Cover by Steve Noon
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Flags by Lesley Prince |
SergeyShamenkov does the colour plates of uniforms |
First of all you have to say there are two armies under the glass - roughly speaking before and after the disaster at Poltava (1709). The mythology of the Swedes is examined - their anachronistic use of the pike and its legendary cavalry all are examined. Chapters on the tactics and Battlefield performance get to the bottom of these areas in a scholarly and balanced manner. Uniforms are dealt with very comprehensively with reconstructions by Shamenkov of the Swedish army from 1700 until 1721. There are also uniform schematics.
For a wargamer there is all you need to field a Swedish force but as the Great Northern War lasted so long you will probably have to decide on an early GNW Swede force or later. The basic Swedish secret weapon (spoiler alert) was training pure and simple. The early Swedish army was drilled to perfection making battlefield manoeuvring easy and effective.
Helion are to be congratulated on another excellent addition to the study of the Great Northern War.
Good review, well done. Charles was a strange strange man. I also have the Bengtsson book which is a great read in its own right. I have never decided however whether Charles was a 'great captain'or just lucky that he had such an amazing army.A bit like Frederick the Great, a title Im still not certain he deserved, but what do I know. Still looks a cracking book to have.
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