Early modern warfare Books

Book SynopsisOn June 23, 1812, Napoleon''s Grande Armée, over 500,000 men strong, poured over the Russian border. An equally massive Russian army faced them. The ensuing campaign was a catastrophe for Napoleon. Although the battle of Borodino, which resulted in heavy losses on both sides, allowed Napoleon to enter Moscow, his stay in that empty and decimated city was disastrous. By the time Napoleon had retreated to the Berezina river in late November, his Grande Armée was only a fifth of its original strength. His retreat had become a rout, and his allies began to desert him. In this book, Clausewitz analyzes all the significant players with sharp and enlightening characterizations, and provides perhaps the best eyewitness accounts of the battle of Borodino and the Convention of Tauroggen. The Campaign of 1812 in Russia is a brilliantly observed study of one of the major turning points of history.Table of Contents* Arrival at Wilna * Plan of Campaign * Camp of Drissa * General Review of the Incidents of the Campaign of 1812 in Russia * Further Progress of the Campaign

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Book SynopsisThe American Revolution Reader is a collection of leading essays on the American revolutionary era from the eve of the imperial crisis through George Washingtonâs presidency. Articles have been chosen to represent classic themes, such as the British-colonial relationship during the eighteenth century, the political and ideological issues underlying colonial protests, the military conflict, the debates over the Constitution, and the rise of political parties. The volume also captures how the field has been reshaped in recent years, including essays that cover class strife and street politics, the international context of the Revolution, and the roles of women, African Americans and Native Americans, as well as the reshaping of the British Empire after the war. With essays by Gordon S. Wood, Mary Beth Norton, T.H. Breen, John M. Murrin, Gary B. Nash, Woody Holton, Rosemarie Zagarri, John Shy, Alan Taylor, Maya Jasanoff, and many other prominent historians, the collectiTable of ContentsPart I: Imperial Context 1. Liberty, Province, and Empire Ned C. Landsman 2. The Nation Abroad: The Atlantic Debate over Colonial Taxation Eliga H. Gould Part II: Imperial Crisis 3. “Baubles of Britain”: The American and Consumer Revolutions of the Eighteenth Century T.H. Breen 4. 1776: The Countercyclical Revolution John M. Murrin 5. “Rebel against Rebel”: Enslaved Virginians and the Coming of the American Revolution Woody Holton6. Twenty-seven Reasons for Independence Robert G. Parkinson Part III: War and the Home Front 7. The Military Conflict Considered as a Revolutionary War John Shy 8. Class War? Class Struggles during the American Revolution in Virginia Michael A. McDonnell 9. Eighteenth-Century American Women in Peace and War: The Case of the Loyalists Mary Beth Norton 10. Restraint and Retaliation: The North Carolina Militias and the Backcountry War of 1780-1782 Wayne E. Lee Part IV: American Constitutionalism and Nation-Building 11. Writing on a Clean Slate: The Struggle to Craft State Constitutions, 1776-1780 Gary B. Nash 12. Interests and Disinterestedness in the Making of the Constitution Gordon S. Wood 13. Constitutional Recognition of a Free Religious Market Frank Lambert 14. Aristocracy Assailed: The Ideology of Backcountry Anti-Federalism Saul Cornell 15. “To Man Their Rights”: The Frontier Revolution Alan Taylor Part V: A Social Revolution? 16. The Revolution in Black Life Ira Berlin 17. The Continuing Revolution in Indian Country Colin G. Calloway 18. The Rights of Woman Rosemarie Zagarri 19. From Slaves, Convicts, and Servants to Free Passengers: The Transformation of Immigration in the Era of the American Revolution Aaron S. Fogleman Part VI: Legacies 20. The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire Maya Jasanoff 21. The Greatness of George Washington Gordon S. Wood

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Book SynopsisOffers a lively military history and overview of Reconstruction that illuminates the new war fought immediately after the American Civil War. This Southern Civil War was distinct from the American Civil War and fought between southerners for control of state governments.Trade ReviewJohn Patrick Daly's argument is compelling and persuasive, and this is an important book that promises to be a landmark in historiography. The scholarship is sound and the concept original, and it deals with a topic that seems increasingly more relevant and significant in our own time."-A. James Fuller, author of Oliver P. Morton and the Politics of the Civil War and Reconstruction

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Book SynopsisThe American war against British imperial rule (1775-1783) was the world''s first great popular revolution. Ideologically defined by the colonists'' formal Declaration of Independence in 1776, the struggle has taken on something of a mythic character. From the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere''s ride to raise the countryside of New England against the march of the Redcoats; and from the American travails of Bunker Hill (1775) to the final humiliation of the British at Yorktown (1781), the entire contest is now emblematic of American national identity. Stephen Conway shows that, beyond mythology, this was more than just a local conflict: rather a titanic struggle between France and Britain. The Thirteen Colonies were merely one frontline of an extended theatre of operations, with each superpower aiming to deliver the knockout blow. This bold new history recognizes the war as the Revolution but situates it on the wider, global canvas of European warfare.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Dramatis Personae Timeline 1. The Long Road to Lexington 2. The War for America 3. The World War 4. Civilians 5. Endings and Explanations 6. Epilogue Notes Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis book explains the social and economic factors which enabled the UK to fund the coalitions that Napoleon faced.

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Book SynopsisExplores the Peninsular War from the Spanish perspective.

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Book SynopsisFirst volume of this wide-ranging study of artillery of the Napoleonic era.

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Book SynopsisLively memoirs of an officer in Napoleons Garde Impriale.

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Book SynopsisThe memoir of a Dutch Napoleonic officer during the Russian Campaign of 1812, focussing on his experiences during the march into Russia, the battles and his captivity.

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Book SynopsisA classic memoir of the Napoleonic Wars.

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Book SynopsisThe Men of Wellington's Light Division is certain to be welcomed by historians and enthusiasts alike, providing a glimpse into the past that has not been seen before.

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Book SynopsisNow back in print, this new and revised edition of The Peninsular War Atlas has added new and updated maps and content to reflect the latest research into the long struggle for control of the Iberian Peninsula, all in an attractive slip case gift package.Colonel Nick Lipscombe, who is based in Spain and is the chairman of the Peninsular War 200 organization, has used his unique perspective to make this new edition the very best study of the subject on the market. The Peninsular War saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Napoleonic Wars. Over a period of five years it is estimated that half a million soldiers and civilians were killed in this bloodbath, however the battles there are far less well-known than other Napoleonic battles like Waterloo. Despite the exposure given this theatre in the Sharpe novels, the soldiers who fought there have received little public recognition. The bicentennial commemorations of this war aim to bring the war to wider recognition, bringing tTrade ReviewThis sensational, 384-page hardback book is handsomely presented in a slip-case. Overall this is an important and essential book for anyone interested in Napoleonic history. -- Toy Soldier & Model Figure '... a prodigious achievement ... I particularly admire the way [Lipscombe gives] such serious treatment to campaigns in which there was no British involvement, and to the relatively minor sieges whose details are usually so obscure. Overall, I do not believe that Lipscombe's effort will ever be surpassed.' -- Richard Holmes From Trevor James (Historical Association website and The Historian) A fascinating exercise in mapping. This is also a way to understand and value the emergence of the Duke of Wellington as a European military tactician. Clearly chronicled and explained. Extremely specialist piece of scholarship.Table of ContentsForeword by The Duke of Wellington/ Preface/ Chronology/ Introduction by Professor Charles Esdaile/ Legend/ Junot’s Invasion of Portugal/ The Road to War – The First Six Months of 1808/ The Spanish Backlash and the French Response: May–June 1808/ The First Siege of Zaragoza, 15 June–14 August 1808/ Operations in the North: The Battle of Medina de Rióseco/ Capitulation at Bailén: The Greatest Spanish Victory of the War/ French Failures and British Intervention/ The Liberation of Portugal/ Strategic Manoeuvring: September to October 1808/ Napoleonic Intervention: November 1808/ Napoleon enters Madrid and Moore enters Spain/ The Campaign in Catalonia: autumn 1808/ Isolation and Retreat: December 1808 to January 1809/ Napoleon Departs for France: the Situation in Early 1809/ Continued French Success: February and March 1908/ The Second French Invasion of Portugal: January to March 1809/ Wellesley Returns/ Suchet: An Inauspicious Start/ The Talavera Campaign: May to July 1809/ The End of the Talavera Campaign: August 1809/ The Disastrous Autumn Campaign: 1809/ The Capture of Girona: May to December 1809/ Subjugation of Andalusia: January to February 1810/ Aragon and the East Coast: January to May 1810/ 1810: The Year of Sieges/ The Third French Invasion of Portugal/ The Lines of Torres Vedras/ Offensive on the East Coast: Tortosa/ Soult’s Invasion of Estremadura: January to March 1811/ The South of Spain: January to March 1811/ Masséna: Retreat and Demise, March to May 1811/ The Allied Campaign in Estremadura: March to August 1811/ The Watershed: mid-1811/ Figueras & Tarragona: The East Coast, April to August 1811/ Border Skirmishes: June to September 1811/ The Conquest of Valencia: September 1811 to January 1812/ The Culmination of a Year of Mixed Fortunes: December 1811/ Capturing the ‘Keys to Spain’: January to April 1812/ The Salamanca Campaign: Opening Moves, June and July 1812/ The Battle of Salamanca (Los Arapiles): 22 July 1812/ Suchet’s Consolidation on the East Coast: January to July 1812/ After Salamanca: July to August 1812/ Failure, Humiliation and Retreat: September to November 1812/ Prologue to Vitoria: January to May 1813/ Operations on the East Coast: Late 1812 to April 1813/ Victory Over King Joseph: The Vitoria Campaign, May to June 1813/ While Wellington Waits, Soult Takes the Initiative: July 1813/ The Battle of the Pyrenees: 25 July to 1 August 1813/ The East Coast: May to September 1813/ The Fall of San Sebastián: August and September 1813/ The Allies Enter France: October 1813/ To the Gates of Bayonne: October to December 1813/ Respite Precedes the Storm: December 1813 to February 1814/ Final Confrontation ~ March and April 1814/ Appendices/ Glossary/ Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe campaigns fought against Napoleon in the Iberian peninsula, in France, Germany, Italy and Russia and across the rest of Europe have been described and analyzed in exhaustive detail, yet the history of the fighting in the Mediterranean has rarely been studied as a separate theater of the conflict. Gareth Glover sets this right with a compelling account of the struggle on land and at sea for control of a region that was critical for the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars. The story of this twenty-year conflict is illustrated with numerous quotes from a large number of primary sources, many of which are published here for the first time.

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Book SynopsisA previously unpublished first-hand account describing the Scots Greys at Waterloo.

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Book SynopsisFrom its origins as the Consular Guard of the French Republic, and as Napoleon's personal bodyguard, the Imperial Guard developed into a force of all arms numbering almost 100,000 men. Used by Napoleon as his principle tactical reserve, the Guard was engaged only sparingly, being deployed at the crucial moment of battle to turn the tide of victory in favour of the Emperor of the French. Naturally, the Imperial Guard has been the subject of numerous books over many decades, yet there has never been a publication that has investigated the uniforms and equipment of the infantry of the Imperial Guard in such detail and with such precision. The author has collected copies of almost all the surviving documents relating to the Guard, which includes a vast amount of material regarding the issuing of dress items, even in some instances down to company level. This information is supported by an unrivalled collection of illustrations, many of which have never been published before, as well as images of original items of equipment held in museums and private collections across the globe. In addition, the renowned military artist, Keith Rocco, has produced a series of unique paintings commissioned exclusively for this book. This glorious book is, and will remain, unsurpassed as the standard work on the clothing and equipment of the Imperial Guard, and will not only be invaluable to historians, but also reenactors, wargamers and modellers. It is one of the most important publications ever produced on this most famous of military formations.

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Book SynopsisFrom its origins as the Consular Guard of the French Republic, and as Napoleon's personal bodyguard, the Imperial Guard developed into a force of all arms numbering almost 100,000 men. Used by Napoleon as his principle tactical reserve, the Guard was engaged only sparingly, being deployed at the crucial moment of battle to turn the tide of victory in favour of the Emperor of the French. Naturally the Imperial Guard has been the subject of numerous books over many decades, yet there has never been a publication that has investigated the uniforms and equipment of the Guard in such detail and with such precision. The author has collected copies of almost all the surviving documents relating to the Guard, which includes a vast amount of material regarding the issuing of dress items, even in some instances down to company level. The Guard was extravagantly dressed and accoutred, with the finest materials and the brightest colours. On both campaign and parade, the Guard provided a dazzling display of military grandeur. From the green and gold trappings of the Chasseurs Cheval, to the multi-coloured Mamelukes, the Guard cavalry was among the most brilliantly clothed formations ever to grace the field of battle. This information is supported by around 100 contemporary prints, many of which have never been published before, as well as images of original items of equipment held in museums and private collections across the globe. In addition, the renown military artist, Keith Rocco has produced a series of unique paintings commissioned exclusively for this book. This glorious book is, and will remain, unsurpassed as the standard work on the clothing and equipment of the Imperial Guard, and will be eagerly sought by reenactors, wargamers and modellers, and will sit on the book shelves of historians and enthusiasts as one of the most important publications ever produced on this most famous of military formations.

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Book SynopsisIn 1801 the newly forged United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland commenced life at war with France and her allies and remained so until 1815. After 1812 she had to shoulder the extra burden of a war against the United States of America. With conflict on multiple fronts, hardships continued to be inflicted at home. Trade was made precarious. People became bone-weary of hostilities and the threat of invasion ran high. Napoleon Bonaparte was no ordinary opponent, and the United States navy showed the world the worth of her ships, but what stood in their way was the Royal Navy. Despite notable losses, after the victory of Trafalgar in 1805 she dominated the seas. Although not the only means, her warships were the nation's first line of defence that helped keep British shores safe. As the era ended it was obvious the navy had to change. Steam began to alter perspectives with new opportunities. From the vantage point of later decades it could be seen what the Royal Navy had once been and still was. A naval superpower. Britain's oldest continual military force. The senior service.

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Book SynopsisGabriele Esposito presents a detailed overview of the military history of Colonial North America during its earliest period, from the first colonial settlement in Jamestown to the end of the first continental war fought in the Americas. He follows the development of organization and uniforms not only for the British Colonies of North America but also for the French ones of Canada. Every colonial unit formed by the Europeans in the New World, as well as the regular troops sent to America by Britain and France, is covered in detail: from the early militias of the Thirteen Colonies to the expeditionary forces formed during the War of the Spanish Succession. Great military events, like King Philip s War or Bacon s Rebellion, are analysed and the evolution of tactics employed in this theatre are discussed, showing how much warfare was influenced by the terrain and conditions in North America. Dozens of illustrations, including colour art works, show the first military uniforms ever worn in North America, as well as interesting details of weaponry and equipment used.

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Book SynopsisIn the 200 years since the famous battle in the muddy, bloody fields of Waterloo, almost every aspect of the fighting has been examined and analysed, apart from one - that of finding and illustrating locations relating to the campaign. From Napoleon's landing on the Golfe Juan on France's Cote d'Azur, along the Route Napoleon and through Grenoble, the Emperor's journey back to Paris, and back to power, is revealed here. In this beautifully produced book, we see where Napoleon distributed the Imperial Eagles to the regiments of his army, and where his forces assembled before marching to war, and where the Due of Wellington's Anglo-Allied army gathered in Brussels. The camera follows the initial encounters on the banks of the River Sambre and the manoeuvring of the French and Coalition forces leading to the first great battles of the campaign at Quatre Bras and Ligny. The key sites occupied by the opposing armies at these battles are investigated as are the routes of the withdrawal to Mont St Jean by Wellington's army and to Wavre by Blucher's Prussians. The Waterloo battlefield and its associated buildings are examined in pictorial detail, as are the locations which marked the pivotal moments of the battle. The sites of the corresponding battle at Wavre are also shown, as well as the pursuit of the two wings of beaten French Army, including the sieges of the fortresses by the British army, before Paris was finally reached. The uprising in the Vendee and the last clashes of the campaign before Napoleon's abdication are also featured. The book closes with Napoleon's journey from Paris to St Helena via l'Ile d'Aix and Plymouth. Headquarters buildings, observation posts, monuments and memorials, bridges and battlefields, and the principal locations of the campaign are portrayed in unique photographs - and behind every plague and place is a tale of political posturing, military manoeuvring, sacrifice and savagery. Together these images tell the story of Napoleon's greatest gamble, and we know that a picture is worth a thousand words!

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Book SynopsisMemoirs of British soldiers who fought in the Peninsular War are commonplace and histories of the momentous campaigns and battles of Sir John Moore and Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, can be numbered by the score. Yet surprisingly little has been published in English on their opponents, the French. Using previously unseen material from the French army archives in Paris, which includes numerous memoires that have not even been published in France, renowned historian Paul Dawson tells the story of the early years of the Peninsular War as never before. Eyewitness accounts of the horrific Siege of Zaragoza, in which more than 50,000 soldiers and civilians were killed defending the city, and of the cataclysmic Spanish defeats at Medellin and Ocana are interspersed with details of campaign life in the Iberian Peninsula and of struggling through the Galician mountains in pursuit of the British army marching to Corunna. As well as the drama of the great battles and the ever-present fear of Spanish guerrillas - the knife in the back, the flash of steel in the dark - Paul Dawson draws on the writings of the French soldiers to examine the ordinary conscript's belief in the war they were fighting for their Emperor, Napoleon. In this much-needed study of the Peninsular War from the French perspective, Paul Dawson has produced an unprecedented, yet vital addition to our understanding of the war in Iberia. _Napoleon's Peninsular War_ is destined to become one of the classic accounts of this turbulent, yet endlessly fascinating era.

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Book SynopsisGareth Glover, who has established a reputation as a leading authority on the Napoleonic Wars, uses letters sent home from the Peninsular War by British soldiers to give a candid account of what it was like to serve in the army during the long campaign against the French. The vivid excerpts, which are set in their historical context by the author's expert commentary, are largely drawn from the correspondence of the other ranks, and they fully explore the everyday experience of these men through their own words. Only extracts from letters written during the campaigns are quoted -journals written much later for publication are discounted -so a true picture of life in the army at war comes out directly, as it was perceived at the time. Every aspect of the soldiers' experience is covered, from the fatigue and discomfort of existence on military service to the reality of combat and their feelings when a comrade was wounded or killed. The letters reveal so much about their attitude to the enemy, civilians and the men who served alongside them. Since this was the first war in history where regular postal services operated -and since a rising number of soldiers were able to read and write -their letters offer us an insight into men at war that has never been recorded before.

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Book SynopsisOn an icy winter's day in January 1649, a unique event in English history took place on a scaffold outside of Whitehall: Charles I, King of England, was executed. The king had been held to account and the Divine Right of Kings disregarded. Regicide, a once-unfathomable act, formed the basis of the Commonwealth's new dawn. The killers of the king were soldiers, lawyers, Puritans, Republicans and some simply opportunists, all brought together under one infamous banner. While the events surrounding Charles I and Cromwell are well-trodden, the lives of the other fifty-eight men - their backgrounds, ideals and motives - has been sorely neglected. Their stories are a powerful tale of revenge and a clash of beliefs; their fates determined by that one decision. When Charles II was restored he enacted a deadly wave of retribution against the men who had secured his father's fate. Some of the regicides pleaded for mercy, many went into hiding or fled abroad; others stoically awaited their sentence. This is their shocking story: the ideals that united them, and the decision that unmade them.

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Book SynopsisAlthough also known as the Third English Civil War, the author makes it clear that this was the last war between the Scots and English as separate states. He narrates in detail the the events following the exiled King Charles II's landing in Scotland and his alliance with the Scots Covenanters, erstwhile allies of the English Parliamentarians. Cromwell's preemptive invasion of Scotland led to the Battle of Dunbar, a crushing defeat for the Scots under David Leslie, though this only unified the Scottish cause and led to the levying of the Army of the Kingdom under Charles II himself. Charles II led a desperate counter-invasion over the border, hoping to raise a royalist rebellion and forcing Cromwell to follow him, though he left Monck to complete the pacification of Scotland. Cromwell caught up with Charles II at Worcester, where the Scots/Royalist army was decisively defeated and destroyed, thousands of the prisoners being sold into slavery in the West Indies and the American colonies. This revised and updated edition contains an expanded chapter on the aftermath of the war and the fate of the POWs, drawing on major new archaeological evidence, as well as an expanded Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn the summer of 1812 Napoleon gathered his fearsome Grande Armée, more than half a million strong, on the banks of the Niemen River. He was about to undertake the most daring of all his many campaigns: the invasion of Russia. Meeting only sporadic opposition and defeating it easily along the way, the huge army moved forward, advancing ineluctably on Moscow through the long hot days of summer. On September 14, Napoleon entered the Russian capital, fully anticipating the Czar’s surrender. Instead he encountered an eerily deserted city—and silence. The French army sacked the city, and by October, with Moscow in ruins and his supply lines overextended, and with the Russian winter upon him, Napoleon had no choice but to turn back. One of the greatest military debacles of all time had only just begun. In this famous memoir, Philippe-Paul de Ségur, a young aide-de-camp to Napoleon, tells the story of the unfolding disaster with the keen eye of a crack reporter and an astute grasp of human character. His book, a fundamental inspiration for Tolstoy’s War and Peace, is a masterpiece of military history that teaches an all-too-timely lesson about imperial hubris and its risks.

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Book SynopsisIt was front-page news throughout the country - the largest gathering of Union and Confederate veterans ever held. “[It] will be talked about and written about as long as the American people boast of the dauntless courage of Gettysburg,” declared a woman who accompanied her father to the reunion. But as the years passed, the memorable event was all but forgotten. John Hopkins’s The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913 goes a long way toward making sure the world will remember.The 1913 Gettysburg reunion is a story of 53,000 old comrades and former foes reunited, and of the tension, even half a century later, between competing narratives of reconciliation and remembrance. For seven days the old soldiers lived under canvas in the stifling heat on a 280-acre encampment run by the U.S. Army. They swapped stories, debated still-simmering controversies about the battle, and fed tall tales to gullible reporters. On July 3, the aging survivors of Pickett’s Division and the Philadelphia Brigade shook hands across the wall on Cemetery Ridge, in the reunion’s climactic photo op.Some of the battle’s leading personalities were in attendance including Union III Corps commander Dan Sickles, who at 92 was still eager to explain to anyone who would listen the indispensable role he had played in the Union victory. Also present was Helen Dortch Longstreet, the widow of Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, who devoted her life and considerable energies to defending the reputation of her general. Both wrote articles from the reunion that were syndicated in newspapers across the country. There was even a cameo appearance by a young and as yet unknown cavalry officer named George S. Patton Jr.Hopkins fills his marvelous account with detail from the letters, diaries, and published accounts of Union and Confederate veterans, the extensive archival records of the reunion’s organizers, and the daily stories filed by the scores of reporters who covered it.The World Will Never See the Like offers the first full story of this extraordinary event’s genesis and planning, the obstacles overcome on the way to making it a reality, its place in the larger narrative of sectional reunion and reconciliation, and the individual stories of the veterans who attended. Every reader interested in Gettysburg will find this a welcome addition to their library.

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Book SynopsisOn the four sides of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, serried tablets display the names of 660 honoured commanders of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Most are those of generals and marshals of the French Army – but 26 are the names of admirals, commanders of the fleets of Republican and Napoleonic France.In Napoleon's Admirals, Richard Humble presents not only their individual stories, but an entirely new appraisal of the Anglo-French naval war of 1793–1814: the longest sea war in modern history, exploding many myths along the way.The aristocratic officers of the French Navy did not emigrate en masse when the Revolution came, leaving the Navy leaderless and doomed to repeated defeats at sea. Of the 26 ‘Admirals of the Arc,’ 23 had learned their trade in the French royal and merchant navies of the Ancien Régime. Republican France could call on a wide range of seasoned combat veterans from the American Revolutionary War (1778–83), whose stories are a revelation in themselves. These former King’s officers stayed, and loyally tried to serve their country as the Revolution pursued its wasteful and unpredictable course. Three of them paid for their loyalty under the guillotine.Contrary to popular British belief, the naval war did not end with Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in October 1805. Thanks to an energetic warship-building program, the French Navy recovered quickly from Trafalgar, and Napoleon’s conquests created an ever-widening network of new French naval bases for the British Admiralty to cover. Collingwood, Nelson’s deputy at Trafalgar, was still commanding in the Mediterranean four years later. The Admiralty had not dared to recall him and he died at sea, utterly exhausted, in March 1810. Four months later the French inflicted the greatest humiliation suffered by the Royal Navy in the entire naval war: the annihilation of an entire British frigate squadron in the battle of Grand-Port, Mauritius, in August 1810.In this account of the men who imposed such a strain on the world’s greatest navy for 21 years, Richard Humble has provided a remarkable addition to the well-worn pages of conventional naval history.Trade ReviewFrom a wargaming perspective, there are multiple ideas for scenarios contained within these stories. * Miniature Wargames *

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Book SynopsisGeneral John Bell Hood’s tenure commanding the Confederate Army of Tennessee stood in marked contrast to that of his predecessor Joseph E. Johnston. Where Johnston was forced to conduct a war of maneuver, parrying William T. Sherman’s repeated flanking attempts, he rarely risked offensive blows. The initiative remained almost entirely with the Federals. When Johnston did stand to accept battle, with only a few exceptions, he received enemy assaults behind fortified lines. However, weeks of retreating undermined morale.With Hood in charge, offense became the order of the day. Hood fought the two largest and bloodiest battles of the entire campaign within the space of two days: attacking at Peachtree Creek on July 20, and again at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22. A third attack at Ezra Church on July 28 was launched by Stephen D. Lee, on his own initiative. The results of all three battles, however, were the same—bloody failures for the Confederates. Thereafter, Hood adopted a more defensive strategy, choosing to preserve what combat power his army retained.The second volume on the Atlanta campaign portrays the final months of the struggle for Atlanta, from mid-July to September, including what remains to be seen of the battles around the city: Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Decatur, and Ezra Church. The siege will cover historic views of Atlanta, operations east of the city, and the city’s capture. The cavalry chapter focuses on the Union cavalry raids south of Atlanta which ended in disaster. Finally, the fighting at Jonesboro will bring the series to a close.Table of ContentsChapter 1 — Hood Takes Command Chapter 2 — The Battle of Peachtree Creek Chapter 3 — The Battle of Atlanta Chapter 4 — Engagement at Decatur Chapter 5 — Lee Attacks at Ezra Church Chapter 6 — Defending the Lifeline Chapter 7 — Cavalry. Stoneman’s Movements Chapter 8 — Cavalry. McCook’s Movements Chapter 9 — Strangling Atlanta Chapter 10 — Jonesboro Chapter 11 — The fall of Atlanta

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Book SynopsisIt is June 1815 and an Anglo-led Allied army under the Duke of Wellington s command and Gebhard Leberecht von Bl cher is set to face Napoleon Boneparte near Waterloo in present-day Belgium. What happens next is well known to any student of history: the two armies of the Seventh Coalition defeated Bonaparte in a battle that resulted in the end of his reign and of the First French Empire. But the outcome could have been very different, as Peter Tsouras demonstrates in this thought-provoking and highly readable alternate history of the fateful battle. By introducing minor but realistic adjustments, Tsouras presents a scenario in which the course of the battle runs quite differently, which in turn sets in motion new and unexpected possibilities. Cleverly conceived and expertly executed, this is alternate history at its best. 'Cleverly conceived and expertly executed, this is alternate history at its best’ - Goodreads.com 'An interesting read and definitely inspiration for some tabletop skirmishes, after all wargaming is all about alternate history’ - Wargames IllustratedTrade Review"For What If history to work, it needs to be totally believable, and Philip G. Touras has made Napoleon Victorious! almost as much a work of history as of counterfactual history. You just can't spot the seam where real events elide into the invented ones. This is alternative history at is very best, in the hands of a master."--Andrew Roberts, author of "Napoleon the Great"

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Book SynopsisThe French Revolution facilitated the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, but after gaining power he knew that his first task was to end it. In this book William Doyle describes how he did so, beginning with the three large issues that had destabilized revolutionary France: war, religion and monarchy. Doyle shows how, as First Consul of the Republic, Napoleon resolved these issues: first by winning the war, then by forging peace with the Church and finally by making himself a monarch. Napoleon at Peace ends by discussing Napoleon’s one great failure – his attempt to restore the colonial empire destroyed by war and slave rebellion. By the time this was abandoned, the fragile peace with Britain had broken down, and the Napoleonic wars had begun.

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Book SynopsisAfter the Peace of Amiens was broken in 1803, Great Britain found herself at war with an old enemy (France) but also with a new competitor (Napoleon): the latter was the greatest military commander of his times, a man who was able to transform the French Army into the most lethal fighting machine of the early 19th century. The war experiences of 1793-1803 had not been very positive ones for the British Army; the latter was still recovering from the crushing defeats suffered during the American War of Independence and badly needed to be reformed in order to become more efficient and modern. At the turn of the new century, Great Britain was still the greatest colonial power of the world and could count on the most formidable navy of the world; on land, however, her army was too weak to confront the French one on almost equal terms. The British land forces did not have a great leader comparable to Napoleon and were still influenced by tactical models that had been outclassed by the events. During the Napoleonic Wars the British military apparatus did of its best to improve, especially thanks to the guidance of intelligent officers who belonged to a “new generation”. These innovative and capable men reformed the British Army, by improving its standards of service and by creating a new relationship (based on mutual trust) with the men under their command. Wellington was the greatest of these officers and one of the few European generals who had the personal capabilities to contrast Napoleon in an effective way: it was him who “forged” the new British Army, by fighting against the French in the Iberian Peninsula during 1808-1814. After learning from experience, the British soldiers were finally able to face Napoleon on the Belgian fields of Waterloo and thus they wrote the last page of a glorious military epic. Waterloo, however, was just the final result of a long process.

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Book SynopsisWith this third volume John Gill brings to a close his magisterial study of the war between Napoleonic France and Habsburg Austria. The account begins with both armies recuperating on the banks of the Danube. As they rest, important action was taking place elsewhere: Eugene won a crucial victory over Johann on the anniversary of Marengo, Prince Poniatowski's Poles outflanked another Austrian archduke along the Vistula, and Marmont drove an Austrian force out of Dalmatia to join Napoleon at Vienna. These campaigns set the stage for the titanic Battle of Wagram. Second only in scale to the slaughter at Leipzig in 1813, Wagram saw more than 320,000 men and 900 guns locked in two days of fury that ended with an Austrian retreat. The defeat, however, was not complete: Napoleon had to force another engagement before Charles would accept a ceasefire. The battle at Znaim, its true importance often not acknowledged, brought an extended armistice that ended with a peace treaty signed in Vienna. Gill uses an impressive array of sources in an engaging narrative covering both the politics of emperors and the privations and hardship common soldiers suffered in battle. Enriched with unique illustrations, forty maps, and extraordinary order-of-battle detail, this work concludes an unrivalled English-language study of Napoleon's last victory.

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Book SynopsisThe seven-year campaign that saved Europe from Napoleon told by those who were there.What made Arthur Duke of Wellington the military genius who was never defeated in battle? In the vivid narrative style that is his trademark, Peter Snow recalls how Wellington evolved from a backward, sensitive schoolboy into the aloof but brilliant commander. He tracks the development of Wellington's leadership and his relationship with the extraordinary band of men he led from Portugal in 1808 to their final destruction of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo seven years. Having described his soldiers as the 'scum of the earth' Wellington transformed them into the finest fighting force of their time. Digging deep into the rich treasure house of diaries and journals that make this war the first in history to be so well recorded, Snow examines how Wellington won the devotion of generals such as the irascible Thomas Picton and the starry but reckless 'Black Bob' Crauford and soldiers like Rifleman Benjamin Harris and Irishman Ned Costello. Through many first-hand accounts, Snow brings to life the horrors and all of the humanity of life in and out of battle, as well as shows the way that Wellington mastered the battlefield to outsmart the French and change the future of Europe. To War with Wellington is the gripping account of a very human story about a remarkable leader and his men.Trade ReviewA superb account of what it must have been like serving under Britain's greatest - but also most exacting - soldier * Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year *Fascinating. History written as it should be: entertaining and informative * Independent on Sunday *Dramatic, often moving, sometimes shocking . . . Snow's story is far more powerful than fiction * Herald *The bloodcurdling (and surprisingly steamy) soldiers' diaries that reveal how Britain trounced Napoleon in battle * Daily Mail *Snow's descriptions of battles . . . are unrivalled * Oxford Times *A refreshingly accessible portrait of one of Britain's greatest generals, it will take some beating * Yorkshire Evening Post *A must-read * Heritage Today *'Snow writes with tremendous elan and his appraisal of Wellington is scrupulously fair' * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe battle of Borodino was one of the greatest encounters in European history, and one of the largest and most sanguinary in the Napoleonic Wars. Following the breakdown of relations between Russia and France, Napoleon assembled a vast Grande Armée drawn from the many states within the French sphere of influence. They crossed the river Neimen and entered Russian territory in June 1812 with the aim of inflicting a sharp defeat on the Tsar's forces and bringing the Russians back into line. In a bloody battle of head-on attacks and desperate counter-attacks in the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812, both sides lost about a third of their men, with the Russians forced to withdraw and abandon Moscow to the French. However, the Grande Armée was harassed by Russian troops all the way back and was destroyed by the retreat. The greatest army Napoleon had ever commanded was reduced to a shadow of frozen, starving fugitives. This title will cover the events of Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 in its entirety, with the set-piece battle of Borodino proving the focal point of the book.Table of ContentsThe road to Borodino /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing plans and forces /The invasion The battle of Borodino The end of the campaign /Aftermath /The battlefield today /Bibliography /Index

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Book SynopsisLord Derby, Lancashire's highest-ranked nobleman and its principal royalist, once offered the opinion that the English civil wars had been a 'general plague of madness'. Complex and bedevilling, the earl defied anyone to tell the complete story of 'so foolish, so wicked, so lasting a war'. Yet attempting to chronicle and to explain the events is both fascinating and hugely important. Nationally and at the county level the impact and significance of the wars can hardly be over-stated: the conflict involved our ancestors fighting one another, on and off, for a period of nine years; almost every part of Lancashire witnessed warfare of some kind at one time or another, and several towns in particular saw bloody sieges and at least one episode characterised as a massacre.Nationally the wars resulted in the execution of the king; in 1651 the Earl of Derby himself was executed in Bolton in large measure because he had taken a leading part in the so-called massacre in that town in 1644. In the early months of the civil wars many could barely distinguish what it was that divided people in 'this war without an enemy', as the royalist William Waller famously wrote; yet by the end of it parliament had abolished monarchy itself and created the only republic in over a millennium of England's history. Over the ensuing centuries this period has been described variously as a rebellion, as a series of civil wars, even as a revolution.Lancashire's role in these momentous events was quite distinctive, and relative to the size of its population particularly important. Lancashire lay right at the centre of the wars, for the conflict did not just encompass England but Ireland and Scotland too, and Lancashire's position on the coast facing Catholic, Royalist Ireland was seen as critical from the very first months. And being on the main route south from Scotland meant that the county witnessed a good deal of marching and marauding armies from the north. In this, the first full history of the Lancashire civil wars for almost a century, Stephen Bull makes extensive use of new discoveries to narrate and explain the exciting, terrible events which our ancestors witnessed in the cause either of king or parliament. From Furness to Liverpool, and from the Wyre estuary to Manchester and Warrington...civil war actions, battles, sieges and skirmishes took place in virtually every corner of Lancashire.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1Measurements and spellings 5 1 Lancashire in the seventeenth century: people, county, military 7The hundreds of old Lancashire 7Religion and society 17The county as 'Armye' 25 2 'The fittest subject for a King's quarrel': the causes of civil war 35God's war?: Catholic and Protestant 42'A horid, cursed, and barbarous Rebellion': the Irish question 55Gentlemen and townsmen 59The willing and the unwilling 64 3 To arms, and the siege of Manchester, 1642 68Militias and magazines 69The parliamentarian stand at Manchester 71The siege of Manchester, September 1642 77 4 'All barbarous crueltie': the struggle for Lancashire, 1642-43 87Campaigns in east Lancashire, October 1642 88Chowbent, November 1642 93Sir Gilbert Hoghton and Blackburn 95War in the balance, spring 1643 100Preston falls to parliament, February 1643 101Tragedy at Hoghton Tower 103A 'verrey hot skirmish' as Bolton holds out 104Lancaster and the Fylde 107The Santa Anna 108The burning and capture of Lancaster, March 1643 113Preston and Lancaster change hands 115A second royalist attack on Bolton, March 1643 120Parliamentarians attack Wigan, March 1643 122Warrington and the battle of Stockton Heath, April 1643 124 5 The war turns for Parliament 127The battle of Read Bridge, Whalley, April 1643 127South Lancashire and the Fylde, April-May 1643 132Royalist retreat and Warrington attacked, May 1643 135The battle of Adwalton Moor, June 1643 137Hornby, Thurland and the battle of Lindale Close 138Autumn and winter 1643: parliamentarian adventures outside the county 144 6 Lady Derby and the first siege of Lathom House, 1644 149The location and layout of Lathom House 153Desultory siege and negotiations, spring 1644 157Problems facing the besiegers 164Lady Derby takes the initiative 168 7 'Prince Robber' in Lancashire, 1644 173Through Stockport and into Lancashire 175The sack and 'massacre of Bolton, May 1644 176The storming of Liverpool, June 1644 182Rupert aims to relieve the siege of York, June 1644 189 8 'A fatal blow': the aftermath of Marston Moor 191The royalists in Lancashire, summer 1644 195The battle for control of Lancashire, late summer, 1644 197The battle of Ormskirk, August 1644 203 9 The end of the first civil war, 1645 209Liverpool falls to parliament 209Greenhalgh castle 216The end at Lathom and Lancashire troops at Chester 217Final royalist defeat in Lancashire, December 1645 226Reform of the Lancashire committee 229 10 War without conclusion and the 'Province' of Lancashire 238Presbyterianism in Lancashire 244 11 The second civil war, 1648 250An 'Engagement' between king and Scottish royalists 252The Engager army prepares to invade, summer 1648 259'Bloody Preston', 17 August, 1648 267The royalists retreat southwards 278The battle of Winwick, 19 August 1648 281The long road to Uttoxeter 283Preston's legacy: regicide 286 12 The search for peace and the third civil war, 1649-1651 288An accommodation with Lord Derby? 291Political, military and religious reform 293Charles Stuart and the third civil war 298A Scottish royalist army in Lancashire again 301A skirmish at Warrington bridge 303Lord Derby campaigning again in Lancashire 306The battle of Wigan Lane, August 1651 311The earl of Derby captured and tried for treason 316 13 Aftermath 322The true cost of civil war 323The Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1651-1660 331The civil wars in perspective 341Notes and references 354Appendices 368Further reading 388Index 400

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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