Catching up on my Reading -16. The Battle of Rocroi.

Now off and on I have something of an interest in the 30 Years War- though often not the bits that you are supposed to be interested in. No Swedes for me for a start. 

 No my main interest is the French army of that period and it's all Oliver Reed's fault aided- though he would not know it- by Gerard Depadieu and George MacDonald Fraser- and never forgetting Alexandre Dumas - but there you  go  all sorts of things can spark an interest.

 So the new publication from Helion on the Battle of Rocroi- written by Alberto Raul Esteban Ribas- an author previously unknown to me really sparked  my curiosity telling the tale of Conde's great victory for the French over the mighty Spanish army in 1643. 

In the Helion 'Century of the Soldier' series (no94 to be precise) the volume  is up to the usual Helion physical standard that we have come to expect. in all 167 pages.

 First off  Mr Ribas knows his stuff. The breadth of his knowledge of the various French and Spanish sources for the battle and the campaign is impressive. The author has done his research- this show in the extensive bibliography but more than that  the book is well written and detailed - even if the prose is occasionally a tad ponderous this does not in the least detract from the scholarship.

The treatment of the actual battle is very detailed indeed, including, as it does, a full order of battle for the French and as full an OB for the Spanish as can be gleaned from the sources. Mr Ribas takes us through the fighting almost blow by blow, citing the various anomalies in the sources which have caused some confusion to scholars over the years. This detail is never tedious and repays careful reading, but let us be clear, you will need to concentrate. I personally was left  with the conclusion that the Spanish lost the battle  by missing their chances for victory while the French won by taking advantage of every chance they had. However you will need to read this excellent book to get the benfit of Mr Ribas's narrative and  conclusions - no spoilers here ! 

The narrative is backed up by a fine selection of contemporary illustrations which show us what the troops were supposed to look like or how 17th century artists saw them.  The maps by George Anderson are in their usual clear style and make the narrative easier to follow.

 If I have one reservation it is the colour plates. They are well drawn but perhaps a bit pedestrian and suffer from a surfeit of  blue but this is my only reservation in an otherwise excellent and useful book .

Definitely recommended.

Now all I need to do is get the 40mm French and Spanish on the table !