The Patterns of War through the Eighteenth Century

by Larry H. Addington

..". a concise, highly readable survey of pre- 19th-century warfare." --Choice

"A remarkable tour de force covering a vast span of time, different cultures, warfare by land and sea." --Gunther Rothenberg

A history of war and warfare from ancient to early modern times, Larry Addington's new book completes his survey of the patterns of war in the Western world. It explains not only what happened in warfare but why war in a certain time and culture took on distinct and recognizable patterns.

Genres: History

161 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Chris Esposo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very abbreviated account of human warfare from the birth of history to the mid 1700s, referred to by the author as the "neo-classical" period of warfare, or what is often referred to as the linear line style of warfare that is recognizable by its use if long organized line formations of infantry, synchronizing gun fire, and coordinating advances with other lines in the division.

As with any book that seeks to cover 90% of human history in less than 200 pages of text, or what amounts to 5 to 6 hours of read-text, this book grossly oversimplifies much of the history, and focusing exclusively on the so-called Western "way of war". Within 2 hours we move from the warfare of the Greek city states to the first 3 crusades, and although it could be argued that development in warfare (or any other human activity) during early human history was much less punctuated than it is today, thus having less difference in tactics and technology to cover between the two eras, my feeling was this rocket-speed overview provided little functional knowledge to the reader.

Another issue with the abbreviated nature of the book was that far too much of the content was dedicated to armies giving battle, since these were the events of note recorded in the history books. However, in true war, especially in these eras, battle was far less frequent, and maneuver or waiting dominated the majority of the time. It could even be said the manner of avoiding battle was a successful stratagem for many of the early human armies and their political leadership.

I understand this book serves as a sort of prequel to a much better written text of the author, however the content in it scarcely escapes the level of a 12th grade history text, or maybe a freshmen level history book. Conditional recommend if you know absolutely nothing about basic pre-1700s European history

[Dwain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Addington's book is a great introduction to the overarching patterns of warfare from the dawn of history until the Napoleonic Wars. It is a short, quick, and well-paced read that will hold the attention of readers new to military history. If I were to make one criticism, it would be that for readers more familiar with military history it is heavy on narrative and light on analysis. I would have liked to have seen less narrative and more discussion of the patterns that Addington identifies.

I will still read the next book, "Patterns of Warfare Since the Eighteenth Century."

[Kakanier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eurozentrisch und Fortschrittsgläubig bis zum Extrem. Angesichts neuerer Forschung erweist sich das Buch eher als Schusswaffenromantik als als ernstzunehmende Geschichte. Als Einführung allerdings immer noch gut genug.