The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare provides a unique account of Western warfare from antiquity to the present day. The book treats the history of all aspects of the subject: the development of warfare on land, sea and air; weapons and technology; strategy and defence; discipline and intelligence; mercenaries and standing armies; cavalry and infantry; chivalry and blitzkrieg; guerrilla assault and nuclear arsenals. It places in context particular key events in the history of armed engagement, from the Greek victory at Marathon, through the introduction of gunpowder in medieval England and France, to the jungle warfare of Vietnam and the strategic air attacks of the Gulf War. Throughout, there is an emphasis on the socio-economic aspects of military progress: who pays for it, how can its returns be measured, and to what extent does it explain the rise of the West to global dominance over two millennia?

 Written by leading experts on the history of warfare  Sumptuously and intelligently illustrated throughout  Includes special panel features on important people, battles and concepts

Contents
Introduction Geoffrey Parker; Part I. The Age of Massed Infantry: 1. Genesis of the Infantry (600–350 BC) Victor Davis Hanson; 2. From Phalanx to Legion (350–250 BC); 3. The Roman way of war (250 BC–AD 300); Part II. The Age of Stone Fortifications: 4. On Roman ramparts (300–1300) Bernard Bachrach; 5. New weapons, new tactics (1300–1500) Christopher Allmand; 6. The gunpowder revolution (1300–1500) Geoffrey Parker; Part III. The Age of Guns and Sails: 7. Ships of the line (1500–1650) Geoffrey Parker; 8. Conquest of the Americas (1500–1650) Patricia Seed; 9. Dynastic war (1494–1660) Geoffrey Parker; 10. States in conflict (1661–1763) John A. Lynn; 11. Nations in arms (1763–1815) John A Lynn; Part IV. The Age of Mechanized Warfare Williamson A. Murray: 12. The industrialization of war (1815–71); 13. Towards World War (1871–1914); 14. The West at War (1914–18); 15. The world in conflict (1919–41); 16. The World at War (1941–45); 17. The Post-War World (1945–1995); Epilogue: the future of western warfare Geoffrey Parker.

40 line diagrams 119 half-tones 109 colour plates 19 figures 42 maps