What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Men at Arms #296
Louis XV's Army (1) : Cavalry & Dragoons
France had a population of between 22 and 25 million at this time, and maintained the largest standing army in Europe. In peacetime it might have amounted to about 200,000 men; in times of war, it could be anything up to half a million. A substantial part of Louis XV's army consisted of numerous regiments of guard cavalry, heavy cavalry and dragoon regiments, which were considered the best and noblest part. These many units form the subject matter in this first of five fascinating volumes [Men-at-Arms 296, 302, 304, 308 & 313] by René Chartrand covering the army of Louis XV's.
50 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2015
I picked this up because the topic covered is quite a bit outside my usual area of expertise and I've become more interested in the period after reading some cool books with 'Flintlock Fantasy' settings recently (Promise of Blood and even more so The Thousand Names).
The opening provided a brief, accessible summary of the topic that I found to be really well done. Unfortunately it was downhill from there. Literally two-thirds of this book is dedicated to the uniforms worn by each and every regiment, company and unit in the French army. Ever wondered what were the livery colours of an 18th century French Dauphin? Wonder no more. Do you just have to know what colour coat was worn by the Cuirassiers du Roi? This book contains the shocking truth:
What made the seemingly never-ending descriptions of uniforms (that I quickly started skimming, then outright skipping) even more frustrating was that in between there was some really interesting information on how these units worked. The way that commissions in these 'gentleman's units' were extremely expensive and how that expenditure caused CO's to treat their commands as feudal fiefs to the detriment of the army as a whole, the young nobleman given positions within prestigious units as a kind of staff academy, the disaster of the 7 years war that resulted in the culling of the arrogant, bloated French cavalry establishment. All of these were really interesting topics that I would have been glad to read an entire chapter on but that were reduced to a paragraph each to make room for more uniforms. Especially interesting was the (typically rushed) section on the Royal Carabiniers. A crack unit recruited from the armies best horsemen and led by officers personally selected by the King for their competence this unit distinguished itself in every major battle of the period and it's members even served as instructors for other cavalry regiments. This is something that I definitely want to learn more about.
So yeah; if you like flamboyant 18th century uniforms you'll like this one. If you like history, not so much.
The opening provided a brief, accessible summary of the topic that I found to be really well done. Unfortunately it was downhill from there. Literally two-thirds of this book is dedicated to the uniforms worn by each and every regiment, company and unit in the French army. Ever wondered what were the livery colours of an 18th century French Dauphin? Wonder no more. Do you just have to know what colour coat was worn by the Cuirassiers du Roi? This book contains the shocking truth:
What made the seemingly never-ending descriptions of uniforms (that I quickly started skimming, then outright skipping) even more frustrating was that in between there was some really interesting information on how these units worked. The way that commissions in these 'gentleman's units' were extremely expensive and how that expenditure caused CO's to treat their commands as feudal fiefs to the detriment of the army as a whole, the young nobleman given positions within prestigious units as a kind of staff academy, the disaster of the 7 years war that resulted in the culling of the arrogant, bloated French cavalry establishment. All of these were really interesting topics that I would have been glad to read an entire chapter on but that were reduced to a paragraph each to make room for more uniforms. Especially interesting was the (typically rushed) section on the Royal Carabiniers. A crack unit recruited from the armies best horsemen and led by officers personally selected by the King for their competence this unit distinguished itself in every major battle of the period and it's members even served as instructors for other cavalry regiments. This is something that I definitely want to learn more about.
So yeah; if you like flamboyant 18th century uniforms you'll like this one. If you like history, not so much.
July 20, 2017
Beautifully illustrated with good details on the individual regiments. I wish there was more on tactics.
October 19, 2019
Osprey Publishing Men-At-Arms publication.
August 12, 2008
Another good Osprey title combining concise text and good illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews