Battles in History: case studies and analysis models

Recommended Prerequisites

Good knowledge of the political history of Europe from Antiquity to the 20th century

Teaching Methods

The teaching of this course is based on theoretical-practical classes, supported by a great amount of iconographic and audiovisual materials (maps, copies of arms, drawings/photos of castles, battle plans, film documentaries), as well as by the analysis of some written documents carefully chosen

Learning Outcomes

Students are expected to understand and be able to contextualize the evolution of the tactical models and martial strategies used in the West for more than three thousand years (1285 b. C. – 1945). The analysis models more suitable for each period and for each “case study” will also be identified taking into account the specificities of the sources available

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. The art of war during the Pre-Classical period

a) the battle of Kadesh (1285 b.C.)

2. The art of war during the classical period

a) Alexander the Great and the battle of Gaugamela (331 b.C.)

b) the Roman army and the battle of Cannae (216 b.C.)

3. The art of war during the Early Middle Ages

a) the turning point of Adrianople (378)

b) the battle of Poitiers (732)

4. The art of war during the Central Middle Ages

a) the battle of Hastings (1066)

b) the Crusades (since 1096)

c) the Hispanic Reconquest

5. The art of war during the Late Middle Ages

a) the turning point of the beginnings of the 14th century: a new age of infantry

b) the great battles of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453)

6. The art of war during the Modern Era

a) Maurice of Nassau (1604-1679), Gustav II Adolph (1611-32) and Frederic II the Great (1740-86)

b) the Napoleonic armies

7. The art of war during the Contemporary Age

a) the First World War (1914-18)

b) the Second World War (1939-45)

c) the colonial wars

Assessment Methods

Assessement
Research work: 100.0%

Bibliography

1. Apocalipse - Da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Documentário histórico audiovisual de Daniel Costelle e Isabelle

Clarke. CC&C Louis Vaudeville, 2009 (3 DVD’s, dur. aprox. de 230 minutos).

2. Jeremy Black, European Warfare, 1660-1815. Londres, UCL Press, 1998.

3. João Gouveia Monteiro, Grandes Conflitos da História da Europa. De Alexandre Magno a Guilherme “o Conquistador”. Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2012.

4. John Hackett (ed.), Warfare in the Ancient World. Nova Iorque-Oxford-Sidney, Facts on File, 1989.

5. John Keegan, Uma História da Guerra. Trad. port., Lisboa, Tinta da China, 2009.