For Orange and the States: The Army of the Dutch Republic, 1713-1772 Volume 2: Cavalry and Special Troops

The Dutch Republic was one of the great European powers during the 17th and 18th centuries. Generally, the Dutch Republic was considered to have lost that status after the Peace of Utrecht (1713); however, when the Republic entered the War of Austrian Succession in 1740, it was able to field an army for over 80,000 men, which expanded to over 110,000 men during the war, and was still a European power to be reckoned with. The losses it suffered in that conflict led to a period of decline, which in the end would result in the end of the Republic in 1795. But despite the years of neutrality, shortages, budget cuts and reorganizations, the army was still quite a formidable force. The purpose of this book is to focus on the uniforms and organisation of that army, from the Peace of Utrecht until the reforms of 1772. Volume I dealt with the history of the Dutch Republic after the War of the Spanish Succession, up to the first campaigns of the War of the Austrian Succession, with information on the uniforms, organisation and tactics of the infantry. Volume II describes steady decline of the Dutch Republic; political turmoil and corruption form the background for the information on the uniforms and tactics of the cavalry, dragoons, artillery, and specialist troops.