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Osprey Men at Arms #68
Napoleon's Line Chasseurs
The chasseurs, being the indigenous French light horse, can perhaps be equated best with the infantry demi-brigades of this period, a half-trained, unprofessional, makeshift collection, making up with zeal what they lacked in experience, a qualification which in no way diminished the importance of their role within Napoleon's all-conquering army. Emir Bukhari's fine text examines the dress and equipment of Napoleon's line chasseurs, plus the histories of individual regiments in a volume containing a plethora of illustrations and diagrams including eight full page color plates by popular artist Angus McBride, showing a variety of uniforms in admirable detail.
48 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1977
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July 26, 2009
The best thing about the series of Osprey titles on Napoleon's cavalry (Cuirassiers & Carabiniers, Dragoons & Lancers, Hussars, Chasseurs) are the wonderful uniform plates by the late Angus McBride, which reach just the right balance of naturalism, clarity and expression. McBride is (in my opinion) by far the best of the illustrators to have worked on this series.
Bukhari's text follows the pattern of other books he wrote for Arms & Armour, a rundown of uniform developments followed by potted unit histories. Though fascinating reads for their time (first released in mid-1970's) much of the factual information can be easily found elsewhere nowadays.
Where the books really fall down is the lack of coverage of the Revolutionary War period, Bukhari and McBride jumping in at 1803. This is a great shame, as Napoleonic uniforms developed from the wars of the 1790's.
Bukhari's text follows the pattern of other books he wrote for Arms & Armour, a rundown of uniform developments followed by potted unit histories. Though fascinating reads for their time (first released in mid-1970's) much of the factual information can be easily found elsewhere nowadays.
Where the books really fall down is the lack of coverage of the Revolutionary War period, Bukhari and McBride jumping in at 1803. This is a great shame, as Napoleonic uniforms developed from the wars of the 1790's.
Displaying 1 of 1 review