Exhaustive in scope, authoritative, magnificently illustrated, Battledress stands out as the definitive work on the uniforms of the world's great armies.

Battledress traces the evolution of uniforms from the wars of European succession to the atomic age: from the irregular, impractical garb of the eighteenth-century armies to the highly utilitarian uniforms of today. The book places their development in historical context, and integrates such factors as geography, strategy, psychological and cultural influences, and technological innovations — especially the emergence of firearms and machines of war — to explain the evolution of the uniform.

I. T. Schick, an experienced editor with a long-standing interest in military garb, has marshalled as contributors to this highly enlightening volume many outstanding experts in the field of military history, among them:

— Lord Chalfont, who served Great Britain as a soldier for twenty years before becoming Defence Correspondent of The Times, then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Disarmament in the Labour Government, author of The Sword and the Spirit and Montgomery, and regular contributor to the Journal of the Royal United Services Institution;

— Michael Barthorp, an authority on the British Army from 1700 to 1914 and author of the well-respected Crimean Uniforms – British Infantry; Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns; and Wellington's Generals;

— Hans Bleckwenn, an expert on eighteenth-century military history, who has written and edited several books on military uniforms, including the ten-volume Das Altpreussische Heer;

— Eckart Klessmann, a specialist in Napoleonic history;

— Paul Martin, former Keeper of the Museum of History in Strasbourg, author of books on uniforms and on model soldiers;

— John Mollo, author and illustrator of such works as Waterloo Uniforms and A Comparative History of the Uniforms of the Great Armies from the 17th Century to the First World War;

— Guido Rosignoli, a specialist in modern military history and writer of the authoritative Army Badges and Insignia of World War II.

Battledress is distinguished for its superlative renderings of over 700 uniforms in full color and impeccable detail by Wilhelm von Halem, a German artist with a lifelong interest in military costumes and customs. In addition, Battledress includes a number of evocative battle paintings from various epochs. Drawn principally from a private collection, most of them are reproduced here in print for the first time.