Osprey Essential Histories 34 : The French Wars 1667-1714 : The Sun King at War

Campaigns fought by Louis XIV, the Sun King, shaped the borders of European states, the destinies of royal dynasties., and even the patterns of absolutist government. The Wars of the Sun King presents the most authoritative yet accessible and succinct account of these all-important struggles available today. This story covers the full range, from decisions made by the king at his palace at Versailles to the life of the troops encamped in the field. Emphasizing the French army, the greatest military force of the age, the tale of violence, victory, and victims balances siege and battle in a way that tells us much that is new about the Sun King and his adversaries. The much vaunted Duke of Marlborough emerges in these pages not so much as a radically new kind of general, but as an immensely talented but still typical commander of his times. John A. Lynn concludes that the style of warfare practiced by the French and their adversaries alike, a style labelled in this book as 'war-as-process', needs to be taken seriously as a valid form of conflict, not simply an imperfect and ill-conceived practice of war swept away by the French Revolution. In fact, the author argues that war-as-process may say more about the military challenges of the twenty-first century than do the more dramatic and decisive campaigns fought by Napoleon and enshrined by Clausewitz.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Background to War : Themes of Louis's International Policy
• Warring Sides : States, Armies, Navies and Warfare
• Outbreak : Drawing the Sword
• The Fighting : The Campaigns for Gloire
• Portrait of a Soldier : Marie Magdelaine Mouron
• The World around War : Predatory Armies
• Portrait of a Civilian : Mme De Sevigne
• How the War Ended : Peace by Exhaustion
• Conclusion and Consequences : The Legacies of War