The Fighting Man: An Illustrated History of the World’s Greatest Fighting Forces Through the Ages

392 Pages·1966·60.16 MB·English

by  Jack Coggins

T.F.M.
^9.95
JACK COGBINS
A c^ ^rehensive survey of the
world'sgreatestarmiesandsoldiers
—from ancient • .i,es to Viet Nam.
"Thehistoryofthisplanet,"theau-
thor says in his Introduction, "has
been one of blood, and all our so-
calledcivilizationhasproducedonly
bloodierandmore devastatingcon-
flicts." Throughout the ages, one
tribeafteranother, onenationafter
another, has taken up the sword,
either to defend itself or to extend
its poUtical influence.
The Fighting Manis afull-scale
examination of w^ar as it has been
foughtthroughtheagesbyitsmost
—
fundamentalunit thesoldier. Itis
astudiedevaluationofthepractical
means by which certain soldiers
haveobtainedadvantagesovertheir
enemies.Beginningwiththeancient
Egyptians, Assyrians, and Persians,
the author describes in detail the
precise nature of the warrior; his
basic weapons; the quality of his
leaders; andtheexacthistoricalcir-
cumstances \ ivich led to the crea-
tion of the \fa St fighting forces:
the Greeks, ^^ongols, the Ro-
mans, the N. the Vikings.
355. 1 Coggina
^JCoggine, Jack
*JUN 7 !876 The fighting man; an
illustrated history of tht
world's greatest fighting
fnrr-^R through the ages.
mc
J I J9/8
355.1 Coggins
Fighting man
i~puntv Free libran/
liitration Building
San Ratael, California

THE FIGHTING MAN

MAN
THE FIGHTING
AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE
WORLD'S GREATEST FIGHTING FORCES
THROUGH THE AGES
By JACK COGGINS
ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
Marin County Free Library
Civic Center Administration Building
San Raiaei, California
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 66-2O936
COPYRIGHT © 1966 BY JACK COGGINS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FIRST EDITION
1^
145422
These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled.
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.
Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended.
And saved the sum of things for pay.
"Epitaph on an Army ofMercenaries" from The Col-
lected Poems of A. E. Housman. Copyriglit 1922 by
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Copyright 1950
by Barclays Bank Ltd. Reprinted by permission of
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., The Society of
Authors asthe literary representative ofthe Estate of
the late A. E. Housman, and Jonathan Cape Ltd.,
English publishers of A. E. Housman's Collected
Poems.
Table of Contents
Introduction
the ancient world THE SWISS PIKEMEN
The Egyptians 4 THE SPANIARDS
The Assyrians 6
THE SWEDES
The Scyths 12
The Medes and Persians 13 The Lion of the North
The Boy-King
THE GREEKS i6 CROMWELL
Sparta 26
THE PRUSSIANS OF FREDERICK
Athens 31
The March of the Ten Thousand 35 THE GREAT
Thebes 38 The World in Arms
Macedonia 39 THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
Siege Warfare 45 The Armies of the Republic
THE ROMANS 48 The Empire
The Punic Wars 52 The British Redcoat
The Marian Legions 60 Waterloo
The Legions of Caesar 62 THE GERMANS
n
The Slow Death of Empire World War I
THE VIKINGS 86 The Wehrmacht
BYZANTIUM 103 THE RUSSIANS
THE NORMANS 108 Peter the Great
CRESCENT AND CROSS 114 The Napoleonic Wars
The Frontiers
THE MONGOLS 122 World War I
Genghis Khan 123 The Red Army
Subotai 127 The German Invasion
Kublai Khan 130
Today's Soldier
THE BOWMEN OF ENGLAND 131 The Cossacks
[ vi ]