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Giant of the Grand Si�cle: The French Army, 1710-1715, by John A. Lynn
Cambridge: The University Press, 1997. xx, 651 pp. Illus, maps, tables, diagr, notes, bibliog, index. . ISBN:0-521-57273-8.
Observing that while everyone knows the French Army was the finest military instrument of the seventeenth century, but it nevertheless remains "The Great Unknown," the author (who is well known for his masterful Bayonets of the Republic), proceeds to present an exhaustive treatment of the subject.
This work is more than the ordinary run of studies on armies that appear quite frequently. To be sure it tells of organization and tactics, of uniforms and weapons. But it also discusses French military policy, administration, recruiting, discipline, morale, rations and fodder, fortifications, siege techniques, and much else beside, such as dueling customs.
A valuable work for anyone interested in the Age of Louis XIV or the French Army going into the eighteenth century.
Reviewer: A. A. Nofi
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