As someone who has been traditionally partial to medieval armour, weapons, and aesthetic, I originally didn't think style of warfare in the early modern period or the "Black Powder" style of warfare prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries was particularly fascinating and appealing. This was largely due to the inaccurate portrayal of the grim realities of warfare in contemporary period works at the time. however, as a history major who became acquainted with enthusiasts, connoiseurs, and aficionados of this style of warfare. it was their presence which inspired me to take the time to learn about the politics, warfare, society, and culture of the 17th and 18th centuries. it was through my studies that I came to understand how intense the aesthetic and experience of warfare was during the early modern period of european history. most artistic interpretations by the period of warfare's contemporaries as well as much of our modern interpretations of this style of warfare in both games and films make little effort in the way of expressing the visual, physical, and emotional brutality and intenseness that many young men and seasoned veterans had to face in the early modern period.

advancements in military technology such as those made in firearms and artillery transformed the face of warfare forever as opposed to the melee and armourcentric style of warfare that happened in the middle ages and the renaissance. Thus, with these new technological advancements came new, and might i argue, scarier and more visceral kinds of human cruelties and brutalities that made fighting and killing far in excess of the limits of the raw powers of the human body. The human element of warfare was also highly elevated in response to these new evolutions in the nature of warfare. with the advent of military drill and training, the physical and mental fitness and discipline of the soldiers of this period were arguably superior to the serjents, men at arms, archers, and crossbowmen who peopled the infantry of the medieval era. with the exception of the aristocratic knights who were trained from birth to be expert killers and equipped with the finest weapons, armour, and mounts. medieval infantry to the best of scholarly observation and research were fairely weaker and undiscplined in contrast to the line infantry and footmen of the early modern period, who were typically organized into a line of battle and were expected to depend on discipline and sheer individual courage to hold the line of battle in the face of opposing firepower.

However, the novelty that I came to appreciate most about the warfare and military aesthetic of this time period was the surprising amount of melee and close combat that was used in this battle, with the development of the lighter, more efficient flintlock muskets and the extinction of renaissance "Pike and Shot" formations in favour of the plug bayonets and their later innovations. regiments of line infantry would often resort to close combat or melee, which would remain strategically and tactically sound both as a means to save ammunition and fight on terrain where "The lne of fire" would be a strategically unfeasable means to fight an opponent, such as the narrow corridors of an urban settlement, strategic bottlenecks like the crossing of a bridge or the breach of a fortress, or even certain narrow and uneven terrain where froming a line of attack would be impossible due to the strategic limitations of the terrain. The other occasion where close combat and melee would also remain in a position of strategic and tactical importance in this age of warfare would be through the use of cavalry. while black powder warfare would influence the strategic and tactical use of cavalry with smaller firearms such as carbines and pistols, close combat cavalry charges with "cold steel" such as sabres and lances would continue to be the weapons and tactics of choice for many, if not most generals in the 17th and 18th centuries.

This understanding of the strategic and tactical importance of close combat and melee in early modern warfare would be enough to spark my enthusiasm for both the warfare and history of this time period. however, in coming to understand the aesthetic innacuracies of modern portrayals of medieval soldiers and warriors. i have come to realize that the rise of standard issue military uniforms is a novelty of early modern european warfare in this time period. and thus, military attire of this period was both aesthetically superior to all its predecessors from the medieval and classical periods, and would remain the alltime epitome and gold standard of military attire that would serve as the foundation and inspiration of later forms of military uniform.

Lastly, Through my personal understanding of the military expoits of the French Emperor and General Napoleon Bonaparte and his experiences leading french armies during the revolutionary and napoleonic wars. I have come to believe, taking into consideration napoleon's love for classical greek and roman military history as well as his mathematical expertise in understanding the nature of probability and calculated, strategic planning. That the individual tactics and overall military strategy of the black powder warfare of the 17th and 18th centuries centuries are largely inspired by scholarly research and understanding of military warfare as practiced by the ancient greeks and romans. The rennaissance, or the beginning of the early modern period in the 15th century was marked by an intense fascination and study of classical texts from ancient greece and rome. while originally preserved and interpreted by the literati of the roman catholic church, a growing secular interest and interpreation of these ancient texts was beginning to take prominence amongst the scholarly community of the renaissance onwards which would affect and improve all manner of life and society, and warfare and combat were no exceptions from this advancements made in the study of these antiquated texts. the organization, structure, tactics, and strategic docrines of the black powder warfare the 17th and 18th century were arguably inspired by scholarly research and interpration of greek and roman military treatises and manuscripts as well as the personal military exploits by classical greek and roman generals like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Leonidas. Both the Impact and influence such texts would have on the developments of early modern warfare would be epitomized in Napoleon's battles such as rigoli, austerlitz, and liepzig, and toulon where application of the principles behind Spartan, Macedonian, and Roman military tactics would would result in triumph for napoleon and the french empire that would result in france being the first european country to dominate europe since ancient rome. Due to the multitude and the genius of napoleon's many military victories, his battles and military exploits would continue to be studied in the presitigious setting of military academies to this very day, and the accounts of napoleons military triumphs and those of generals like him, as well as the treastises and manuscripts by military theorists of the time such as carl von clausewitz would serve as the foundational material for which all aspiring military officers to this very day continue to study as a means of developing a knowledge base for military thinking.

In conclusion to all my points. My studies of the politics, warfare, and military theory of the early modern period have opened me to chossing this game as my alltime favourite total war game. even moreso than medieval II total war, my traditional favourite of which I have spent 2000 or so hours on. For all of you who enjoy swords, armour, and melee, and hack and slash style rpg and action games, I wouldn't recommend this game to you unless you have the openness and curiousity to learn about and appreciate the political and military history of this time period.