Napoleonic Wars.

Cassell History of Warfare

by Gunther E. Rothenberg

He inherited the armies of the French Revolution that had overthrown a monarchy--and used them to conquer a continent on a scale never seen before. Napoleon developed what was perhaps the world's first "superpower," setting a pattern that would come to fruition in the twentieth century. From descriptions of Bonaparte's rise; through the years of the Second Coalition and the Grande Armée; to the heights of victory and the depths of defeat at Waterloo, a fascinating portrait emerges of a man and his methods. 224 pages, 70 color illus., 80 b/w illus., 7 3/4 x 10 3/8.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, European History, Military Fiction, War, France

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1999

About the author

Gunther Erich Rothenberg was an internationally known military historian, best known for his publications on the Habsburg military and Napoleonic Wars.

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 1 out of 5]

My thesis still holds true: the contemporary British cannot seem to write about Napoleon without making him a deranged proto-Hitler. Even the French, who can be too kind to him, have shown far more range. Oh, and this book can be hard to follow unless you are into the era. If you are, as I am, you'll be let down by the lack of interesting ideas.

[Panu-Petteri Väänänen · Rating 4 out of 5]

On my first read I rated this 3/5. Now finishing the book for the second time I have to rate it higher. Written matter-of-factly, fine maps and a lot of beautiful paintings and drawings. The problem with my first read was that I had too little context and prior knowledge of the affairs of the age. Four years later the situation is somewhat remedied. So can't recommend this as a first or only read about the subject, but a nice addition for any enthusiasts collection for a general look on the wars.

[Anubis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short overview of the Napoleonic Wars... Lots of pictures, diagrams and paintings make this an enjoyable read. Ofc it's not a total history of the Wars, but a short overview meant to shows how war was waged since the start of the Revolution till Waterloo.

[Christopher Dove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good account of the Napoleonic Wars. It ranges from the rise of Napoleon to his final defeat at Waterloo. It is not a particularly long book and as such gives a succinct overall view of the entire war. It does concentrate almost exclucively on land warfare. Very suprisingly, the Battle of Trafalgar does not get a single mention - not even in the useful 'Chronology of the Napoleonic Wars' given at the front of the book. Similarly, Nelson is not included in the biographical notes of key participants at the back. This ignoring of the war at sea is particularly puzzling when Napoleon's Continental System was such a key element of his overall strategy. That criticism aside, this is a very good one volume account of Napoleon's Wars. There are very clear, useful and well annotated maps throughout. In addition the illustrations are carefully chosen and make the book a joy to look at as well as a pleasure to read. This book has re-ignited my interest in Napoleonic warfare, and I have taken to YouTube to watch videos that give more details of the key battles. I highly reccommend this work.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avenue de Wagram, Gare d'Austerlitz, Arc de Triomphe, Rue de Rivoli. Every tourist in Paris can verify that Napoleon's legacy is still alive. This book gives an overview of the several military campaigns Napoleon undertook. Maps show how the most important battles evolved and which parties fought against each other. Mr Rothenburg let the book start with Napoleon his first Italian campaign in 1796 as a general, after which he was sent to Egypt. At that time he was still dependent on his political commanders. As emperor, he launched his first attacks against Austria and Prussia and gained victories in Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena and Wagram. The period 1805-1807 marked truly Napoleon his zenith. Smaller revolts in Tyrol (Andreas Hofer) and Calabria against French centralization and anti-clerical measures were only smaller setbacks.

Things started to get nasty in Spain, when Napoleon pressured Spain to attack Portugal, the latter unwilling to participate at the Continental Blockade. During the Peninsular War (1809-1813), British regulars under Arthur Wellesley (the later Duke of Wellington) and Spanish guerrilla successfully fought dispersed French troops. On top of that, Napoleon faced enormous logistic issues when he marched against Russia in 1812. Waterloo was just an issue of ‘too little, too late’.

Next to the military campaign, the author also examines Napoleon’s leadership and military skills. Before Napoleon became emperor, the French army was not invincible. He used conscription and foreign contingents (Polish, Illyrians, Italians, Austrians,…) for mass mobilization and used speed to aim for decisive battles. Bonaparte believed in concentrated power combined with an excellent staff, good intelligence and he systematized reforms. Rather than a great innovator, he was more a pragmatist and a personal leader. Energetic officers like Davout and Ney could make fast promotion and he inspired men to fight bravely.

But apart from his personality, many strengths could be copied. Prussia set up conscription and Great Britain and Austria scaled up their military force. His enemies became bigger, more united and more determined. France coped with an industrial lag in rifle and gun production. And even a genius like Napoleon could no longer oversee such a big army. He faced strategic overstretch. Jomini wrote down the key elements of Napoleon’s strategy and inspired generals on both sides of the American Civil War. But the Industrial Revolution drastically changed the military conditions so that tactics were impacted likewise and some of Napoleon his concepts were no longer relevant.

[Frederic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read many other books about the Napoleonic period, his life and campaigns, but this is a very good introduction to the topic. Napoleon was a great military tactician who made too many enemies and was undone by the understandable desire of neighbouring countries to see him removed from power after almost two decades of continual war.

Napoleon was not by any means genocidal, like Hitler, but he did share with Hitler an insatiable lust for more land and looted treasure, a belief in his own glorious destiny, a complete ignorance of economics and a charming tendency to make outrageous demands on other countries and then invade any nation that resisted those demands.

Like Hitler, Napoleon fought on too many fronts, suppressed the press, leaned on brutish secret police, chose commanders poorly (too much brave but dopey Ney, not enough super competent Davout), alienated enemies more than he realized through imposed economic hardship and underestimated opponents (especially Wellington) and the Russian winter, which set both dictators up for later defeat.

This book might rate five stars if the maps had been better integrated with the text. As others have noted, there are too many instances where key locations, like Ligny, are discussed in the text but are either completely absent or misspelled on the accompanying map. This is sloppy and could easily have been prevented.

For more on Napoleon and his era, see:

Napoleon Bonaparte by Alan Schom https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

How Far From Austerlitz? by Alistair Horne
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

La Chambre Noire de Longwood by Jean-Paul Kauffmann
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Napoleon and his Marshals by A.G. MacDonnell
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad about not giving a book this well-made just 3 stars. It could not get the right balance of background details and military battle details right. I think the page count had to be restricted, which is a good choice because I would not have read it any way. When you do get a good amount of background details or can follow the battle, it is a great read. There are great maps and list of characters.

[Allen Piper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is written as a textbook. Formal, straightforward, dry. Also it's only focus is of the battles and movements - hardly any time spent on political climates and actions behind the wars. If you need references on specific commanders, movements, battle scenarios this book will be helpful, but it doesn't stand on its own as a "good read".

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the Era, getting a sense of the major players and the main battles. But it also lacked an organization and felt like the author jumped without really concluding the current situation. The maps seemed to be a key focus on the back of the book but I find most lackluster. The text didn't seem to relate well to the maps and it was hard to find apparent key places, as if the text didn't consult the map and vice versa. Plus, you only need so many generals on horseback paintings. More could have been devoted to the different national troops or focus on charts explaining the coalitions, for example.

[John Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of the period and makes the point the Napoleonic Wars are the beginning of modern warfare rather than the end of the previous period.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. Lots of maps. We used this in our Rhetoric homeschool studies.

[Ryan Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very great; read this book in less than 3 days, a feat unseen in quite a while. I have always liked the topic so this felt like a very easy read.

[Robert Kuegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. It does get into the weeds of his campaigns slightly but there is still a good amount to digest and appreciate about Napoleon’s military genius.

[Zach]

"The disaster that followed could have been foreseen. Prussia was isolated - invoking the glorious past could not conceal the fact that the army had become a museum piece." p. 95

"At Tilsit Napoleon stood at the zenith of his power." p. 108

"Napoleon judged the series of battles in Bavaria, 20-24 April, among his most brilliant operations." p. 121

"When Wellington face Napoleon at Waterloo only 31,000 officers and men of his 67,000-strong army were British." p. 136

"Curiously, neither Napoleon, Wellington nor indeed any major commander had much interest in new technology. None the less, British artillery introduced two technological innovations during the conflict. The first was shrapnel - named after its inventor Lieutenant Shrapnel, Royal Artillery." p. 137

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has nice maps, and is a pretty decent overview of the Napoleonic Wars.... But it does not give any context, and a newcomer to this period or war such as myself will be easily swept away with all the names and places. I am not sure how much of this I will be able to retain without having a lot of knowledge before going into the book.

[Andrew Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only an engaging read overall, but great use of images and maps to illustrate the brilliance (and sometimes overconfidence) of Napoleon and his thrusting of Europe into 'modern' warfare. It was interesting to learn Napoleonic tactics, and then (in retrospect) recognize those tactics still in force throughout the Civil War and even World War I.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for the historical faint of heart. This is hardcore strategy and historical detail at its best. If your interested in greatness though, than this is a great choice. This is a fantastic peek into the mind of one of history's greatest leaders and strategist.

[Ben B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. This book came up when I searched "John Keegan" and "Napoleonic Wars." Unfortunately Keegan is the general editor of something called the "Smithsonian History of Warfare," and neither wrote nor edited this book.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whirlwind review of the Napoleonic Wars in just over 200 pages. Maps of the major battles are plentiful. A good resource for the Napoleonic novice and probably not a bad addition for the expert. However, in this edition, the index is completely off.

[John Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect primer for the period, liberal smattering of interesting technical stuff too but poorly edited maps let it down with incorrect dates on some. If you want to "get into" this period of Military period then this the book for you.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro book on Napoleonic battles and campaigns. Don't look for in depth analysis but there are some insights sprinkled throughout. Nice use of maps and period artwork to add to the theme. A good level setting book if you are starting from ground zero

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good overview of the Napoleonic Wars. In the end, the French bully set the conditions for his own defeat. Lots of maps help to keep the story moving.

[José · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had always wanted to read something on Napoleon's most famous battles and this did the trick.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book lost me in a wilderness of place names and generals' names. It could've done with less detail and more of the big picture.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very brief, but useful as an overview of the subject.

[Jomar Angeles]

I like !9th century warfares

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5

Satiated my thirst for Napoleon's battles.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information but a tough read as the prose is really dry.

[TheHenry Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read but I had trouble following the step-by-step descriptions of the battles using the maps provided. Well-illustrated.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull, mostly about tactical maneuvers, didn't get into any of the social structure.