How Early Modern wars were fought — the Military Revolution

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The idea that between c1500 and 1750 gunpowder weapons transformed the scale, cost and organisation of war, reshaping armies and the state.

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Michael Roberts, in 1955, focusing on Sweden c1560–1660 — new tactics, drill and bigger armies that reshaped society.

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In 1988 he widened it to include the new bastion fortresses and naval power, and argued the change was gradual over a longer period.

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An infantry system where pikemen (long spears) protected musketeers while they reloaded; the two worked as a team through the 1500s and 1600s.

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The faster flintlock musket plus the bayonet, so every soldier was both gunman and spearman — pikemen were no longer needed.

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Heavy cannon could batter tall, thin stone walls until they collapsed, so even mighty castles could fall in days.

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A low, thick, angled 'star' fortress with jutting bastions, designed to absorb and deflect cannon fire and let defenders sweep every approach.

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It made fortresses very hard to storm, so wars became long, costly campaigns of sieges rather than quick battles.

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Castle: tall, thin walls that cannon shatter. Trace italienne: low, thick, sloped, angled walls that deflect or absorb cannon fire.

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A permanent, professional, paid army kept all year round, even in peacetime, rather than temporary troops raised only for one campaign.

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A state organised mainly to raise taxes, borrow money and build a bureaucracy to pay for war — the idea that 'war made the state'.

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Ships were built around rows of side cannon; firing a broadside shattered enemies, and larger navies mattered for trade, empire and blockade.