The War of Wars: The Great European Conflict, 1793-1815

by Robert Harvey

At the turn of the 18th century the greatest nations in Europe, separated by only 21 miles of water, offered history two distinct ideals that would shape the new century: England was a democratic, constitutional monarchy; while France had suffered the cataclysm of Revolution which ripped the absolute King from the throne and replaced him with the Mob. Out of this emerged, Napoleon Bonaparte, commander of the revolutionary army, who would conquer Italy and Egypt before returning to Paris to proclaim himself Emperor. As Napoleon gained power in France, the world stood on the brink of total war. By 1805 the General Napoleon was making plans to cross the channel and invade England. The subsequent drama reaches from the frozen plains surrounding Moscow to the Caribbean waters, from the debating chamber of the Parliament to the muddy fields of Waterloo. The Great French Wars (1793-1815) can truly be called the first global war; and also the first conflict driven by industrial might. Mostly, it was a battle between commanders that history will never forget; as Napoleon's revolutionary guard ravaged Europe, men like the Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, and their allies, stopped Napoleon's complete domination of the continent.

Genres: History

Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Zachary Barker]

*Disclaimer. The paper version of this book is much more preferable to the Kindle version. To be frank the Kindle version is badly edited and buggy. With the paper copy it is also far easier to access the maps of the various battles of the age.*

This is an epic historical non-fiction recounting of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars which took place over a period of 26 years, from the late 18th century to the early 19th century.

Great books inspire enduring fascinations. It was my first reading of this book which inspired my own enduring fascination with this era of history. My second reading of this book, while not quite as enthralling as before was definitely a strong narrative guided by an author with some frank opinions.

The author states his objective at the start. While mountains of books have been made about the various episodes of this massive historical era of struggle, this author’s main aim is to make the reader appreciate the magnitude of the events of this entire era and their consequences.

The author’s personal opinions are pretty evident from the start where the author sets the scene. Robert Harvey gives a rather idealistic portrayal of the UK in the 18th century. Although he did point out the relevant significance of the UK being in the wake of the industrial revolution. There are some vivid portraits of British political figures who were significant throughout this period, not in the least the UK’s youngest ever Prime Minister Willam Pitt the Younger.

Harvey makes clear that the wars waged by France were not started by Napoleon, but merely continued and then expanded by him. Far from Napoleon creating the French War Machine, revolutionary figures like Carnot and General Doumouriez and Miranda did much to turn it into the weapon he used to take over much of Western Europe.

The author meticulously charts the course of events, navigating every land and sea battle, the diplomatic battles and the uneasy times of peace in between. The tension, danger and spontaneity of the battles are described in a way that keeps the reader gripped. I particularly liked the Battle of Trafalgar chapter that caught the tension of the two opposing fleets gradually drifting towards each other, with the British vanguard having to weather the first shots from the enemy before they got in range to fire back. Particular care seems to be taken by the author to keep the reader aware of relative positions in Naval battles, which is commendable given their complexity.

I find that many authors who write books about Napoleon or this era of history seem to have quite definitive opinions on the man: they either can’t stand him or are in awe. This author is definitely on the former side. Sometimes he can labour on this point a bit too obviously. For instance, the reader can tell Napoleon has scant regard for the welfare of his troops through thoughtlessly ordering frontal assaults and him frequently abandoning armies in the field to deal with political problems in Paris.

Overall, on second read I believe this is still a remarkable book which is as epic in scale as the historical period which it describes. Though on second read I was more aware of it’s flaws than before. The main flaw was mainly the author indulging in allowing their personal opinions to interfere in the story telling just a bit too much. But I do not think this is by any means a reason not to read this book.

In addition to convincingly showing the true scale of the events of these 26 years, this book viscerally conveys the sense of upheaval of those times and the sheer carnage and crucial decision points of various battles. Many of the battles, the author points out, could easily have had different outcomes. Decisions not made at the height of battle can look obvious in hindsight, and often had repercussions that echoed over history.

I thought about this book when I visited the HMS Victory in Portsmouth a few years ago. On the ship a plaque on a part of the deck shows the corner where Viscount Nelson died after being mortally wounded during the Battle of Trafalgar. In many ways the people this book did the most justice too was to people like him. These men were undoubtedly flawed individuals, some deeply so. But what cannot be denied is that they had inspiring physical courage and bravery. Sometimes it determined the fate of nations.

[Callum]

All in all, I did really enjoy this book. It covered everything you needed to know about the Napoleonic Wars to get a deeper understanding of the times across Europe. It was easy to read and very well paced, so reading this never felt too much of a challenge.