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With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign
Bound in cloth with the spine stamped in gilt.
534 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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206 people want to read
About the author
John H. Gill
20 books12 followersA retired U.S. army colonel and an associate professor at the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC, he has also published on military history and contemporary security issues relating to India, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 18, 2022
The common perception when one thinks of the forces that Napoleon commanded, they assume they were exclusively French. In truth, from 1807 onwards, a large minority of La Grande Armée, and of French Imperial operations elsewhere, were non-French. Some of these allied troops, like the Dutch, and the Swiss, were of varying quality, while some like the Italians and Poles were amongst the best troops that Napoleon would ever field.
His steadiest allies, however, were troops drawn from many of the German states. Following his crushing success at the Battle of Austerlitz, in December of 1805, Napoleon realized a long standing French strategic ambition by establishing France as the hegemon over the disparate German states. Having ended the days of the Holy Roman Empire via Imperial decree, and replacing it with the more efficiently organized Confederation of the Rhine, Napoleon established a series of fairly powerful German states, whose potentates owed their thrones to Paris.
When Austria attempted to spark a revolution in Germany by invading Bavaria in 1809, they were soon shocked to see that these German troops allied to Napoleon, not only failed to rise up in revolt to the French, but proved to be some of the best of Napoleon's troops in the 1809 Franco-Austrian War.
John Gill, former US Army Colonel, has written the 1809 story from the perspective of the Germans allied to Napoleon. Covering each of the successive Kingdoms in turn, with their own chapters (in other words, he deals with the Bavarians, Badeners Hessians, and Saxons, etc...in segmented units), Gill showcases their military organization, leadership, doctrine, and accoutrement before detailing their part in the campaigns that covered southern Germany, much of Austria, part of Hungary, and ended in what is now Czechia.
Gill divided the book into two main sections. The first deals with the main theaters of operations, while the second half covers in great detail the counterinsurgency operations in the Tyrol. Admittedly, this level of detail on the Tyrol can bog the narrative down at times (it did for me), and showcased for its time of writing, the very American, technocratic, obsession with counterinsurgency.
Myself, I found the chapters on the Bavarians, and the Saxons, involved in the main theater of operations to be more engaging than the chapters dealing with the Tyrolean revolts. Granted, this was just me, so your mileage may vary. Even so, I really have to say that this was a phenomenal book, on an all too often ignored aspect of the Napoleonic Wars.
Very highly recommended.
His steadiest allies, however, were troops drawn from many of the German states. Following his crushing success at the Battle of Austerlitz, in December of 1805, Napoleon realized a long standing French strategic ambition by establishing France as the hegemon over the disparate German states. Having ended the days of the Holy Roman Empire via Imperial decree, and replacing it with the more efficiently organized Confederation of the Rhine, Napoleon established a series of fairly powerful German states, whose potentates owed their thrones to Paris.
When Austria attempted to spark a revolution in Germany by invading Bavaria in 1809, they were soon shocked to see that these German troops allied to Napoleon, not only failed to rise up in revolt to the French, but proved to be some of the best of Napoleon's troops in the 1809 Franco-Austrian War.
John Gill, former US Army Colonel, has written the 1809 story from the perspective of the Germans allied to Napoleon. Covering each of the successive Kingdoms in turn, with their own chapters (in other words, he deals with the Bavarians, Badeners Hessians, and Saxons, etc...in segmented units), Gill showcases their military organization, leadership, doctrine, and accoutrement before detailing their part in the campaigns that covered southern Germany, much of Austria, part of Hungary, and ended in what is now Czechia.
Gill divided the book into two main sections. The first deals with the main theaters of operations, while the second half covers in great detail the counterinsurgency operations in the Tyrol. Admittedly, this level of detail on the Tyrol can bog the narrative down at times (it did for me), and showcased for its time of writing, the very American, technocratic, obsession with counterinsurgency.
Myself, I found the chapters on the Bavarians, and the Saxons, involved in the main theater of operations to be more engaging than the chapters dealing with the Tyrolean revolts. Granted, this was just me, so your mileage may vary. Even so, I really have to say that this was a phenomenal book, on an all too often ignored aspect of the Napoleonic Wars.
Very highly recommended.
April 29, 2023
There is something ironic about the subject of this book. By 1809 Napoleon had forced a change in the face of Europe by his wars against Austria, Prussia, and Russia, but Austria decided to take advantage of his campaign in Spain to try once more to take back what they had once possessed. As a result, Napoleon called up troops from many of the German states such as Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Westphalia, and Saxony, there were many states who played their parts, even if sometimes reluctantly. This book details the efforts of those states. big and small which contributed to Napoleon's army.
The troops of the Rheinbund, such as Wurttemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darnstadt, fought well and received praise from Napoleon, but not all did so. In fact, Westphalia, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jerome left much to be be desired because of his flaws of greed and arrogance.
This book is a slow-read because of its detail, but it offers much in the clue to the future of the French-German relationship. As the French declined, the Germans, led by the Prussians, took over the domination of Europe. What irony that the Germans went from allies in 1809 to deadly enemies by 1870.
The troops of the Rheinbund, such as Wurttemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darnstadt, fought well and received praise from Napoleon, but not all did so. In fact, Westphalia, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jerome left much to be be desired because of his flaws of greed and arrogance.
This book is a slow-read because of its detail, but it offers much in the clue to the future of the French-German relationship. As the French declined, the Germans, led by the Prussians, took over the domination of Europe. What irony that the Germans went from allies in 1809 to deadly enemies by 1870.
March 30, 2025
reading gill's faculty bio, it turns out he's an enthusiastic player and creator of tabletop role-playing games. who'd've thought?
June 25, 2021
The best portrayal of the actions and leadership of Napoleon's German allies in 1809 in English. Gill has extensively researched records, books, and histories in French and German to write a detailed, yet readable military history of the Rheinbund states in the 1809 campaigns. Recommended for anyone interested in the Napoleonic Wars.
April 18, 2020
Since they do not allow 1/2 stars, I will tell you this is a solid 4-1/2 stars.
The book covers the minor German states that participated on the side of Napoleon during the 1809 campaign specifically. It covers all the details about the states, and their armies, including, organization, manpower, training, and equipment. There are charts showing organization, and the author describes uniforms and colors, which is very important for this period. There are detailed accounts of each contingents participation, or lack thereof, in the 1809 campaign against Austria. Troop movements, and accounts of actions are quite detailed, and vivid at times. Mr. Gill's writing is thorough yet he keeps the stories from wallowing in excessive detail, like any great historian does. He leaves the extra details for the copious notes that follow each chapter. So really, this is a book for the casual reader, as well as the more experienced historian. I would say it is definitely a must read for anyone interested in the Napoleonic period.
My half star that I would take away has to do with maps. While there are many, none show troop movements, and, some of the towns/villages mentioned in the text are not shown on the maps provided. Troop movements drawn on the maps would have been a cherry on top for this otherwise monumental work.
The book covers the minor German states that participated on the side of Napoleon during the 1809 campaign specifically. It covers all the details about the states, and their armies, including, organization, manpower, training, and equipment. There are charts showing organization, and the author describes uniforms and colors, which is very important for this period. There are detailed accounts of each contingents participation, or lack thereof, in the 1809 campaign against Austria. Troop movements, and accounts of actions are quite detailed, and vivid at times. Mr. Gill's writing is thorough yet he keeps the stories from wallowing in excessive detail, like any great historian does. He leaves the extra details for the copious notes that follow each chapter. So really, this is a book for the casual reader, as well as the more experienced historian. I would say it is definitely a must read for anyone interested in the Napoleonic period.
My half star that I would take away has to do with maps. While there are many, none show troop movements, and, some of the towns/villages mentioned in the text are not shown on the maps provided. Troop movements drawn on the maps would have been a cherry on top for this otherwise monumental work.
December 7, 2022
All right, I wouldn't have ever thought of a book on Napoleon's German allies on my own, but this is a very good, if limited look at just that. This is a look at just the 1809 Danubian campaign. There's a bit about the founding of the Confederation of the Rhine, and the 1808 events that lead into this campaign. And that's it. There was continued fighting in 1809 in Spain, and a fair number of German troops were sent there before more had to be raised for the Danubian campaign. While that fact is discussed, that's all that's said except for some very passing mentions of how some of those contingents did in comparison with the with their brethren in this book.
Now, within that set of constraints, this is a very good book. The amount of detail is understandably high, even if the maps are at best lackluster, and often don't back up the text well. There are two major sections, one of which mostly looks at the primary campaign, and the other goes into several subsidiary theaters, most notably an insurrection in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Bavaria gets (deservedly) a full, long chapter, with Württemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Saxony also getting their own chapters.
Because he goes through each country in turn, the narrative of events is split up and gets a bit jumbled. But that's not the purpose of this book; if you want a look at the campaign as a whole, look elsewhere (quite likely at Gill's Thunder on the Danube series). You do get a look at the units themselves along with tables of organization for the units involved, and figures for the numbers of men.
For me, the most important part of this volume is the war in Tyrol. It is prominent in the Bavaria chapter, and also is the lead chapter in the second part. I hadn't known anything about major insurrections during this campaign, and this one nearly overwhelmed the nearby German states. Since it was almost entirely left to German troops, it gets a full discussion here. The rest of the second part is about smaller events, winding down to some raids staged to get uprisings going in the rest of Germany, which did not happen, but the military security arrangements against these are gone into.
Overall, this is a well done book on a bit of a niche subject, but one that is more interesting than it would first seem. Unfortunately there are a few major flubs in the electronic version of the book. Mostly, it is in very good shape, but a large chunk of chapter 7 is missing, leaving you wondering exactly what just happened, with everything wrapping up right after a tense part of the campaign... and there's eleven pages stuck after the chapter endnotes. (More signs that something went seriously wrong in there is a missing name, "an attack on ’s defences".)
Now, within that set of constraints, this is a very good book. The amount of detail is understandably high, even if the maps are at best lackluster, and often don't back up the text well. There are two major sections, one of which mostly looks at the primary campaign, and the other goes into several subsidiary theaters, most notably an insurrection in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Bavaria gets (deservedly) a full, long chapter, with Württemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Saxony also getting their own chapters.
Because he goes through each country in turn, the narrative of events is split up and gets a bit jumbled. But that's not the purpose of this book; if you want a look at the campaign as a whole, look elsewhere (quite likely at Gill's Thunder on the Danube series). You do get a look at the units themselves along with tables of organization for the units involved, and figures for the numbers of men.
For me, the most important part of this volume is the war in Tyrol. It is prominent in the Bavaria chapter, and also is the lead chapter in the second part. I hadn't known anything about major insurrections during this campaign, and this one nearly overwhelmed the nearby German states. Since it was almost entirely left to German troops, it gets a full discussion here. The rest of the second part is about smaller events, winding down to some raids staged to get uprisings going in the rest of Germany, which did not happen, but the military security arrangements against these are gone into.
Overall, this is a well done book on a bit of a niche subject, but one that is more interesting than it would first seem. Unfortunately there are a few major flubs in the electronic version of the book. Mostly, it is in very good shape, but a large chunk of chapter 7 is missing, leaving you wondering exactly what just happened, with everything wrapping up right after a tense part of the campaign... and there's eleven pages stuck after the chapter endnotes. (More signs that something went seriously wrong in there is a missing name, "an attack on ’s defences".)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews