Napoleonic History 1789-1815
A highly illustrated account of the battle of Borodino, the most crucial action in Napoleon's 1812 campaign in Russia.
In a desperate attempt to stop the trafficking of British goods, Napoleon absorbed Holland, parts of Westfalia, the Duchy of Oldenburg and the Hanseatic towns of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck into Metropolitan France in 1810. The armies raised from these areas fought as allies of the French or as part of France itself from 1795 to 1813. This book examines the history, uniforms, orders of battle and colours and standards of the troops from the Batavian Republic and its short-lived status as the Kingdom of Holland. The text is enhanced with numerous illustrations, including maps, charts and detailed colour plates.
Mounted upon their huge black horses, the Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard were the senior heavy cavalry unit of the French army and were never defeated in battle. Their long list of battle honours earned them the nicknames 'the Giants' and 'the Gods'. In this latest addition to the Osprey mini-series on the Imperial Guard, author Ronald Pawly tells the story of this famous unit using unparalleled documentary and pictorial sources. Along with detailed artwork depicting the unit's colourful uniforms, this book gives a history of the unit's organization and record drawn from original letters, orders, and inspection reports that still survive in the Paris Archives. Interspersed are the stories of some of the individuals that served in the Mounted Grenadiers and helped to make it one of the most storied units to have served in Napoleon's army.
On the Napoleonic battlefield victory or defeat could still depend on the skills, reactions and personalities of individual commanders. Even under a genius such as Napoleon the dispersal of his armies on campaign, and the lack of fast communications, left command and control of the different corps and divisions in the hands of his marshals and generals. This second in a pair of Elite titles describes in concise but colourful detail the careers and personalities of more than two dozen of Napoleon's leading subordinate commanders in the armies of the later Empire, from c1809 to the Hundred Days campaign of 1815. Their individual appearance, and the typical uniforms of a variety of staff officers, are reconstructed in 12 dazzling colour plates.
Napoleon's Hussars made their first real impact in 1806 with their astonishing pursuit of the Prussians over 1,160km from the river Saale to the Oder in twenty-five days. They then capped this feat on arrival when, by dint of audacious demonstrations by the 500 men of the combined 5th and 7th Hussars, the 6,000-strong Prussian garrison was bluffed into capitulating its fortress at Stettin along with 160 cannon. This splendid volume by Emir Bukhari describes the organisation, war records, dress and equipment of these most colourful of Napoleon's troops.
Although light infantry tactics formed one of the cornerstones of Napoleonic warfare, their employment was by no means restricted to Light regiments. Thus, from the early 1800s if not before, the distinction between Light and Line infantry was largely one of costume and tradition. One marked difference from the Line infantry, however, was in the superior ésprit de corps of the Light regiments. Their attitude of superiority was reinforced by their different (and often more impressive) uniform, the theoretical difference in role, and supposed superior training. Philip Haythornwaite examines their uniforms in a volume including eight superb colour plates by Brian Fosten.
The legendary Dutch 'Red' Lancers – the 2nd Light Horse Lancers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard – were formed in 1810 after the emperor annexed Holland and its army to France. The former hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard got a handsome new uniform, a new weapon, and a hard-driving new colonel in Baron Edouard Colbert. His lancers distinguished themselves in Russia in 1812, at huge cost; in Germany in 1813, and in the Low Countries in 1814. When Napoleon returned from exile in 1815 the Red Lancers were with him until night fell over Waterloo. Ronald Pawly is the world's leading expert on the archival and pictorial record left by this regiment; his detailed text is illustrated with rare portraits and photographs, and eight glowing colour plates of a surprisingly wide variety of uniforms.
The most exotic of all the troops of Napoleon's Imperial Guard were undoubtedly the Mamelukes – the bodyguard of Oriental cavalry which followed him home after the Egyptian expedition of 1798–1801, and remained with his Mounted Chasseurs regiment throughout the First Empire. For the first time in English, this book tells the Mamelukes' story, from Austerlitz to Waterloo. Quoting from the original nominal rolls and battle casualty returns, the author brings individual members of this extraordinary unit to life. His text is illustrated with rare early engravings and paintings, and the full-colour plates show the development of the unit's romantic Turkish uniforms.
A concise history of the hand-picked elite cavalry guard that served as Napoleon's close personal escort and were committed to the most dangerous areas of combat on the battlefield. Formed from his original escort of 'Guides' and the 'Consular Guard' in 1799, the Mounted Chasseurs were a personal favourite of the Emperor, who wore their uniform on campaign. Ronald Pawly's unique research into regimental archives has uncovered unprecedented detail about this exceptional unit and its soldiers and officers. With their colourful uniforms recreated in full-colour artwork and accounts of their actions in the most critical Napoleonic battles, this book provides a comprehensive description of these legendary elite soldiers.
This book draws on original regimental records to give by far the most detailed account ever published in English of the organization and personalities of the most renowned of the foreign units that served in the Emperor's armies. Unlike most of his foreign troops, these Polish horsemen were true volunteers, who owed their honoured place in his Imperial Guard to their proven courage and dash on battlefields from Spain to Russia. The text is illustrated with rare portraits and photographs, and with detailed colour plates of the Lancers' magnificent uniforms.
In 1809 the dispossessed Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick, consumed by his desire for revenge against Napoleon, entered into an agreement with the Austrians to raise a new corps of infantry and cavalry. As a physical expression of this vengeance he decided to clothe his new troops all in black and adopted as his badge the skull and crossbones, resulting in his corps' christening as Die Schwarze Schar (the Black Horde). This book details the pivotal role that the Black Brunswickers played in major battles of the Napoleonic Wars, including Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and outlines the organization, uniforms and equipment of these formidable troops.
Wellington considered the British cavalry to be technically inferior to the French, although paradoxically he also said that one British squadron would be a match for two of the enemy. His main concern was that although the British cavalry lacked neither courage nor dash, they lacked discipline, in that they invariably failed to rally and re-form once they had charged home. At Waterloo, although the cavalry generally performed superbly well, the endemic faults which Wellington had already identified were repeated more than once, resulting in the decimation of several fine regiments. Bryan Fosten explores the history, organisation and uniforms of Wellington's Heavy Cavalry.
The forces which Wellington led in Portugal and Spain and up into southern France between 1808 and 1814 achieved a consistent record of victory perhaps unmatched in the history of the British Army. Some 40 per cent of this volunteer army were Irishmen – a remarkable figure, given the recent unrest and bloodshed in Ireland. This book details the record, and illustrates the uniforms and equipment, of the two cavalry and three infantry units boasting formal Irish identity: the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 18th Hussars, 27th (Enniskillen), 87th (Prince of Wales's Own Irish), and 88th (Connaught Rangers) Regiments of Foot.
The forces which Wellington led in Portugal and Spain and up into southern France between 1808 and 1814 achieved a record of victory perhaps unmatched in the history of the British Army. Among his infantry the regiments of the Light Division were self-consciously an élite, trained to fight with initiative and independence on the exposed edges of the marching army. This book explains their evolution and tactics, details the campaigns in which they fought and illustrates the uniforms and equipment of the Light Infantry regiments: the 43rd (Monmouthshire), 52nd (Oxfordshire), 51st (2nd Yorkshire), 68th (Durham) and 85th (Bucks Volunteers).
February 1811. Marshal Victor had besieged the Spanish city of Cádiz for a year. Generals Manuel de Lapeńa and Thomas Graham, at the head of Spanish and British troops, disembarked at Algeciras and at Tarifa and led their men towards Chiclana in order to attack the French lines from the rear. On 5 March, the opposing armies ran into each other on ground overlooked by the Bermeja and the Barrosa towers; the latter giving its name to the battle. The French troops commanded by Generals Villatte, Leval and Ruffin fell back before the Allied army. The fighting was fierce and the 8th Regiment of the Line lost its golden wreathed Eagle. Using French, Spanish and British sources and archives, drawing on numerous eyewitness accounts, the author captures the views of both sides of the conflict and provides a new and objective narrative in fascinating detail of this long-forgotten and little-known battle of the Peninsular War.
On 6th February 1814, the deputy mayor of Reims opened his city gates to a handful of Cossacks. Following this bold move, the city would alternate between French and Coalition rule four times within the month of March. Renegade General Saint-Priest seized the city by force on 12th March at the head of a Russian-Prussian Army Corps: This pushed Napoleon to commit himself in this battle in order to restore a critical tactical situation. He triumphantly entered Reims from the day after at nightfall upon rough fights which took place in Tinqueux and at the gate of Vesle. The inhabitants cheared enthusiastically at him when he left the city in the morning of 17th Marc. He had to proceed on his tragic destiny about to be achieved a few days later in Fontainebleau.
A highly illustrated introduction to some of the greatest battles in world history, from the iconic encounters of the Ancient World such as Thermopylae and Cannae, through to the major clashes of the 20th century epitomized by Stalingrad and Khe Sanh.
This concise study by renowned military historian Angus Konstam examines one hundred of the most famous battles from world history. It includes great naval engagements such as Salamis, Trafalgar, Jutland and Midway; pivotal land battles that decided the fate of nations, such as Hastings, Yorktown, Gettysburg and the Somme; and the impact of the new dimension of aerial warfare in the 20th century at Pearl Harbor, in the Battle of Britain and in the skies over Hiroshima.
This highly illustrated book features 100 full-colour battlescene artworks from Osprey's comprehensive archive and is the ideal introduction to the battles that changed the course of history.