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Part one of this two part series looked at the Dutch infantry of the 90 years war, and the field battles. Part two looks at the cavalry, artillery and engineers, as well as the vast number of sieges involved in the war.
All three of the branches covered here evolved quite significantly during this long conflict. The two most interesting for me are the artillery and the engineers. As the war went on the Dutch improved the quality of their guns, introducing innovations that put them ahead of the rest of Europe, while their engineers became increasingly proficient and well equipped. Things like improved bridge building capabilities were very important in the low lying Netherlands, while the improvements to the artillery made the Dutch a more impressive force in sieges.
Although this book covers a very large topic in a small number of pages, there is quite a bit of information presented here, making it more than just an introduction to this interesting topic. It does probably need to be read alongside part one, to give a better idea of the overall framework for the conflict and the reforms discussed here.
Chapters
Introduction
Chronology
Cavalry
Artillery
Engineering
The Army
Conclusion
Author: Bouko de Groot
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 48
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2017