Invincible Generals: Gustavus Adolphus, Marlborough, Frederick the Great, George Washington, Wellington - Hardcover

Haythornthwaite, Philip J

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253326982 ISBN 13: 9780253326980

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 1992

Synopsis

The story of how five Supreme Commanders - Gustav Adolphus, Marlborough, Frederick the Great, George Washington and Wellington - changed the face of warfare from the post-medieval period to the dawning of the modern age. This book establishes the progression in military tactics through 200 years.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The five invincible generals discussed in this book were masters of strategy and tactics who were influential far beyond their own campaigns. To chart their achievements is to relate the development of warfare from the 1600s to beyond the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

From Library Journal

Haythornthwaite, an authority on early modern warfare, offers solid case studies of five great commanders from the "sword and musket" era, the period from the 17th to the early 19th centuries. They were not "invincible" in the strict sense of the word, and Washington's inclusion seems in particular a sop to American readers, as even Haythornthwaite accepts the Virginian's limitations as a battle captain. These men nevertheless stood above their contemporaries as masters of war. Each understood specific military realities of his time; each was consistently able to turn them to advantage. Invincible Generals lacks the comparative dimension of John Keegan's Masks of Com mand ( LJ 11/1/87). Nevertheless, its biographic focus makes this well-written work a useful counterpart to Russell Weigley's The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfield to Waterloo ( LJ 3/15/91). Recommended for collections in military history.
- D.E. Showalter, U.S. Air Force Acad., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0253326982
• ISBN 13: 9780253326980
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240