The Art of War in Italy, 1494-1529: The Birth of Modern European Warfare Taylor by Taylor, Frederick L., Duval, Ben 9798871156957, 8871156951, B0CPSWXTZC instant download after payment.

When Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in 1494, he brought the old world crashing down. His massive cannons blasted through medieval castle walls with ease, compelling cities to surrender at the mere word of his approach. This invasion triggered the Italian Wars, a decades-long conflict that embroiled all of Europe and transformed the continent. Battle were no longer decided by the heavy cavalry that had dominated the Middle Ages but by well-drilled masses of arquebusiers and pikemen, as generals had to carefully synchronize their infantry, cavalry, and field artillery; the widespread introduction of gunpowder meanwhile triggered an evolutionary race between fortifications and artillery. The Art of War in Italy, 1494-1529: The Birth of Early Modern Warfare is a critical edition of F.L. Taylor's 1920 classic, which remains one of the best surveys of the period. In his crisp and engaging style, he reveals how the major changes took place, capturing the subtleties of military developments in their historical context. This critical edition contains a new preface examining the influence of the author’s experience in World War I, new maps, and annotations on the text.