Seven Years War Officer’s Manual – Oswald von Czettritz – 1798 | First Edition, 60 Maps

The Officer’s Manual in the Field by Georg Oswald von Czettritz is a 1798 first English edition of a post-Seven Years’ War battlefield guide. This book, originally written in German, is a handbook of military formations, marches, and siege techniques illustrated with 60 maps depicting various battlefield situations. Officers used it to study camp layouts, troop movements near wooded terrain, actions under observation, trench layouts for artillery, and geometric fort designs.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Officer’s Manual in the Field: or, a Series of Military Plans, Representing the Principal Operations of a Campaign. Translated from the German
• Author(s): Georg Oswald von Czettritz
• Publisher: London, Printed by T. Bensley for Egerton, et al.
• Edition: First edition, 1798
• Format: (16mo), single volume
• Binding: Modern hardcover
• Size:  6.5 in x 5.5 in (16.5 cm x 14 cm)
• Collation: 70 p
• Illustrations: 60 engraved plates
• Contents Include:
  • Entrenched camp plans
  • Movement through wooded terrain
  • Troop actions near enemy lines
  • Siege layout and trench systems
  • Ground plans of fortified structures

Condition:

Very Good. Recently rebound with secure modern covers and original leather spine title laid down. Plates complete and well-preserved, showing moderate age wear. Text block clean and firm, with light toning on some leaves. No significant tears, annotations, or missing sections.

Why Collect This?

• First English edition of a rare field manual
• Features 60 tactical engravings from 18th-century warfare
• Designed for active officer reference in campaign conditions
• Early visual documentation of siege and fortification techniques

Item Number: # 29572