Product Description

This masterwork of Napoleonic history is the result of years of research: the scenic plates were based on contemporary etchings and actual visits to battlefield sites. Originally published only in French as L'Epopee Napoleonienne, the book now features 125 full page full colour plates by Jack Girbal and Patrice Courcelle. For the first time in this revised edition, these plates have been restored to their original quality by reoriginating them from the artwork, rather the previous printing films. They show in colourful detail the units of Napoleon's army and cavalry in action during all the campaigns from 1805 to 1815. These A4 plates were originally published separately 35 years ago, and have been much sought after by collectors for the last 20 years. They are good enough to be framed and sold at [pound]10 each. Here, they cost you just 24 pence each! * A colourful panorama of the most famous moments and most beautiful uniforms of Napoleon's First Empire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176692 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

A must for Napoleonic Uniform enthusiasts
If you have any interest in Napoleonic Uniforms this is one book I would highly recommend. It has over eighty plates covering the Napleonic soldier from the Egyptian Campaign to the fatal day at Waterloo. It includes many pictures of Napoleonic cavalry and infantry including Red Lancers, Dragoons, Hussars, Chassuers, Line Infantry, foreign troops and a host of others. It does focus primarily on the French but it also covers other nationalities. I hate looking at Napoleonic uniform plates in black and white. You miss the nuances of the uniforms, facings and piping. This book has all 80 plus plates in color. Hours of enjoyment await any uniform enthuiast perusing this book. The artist Jack Girbal is the principle illustrator but Patrice Courcelle also contributed to this work. Both with their own style convey the beauty of the Napoleonic clothing.

This book does have its faults. It was originally written in French and poorly translated into English. All the books of the Histoire Collection who published it seem to translate their works in one of those online translation services. The English is poor and laborious. I unfortunately have come to expect this poor quality of translation by Histoire Collections.

This book does give some detail to the life of General La Salle, the Hussar General. About 6 or 7 plates cover various episodes of his military career. A short history and a description of the units military importance is highlighted in the text.

This is a wonderful book on Napoleonic uniforms. I highly endorse it for its fine colorful prints.

Soldiers and Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars
This is a wonderful book with over 100 color plates. I counted and this does not include the blow-ups of many parts of these that are presented separately. The quality of the plates varies as three different artists were involved in the project, but even the worst are quite good. There is a definite bias to the uniforms of the French and its allied nations (see the list below). Accompanying nearly every plate is a page describing the scene and its circumstances or perhaps general information about a battle, campaign and uniforms. The one thing I would have liked when I was thinking of buying this book was a better idea of what was in it. So below I have summarized the sections and plates. The plates are of French troops unless otherwise stated and where there is more than on plate it is recorded (#). Some Plates have no accompanying information (eg chapter title pages) and so I have not described these.

Before the Empire: Lasalle at Vicenza; Lasalle and 22nd Chasseur and 15th Dragoon vs Osman Bey's Mamelukes; 10th Hussars.

1805: 19th Dragoon at Elchingen; 18th Dragoon at Elchingen; General Pajol and 6th Hussar at Ulm; The Great Charge at Austerlitz.

1806: 7th Hussars and 5th Hussars vs the Queen's Dragoons (Prussia); General Colbert, 10th Chasseurs and 3rd Hussars at Jena; Marechal Davout and line infantry at Auerstaedt; Lassale, 5th and 7th Hussars.

1807: Gendarmes d'ordonnance; Murat and D'Hautpool's Cuirassiers at Eylau; Murat and the 13th Chasseurs at Eylau; Baron Lepic and the Grenadiers a Cheval at Eylau; Murat, aide de camps and Espagne's Cuirassiers at Heilsberg; Napoleon and staff reviewing Lasalle's cavalry at Elbing.

1808: Isemburg Regiment; The Emperor's household; The Emperor's Berlin.

The Peninsula, 1808-14: Lasalle and the Polish Chevau-Legers; Lasalle, Gendarme d'Elite and Dragoons at Medina de Rio Seco; Garde de Paris(2); 10th Chasseurs vs the Infante Regiment (Spanish); 10th Chasseurs; 2nd Hussars(2); 13th Cuirassiers; Gendarmerie de Espagne(2); Neuchatel Battalion; Foot Artillery; Young Guard; Isemberg Regiment; Vistula Legion(2); Chasseurs de Montagne.

1809: The Bavarian Troops; General Coehorn, Corsican Tirailleurs and the 14th Chasseurs at Ebersberg; Jordi's Regiment (Austrian line, 'German') vs French light (24th?) at Aspern; General Espagne and the 4th Cuirassiers; Pontooners; The Baden Infantry 1809, 3rd Baden Regiment vs Austrian Line 'Hungarian' (2); 1st Chasseurs a Cheval(2); Fusiliers of the Guard(2); Artillerie a Pied of the Guard.

In Garrison 1810-13: Berg Chevau Legers(2); Nansouty's Cuirassiers(2); 11th Hussars; King Murat and Neapolitan line regiment and Neapolitan Grenadiers of the Guard(3); 30th Chasseurs.

1812: General Chouard's Carabiniers, 4th Lancers and Chevau-Legers; General Montbrun and the 9th Hussars; King Jerome, Grenadier Guard and Kings Lifeguard (Westphalian); Westphalian Hussars; 7th Regiment (Westphalian); 2nd, 5th and 6th Regiments (Westphalian); General Pajol, 2nd Chasseurs and 9th Polish Lancers; Saxon Chevau-Legers(2); General Gudin and sappers at Valutina; Russian Guard vs 12th Line; Portuguese Legion(2); 1st Voltigeurs of the Guard(2) and Novgorod Cuirassiers (Russian, 1); Saxon Brigade (Lifeguards, Von Zastrow Cuirassiers(2)); Dragoons of the Imperial Guard; 2nd Regiment of Grenadiers; Croats in the Grand Armee(2); Hessian Chevau-Legers; Baden Hussars(2); Lithuanian Tartars.

1813: Naval Artillery; Jerome Napoleon Hussars; 13th Hussars; Field Hospitals and Medical Care; The Krakus (Polish).

1814: Guards of Honour(2).

1815: Allied Forces 16 June 1815 (Brunswickers, British 92nd(2)); Wellington's staff at Waterloo; English Horse Artillery; Red Lancers(2); Young Guard.