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Armies at Waterloo: A Detailed Analysis of the Armies That Fought History's Greatest Battle
356 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1983
9 people want to read
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December 26, 2020
I am completely at a loss as to why there are no reviews of this book. Any military historian worth their salt has read these books by Bowden and honestly there are few more detailed sources for the armies that fought at Waterloo. I'm here to correct this oversight.
What this book is: A highly detailed accounting of the armies that fought and their leadership, officers, and command structures. There are many, many names given of even fairly low ranking officers, and vast arrays of details on headcounts, equipment, and casualties.
What this book isn't: A highly detailed personal accounting of the combat. Exciting write ups of the struggles, local battles, and decision making. A careful discussion of the orders, tactics, and outcomes of the armies in the battle.
Now with that said, we talk about this book with the correct expectations.
Bowden compiles a treatise on all the numbers involved at Waterloo. The numbers of men, the types of formations, who was in command, and all the data one could want on the nuts and bolts of the armies that fought. He has a gigantic appendices included (over 70 pages) with vast amounts of simplified data in an easy to read format. He also has a very strong list of references, Notes, and a long bibliography. If you want facts on Waterloo, then this is not a bad place to get started.
The book itself is put together well and written in a clear concise manner. I actually found this to be some pretty easy reading. There are a few illustrations which enhance the reading, and I generally found the overall organization just about perfect. Everything was where I expected it to be.
These books can be hard to find, and for good reason. Once you read it, you will use it often and want to keep it close at hand. It will be a Napoleonic "go-to".
This book is a well deserved 5 Stars for what it is. It is not Rifleman Harris. This should be a must read for any study of Waterloo.
What this book is: A highly detailed accounting of the armies that fought and their leadership, officers, and command structures. There are many, many names given of even fairly low ranking officers, and vast arrays of details on headcounts, equipment, and casualties.
What this book isn't: A highly detailed personal accounting of the combat. Exciting write ups of the struggles, local battles, and decision making. A careful discussion of the orders, tactics, and outcomes of the armies in the battle.
Now with that said, we talk about this book with the correct expectations.
Bowden compiles a treatise on all the numbers involved at Waterloo. The numbers of men, the types of formations, who was in command, and all the data one could want on the nuts and bolts of the armies that fought. He has a gigantic appendices included (over 70 pages) with vast amounts of simplified data in an easy to read format. He also has a very strong list of references, Notes, and a long bibliography. If you want facts on Waterloo, then this is not a bad place to get started.
The book itself is put together well and written in a clear concise manner. I actually found this to be some pretty easy reading. There are a few illustrations which enhance the reading, and I generally found the overall organization just about perfect. Everything was where I expected it to be.
These books can be hard to find, and for good reason. Once you read it, you will use it often and want to keep it close at hand. It will be a Napoleonic "go-to".
This book is a well deserved 5 Stars for what it is. It is not Rifleman Harris. This should be a must read for any study of Waterloo.
Displaying 1 of 1 review