Product Description

A vivid, illustrated history of the Napoleonic Wars, from their origins in the French Revolution, through Napoleon's fantastic victories at Austerlitz and Jena, to his defeats in the Iberian Peninsular, Russia and finally at Waterloo. Napoleon, inheritor of the armies of the French Revolution, transformed inter-state warfare into a pan-continental system of conquest on a scale not seen since Alexander the Great and the Romans. His model of a military superpower, though eventually defeated, set a pattern which was to be revived by totalitarian states, and their opponents, in the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4129701 in Books
• Binding: Hardcover

Amazon.co.uk Review
A detailed account of the Napoleonic Wars is provided by the military historian Gunther Rothenberg as one part of Cassell's multi-volume series covering the history of warfare. The treatment is predominantly military rather than social and the matter-of-fact and dispassionate text is rich in tactical details and statistics and augmented by contemporary paintings and well-designed maps and diagrams. The actions of the protagonists' commanders are also critically assessed, with much attention given to Napoleon himself, stressing the power of his charisma but showing that his insistence on sole control ultimately proved a weakness. Significantly,The Napoleonic Wars aims to show that, far from being the end of a military era, this was a period marking the origins of modern warfare. Developments in army organisation, strategy and weaponry gained from the experience of over 20 years of war are progressively indicated and the main points of Rothenberg's argument, that Napoleonic strategies continued to be followed later in history and that the sheer scale of war was revolutionary, are summed up in the brief epilogue. The bulk of the broadly chronological text is uncluttered by too much speculation, so for anyone interested in military history The Napoleonic Wars should be particularly appreciated for its clarity. --Karen Tiley

About the Author
Gunther Rothenberg was the world's leading authority on the Napoleonic Wars. He served with the British, Israeli and US Military and was Professor of History at Purdue University in the USA. He was the leading English-speaking historian of warfare in the German-speaking lands. His many distinguished works include The Army of Francis Joseph and The Hapsburg Military Frontier.

Customer Reviews

Excellant introduction to the Napoleonic Wars period
Without being delving into great historical detail this book gives the reader a good introduction to the facts, figures and major actions of Napoleon's era. Good use of basic maps show the deployment, movement and strategy of the main battles and coupled with a general text is a good pre-cursor a deeper discovery of this period of military history.