The fourth and final volume and in my opinion the best as it covers aspects rarely covered in military histories. Well illustrated it is an excellent series that will soon become the classic work on the subject.
The volume deals with how the military state functioned. Various Militias are featured and their roles. Local reserve troops, armed constabularies are featured as well as recruiting and conscription. Light troops are covered and there are useful appendices on the Allied Spanish army and Portugal's army. There are good sections on the 'Wake of the army' - soldiers' families - and a chapter on caring for the body and soul of the army.
The format of the series has the first part a rolling history of the campaigns of Louis' armies. This volume deals with the early eighteenth century starting with the Camisards and taking in campaigns of the War of Spanish Succession in the Iberian peninsula, Danube, Flanders, Germany and more. Chartrand notes that the War of Spanish Succession was the largest conflict since the Thirty years war and would not be surpassed until the Napoleonic wars.
The French engineers in this age were considered the best in the world so it is crucial to the understanding the French military of this time. There is also a great chapter Guns and Gunners which investigates the various artillery formations and their uniforms. An interesting section is the Economic tremors of war and it examines the economic burden of the army. This was very interesting in particular because it was the tremendous costs that made England abandon the fray in the years that followed her famous victories. As Mr Chartrand comments sometimes war is not always decided on the battlefield.
A classic series which I recommend heartily
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