War Cruel and Sharp - (Warfare in History) by Clifford J Rogers (Paperback)

About the Book

A close study of the military and political strategies of Edward III and the Black Prince, whose great victories had by 1360 made England the foremost martial nation of Europe.

Book Synopsis

Contemporaries considered Edward III of England "the wisest and shrewdest warrior in the world" by 1360 the English, at the beginning of his reign considered "inferior to the wretched Scots", had become the foremost martial nation of Europe, winning famous victories against the odds at Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill, Crécy and Poitiers. Cilfford Rogers offers a thoroughly reassessment of the military and political strategies which Edward III and the Black Prince employed to achieve this astounding result.

Review Quotes

A complete and convincing reassessment of Edward's strategic planning and execution... All subsequent historians of the Hundred Years' War will have to take account of (and in my opinion accept) Rogers' conclusions, and medieval military historians generally will have to explain the modification Rogers' study forces upon the standard battle-avoiding model of medieval strategy. This is, in short, a very important book.-- "ALBION"

A worthy and distinguished contribution to scholarship on the early stages of the Hundred Years War.-- "FRENCH HISTORY"

Among the great medieval military leaders, Edward III may be the least studied. That is, until this excellent book...-- "CHOICE"

Exhilarating...persuasive...an impressive and compulsively readable book, illuminated by vivid citations from the sources and enlivened by a combative style.--J. J. N. Palmer "HISTORY"

Has surely extended the scholarship in this area... essential reading as a core text on any reading list for a course on the Hundred Years War.-- "TMR"

This impressive work makes a major contribution to our understanding of late medieval warfare... Rogers is particularly good on the particularities of conflict and campaign.-- "JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY"

This sort of book, attempting to overthrow an historical orthodoxy, is rarely this good, or this well researched....This is a major contribution to our understand of this phase of the Hundred Years War.-- "WWW.HISTORYOFWAR.ORG"