Book Review
1815: The Waterloo Campaign
Reviewed by Phil Lawrence
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Wellington, his German allies and the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras
Well it's finally arrived, THE BOOK as it has already become known had already stirred up such a controversy amongst the English aristocracy and English speaking learned scholars, I liken it's arrival to that of an advanced guard squadron of Brandenburg Hussars charged with reporting a town's level of hospitality. Needless to say it has arrived with a great commotion! At first it's title would seem to suggest a rehash of the old Waterloo stories. This is certainly not the case. I seldom find myself at 3 o'clock in the morning unable to put a book down but this one had my attention for the best part of 5 hours before I was forced to sleep. Hofschröer, true to character has certainly put the cat amongst the British pigeons. This book concerns itself with the Waterloo campaign from the GERMAN perspective, something which has not been done well in the English language if at all attempted. I say German because it deals not only with the major power of Prussia, but with all the Germanic states' forces which participated in the campaign and were under allied control. The Nassau contingent and it's political situation has seldom before received this amount of detailed attention. The same holds true for the Hessians and the Saxons. The perspective is fascinating. Not a French or British unit mentioned!! Peter Hofschröer has made a valiant attempt at redressing the balance of history and would appear to have succeeded. It is not a flag waving nationalistic view, but a well presented and documented work, the likes of which are seldom seen today. He draws most of his facts from first hand documents and from private collections, much of which has never been translated into English before nor seen in the English speaking world. He argues the point that Wellington deliberately used the Prussians to his own advantage, not at first, but as the situation made itself available. This is a matter of interpretation of Wellington's character, who was certainly a brilliant tactician most of the time (but certainly not a good strategist), capable of major blunders (San Sebasatian), and as far as I have seen, who's character is also tainted by his involvement with the fairer sex (even in Brussels) which, if seen in an analytical sense would also add emphasis to Hofschröer's argument that he was not as clean as we English seem to believe. The latter point is not discussed. I merely add it for emphasis. Further weight is lent to his argument by the phenomenal amount of evidence provided. A superb time and motion study of troop dispositions, orders issued and apparently issued, and who knew what and when, coupled with some of the best maps ever produced in this format certainly do the case justice. The book starts with a description of the political situation in central Europe, again with emphasis on GERMANY and the involvement of the French and British in German politics. This is a case study in itself which has been often overlooked by English speaking historians. He goes on to describe the strategic situation and why it was as it was, why the Prussians and allies were so disposed, and provides detailed descriptions of the German armies and their methods, tactics and systems. If you want to know how many boots a Prussian fusilier was supposed to be issued, then read this, it will surprise you! The Saxon rebellion and it's background also receives attention and throws light on something a lot of English speakers have yet to understand. The same holds true for the logistical and supply situation with which the allies had to contend. I have yet to see elsewhere the orders of battle for the battles of Quatre Bras and Ligny provided in as well presented detail. Again the Nassauers come in for special treatment and if you are a wargamer with an interest in these battles, look no further. George Nafziger has pointed out that the maps only go down to brigade level, but this is not a valid point when one considers the scale of the maps and that a perfectly readable and detailed order of battle is provided. Where a regiment actually stood within it's designated jump off point is of interest admittedly, but not of major importance either to the case in question, nor to wargamers when recreating battles on this scale. This book has been long overdue and this historian has done his homework with teutonic precision, presenting his case in a very readable style. The detail supplied is second to none. He certainly has a case and has done well to prove it's validity, which should make it a standard reference. It therefore rates amongst the best since Petre's 1806, and Siborne's classic on Waterloo and as such should be treated so. Greenhill books should count themselves lucky to have landed this author, certainly for £ 25.00 you are getting a lot of book, a lot of reliable detail and a damned good read. Whether you are a Napoleonic historian, a wargamer or student, miss this at your peril, because you'll surly to be asked why you have not referred to Hofschröer if you do. If you buy only one book in 1998. Buy this one, with a capital B! More 1815 Reviews
1815 The Waterloo Campaign (reviewed by Neil Carey) (FE#41) More Reader's Reviews
Die Vorgeschichte, Gründung und fröhe Entwicklung The Glory Years 1805-1807 Napoleonic Weekend (video) Wellington's War L'Epopee Napoleonienne 1815: The Waterloo Campaign The Eagle 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 |