* The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars
* Napoleon III and the militarization of Europe
* Bismark, Molkte, and the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71
* new technologies and weapons
* seapower, imperialism and naval warfare
* the origins and outbreak of the First World War.
For anyone studying, or with in interest in European warfare, this book details the evolution of land and naval warfare and highlights the swirling interplay of society, politics and military decision making.