Dispatches
Letters to the Editor
from First Empire Readers
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He Protests Too Much! Dear Sir, As a recent subscriber to First Empire, I firstly want to say how much I am enjoying your magazine - I found some back copies at a wargames exhibition, and found the articles an interesting mix of information, discussion, opinion and general enthusiasm for a subject in which I am deeply interested. Secondly, I wanted to ask if everyone else is as puzzled as I am regarding Peter Hofschröer's apparent obsession with telling everybody that the Germans really won the Battle of Waterloo? Surely it is common knowledge that the battle would have been lost without the Prussians timely arrival, and that a large proportion of Wellington's army was of German origin? I have certainly never seen any account of the battle which did not honestly admit this. However, most accounts I have read have been written for British readers(or English speaking, at any rate), and so the author has naturally concentrated on the actions of Wellington's army, and on the British troops in that army in particular. The author, after all, wants to sell the book, and knows that it is the actions of the British troops that will interest his readers most. This does not mean that the contribution of the Germans (and it was only a contribution - they didn't win the battle by themselves) is being downgraded. He protests too much! Michael M. Watson Chorley, Lancs. Maida and Marmont David, I enjoyed David Marks' refight of Maida in #38, and plan to use this scenario myself in the near future. However, I have a couple of questions about the British OB. On the map the 35th Rgt is identified but is not listed on the OB. My reference lists it as being present at the battle. Also, David refers to the 1/81st as "highlanders" and my reference on British regiments doesn't list the 81st as a highland regiment during this period. In the same issue, I was very pleased to see Patrick Wilson's essay on Marshal Marmont. The more I read about this man's career, the more I tend to believe that he has received some very bad press these past 184 years. Too often "thumb-nail portraits" of Napoleonic personalities concentrate on well-known (and sometimes mythical or biased) aspects of their lives. Marmont's many accomplishments are usually overshadowed by his defeat at Salamanca (How would history have been changed if "Old Nosey and his #2 had become hors de combat in the opening moments of Quatre Bras or Waterloo?) and the events of the first of April 1814. Perhaps after the thumb-nail portrait series is completed someone could submit an essay or two about lesser known but significant events in the lives of the Fighting Marshals. Stephen J. Walker, USA On Henry Paget Dave, In answer to the `Dispatch' of C. Burley, who asked about biographies of famous cavalry commanders, can I inform him about the following biography on Henry Paget: "One-Leg - The Life and Letters of Henry William Paget, First Marquis of Anglesey, KG, 1768-1854" by The Marquis of Anglesey F.S.A. (London, 1961/1962/1963). The above is a very interesting biography, containing a wealth of information on Henry Paget. Hoping to have been of some help, Geert van Uythoven Willemstad, The Netherlands Never had it so good! Dear Dave, I feel I need to inform the readership of a few facts as I see them, having been in the hobby for 30 years now and was one of the few wargamers that started in the late sixties (yeah, yeah heard it all before.... YAWN!). OK. be that as it may. I feel that our hobby has never had it so good in more respects than one. What bugs me at the moment is the attitude of a few of your readers towards Peter Hofschröer. Whilst, as John Cook says, Peter is quite capable of fighting his own battles I fear that he is in danger of becoming labelled as a man with a grudge against the British and their military history. Whilst Peter himself probably couldn't care a hoot as to whether this is the case plea se let me explain a few facts. Believe it or not, Hofschröer is not on a crusade for Prussia. He is merely well situated for research and uses the situation to his advantage. Were he living in Austria, I think he would be researching their history rather than Prussia's, Bavaria or Italy would probably have the same result. Peter Hofschröer has a grudge against nobody. Being a diligent and conscientious Historian, he merely hates to see the misrepresentation of fact and perpetuation of myths and dogma. He is multi lingual, and living here in Germany which to me is something of an advantage to our hobby. Publishers will only produce stuff they think will sell. It seems pretty clear that some of them will publish anything at all in that category. That is why, with the occasional exceptions, in the UK we get seemingly endless repetitive second-rate material on Waterloo, whilst from America there is the ongoing diet of terminally francophile rubbish on Napoleon's campaigns. (Editor: A second letter continues . . .) Books, Translations and Skirmishers How many of your readers would be capable of any research in German (and French) to half the degree attained by Mr. Hofschröer ? Please put your hands up if you think you could. Hmm.. I can't count many ! I'll rephrase the question. How many people could supply any in depth information on the German forces opposed to the French and Napoleon that would undergo scrutiny? My, my. Nobody again? That's what I thought. Not many at all. I am also bi-lingual and living in Germany (30 Years) and love my hobby (Napoleonic wargaming), and thus am ideally situated for research into the Napoleonic wars, but being in the I.T. trade with a family I am no longer able to devote any significant amount of time to research. I am therefore thankful to Mr. Hofschröer for devoting his SPARE time to research fro m which we all profit. (He also has a career outside the hobby.) Rather than accept outdated Imperialist Dogma (Python?) without question, I find it refreshing to have somebody with new ideas and new insights. If you don't like it, well that's unfortunate, you are missing a lot. We certainly could have done with the type of in depth research provided by "Herr" Hoschröer in the seventies and eighties. Now you have it. All presented on a plate. You don't have to like it, believe it or even read it, but it's there for the taking. My recommendation is use it whilst you can. If you feel you must question the research as presented and I hope some readers would, I know for a fact you'll get a friendly answer from Peter, perhaps mixed with some sarcasm or English wit, but he'll help. Just be thankful that somebody feels fit to spend the time doing the difficult work for you. Further to Mr Hofschröer himself, he is as ENGLISH as me, with a Kentish accent and has a degree in history and German. He has a British sense of humour and a German name. Whilst I fear some of the readers may believe I am secretary of the P.H. fan club all I can say is , I am not. We live 250Km apart, and speak occasionally on the telephone that's all. Be thankful. Wake up and when you can do better or as well, let's see it in print. Wassenberg Germany Editor: Peter has an English sense of humour? Are there two Hofschröers in existence!? Reply Letter to Editor (FE#43) Not Doing Krieg! Dear Dave, Could you point out in the next issue that I'm not translating Krieg 1809 (re DA Rogan's letter Dispatches FE39). Dave Hollin's is, however, and 'Sharpe's Cookbook Revisited' in ADC in FE37 was a contribution to the column from him! Perhaps it is worth pointing out that anybody who has a contribution, which doesn't lend itself to other parts of the magazine, i.e. too long for Dispatches, or whatever, is more than welcome to make a contribution to ADC, and that was its purpose in the first place (as I remember!). I do agree with Mr Rogan though, and it seems that unless a book is about the British and the French, particularly Waterloo, the chance of it being taken on by a British publisher is next to not very much at all. As Col John Elting remarked recently in an interview in 'Napoleon' magazine, "Only God Almighty could understand what criteria too many publishers and book clubs use in making their selections." He answered this earlier in the same interview where he said it was evident that Americans would buy "anything with 'Napoleon' in its title". One could level that accusation at the British market with equal justice. Cambridge An Illustration of that Legendary Sarcasm and Wit! Dear Editor, May I take this opportunity to make a few comments on issue 39 of "FE", which I have just received? Firstly, to Mr Burley's enquiry. I am sorry to hear of the problems he is experiencing in his attempts to obtain certain biographies. May I suggest he try his local public library or a specialist military bookseller such as Ken Trotman who regularly advertises in "FE"? Both of them should be able to obtain a copy of "One Leg", a biography of Uxbridge authored by the current Marquis of Anglesey, head of the Paget family. It was first published in 1961 and was reprinted last year. Secondly, to Mr Rogan's request for a publisher to print a translation of "Krieg 1809". This may sound like a nice idea, but there are certain commercial realities he does not take into account. Not only is there the cost of such a project that would be likely to run into several tens of thousands of Pounds, there is also the intransigent attitude of most of the potential customers who would be unlikely to want to pay a realistic price for such a work. Having just had a book with a cover price of £ 25 published, I can tell Mr Rogan from experience that for my time to be paid for at a commercial rate, then a cover price of £ 50 would be necessary. Most purchasers of specialist books already complain if they do not get change out of a Pound coin. If he is so convinced that the translation he would like to see is a commercially viable project, then why does he not put up the £ 50,000 or so needed and take the risk that no more than ten people will buy the book? Finally, a couple of points on Part 1 of John Cook's article on "Skirmishing and the Third Rank". His point that those who claim that the Austrians and Prussians did not use two ranks, did not skirmish, etc., are making unfounded comments is quite valid. However, I suspect that his article contained too many words and too many facts for such people to grasp in their lifetimes. Just to underline or expand on a couple of his points: 1) Tactical flair and flexibility in skirmishing in the age of the flintlock musket were greatly restricted by the limitations of weapon technology. A single shot muzzle-loader did not have a high enough rate of fire for its users to engage in individual combat on a field of battle. Thus, the Napoleonic skirmisher operated in pairs, one loading and one firing, while they remained in near proximity to their close-order supports. Being vulnerable to sudden surprise attacks by enemy cavalry, two drills that were constantly practised were a rapid withdrawal on the formed supports and forming rally clumps around the sergeants of the skirmish line. Thus, the opportunity to use tactical flair was minimal. Only when the breech-loading rifle was introduced did the skirmisher start to become a viable weapon on its own. 2) The point that it was the Austrian light troops of the Seven Years War that showed the way of the future is most valid. It was that experience, which led to the development of the light arm in Prussia and the Regulations of 1788. There are, of course, those who argue that it was the experience of the French Revolution that forced a reluctant Prussian army down that path. However, as the French Revolution started in 1789, a year AFTER the 1788 Regulations were published, one wonders how such statements can be justified. Moreover, reference to accounts of the fighting in the broken terrain in the Palatinate in 1793 shows what a hard time the Prussian light troops gave the French. Sorry, I did not mean to confuse Paul Thompson's wargaming pals with the facts! 3) Jany's work on the battle drills of the Prussian army of 1806 and their tactical use is a gem. Jany was for a time chief librarian of the German General Staff and worked with archive material that went missing in 1945. The backbone of this study was the after action reports written by battalion commanders. Using quotes from these reports, Jany demonstrates very clearly, how the battle drills of 1806 were based on the Regulations of 1788 and how the latter worked in practice. Of course, if Mr Rogan has a spare £ 50,000 or so and more than ten people would be prepared to spend over one Pound to buy it, I would be happy to translate the work. Peter Hofschröer Germany Editor. Is this a demonstration on how to alienate potential book purchasers? Such Good Stuff! Dear Dave, Thank you for issue 39 of First Empire. I especially enjoyed Geert van Uythoven's piece on Daendels. It was very refreshing to read a detailed article dealing with one of the smaller nations of the Napoleonic Wars. I also found the Dispatches very enlightening, the contents of which offered their own support to the use of foreign sources. The letters from The Netherlands and Hannover were highly informative. If only we had access to the sources available to them! Keep struggling against the computer. Phil Nicholls, Gorleston, Norfolk More on Göhrde Dear David, In reply to John Salmon's request for further information on the battle of Göhrde, I hope the following may be of some help:- 1. Napoleon at Leipzig - George Nafziger page 37 & 40. Emperor's Press 1996 2. History of Europe, etc., etc., Archibald Alison Page 211 of Vol 17. Blackwood 1848 3. Napoléon 1813 - La Campagne d'Allemagne - J. Tranié & JC Carmigniani, Page 179 - an illustration of the battle by C Rochling, Pygmalion 1987 4. Napoleon's Grande Armée of 1813. Scott Bowden. Page 166. Emperor's Press 1990 5. Cambridge Modern History Volume 9. Napoleon. Page 530. Cambridge University Press 1907. To add to the "Fog" of research I have found four other different spellings of the battle, namely Göhde, Gorda, Gärda and Goehrde!! The illustration in Napoléon 1813 by Rochling is different to that printed in First Empire 38 (front cover). I do hope that the above is of some use. May I also take this opportunity to support Dave Hollins' and Phil Nicholls' thoughts on reprints of now hard to obtain books and memoirs of combatants from other nations. Also I would like to congratulate Greenhill Books and Worley Publications as well as First Empire in reprinting many hard to find out of print works, the list of candidates fro reprinting is almost endless, and I am convinced that there is a market for translated works such as mentioned in the articles that appear in your excellent magazines. RJ Ransome Newmarket, Suffolk The NCO indicators . . . Dear Sirs, The relative isolation of Australia makes me especially appreciate your magazine's stimulating mixture of scholarly debate, wargaming information and Napoleonic Militaria. However, to the point . . . Although I posses some works on uniform and have consulted others, I have gaps in my knowledge regarding the indication of rank for NCOs of all the "big four" (Ed. Presumably, Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia) and France. I would personally find an article on this to be both interesting and useful. Additionally, some informatoin on the uniforms worn by French Empire generals would be a godsend. Did Cavalry generals, in particular, wear anything they fancied – a la Lassalle and his red pyjama pants – or was there an actual order of dress? Any information you or the readership could supply would be wonderful Donald Brown Queensland, Australia Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #40 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
