Download or read book Napoleon s Army written by H. C. B. Rogers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-12-31 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many books have been written about Napoleon and his campaigns, but very little about the soldiers of his armies and of the organization and conditions under which they lived and served. In this classic study, now reissued in paperback, H.C.B. Rogers examines Napoleon's army in terms of its staff systems, its arms and its supporting services as it existed and changed during the long period that separated the battles of Valmy and Waterloo. This is not another history of Napoleon's campaigns. Apart from the brief narrative of the opening chapter designed to serve as an aide-memoire, military operations are only cited to illustrate organization, tactics, equipment and administration. The author seeks to show how, as Lord Wavell put it, Napoleon inspired 'a ragged, mutinous, half-starved army and made it fight as it did'.
Download or read book Blundering to Glory written by Owen Connelly and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned for its accuracy, brevity, and readability, this book has long been the gold standard of concise histories of the Napoleonic Wars. Now in an updated and revised edition, it is unique in its portrayal of one of the world's great generals as a scrambler who never had a plan, strategic or tactical, that did not break down or change of necessity in the field. Distinguished historian Owen Connelly argues that Napoleon was the master of the broken play, so confident of his ability to improvise, cover his own mistakes, and capitalize on those of the enemy that he repeatedly plunged his armies into uncertain, seemingly desperate situations, only to emerge victorious as he "blundered" to glory. Beginning with a sketch of Napoleon's early life, the book progresses to his command of artillery at Toulon and the "whiff of grapeshot" in Paris that netted him control of the Army of Italy, where his incredible performance catapulted him to fame. The author vividly traces Napoleon's campaigns as a general of the French Revolution and emperor of the French, knowledgeably analyzing each battle's successes and failures. The author depicts Napoleon's "art of war" as a system of engaging the enemy, waiting for him to make a mistake, improvising a plan on the spot-and winning. Far from detracting from Bonaparte's reputation, his blunders rather made him a great general, a "natural" who depended on his intuition and ability to read battlefields and his enemy to win. Exploring this neglected aspect of Napoleon's battlefield genius, Connelly at the same time offers stirring and complete accounts of all the Napoleonic campaigns.
Download or read book Napoleon s Regiments written by Digby Smith and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best single-volume reference book on the regiments of Napoleon's army, with details of unit organization and history plus biographies of 200 regimental officers.
Download or read book Napoleon s Army in Russia written by Albrecht Adam and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1812 Napoleon's magnificent army invaded Russia. Among the half a million men who crossed the border was Albrecht Adam, a former baker, a soldier and, most importantly for us, a military artist of considerable talent. As the army plunged ever deeper into a devastated Russia Adam sketched and painted. In all he produced 77 colour plates of the campaign and they are as fresh and dramatic as the day they were produced. They show troops passing along dusty roads, bewildered civilians, battles and their bloody aftermath, burning towns and unchecked destruction. The memoirs which accompany the plates form a candid text describing the war Adam witnessed. Attached to IV Corps, composed largely of Italians, he was present at all the major actions and saw the conquerors march triumphantly into Moscow. But, from then on, the invading army's fate was sealed and the disastrous outcome of the war meant that the year 1812 would become legendary as one of the darkest chapters in history.
Download or read book Napoleon s Grande Arm e of 1813 written by Scott Bowden and published by Da Capo Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 1990 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Armies of the Napoleonic Wars Research Series is a factual in-depth study of the armies, battles, and leaders of the Age of Napoleon. "The principal purpose of the volume is to bring together the most information practical on the raising and formation of Napoleon's war machine, its level of training, combat effectiveness and the opinions of strengths and weaknesses made by the people closest to the army - the officers and ministers themselves." This volume includes extensive, detailed parade states of the army throughout 1813 and is purposely written in a succinct manner which relates to the subject matter. A detailed history of Napoleon's Grand Armee of 1813, this volume is an absolute must for any Napoleonic enthusiast, historian or wargamer; a gold mine of information, insights, and the key for understanding the crucial campaign of 1813.
Download or read book Napoleon s Grande Arm e written by Charles River Editors and published by . This book was released on 2019-10-28 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading Nearly 50 years after Napoleon met his Waterloo, generals across the West continued to study his tactics and engage their armies the same way armies fought during the Napoleonic Era. Despite advances in military technology and the advent of railroads for transportation, all of which made defensive warfare more effective, acclaimed military geniuses like Robert E. Lee used flank attacks and infantry charges against superior numbers in an effort to win decisive victories, and it would not be until World War I that concepts of modern warfare made the Napoleonic Era of the early 19th century outdated. For those questioning why generals continued using tactics from the Napoleonic Era even as technology changed the battlefield, the Battle of Austerlitz may provide the best answer. Napoleon is regarded as one of history's greatest generals, and Austerlitz was his greatest victory. In 1805, Britain, Austria, and Russia allied together to form the Third Coalition against the French, and the Third Coalition's forces consisted of armies from Austria and Russia, with Britain providing naval support as well as its financial powers. Napoleon had already defeated and mostly destroyed an Austrian army in October at Ulm before it could link up with the Russians, setting the stage for the Battle of Austerlitz to be the culmination of the war against the Third Coalition as a whole in early December. Despite the smashing victory at Ulm, Napoleon's French army would still be well outnumbered at Austerlitz by a joint Russo-Austrian army in a battle that would also come to be known as the Battle of Three Emperors. Napoleon's enemies would famously say he was worth 50,000 men in the field, but the simple truth is he wasn't able to dominate Europe on his own. In fact, the subordinates and soldiers underneath him participated in several of history's most famous battles and charted the course of Napoleon's rise and fall. The French army which became known as the Grande Armée existed for just 10 years, from 1805 - 1815, and the question of what it was about this army that allowed it to win so many notable victories and to survive defeats which would have destroyed lesser armies has fascinated historians and writers ever since. After all, in terms of equipment, weapons, and battlefield tactics, there was little to distinguish the Grande Armée from other European armies in the early 1800s, but in battles such as Austerlitz (1805), Jena-Auerstedt (1806) and Wagram (1809) it won stunning victories, often against numerically superior enemies. No single factor can account for these victories, which could be attributed to a combination of high morale, a truly egalitarian approach to promotion from the ranks, a radical army organization, and the inspired leadership of Napoleon, all of which combined to make the Grande Armée virtually unbeatable for the first few years of its existence. As noteworthy as those battles all were, Waterloo is the most famous battle in modern history if not all of history, and appropriately so. Gathering an army of 100,000 men, Napoleon marched into what is now Belgium, intent on driving his force between the advancing British army under the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian forces under Marshal Blucher. It was the kind of daring strategy that only Napoleon could pull off, as he had at places like Jena and Austerlitz. At Waterloo, however, it would end disastrously, as Napoleon's armies were unable to dislodge Wellington and unable to keep the Prussians from linking up with the British. The battle would end with the French suffering nearly 60% casualties, the end of Napoleon's reign, and the restructuring of the European map. Simply put, the next 200 years of European history can be traced back to the result of the battle that day in 1815.
Download or read book Forging Napoleon s Grande Arm e written by Michael J Hughes and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2012-05-07 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating study exploring the motivation of French soldiers during the Napoleonic Era, and the process through which they became Napoleon’s men.”—Frederick C. Schneid, author of Napoleon’s Conquest of Europe The men who fought in Napoleon’s Grande Armée built a new empire that changed the world. Remarkably, the same men raised arms during the French Revolution for liberté, égalité, and fraternité. In just over a decade, these freedom fighters, who had once struggled to overthrow tyrants, rallied to the side of a man who wanted to dominate Europe. What was behind this drastic change of heart? In this ground-breaking study, Michael J. Hughes shows how Napoleonic military culture shaped the motivation of Napoleon’s soldiers. Relying on extensive archival research and blending cultural and military history, Hughes demonstrates that the Napoleonic regime incorporated elements from both the Old Regime and French Revolutionary military culture to craft a new military culture, characterized by loyalty to both Napoleon and the preservation of French hegemony in Europe. Underscoring this new, hybrid military culture were five sources of motivation: honor, patriotism, a martial and virile masculinity, devotion to Napoleon, and coercion. Forging Napoleon’s Grande Armée vividly illustrates how this many-pronged culture gave Napoleon’s soldiers reasons to fight. “Hughes offers a tight and well-grounded exposition and analysis of French military culture in the Napoleonic period in which military honour is presented as a dynamic element.” —Journal of European Studies “Hughes’s book not only contributes to our understanding of the military success of Napoleon’s army, but also elegantly employs cultural history methods to better understand army operations and sustained troop motivations.” —Julia Osman, History: Reviews of New Book
Download or read book Napoleon s Mercenaries written by Guy Dempsey and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-02-29 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This superb and comprehensive book details the foreign units which formed such an important part of Napoleon's forces. It examines each non-French unit in turn, giving an overview of the unit's origins, its organizational and combat history, its uniforms and standards, and details of the unit's eventual fate. Colourful accounts, taken from contemporary reports and memoirs, emphasize the qualities of the unit and throw light on what life was like for many of the foreign soldiers recruited into the Grande Armée. In total more than 100 different foreign units that served in the French Army are investigated in detail in this ambitious publication. Some foreign units fought and flourished throughout the Consulate and Empire, whilst others lasted for just a few months. Covers Polish, German, Swiss, Italian, Spanish, and other units in the French Army and presents a combat history and details uniforms for each regiment. Napoleon's Mercenaries is the best single-volume study of this aspect of Napoleon s army and a vital reference for every Napoleonic enthusiast. Little can be found on the foreign units that were an integral part of the French army ... For a long time a gap has existed, but now Napoleon s Mercenaries fills this gap. Robert Burnham, Napoleonic Series
Download or read book Life in Napoleon s Army written by Philip Haythornthwaite and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1995-02-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Napoleonic Library is an outstanding collection of seminal works on the Napoleonic Wars. It features evocative contemporary memoirs and makes available once again the classic works on the subject by military historians.
Download or read book Uniforms of Napoleon s Army written by Carle Vernet and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2002 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Napoleonic armies went into battle dressed in resplendent, brilliant uniforms. None were grander than those worn by Napoleon's own soldiers and the troops of imperial France dazzled Europe with their elegant and colorful turnout. In 1812 Napoleon was at the height of his powers and the uniform regulations issued in that year reflect the empire's power and prestige. Carle Vernet, a leading French military artist, was commissioned to paint the regulations so they could be published and circulated to military tailors. His paintings both reflect the brilliant elegance of the time and show the uniforms that were to be adopted in detail. Uniforms of Napoleon's Army has selected the best of Vernet's elegant images and covers the full range of French Army units: heavy cavalry, light cavalry, line infantry, light infantry, artillery, engineers and support troops. An Introduction charts the evolution of French military uniforms, examines the 1812 regulations in detail and places the images in context. Published for the first time in an accessible format, these brilliant images offer a unique insight into the art of the military tailor during the Napoleonic period.
Download or read book Napoleon s Waterloo Army written by Paul L. Dawson and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-10-30 with total page 941 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Waterloo: The Truth at Last “sheds new light on the campaign of 1815 and surely will satisfy all with an interest in the Napoleonic Era” (The Napoleonic Historical Society Newsletter). When Napoleon returned to Paris after exile on the Island of Elba, he appealed to the European heads of state to be allowed to rule France in peace. His appeal was rejected and the Emperor of the French knew he would have to fight to keep his throne. In just eight weeks, Napoleon assembled 128,000 soldiers in the French Army of the North and on 15 June moved into Belgium (then a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands). Before the large Russian and Austrian armies could invade France, Napoleon hoped to defeat two coalition armies, an Anglo-Dutch-Belgian-German force under the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army led by Prince von Blücher. He nearly succeeded. Paul Dawson’s examination of the troops who fought at Ligny, Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, is based on thousands of pages of French archival documents and translations. With hundreds of photographs of original artifacts, supplemented with scores of lavish color illustrations, and dozens of paintings by the renowned military artist Keith Rocco, Napoleon’s Waterloo Army is the most comprehensive, and extensive, study ever made of the French field army of 1815, and its uniforms, arms and equipment. “Contains many rare and previously unpublished images in the form of full color drawings and photographs of surviving relics. As with the earlier volumes, this book will appeal to and be enjoyed by a wide readership with special interest for historians, military history enthusiasts, Napoleonic War enthusiasts and re-enactors.” —Firetrench
Download or read book Guibert written by Jonathan Abel and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If there was one man, other than Napoleon himself, who determined the course of the Napoleonic Wars, it was Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert, the foremost military theorist in France from 1770 to his death in 1790. Taking in the full scope of the times, from the ideas of the Enlightenment to the passions of the French Revolution, Jonathan Abel’s Guibert is the first book in English to tell the remarkable story of the man who, through his pen and political activity, truly earned the title of Father of the Grande Armée. In his Essai général de tactique, published in 1771, Guibert set forth the definitive institutional doctrine for the French army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. But unlike many other martial theorists, Guibert, who served in the French Ministry of War from 1775 to 1777 and again from 1787 to 1789, was able to put his ideas into practice. Drawing on a wealth of primary source documents—including Guibert’s own papers and the letters and memoirs of his friends and associates—Jonathan Abel re-creates the temper of an era of great turbulence and remarkable creativity. More than a military theorist, Guibert was very much a man of his day; he attended salons, wrote poetry and plays, and was inducted into the Académie française. A fiery figure, he rose and fell from power, lived and loved fiercely, and died swearing that he would “find justice.” In Abel’s account, Guibert does at last receive a measure of justice: a thorough, painstakingly documented picture of this complex man in the thick of extraordinary times, building the foundation for Napoleon's success between 1796 and 1807—and in significant ways, changing the course of European history.
Download or read book Napoleon s Great Adversary written by Gunther E. Rothenberg and published by Spellmount, Limited Publishers. This book was released on 2007-09-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The largest force continually engaged against Napoleon was not the British army and Wellington, but the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army led by Archduke Charles. Gunter Rothenberg's work remains the definitive volume on the forces that inflicted the first defeat on the French and participated in all the Continental wars of the period.
Download or read book Napoleon s Military Machine written by Philip J. Haythomthwaite and published by Spellmount, Limited Publishers. This book was released on 2017-09-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Haythornthwaite brings his reputation as a leading Napoleonic historian to bear on the examination of all parts of the French army: the cavalry, infantry, artillery, Imperial Guard, staff and supporting services. Napoleon's innovations and tactics are described, from Austerlitz to Waterloo, demonstrating the reasons for his success and decline.
Download or read book Nationalizing France s Army written by Christopher J. Tozzi and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2016-05-30 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the French Revolution, tens of thousands of foreigners served in France’s army. They included troops from not only all parts of Europe but also places as far away as Madagascar, West Africa, and New York City. Beginning in 1789, the French revolutionaries, driven by a new political ideology that placed "the nation" at the center of sovereignty, began aggressively purging the army of men they did not consider French, even if those troops supported the new regime. Such efforts proved much more difficult than the revolutionaries anticipated, however, owing to both their need for soldiers as France waged war against much of the rest of Europe and the difficulty of defining nationality cleanly at the dawn of the modern era. Napoleon later faced the same conundrums as he vacillated between policies favoring and rejecting foreigners from his army. It was not until the Bourbon Restoration, when the modern French Foreign Legion appeared, that the French state established an enduring policy on the place of foreigners within its armed forces. By telling the story of France’s noncitizen soldiers—who included men born abroad as well as Jews and blacks whose citizenship rights were subject to contestation—Christopher Tozzi sheds new light on the roots of revolutionary France’s inability to integrate its national community despite the inclusionary promise of French republicanism. Drawing on a range of original, unpublished archival sources, Tozzi also highlights the linguistic, religious, cultural, and racial differences that France’s experiments with noncitizen soldiers introduced to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French society. Winner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Work of Scholarship in Eighteenth-Century Studies
Download or read book Napoleon s Army written by H. C. B. Rogers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-12-31 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many books have been written about Napoleon and his campaigns, but very little about the soldiers of his armies and of the organization and conditions under which they lived and served. In this classic study, now reissued in paperback, H.C.B. Rogers examines Napoleon's army in terms of its staff systems, its arms and its supporting services as it existed and changed during the long period that separated the battles of Valmy and Waterloo. This is not another history of Napoleon's campaigns. Apart from the brief narrative of the opening chapter designed to serve as an aide-memoire, military operations are only cited to illustrate organization, tactics, equipment and administration. The author seeks to show how, as Lord Wavell put it, Napoleon inspired 'a ragged, mutinous, half-starved army and made it fight as it did'.
Download or read book Napoleon s Overseas Army written by René Chartrand and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1989-07-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, France possessed numerous colonies spread over three continents. To defend and keep the peace in these territories, a small army of colonial troops, distinct from the metropolitan line regiments or marines, had existed since the days of Louis XIV. This book examines the history and uniforms of the often-overlooked French armies in Saint-Domingue, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Lucia, Tobago, Ile-de-France, La Réunion, Pondichéry, Guiana, Senegal and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The text is backed by numerous illustrations offering a rare glimpse into dress and equipment of Napoleon's overseas army.
