A selection of the History Book Club, this book talks about the historical circumstances and political conditions of the contending adversaries, the strategic thinking and the personalities of the military commanders, the tactical manoeuvring on the field of battle, the role of armaments and technology, and the performance of the soldiers.

Here is narrative history in the grand manner, deeply and passionately informed by a wide understanding of every aspect of the topic: the historical circumstances and political conditions of the contending adversaries, the strategic thinking and the personalities of the military commanders, the tactical manoeuvring on the field of battle, the role of armaments and technology, and the performance of the soldiers.

Part One. The Profession of Officership and the Birth of Modern War
The Return of the Legions: Gustavus Adolphus and Breitenfeld
The Limits of the New Legions: Lutzen and After
Under the Lily Banners: Rocroi
The Army of the Sun King
Marlborough's Battles: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet
The Emergence of the Great Powers of Eastern Europe
The Rise of Naval Power
Part Two. The Eighteenth Century: The Classical Epoch of Modern War
The Battles of Frederick the Great
The French and British Armed Forces from the Rhine to the St. Lawrence
Toward Wars of Nations: The War of American Independence
Prelude to Revolution
Part Three. Thunderstrokes of Battle: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
The French Revolution: Transformation and Continuity in War
Sea Power and Empire
The Climax of Napoleonic War: To Austerlitz and Jena-Auerstadt
The Gradual Eclipse of the Battle of Annihilation
The Rise of the War of Attrition
Campaigns of Exhaustion and Attrition
The Resurgence of Military Professionalism
The Downfall of Genius
The End of an Age: Waterloo
On the Future of War