I orginally posted the below comments on the Early Linear Warfare Society Page.
This came into my mind as I picked up Chandler's 'Warfare in the Age of
Marlborough' from the library. In Chandler's book the period covered is 1685 to
1748.
Our date begins at 1660 when Louis XIV begins personal rule and puts Europe on
the path to the Wars of Devolution, The Dutch War, The War of the League of
Augsburg and The Spanish Succession.
Chandlers begins at 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion in England and the rise of the
early British Army with the Glourous Revoution, etc. Although he uses mostly
French and British subjects, examples he also looks at cases between the
Austrians and Turks, Dutch and Spanish.
Is 1660 a good start point? Armies begin to move away from mercenaries, adopt
standing forces with regulations and uniforms, so yes I'll buy that.
But what about our end date. I think like Chandler's book we can go to the end
of the War of Austrian Succession and the '45'.
You may debate that the WAS is too much like the SYW, but is it? Although
uniform wise it resembles the SYW and it was the cause of the SYW the warfare of the period of the WAS was more comparied to the WSS as to the SYW.
The WAS usually was fought with yearly campaign's that were based on a seige
with a perhaps a battle as a result to intervene. Sounds like the War of
Spanish Succession. Light troops were still in it's infancy and the style of
war was still limited. It was the old alliances too; Austria, The United
Kingdom and the Dutch vrs France. Marlborough would not had felt out of place
on a Austrian Succession battlefield.
Using BLB for rules gaming the War of Austrian Succession would not be to far off.
