortly after Frederick's death by the French Revolution. Equally at home on the battlefield or in the music room at Frederick's extraordinary miniature palace of Sanssouci, Blanning draws on a lifetime's obsession with the 18th century to create a work that is in many ways the summation of all that he has learned in his own rich and various career. Frederick's spectre has hung over Germany ever since: an inspiration, a threat, an impossible ideal - Blanning at last allows us to understand him in his own time.

The Seven Years' War in Germany was characterised by an increasing use of 'light' troops in conjunction with regular infantry and cavalry as part of an ongoing evolution in military tactics. This book draws attention to these tactical developments and also provides an analysis of the allied army that fought alongside Frederick the Great in Germany. Composed of troops from the electorate of Hanover and contingents from Hessen-Kassel, Brunswick and Prussia, this force was funded by Britain and led by a Prussian officer, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Later, British troops joined this army as it operated throughout western Germany, and together the allied army won a great victory at the famous battle of Minden in 1759.

A biography of the Prussian king and military legend from “America’s leading historian” (Jeremy Black, author of Imperial Legacies). Famed for his military successes and domestic reforms, Frederick the Great was a remarkable leader whose campaigns were a watershed in the history of Europe, securing Prussia’s place as a continental power and inaugurating a new pattern of total war that was to endure until 1916. However, much myth surrounds this enigmatic man, his personality, and his role as politician, warrior, and king. From a renowned military historian and winner of a Pritzker Literature Award, this book provides a refreshing, multidimensional depiction of Frederick the Great and an objective, detailed reappraisal of his military, political, and social achievements. Early chapters set the scene with an excellent summary of eighteenth-century Europe and the Age of Reason; an analysis of the character, composition, and operating procedures of the Prussian army; and an exploration of Frederick’s personality as a young man. Later chapters examine his stunning victories at Rossbach and Leuthen; his defeats at Prague and Kolín; and Prussia’s emergence as a key European power. Written with style and verve, this book offers brilliant insights into the political and military history of the eighteenth century—and one of history’s most famous rulers.

This book describes and illustrates the organization and uniforms of the Allied contingents during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). At the outbreak of the war King George II's dual role as King of England and Elector of Hanover led to Britain creating and funding an alliance with Frederick's Prussia. This colorful multi-national arm of British, Brunswick, Hanoverian, and Hessian troops, with other smaller contingents, played an essential part by guarding Prussia's western front against French armies, and in the process the British contingent won some remarkable victories, such as the redcoats' legendary attack at Minden and Granby's cavalry triumph at Warburg. This disparate group of soldiers is brought to vivid life by the illustrations of Gerry and Sam Embleton and by the unrivalled detail of Stuart Reid's analysis.

Frederick the Great was an acknowledged master of war. Admired and studied by Napoleon, he commanded the Prussian army at sixteen major battles and numerous sieges and other actions, often leading from the front. Under Frederick the Prussian Army became arguably the most feared and efficient in Europe, often defeating numerically superior forces. Gabriele Esposito details the organization, uniforms and equipment of the various branches of service that made up the Prussian Army. Starting with the infantry, whose incredible discipline and excellent training made them the backbone of Frederick's forces he details the famous Guards and the line regiments but also the light infantry jagers and even little-known garrison and auxiliary units. Equal attention is given to the cavalry: Guards, cuirassiers, dragoons, lancers and hussars. There is also a chapter devoted to the 'technical corps' of artillery, pioneers and the like, and there are chapters on the mercenary 'freikorps' and Frederick's German allies. The whole is lavishly illustrated with beautiful color plates.