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Theodore Ayrault Dodge

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Gustavus Adolphus: A History of the Art of War from Its Revival After the Middle Ages to the End of the Spanish Succession War, With a Detailed Account of the Campaigns of the Great Swede Kindle Edition

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 76 ratings

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A grand sweeping military history of the “pike and shot” era, with a particular emphasis on the Thirty Years’ War in Europe (1618–1648). Originally published in two volumes, the first covers the life of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and known as “The Lion of the North” by his many opponents. Born into an era of constant warfare, he became king at 17, transformed the Army of Sweden into the first truly modern military machine, and led it in person for twenty years until his untimely death at the battle of Lützen. His innovations in training, equipment, and tactics made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years, and have earned him the title of the “father of modern warfare.” The second volume explores the many battles of other great generals of the era, including Tilly, Wallenstein, Turenne, Condé, Eugene, and Marlborough.

Theodore Ayrault Dodge’s illustrated history was first published in 1895, as part of his “Great Captains” series. This ebook edition combines both volumes, and includes an active table of contents, reflowable text, and nearly 250 line drawings and battle maps.

Table of Contents:
• I. The Era of Cavalry. 378–1315
• II. Reappearance of Infantry. 1315–1500
• III. Changes in Tactics. Sixteenth Century
• IV. The Swedish Army-Changes. 1523–1632
• V. The Swedish Organization and Tactics. 1611–1632
• VI. The Young Prince and King. 1611–1617
• VII. The Polish Wars. 1617–1625
• VIII. The Thirty Years’ War. Religious Phase. 1618–1625
• IX. The Danish Period. 1625–1630
• X. The Polish Wars continue. 1625–1627
• XI. The Polish Wars end. 1628–1629
• XII. The Swedish Period begins. January to June, 1630
• XIII. Gustavus Lands in Germany. June to August, 1630
• XIV. Gustavus Attacks the Enemy. September to December, 1630
• XV. Winter-Quarters at Bärwalde. January, 1631
• XVI. Gustavus and Tilly Manœuvre. February to April, 1630
• XVII. Magdeburg. September, 1630, to May, 1631
• XVIII. Gustavus Advances to the Elbe. June and July, 1631
• XIX. Tilly Invades Hesse-Cassel and Saxony. August, 1631
• XX. Breitenfeld. September 17, 1631
• XXI. Towards the Main. September and October, 1631
• XXII. Mainz. November, 1631
• XXIII. To the Danube. December, 1631, to April, 1632
• XXIV. The Crossing of the Lech. April 15, 1632
• XXV. The Reappearance of Wallenstein. January to June, 1632
• XXVI. Nürnberg. July and August, 1632
• XXVII. The Assault on the Alte Veste. September, 1632
• XXVIII. Sparring. September, 1632
• XXIX. Back to Saxony. October and November, 1632
• XXX. Lützen. November 16, 1632
• XXXI. The Man and Soldier
• XXXII. Nördlingen. 1633–1634
• XXXIII. Cromwell. 1642–1651
• XXXIV. Turenne. 1634 to August, 1644
• XXXV. Condé at Rocroy. May 19, 1643
• XXXVI. Freiburg. August, 1644
• XXXVII. Mergentheim. May 5, 1645
• XXXVIII. Allerheim. August 5, 1645
• XXXIX. Condé at Dunkirk. September and October, 1646
• XL. Turenne and Wrangel. 1646–1647
• XLI. The Thirty Years’ War ends. 1648
• XLII. Condé against Turenne. 1650–1656
• XLIII. Arras and Valenciennes. 1654–1656
• XLIV. Dunkirk. The Battle of the Dunes, 1657. May and June, 1658
• XLV. Army Organization and Tactics. Early Seventeenth to Early Eighteenth Century
• XLVI. Turenne in Holland. 1672
• XLVII. Montecuculi. 1673
• XLVIII. Senef, August 11, and Sinsheim, June 16, 1674
• XLIX. Entzheim, October 4, 1674. Türkheim, January 5, 1675
• L. Turenne’s Last Campaign. 1675
• LI. The Siege of Vienna. 1683
• LII. Luxemburg and Catinat. 1690–1693
• LIII. Prince Eugene against Catinat. 1701
• LIV. Eugene against Villero and Vendome. 1701–1702
• LV. Villars. 1703
• LVI. Marlborough and Eugene. 1704
• LVII. Blenheim. August 13, 1704
• LVIII. Eugene and Vendome. 1705
• LIX. Ramillies. May 23, 1706
• LX. Turin. September 7, 1706
• LXI. Oudenarde and Lille. July 11 and October 22, 1708
• LXII. Malplaquet. September 11, 1709
• LXIII. Spain. 1704–1710
• LXIV. Villars against Marlborough and Eugene.

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898 pages
Language

English
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August 27, 2012
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0092XQLHM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tales End Press (August 27, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 29449 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 898 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,912,994 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #368 in 17th Century World History
- #1,564 in Military Strategy History (Kindle Store)
- #5,431 in Military Strategy History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 76 ratings

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Geoff

Pure Dodge Brilliance

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2014

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If you're unfamiliar with T.E. Dodge, he's one of the reasons that JFC Fuller got into writing about history. He's a American Civil War veteran with real experience to help him have a more thorough understanding of warfare. This book and his comparative essays are all phenomenal. The amount of detail surrounding the Lion of the North is spectacular, though if you are unfamiliar with the history of the Thirty Years' War, you should pick up a copy of one the independent histories on the subject to help with the context. The context of this war is particularly complex politically, so background helps a lot. If you're already familiar with the TYW, this book will flesh out the life of its most successful military leader.

One person found this helpful

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Charles Kovacs

along with Alexander the Great, Napoleon

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2018

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As its subtitle indicates, this book is a military history of Western Europe at the operational and strategic level through the XVII Century and the first decade of the XVIII Century, including the War of Spanish Succession and Charles XII's Russo-Swedish War. This is a very long book written 130 or so years ago in the language of the time, i.e. lots of long sentences that sometimes require careful reading. Its author was a colonel on the Union side in the Civil War, and subsequently became a professor military history and the author of many books on the subject.

Notwithstanding its breadth, much of the book is about Gustavus Adolphus whom the author regarded as the one of the "greatest captains`' of history, along with Alexander the Great, Napoleon, etc., and he provides cogent arguments to back his view. Certainly, his appearance with initially only a small army turned the course of the Thirty Years' War, and the outcome of this war might have been very different but for his untimely death in battle in 1632. In any case, after 1632, the author turns to the campaigns of other great generals such as Turenne, Conde, Marlborough, Eugene of Savoy. These are covered in detail, and every chapter is concluded with the author's critique and explanation of what they did well or less so.

This is valuable book for readers interested in the military history of Western Europe in the XVII Century, and the language is not so technical as to deter any serious reader. I rated this book at four stars because of the author's pedantic approach, some repetition of points already made, and his view that serious strategy and tactics disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. The author makes a lengthy case for this, but I found it not entirely convincing on the basis of my knowledge of history (which however is no doubt less that the author's).

4 people found this helpful

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Brad

Informative, but Tedious

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2000

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I read this because I really enjoyed Dodge's military biography of Hannibal, but this book, possibly due to the period covered, was episodic, and without knowledge of European political history during the reign of Louis XIV, hard to follow. The first section, covering Adolfus's campaign in the Thirty Year's War, was quite entertaining, mainly because his efforts were dramatic, innovative, and successful against overwhelming odds. However, once into the military exploits of Conde, Turenne, Cromwell, Eugene, and Marlborough, the narrative becomes rather monotonous, describing one siege after another, one uneventful campaigning season after another. (This, too, no doubt reflects the time: the whole period of the post-Adolfus Thirty Year's War and the War of the Spanish Succession was one vast war of attrition.) Dodge does describe the important battles quite well, and offers incisive assessments of the character and abilities of the period's leading military figures. The book is long (about 850 pages), and long on military facts and figures. Dodge, a veteran of the American Civil War, writes in a rather formal and technical style, adding to the difficulties in wading through the text. I would give the book an "A" for information, but a "C-" for readability. If the subject matter really interests you, I'd say give it a try. If not, pass.

31 people found this helpful

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History Bibliophile

Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2012

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I can't recommend this book enough, for three key reasons:
1. Dodge's work is a wonderfully detailed description of warfare up to the early 18thC, focussing mainly on the book's eponymous general, and continuing on from his previous books covering great generals.
2. The transfer into Kindle is first rate, continuing the excellent work done by Tales End Press (look for their efforts on Dodge's previous books - Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Art of War in the Middle Ages).
3. Great price - brilliant value.

If you're interested in military history then you should buy this, right now!

3 people found this helpful

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Schulz

A follow up book to Europes Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2014

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Having read Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War, Dodge gives a more detailed insight into one of the late entries into the conflict, Sweden's Gustavus Adolphus. As king and leader of his army, he takes the side of Germanic Protestants, and feeling led by the hand of the divine, lays waste to the Catholics who are based largely in Bavaria. Spolier Alert: Adolphus is killed in battle and Sweden's allies abandon his army almost as fast as the army, lacking their energetic leader, loses its momentum. Spread too thin, and with untrustworthy or apathetic supporters in Germany, Sweden's continental power fades in the last years of the Thrity Years War. I thought the book to be an excellent account of soldiering and warfare, that is until Adolphus is killed and I wasn't even sure I was reading the same book as the text wandered into an unrelated account of Cromwell's combat exploits against the Loyalists during the civil war in England. Then as oddly as that digression starts, the sections of Cromwell ends, and the account of the drained, mostly leaderless, and unsupported Swedish army begins again as it loses ground so bitterly fought for and paid with many lives, including that of their brilliant and brave king's.

2 people found this helpful

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