Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany (Cambridge Military Histories)

Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany #2

by Michael V. Leggiere

This is the first comprehensive history of the campaign that determined control of Germany following Napoleon's catastrophic defeat in Russia. Michael V. Leggiere reveals how, in the spring of 1813, Prussia, the weakest of the great powers, led the struggle against Napoleon as a war of national liberation. Using German, French, British, Russian, Austrian and Swedish sources, he provides a panoramic history that covers the full sweep of the battle for Germany from the mobilization of the belligerents, strategy, and operations to coalition warfare, diplomacy, and civil-military relations. He shows how Russian war weariness conflicted with Prussian impetuosity, resulting in the crisis that almost ended the Sixth Coalition in early June. In a single campaign, Napoleon drove the Russo-Prussian army from the banks of the Saale to the banks of the Oder. The Russo-Prussian alliance was perilously close to imploding, only to be saved at the eleventh-hour by an armistice.

Genres: History, Military History, Germany, France

502 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Michael V. Leggiere is a professor of history who works at the University of North Texas as deputy-director for the Barsanti Center for Military History.

Reviews

[Fernando D · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review for part one. Massive and extraordinarily thorough, part 2 is a better and easier read than part 1, mostly due to the fact that the tempo of operations picks up in this period so the narrative does as well. Still only for the most serious student of the Napoleonic period.

[José Alfonso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice readings

For me, an amateur historian, this book is extremely well documented and detailled. It provides a nice inside to the extraordinary fighting spirit of the Prussian army