The Patterns of War since the Eighteenth Century by Larry H. Addington (review)

Abstract

646 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE II. What distinguishes the post—World War II period is not that science and technology propel the arms race—military-technological change, I repeat, has normally had external sources—but that military authorities have come eagerly to accept or even promote (rather than usually to resist) the introduction of new weapons. Although several of the articles make the same mistake, they offer compensating virtues. The introductory essay does not. It takes almost no advantage of the insights provided in the articles it purports to introduce. It is fortunate that the reverse is also true: The articles entirely ignore the structural-functional explanatory model posited in the introduction. In short, forget about the introduction, use the articles that may be relevant to your particular needs, and wait for the book that will really address the interactions of science, technology, and the military. Barton C. Hacker Dr. Hacker sometimes teaches courses in the history of technology and other subjects at Oregon State University and is completing his latest book, Elements of Controversy: Nuelear Weapons Testing, Radiation Safety, and the AEC, 1947—1974, which continues The Dragons Tail: Radiation Safety in the Manhattan Project, 1942—1946 (Berkeley, 1987). The Patterns of War through the Eighteenth Century. By Larry H. Adding­ ton. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Pp. xii+161; illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. $22.50 (cloth); $10.95 (paper). There has long been a need for a one-volume textbook covering the history of warfare from prehistory to Napoleon. Such a book should note the changes in strategy, tactics, logistics, and technology that affected early warfare. At the same time, it should be easy to read, to satisfy its undergraduate readers, and comprehensive enough to present a good and accurate survey for scholars. To try to fill this void, Larry H. Addington has written The Patterns of War through the Eighteenth Century. Unfortunately, Addington’s book is so filled with errors, misinterpretations, and mishandled secondary sources that we must still wait for an adequate survey of this important subject. The factual errors are especially conspicuous. Many statements made by Addington are highly questionable, and some are simply wrong. These are too numerous to mention in this review; however, it should be noted that Addington seems to be particularly lost when referring to military technology. For example, a Roman shield was a scutum, not a scrutum (p. 26). Most castles were not built in the 13th and 14th centuries (pp. 61—62). In fact, more castles were built in England, Germany, and France during the 12th century than in the 13th and 14th centuries combined. The trebuchet was not only a counterweight stone-throwing machine, but more often a traction- TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 647 powered artillery piece that relied on the pull of several burly men for its power (p. 62). The Swiss army was not the only army that held its own against cavalry in the 14th century (pp. 64—65). The Scots, English, and Flemings all had success against cavalry-based armies. Hand-held gunpowder weapons did not appear for the first time in the 16th century (p. 68), nor were the Spaniards the first to use them (p. 75). They were certainly known at the end of the 14th century and were used by Burgundian, French, English, German, Italian, and Swiss troops before the Spanish army used them. Finally, Charles VIII was not the first to mount his gunpowder artillery on wheeled carriages (p. 74). This, too, was a product of the mid-15th-century Burgundian army. Other statements show a simple lack of understanding of early warfare. Addington often accepts without reservation the inflated numbers of soldiers mentioned in original sources. He states uncrit­ ically that there were more than 200,000 Persian soldiers, 1,200 warships, and 3,000 supply ships attacking Greece under Xerxes in 480 (p. 12), more than 200,000 Roman casualties in the First Punic War (p. 30), more than 20,000 Moorish cavalry at the battle of Tours (p. 50), more than 8,000 Viking warriors at the battle of Stamford Bridge (p. 53), and more than 4,500 knights and 30,000 foot composing the...