Thursday, 21 May 2020

The French army of the War of Austrian Succession

Anybody read this? Can't find any reviews. It's a little expensive to speculate on.
The French Army of the War of the Austrian Succession 1740-1748
Volume 1: Organisation, Uniforms & Equipment
David A. Wilson
ISBN: 1-85818-684-9
300 pages, well illustrated
234mm x 156mm
Hardback
£45.00 GBP

The object of this work is to give simple, accurate information for the French army during the War of the Austrian Succession, and as such, it is relevant to that time frame. The uniforms, the cut of which was basically same more or less from the late 1720s till after the Seven Years War (except for the addition of lapels to infantry uniforms in the late 1750s), took a more austere appearance following the clothing regulations of 1730s, which reflected both moral ideals against ostentation with just a little bit of economy, the heavy embroidery on the officers' coats, the colored waistcoats and breeches disappeared, except in the foreign units, but there again the regulations were never completely respected.
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6 comments:

  1. Neil Patterson21 May 2020 at 08:59

    Yes, excellent book. Covers whole of army, uniforms mostly as text descriptions but with colour plates by David Wilson. Includes some of the more obscure things like musicians livery colours. While a lot of the information is probably available elsewhere, it's a nice single volume if you're interested in the French, the major combatant of the WAS. The author designed the French figures for Tradition which supplement the Willie figures by Ted Suren, keeping the same style. He also researched the book in France where he lives. I bought it after perusing it on Caliver's shelves as an impulse purchase. Nice hardback with quality glossy paper.
    Neil

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  2. Ralphus21 May 2020 at 09:03

    Thanks Neil.

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  3. dfogleman221 May 2020 at 20:16

    I agree with Neil. It’s the first source I go to when painting WAS French.

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  4. Independentwargamesgroup22 May 2020 at 00:36

    I have owned this book since it was first published, it is very good. The drawings are very idiosyncratic but not a real issue. This gent produced a full range of SYW French figures under the name Jackdaw Miniatures which was eventually sold to someone in Australia which was a shame because I really liked them. I would recommend the book.

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  5. guy22 May 2020 at 03:25

    Another recommendation from me. A v helpful book and I would buy volume 2 if it came out. As Robbie says, the drawings/illustrations are v stylistic but they do the job. With regards to the price, the subject is pretty specialised and of interest to a relatively small audience so I can't imagine the book sales are that high.

    Guy

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  6. Ralphus23 May 2020 at 03:32

    Apparently David is writing for Helion now and will eventually revisit this subject

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