Determining Early Modern Army Strength: The Case of Electoral Saxony

Although armies grew larger during the seventeenth century, size estimates are often inaccurate. This article uses diverse sources to produce accurate troop counts for Electoral Saxony during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), concluding that its army was large only briefly. It also discusses Saxony’s overlooked role in this war. This research suggests that the military revolution thesis should be revised: army sizes did not necessarily stabilize at higher levels and war did not necessarily “make the modern state.” Saxony went to war using traditional means of raising revenue: different states responded to their challenging environment differently.