Swiss at War 1300–1500
During the 14th and 15th centuries military tactics in Europe underwent a period of sustained transformation of which the outcome was the rejuvenation of the footsoldier as the major tactical unit.
One nation alone stands principally responsible for this development – the Swiss Confederation. For centuries the mounted knights had 'ridden roughshod over the populations of Europe'. It was in the Swiss halberdier and later the pikeman that the mounted men-at-arms were to meet their match.
This absorbing text by Douglas Miller provides an account of rise of the Swiss army to its tactical zenith, beginning with the classic encounter at Morgarten.
Douglas Miller is a retired academic with an interest in the military history of Central Europe during the Renaissance and Reformation. He is the author of several books for Osprey Publishing, including 2The Landsknechts".
Gerry Embleton has been a leading historical illustrator since the early 1970s specialising in the 18th and 19th centuries. An illustrator, and author, of a number of Osprey titles he has lived in Switzerland since the early 1980s.