Samuel Dodson

Profile

I am an avid lover of military history, having studied wars across all continents and time periods. Having fallen in love with the "Long Eighteenth Century", my research has delved deeply into this area, building a strong affinity for the wars that happened in Western Europe, particularly those involving Prussia and Britain. In my spare time I also enjoy discovering Japanese military history, most notably during the late Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama Periods.

I studied my Undergraduate at the University of Hull where I undertook a dissertation on the Swedish army in the Thirty Years War. Following on from my Masters, which analysed the battlefield improvements of the British army in the Seven Years War, I am now studying my PhD at the University of Leeds, investigating the success of the Allied army in western Germany during the Seven Years War.

Research interests

My research investigates the aspects of armies in the Eighteenth Century, and generally how war was conducted during this time frame. My PhD analyses the success of the British army as a part of the coalition of forces that composed the Allied army in western Germany during the Seven Years War. My area of interest covers the largely understudied campaigns of western Germany, rather than the more popular American theatre, which has garnered wider historical attention. By covering this area I not only identify Britain’s prior close relations with other European powers, but can also critically analyse the ability of its army compared to these European forces. As suggested, my research connects British and European history, and while focused on the Seven Years War, it also delves into the whole “Long Eighteenth Century”. While grounded in military history, my PhD also studies the areas of politics and logistics, while my research interests have delved deeply into education history through the academies of the mid-eighteenth century, as well as scientific history focusing on ballistics.

Conferences

• Lancaster Histfest 2018: ‘British Artillery during the Seven Years War
• ‘Redcoats, Tommies and Dusty Warriors’ Conference, University of Leeds 2018: ‘British Artillery during the Seven Years War.
• ‘Preparing for Battle’ Conference, University of Leeds 2019: ‘Eighteenth Century Military Literature’.
• British Society for the History of Science Conference 2020: ‘Benjamin Robins, the Ballistics Revolution and its effects on the artillery of the mid-Eighteenth Century.’ (Cancelled).
• Society for the History of War New Voices Conference 2020: ‘Irregular warfare during the Seven Years War: a reappraisal of the similarities and differences of the two campaigning regions of Europe and America.’ (Cancelled).
• British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies 50th Annual Conference, 2021: ‘Courage, Honour and Phlegm: An investigation into military intellectual’s opinions on the psychology of combat in the eighteenth century.

Publications

‘Note 2001: The Death of Major Richard Davenport’, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research (2019) 213-298 (p.286).

Book Reviews

Samuel Dodson, Prussian Army Soldiers and the Seven Years War: The Psychology of Honour. By Möbius, Katrin and Möbius, Sascha. London: Bloomsbury. 2020. 228 p. 3 b. and w. illus. $103.50 (hb). ISBN 978-1-350-08157-4., https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.12750

Grants

Society for Army Historical Research, University Research Major Grant 2020

Qualifications

• BA History, University of Hull
• MRes History, University of Leeds