The Seven Years? War was the world?s first global conflict, spanning five continents and the critical sea lanes that connected them. This book is the fullest account ever written of the French navy?s role in the hostilities. It is also the most complete survey of both phases of the war: the French and Indian War in North America (1754?60) and the Seven Years? War in Europe (1756?63), which are almost always treated independently. By considering both phases of the war from every angle, award-winning historian Jonathan R. Dull shows not only that the two conflicts are so interconnected that neither can be fully understood in isolation but also that traditional interpretations of the war are largely inaccurate. His work also reveals how the French navy, supposedly utterly crushed, could have figured so prominently in the War of American Independence only fifteen years later. ø A comprehensive work integrating diplomatic, naval, military, and political history, The French Navy and the Seven Years? War thoroughly explores the French perspective on the Seven Years? War. It also studies British diplomacy and war strategy as well as the roles played by the American colonies, Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and Portugal. As this history unfolds, it becomes clear that French policy was more consistent, logical, and successful than has previously been acknowledged, and that King Louis XV?s conduct of the war profoundly affected the outcome of America?s subsequent Revolutionary War.

The outbreak of the Seven Years War saw the formation of new alliances and led to the conduct of military operations in several theaters simultaneously. The campaign of 1757 saw large-scale maneuvers, with their necessary operational corollaries of supply and logistics, as France put an army of 100,000 men into the field. The conduct of the campaign also testifies to the difficulty of exercising command in the face of a court and a government for which short-term results took precedence over means. Notwithstanding such difficulties, the campaign of the French armies in Westphalia saw its climax play out around the village of Hastenbeck on 26 July 1757, where the forces of Maréchal d'Estrées gained a victory that came close to knocking Hanover out of the war. The story of the campaign can be told from the human perspective thanks to the large body of memoirs and letters from officers, both general and subordinate, of cavalry and infantry regiments. Having left their garrisons four months earlier, they had come to battle at the gates of Hanover after having traveled more than 600 kilometers through the Low Countries and into Germany.

The closest thing to total war before the First World War, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These methods ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by personal diaries, memoirs, and official reports.

In The Seven Years’ War: Global Views, Mark H. Danley, Patrick J. Speelman, and sixteen other contributors reach beyond traditional approaches to the conflict. Chapters cover previously-understudied aspects of the war in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere.

A People's Army documents the many distinctions between British regulars and Massachusetts provincial troops during the Seven Years' War. Originally published by UNC Press in 1984, the book was the first investigation of colonial military life to give equal attention to official records and to the diaries and other writings of the common soldier. The provincials' own accounts of their experiences in the campaign amplify statistical profiles that define the men, both as civilians and as soldiers. These writings reveal in intimate detail their misadventures, the drudgery of soldiering, the imminence of death, and the providential world view that helped reconcile them to their condition and to the war.