Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282582 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Synopsis
In this authoritative and beautifully illustrated new account of Napoleon's greatest victory and the campaign that preceded it, Ian Castle sheds new light on the actions of the commanders and questions the assumptions - and explores the myths - that have shaped our understanding of the event ever since. His account follows every twist and turn of a war that was fought out across central Europe two centuries ago. In particular he reconstructs the course of the action in every sector of the Austerlitz battlefield, using French, Austrian and Russian records, and re-evaluates the place of the battle in the history and mythology of the Napoleonic era.

Customer Reviews

The new authoratative work on the 1805 campaign
It is perhaps inevitable with a major anniversary that several books will appear on the subject with similar titles, which many readers may find a little confusing. In this case, we have Ian’s Castle’s work and Robert Goetz’s “1805: Austerlitz: napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition”. Indeed, Amazon have been bundling the two together here, although not for Mr. Goetz’s work. I am however in the unusual position of having to start by saying that I helped out with this book, but I did likewise with Goetz’s work!
So, how do they differ? Well, this book at 240pp is shorter than Robert Goetz’s book and Castle covers the actual battle of Austerlitz in about 60 pages - roughly a third of the space Goetz devotes to it. In a nutshell, castle covers the whole campaign, while Goetz’s focus is very much on the battle itself. Consequently, if you are not familiar with the campaign, you should start here – overall, if your cash runs to it, buy both as they compliment each other very well (and the authors themselves worked together on various aspects).
Turning to Castle’s book, here we are dealing with what is regarded as Napoleon’s military highpoint. However, in the intervening 200 years, this devastating success of 1805 has never been considered in terms of all armies’ views of it and, perhaps more importantly, the earlier Ulm campaign. Simply by taking the approach of looking at the whole picture, Castle reveals a more complex story of shifting fortunes than the legendary unstoppable French advance to total victory.
Many readers will be familiar with the author’s writing style from his Osprey Campaign books on Austerlitz and the 1809 battles and this book is written in the same easy-to-read style. Supplemented by twelve clear maps, which cover the main lines of the campaign, and a list of the modern names of key locations, the flowing text makes this a pulsating story In short chapters, the background and preparations are laid out, followed by a campaign narrative, which describes the planning and key resulting events, first around Ulm and then on to the battle of Austerlitz. Helpfully, a combination of succinct analysis at important stages, together with descriptions of the key personalities’ characteristics, reveals why these events unfolded as they did. Castle also mixes individual accounts with the broader picture and in a novel angle, includes the view from the local populations, put upon by friend and foe alike. Crucially, in these days, when we are much more aware of the importance of intelligence, from the shadows emerges Napoleon’s master spy, Schulmeister, whose deceptions turned the Emperor’s original plan for a central position between the allied armies into the encirclement of the “unfortunate General Mack” at Ulm.
From there we march to Austerlitz, which again does not quite go as the propaganda would have us believe. Although Castle has just one point of difference with Goetz, his account is rather easier to follow as the action proceeds at a livelier pace and does not get too deep into the detail. The ebb and flow of the battle is easier to see despite it happening in three separate sectors at once. Quite clearly, there are serious problems in the Allied command, but they put up more determined resistance than the myths would have us believe. At the same time, there is a much clearer impression of both French plans and adaptability as the battle proceeded. After the drama of the fighting, there is a concluding piece “The Fate of Empires” – perhaps that should be extended to a “few careers too”.
Castle has maintained his usual high standard to create what will replace Duffy’s little book as the primer that everyone should read before delving any deeper, but those, who just like well-written succinct history, this is a great read too.