Kriegskunst in Europa 1650–1800

Between 1650 and 1800 there was hardly a year when the European armies weren't on the field of battle. Field reports, contemporary sources of pictures, and personal recordings of war soldiers document the general structural features of the warfare of this period. War and warfare were constitutive elements of the aristocratic world of life and were influenced and determined by epoch-specific norms and peculiarities of noble self-understanding, such as honor or courtesy. In the same way as ceremonial, art or festive culture, warfare was also subject to the demands of stately representation and self-presentation. Jürgen Luh explains how the aesthetics of warfare was given preference over the efficiency of weapons and equipment. As a result, changes in various military areas were made, which would have been meaningful and easy to carry out in the field. However, in all the European armies of the time, social convention prevailed before technical-tactical innovation.