A DICTIONARY OF BATTLES: 1715 - 1815

This is the second volume in a series which covers all the significant battles fought on land, sea and in the air since ancient times. This work, published after the 1816-1976 volume, focuses on battles waged between 1715 and 1815, when six great debilitating wars were fought in Europe, culminating in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic era which affected every corner of the globe. This period saw the rise in power of the British navy whose dominance allowed the British army to defeat France and her numerous allies in North America, India and elsewhere, and thus ensure the rise of the British Empire. It witnessed the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great and Catherine and saw the skill of Frederick the Great and his Prussians, who fought numerous battles in the Sevens Year War - most of them masterpieces of military art. Also, this was the age of great individual commanders who fought battles which, in a few hours, could transform the map of the world: men such as Napoleon, Nelson, Clive, Washington, Wellington, and the great Marshal De Saxe who instigated the ’45 Jacobite Rebellion. For easy reference the entries are arranged alphabetically (with cross references) according to geographical divisions, each entry being complete in itself and giving the location and date of the battle, full names and ranks of the commanders, the numbers involved and estimated casualties as well as a brief description of the course of the conflict.