Christopher Duffy (1936 – 16 November 2022) was a British

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians no ...

. Duffy read

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he graduated in 1961 with the

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. Afterwards, he taught

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationships. ...

at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

and the college of the

British General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial ...

. He was secretary-general of the British Commission for Military History and vice-president of the

Military History Society of Ireland The Military History Society of Ireland promotes the study of military history, and in particular the history of warfare in Ireland and of Irishmen in war. The Honorary Patron is the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. The society was for ...

. From 1996 to 2001, he was research professor at the

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He then worked as a freelance author. Duffy's special interest was the military history of the European

modern age The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...

, in particular the history of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, and

Austrian armed forces The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

. He wrote two books on the

Jacobite Rising Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name ...

in Scotland in 1745. He was most famous for his writings about

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. Duffy was fluent in six languages and published some twenty books about military history topics, several of which have been translated into German. Duffy died on 16 November 2022, at the age of 86.

Works

* ''The Wild Goose and the Eagle: A Life of Marshal von Browne, 1705-1757'', Chatto & Windus, 1964. * ''Borodino and the War of 1812'', Sphere, 1972. Scribner, 1973.
''Army of Frederick the Great''

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

, 1974, . (Superseded by an illustrate
second edition
in 1996, .) * ''The Army of Maria Theresa: The Armed Forces of Imperial Austria, 1740-1780'', Vancouver 1977, . (Superseded by the two volume ''The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War'' in 2000 () and 2008.) * ''Austerlitz 1805'', Shoe String Press, 1977. *
Siege Warfare
', 2 volumes, Routledge, 1979 and 1985. *
Frederick the Great: A Military Life
', London 1985. * ''The Fortress in the Age of Vauban and Frederick the Great, 1660-1789'', London 1985. * ''Russia's Military Way to the West: Origins and Nature of Russian Military Power, 1700-1800'', Routledge, 1985. *
The Military Experience in the Age of Reason
', London 1987. *
Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945
', London 1991. * ''Army of Frederick the Great'', 1974, , Second Edition, Emperor's Press, 1996. * ''Eagles over the Alps: Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland, 1799'', Emperor's Press, 1999. * ''Instrument of War: The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War'', Emperor's Press, 2000. * ''Prussia's Glory: Rossbach and Leuthen'', Emperor's Press, 2003. * ''Fire And Stone: The Science of Fortress Warfare 1660-1860'', Booksales, 2006, . * ''Through German Eyes: The British and the Somme, 1916'', London 2006. * ''The '45: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising'', Phoenix Press, 2007. * ''By Force of Arms: The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War, Volume 2'', Emperor's Press, 2008. * ''The Best of Enemies: Germans against Jacobites, 1746'', Bitter Books/Emperor's Press, 2013. * ''Fight for a Throne: The Jacobite '45 Reconsidered'', Helion and Company, 2015.

References

External links

Christopher Duffy on Emperor's Press

Christopher Duffy on Orion Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Christopher 1936 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of De Montfort University British military historians Historians of the Napoleonic Wars Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst