Napoleon's Great Adversaries

Napoleon's Great Adversaries PDF Author: Gunther E. Rothenberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Napoleon's Great Adversaries

Napoleon's Great Adversaries PDF Author: Gunther E. Rothenberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description


Any Approaching Enemy

Any Approaching Enemy PDF Author: Jay Worrall
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0345476492
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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“Jay Worrall depicts the hearts and minds of the late eighteenth century with a facility I have seldom seen equaled. Readers of Patrick O’Brian will find themselves back in familiar gunrooms and wardrooms. Well done, Jay Worrall!”—David Poyer, author of That Anvil of Our Souls The year is 1798. The war between England and revolutionary France has reached a stalemate. With rumors swirling that the French are secretly amassing a powerful fleet, the Admiralty dispatches a group of ships under the command of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson to investigate. But after a ferocious storm blindsides the squadron, Nelson’s flagship and two other ships go missing. Putting his career on the line by disobeying direct orders, Captain Charles Edgemont sets out in pursuit of Nelson and the French fleet on a treacherous voyage along the Tuscan coast. As tensions among the crew rise from a simmer to a boil, Edgemont makes an unexpected discovery in Naples that may compromise his mission. And when the French fleet turns up off the shores of Egypt, Edgemont is suddenly thrown into a crisis of conscience. As circumstances grow dire and require heroic action, the fate of the crucial battle effectively lies in Edgemont’s hands—as does the course of history. Praise for Any Approaching Enemy “A thoroughly enjoyable venture into the venue made famous by C. S. Forester . . . [evoking] the same admiration and sense of adventure [as] the Forester books do.”—The Roanoke Times “Combining engaging characters, witty dialogue and rousing action, Worrall’s nautical series continues its promising start.”—Publishers Weekly

Blücher

Blücher PDF Author: Michael V. Leggiere
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806145668
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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One of the most colorful characters in the Napoleonic pantheon, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742–1819) is best known as the Prussian general who, along with the Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Throughout his long career, Blücher distinguished himself as a bold commander, but his actions at times appeared erratic and reckless. This magnificent biography by Michael V. Leggiere, an award-winning historian of the Napoleonic Wars, is the first scholarly book in English to explore Blücher’s life and military career—and his impact on Napoleon. Drawing on exhaustive research in European archives, Leggiere eschews the melodrama of earlier biographies and offers instead a richly nuanced portrait of a talented leader who, contrary to popular perception, had a strong grasp of military strategy. Nicknamed “Marshal Forward” by his soldiers, he in fact retreated more often than he attacked. Focusing on the campaigns of 1813, 1814, and 1815, Leggiere evaluates the full effects of Blücher’s operations on his archenemy. In addition to providing military analysis, Leggiere draws extensively from Blücher’s own writings to reveal the man behind the legend. Though tough as nails on the outside, Blücher was a loving family man who deplored the casualties of war. This meticulously written biography, enhanced by detailed maps and other illustrations, fills a large gap in our understanding of a complex man who, for all his flaws and eccentricities, is justly credited with releasing Europe from the yoke of Napoleon’s tyranny.

Napoleon the Great

Napoleon the Great PDF Author: Andrew Roberts
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241294665
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 942

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'A Napoleonic triumph of a book, irresistibly galloping with the momentum of a cavalry charge' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Simply dynamite' Bernard Cornwell From Andrew Roberts, author of the bestsellers The Storm of War and Churchill: Walking with Destiny, this is the definitive modern biography of Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just twenty years, from October 1795 when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d'état he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the Revolution had descended. In a series of dazzling battles he reinvented the art of warfare; in peace, he completely remade the laws of France, modernised her systems of education and administration, and presided over a flourishing of the beautiful 'Empire style' in the arts. The impossibility of defeating his most persistent enemy, Great Britain, led him to make draining and ultimately fatal expeditions into Spain and Russia, where half a million Frenchmen died and his Empire began to unravel. More than any other modern biographer, Andrew Roberts conveys Napoleon's tremendous energy, both physical and intellectual, and the attractiveness of his personality, even to his enemies. He has walked 53 of Napoleon's 60 battlefields, and has absorbed the gigantic new French edition of Napoleon's letters, which allows a complete re-evaluation of this exceptional man. He overturns many received opinions, including the myth of a great romance with Josephine: she took a lover immediately after their marriage, and, as Roberts shows, he had three times as many mistresses as he acknowledged. Of the climactic Battle of Leipzig in 1813, as the fighting closed around them, a French sergeant-major wrote, 'No-one who has not experienced it can have any idea of the enthusiasm that burst forth among the half-starved, exhausted soldiers when the Emperor was there in person. If all were demoralised and he appeared, his presence was like an electric shock. All shouted "Vive l'Empereur!" and everyone charged blindly into the fire.' The reader of this biography will understand why this was so.

Blundering to Glory

Blundering to Glory PDF Author: Owen Connelly
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742553187
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Renowned for its accuracy, brevity, and readability, this book has long been the gold standard of concise histories of the Napoleonic Wars. Now in an updated and revised edition, it is unique in its portrayal of one of the world's great generals as a scrambler who never had a plan, strategic or tactical, that did not break down or change of necessity in the field. Distinguished historian Owen Connelly argues that Napoleon was the master of the broken play, so confident of his ability to improvise, cover his own mistakes, and capitalize on those of the enemy that he repeatedly plunged his armies into uncertain, seemingly desperate situations, only to emerge victorious as he "blundered" to glory. Beginning with a sketch of Napoleon's early life, the book progresses to his command of artillery at Toulon and the "whiff of grapeshot" in Paris that netted him control of the Army of Italy, where his incredible performance catapulted him to fame. The author vividly traces Napoleon's campaigns as a general of the French Revolution and emperor of the French, knowledgeably analyzing each battle's successes and failures. The author depicts Napoleon's "art of war" as a system of engaging the enemy, waiting for him to make a mistake, improvising a plan on the spot-and winning. Far from detracting from Bonaparte's reputation, his blunders rather made him a great general, a "natural" who depended on his intuition and ability to read battlefields and his enemy to win. Exploring this neglected aspect of Napoleon's battlefield genius, Connelly at the same time offers stirring and complete accounts of all the Napoleonic campaigns.

Napoleon's Great Adversary

Napoleon's Great Adversary PDF Author: Gunther E. Rothenberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Austria
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Joachim Murat

Joachim Murat PDF Author: A. Hilliard Atteridge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780857069382
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Napoleon's gorgeous centaur-the life of Murat Joachim Murat has come to epitomise the beau ideal cavalryman. Indeed, in the decades following the Napoleonic era, as a horse soldier excelled to extraordinary prominence, the name of Murat was often considered as analogous. In reality nobody could come close in stature and performance. Murat was one of many young men who saw the French Revolution as an opportunity to prosper in influence, power, status and wealth. An unabashed self publicist, his gorgeous uniforms were singular and exceptional even in an age when the dandy in military uniform was the norm. His ambition was insatiable and in this was the root of his downfall, for he lacked the intelligence and moderation to consolidate his advantages. Yet, Murat rose to be a soldier of the highest rank, through marriage a member of Napoleon's own family, he was elevated to the aristocracy as Duke of Berg and in time crowned King of Naples. Though, like many of his calling, he was no military mastermind Murat was a reliable lieutenant to Napoleon often achieving-through deeds of daring-far more than other senior officers could for their emperor. Above all there could be no doubt about the quality of Murat's personal courage. He led from the front and latterly rode into the fiercest melees armed only with a riding crop. Though he came from a different and lesser mould than his master Napoleon, Murat fatally shared his weakness for conceits and hubris and, as with Napoleon himself, poor judgment ended his career ignominiously before a firing squad of his former subjects. Atteridge's biography is a well regarded classic and is highly recommended. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Napoleon's Great Adversary

Napoleon's Great Adversary PDF Author: Gunther Erich Rothenberg
Publisher: Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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"The largest force continually engaged against Napoleon and the forces of Revolutionary, later Imperial, France from 1792 to 1814 was the Imperial and Royal Austrian army. It was this army which, throughout Europe, carried the burden of the war on land. Though defeated repeatedly by Napoleon, its record against French armies generally was good. Rising from its previous defeats, in 1809, the Austrian army inflicted the first defeat on Napoleon and in 1813, contributed the largest contingent to the Allied effort in Germany." "The effects of the political, economic and social constraints are clearly explained to put the Austrian army in to the context of its day. The major campaigns and important battles are covered in detail; the strategy and tactics of its commanders are explained and analysed; the initial organisation and subsequent reforms delineated to produce a thorough survey of the Austrian army."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Napoleon: On War

Napoleon: On War PDF Author: Bruno Colson
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191508764
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
This is the book on war that Napoleon never had the time or the will to complete. In exile on the island of Saint-Helena, the deposed Emperor of the French mused about a great treatise on the art of war, but in the end changed his mind and ordered the destruction of the materials he had collected for the volume. Thus was lost what would have been one of the most interesting and important books on the art of war ever written, by one of the most famous and successful military leaders of all time. In the two centuries since, several attempts have been made to gather together some of Napoleon's 'military maxims', with varying degrees of success. But not until now has there been a systematic attempt to put Napoleon's thinking on war and strategy into a single authoritative volume, reflecting both the full spectrum of his thinking on these matters as well as the almost unparalleled range of his military experience, from heavy cavalry charges in the plains of Russia or Saxony to counter-insurgency operations in Egypt or Spain. To gather the material for this book, military historian Bruno Colson spent years researching Napoleon's correspondence and other writings, including a painstaking examination of perhaps the single most interesting source for his thinking about war: the copy-book of General Bertrand, the Emperor's most trusted companion on Saint-Helena, in which he unearthed a Napoleonic definition of strategy which is published here for the first time. The huge amount of material brought together for this ground-breaking volume has been carefully organized to follow the framework of Carl von Clausewitz's classic On War, allowing a fascinating comparison between Napoleon's ideas and those of his great Prussian interpreter and adversary, and highlighting the intriguing similarities between these two founders of modern strategic thinking.

The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon

The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon PDF Author: Gunther E. Rothenberg
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253202604
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Some 12 years ago it was estimated that well over 300,000 works existed on this period and since then several thousand more have appeared. Therefore, it might be reasonably argued that there is little room for another volume. Nonetheless, this vast outpouring of literature has usually dealt with major leaders, specific battles or campaigns, and with certain branches of the service. Moreover, at least in English, the literature tends to concentrate primarily on the French or British armies. There appears to be a lack of works combining a description of the major changes and trends in the art of war, especially at the cutting edge of events, with a discussion of the French military establishment and the armies of the major opponents, British as well as continental. And while this book is only a brief survey, I do believe that it may serve as a contribution towards filling this gap in our historical knowledge of military institutions and fighting men.