r/historicaltotalwar

Took a quick detour on 17th/18th-century conflicts and read the MOAB on 'what if' scenarios. Forget Netflix's 'House of Dynamite'... read Annie Jacobsen's 'Nuclear War - A Scenario.'

This book only ends in one way, but it ensconces the fail-safe defense turned rapidly to offense in response to a suborbital launch. In the 24-minute timeline, this book covers launch on warning, bolt out of the blue, interceptor and counterstrike, doomsday planes, MAD policies, and of course the dreaded SLBM (ELE) lurking in underwater worldwide locations.

Operation Proud Prophet rings true.

In the dawn of the nuclear age, Albert Einstein was asked what he thought about nuclear war, to which he responded, 'I know not with what weapons WWIII will be fought, but WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones.'

Jacobsen has written several greats - 'First Platoon,' 'Area 51,' 'Operation Paperclip.' 'Biological War - A Scenario' is set to release soon.

If you want a book that slumbers in the brain like Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road,' then this is a must-read.

I finished it under three days.

Another riveting book review for FB consideration [LOL]……The Wars of LOUIS XIV 1667 - 1714.

Professor John Lynn scores high accolade’s with excellent source materiel and fantastic profile on one of Europe’s most prolific and famous monarchs. Riveting detail on the wars fought [The War of Devolution, The Dutch War, The Reunions, The Nine Years War, Protestant Revolts, the attempted usurpation of William III with restoration of the Jacobite James II, the rampant War of the Spanish Succession], battles waged [Siege of Namur (the cover), numerous sieges and capitulations, Blenheim, Ramillies, Malplaquet], the Commanders [Berwick, Boufflers, John Churchill the Duke of Marlborough, The Great Conde, Prince Eugene of Savoy, Iberville, Noailles, Rooke, Tallard, Vendome, Villars, Villeroi], and the ravishes inflicted on the landscape by the leg powered, mobile, massed fighting armies.

Major wartime innovations was scored during these conflicts, especially the Nine Years War. Flintlock replaced Matchlock, Pikeman all but disappeared from the battlefield, zigzagged interlocking trench warfare only witnessed again in WWI, and the ketched bomb mortar ships which wreaked devastation on the Flanders and Catalonian coasts. Not until the War of Spanish Succession was fixed geography of battle lines ‘a thing’.

On his deathbed, Louis XIV confided to the frightened boy of 5 who would succeed him as Louis XV ‘my legacy is ruined for I loved war too much’. Wars of Gloire came full circle.

I just wish that they won't concentrate too much on stuff like naval battles in Medieval III, instead of actually building a detailed Campaign Map. With modern technology at their hands, they should be able to build a map with at least dozens of different "countries" to play as. I also wish that the scale of the map is big enough, and not too limited.

I used to play Total War games back in the days, I liked Rome1, Medieval2 and Empire, but I really feel like these games lacked details. The same happened with Rome 2 and Attila. There weren't enough cities and too many "one city countries". That's the biggest reason I transitioned from Total War to Paradox Games, the Campaigns were ignored and Total War concentrated too much in the battles.

This picture shows the countries in Medieval II. Now, I know that technology had its limitations back in 2006. But I wish that we won't see stuff like an unified Spain in 1080, an unified HRE with no levels of vassalage or a single "Russian" nation in the east. There should be multiple Italian city-states and countries: Naples, Papal States, Emirate of Sicily, Florence, Pisa, Genoa, Milan, Venice, Siena, Lucca, etc. Multiple French, HRE, Byzantine (Roman) vassals.

Also please, I do not want ridiculous things like the whole Iberian peninsula with 6 cities. Add detail, please. There should be hundreds of different settlements in a Grand Campaign map.

If they won't concentrate on the map, I think we will see another mediocre game, like Attila, Pharaoh, etc.

I continue to reduce historical ignorance by avoiding revisionist historical narratives and accessing prime source material. Please consider Dr. Bruce Lenman. An Excellent narrative. I love this quote regarding the treatment of the Loyalists and the amusement suffered under Shelburne’s secretive peace treaty “Losers have as valid identities as, and sometimes, more honorable ones than, the often savage and always arrogantly self righteous identity which breaks them by force before burying their memory under propaganda.” A foreshadow of Lincoln’s imperial administration in the persecution of the secessionist South.