Dispatches
Letters to the Editor
from First Empire Readers
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Chandler Comments Dear Dave, May I wish to comment about 'The Great Years . . .?" Mr. Paddy Griffith and Mr. John Cook have already said almost everything possible. . . 'SCHOOL REPORT' 'Scott Bowden tries hard, but he takes himself far too seriously, and I can only fear for "Napoleon and Jena" next year or whenever. He really must not spend so much of his time playing wargames, and he definitely needs to be more respectful of English and History. For example: he cannot distinguish (or so it seems) between the ancient Anglophobic word "S.H.A.T." (which he mentions over 400 times in "Austerlitz") from the past-participle of "S.H.I.T." So he must write 4,000 lines for "I MUST LOVE ENGLAND MORE" as a punishment. Indeed, "Scotty" must pull up his socks next term. RESULT: 5/10 is fair for a mark. PS. I would rather be a "Johnny-come-lately than a '... have-been'. PPS. First Empire readers may be interested that my 'Campaigns of Napoleon" (14th printing, 1998) has recently been re-published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson; indeed, from the same Company, my (edited) 'Napoleon's Marshals', a second edition, will be coming out in November. Everything helps! Colonial Patois? Dear Sir, I was generally dismayed to read Mr. Griffith's remarks in his letter, and to a lesser degree by Mr. Cook's offhand remark in his review, both printed in issue #41. Can it be that we Americans have failed so miserably to speak and write English to their satisfaction? Are there no great American works of prose or poetry that move them? No examples of wit or irony? Is there only a rudimentary, shallow and degraded form of English expressed in the United States? What about Canada? Of course, I must be wrong. I have misunderstood that each must have been employing their accomplished wit and subtlety in a manner that was simply beyond the understanding of this provincial. What misfortune to have been born on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Reply Letter to Editor (FE#43) Bowden's Book v Griffith & Chandler Dear Dave, I was sent a copy of Dr. Paddy Griffith's comments on Mr. S. Bowden's book and almost wrote you back, but I have recently come into possession of a copy of a letter from Dr. David Chandler to you on the same topic. I am utterly amazed at what I see in those two letters. I have no intention of getting into the issue of what Mr. Bowden said in his book. He makes a point and he has a right to make it. Your readers and those who write letters to you are welcome to disagree or agree as they chose and present their cases. On the other hand, I would greatly appreciate it if such comments could be kept to a professional and factual level and cease personal attacks. With regards to Dr. Paddy Griffith, I find his comments about "colonial patois" incredibly arrogant and utterly contemptible. Especially from someone who sent me a letter stating that we Americans "deserved the Oklahoma City bombing." That is about the same as my saying you British deserved the blitz. Dr. Griffith wrote a letter the identical comments to a mutual friend as well. His utter hatred of Americans is well known to me as a result and I ceased all communications with him. As for his comments about Mr. Bowden, I can only look at the source. Now Dr. Chandler writes you saying (Ed. See above!), "he [Bowden] cannot distinguish (or so it seems) between the ancient Anglophobic word "S.H.A.T" [Section historique de l'Armee du terre - French army archives] (which he mentions over 400 times in "Austerlitz") for the past-participle of "S.H.I.T." Calling the French archives "shit" is not exactly what I would expect from a historian of any repute. This also shows an incredible level of jingoism. Indeed, Dr. Chandler stands condemned by his own words as a Franophobe. I have never seen such a comment from Mr. Bowden, only interpretations of his written word by people whose zenophobia is now all too apparent. I'm afraid I can only come to the conclusion that the British historians have become the worst of jingoistic revisionist historians. Anything that attacks their sacred cows must be quashed without thought or mercy. What else can I believe when they attack an historian because of his nationality and to say that the use of any archive is "shit"? Reply Letter to Editor (FE#43) Good Work Howie Dear Dave, I am writing this month to say, please get this chap Howie Muir to write some more articles. His article on Artillery (FE 40) was excellent! Perhaps he could tabulate the results of artillery and small arms fire tests? Good stuff, keep it up! Good Work Andy! Dear Dave, Issue 41 was excellent I especially loved Andy Finkel's review of Piquet rules-clear concise and very tempting so I'm off to order a set! Hofschröer's 1815 Dear Dave, Just a couple of quick comments on John Cook's and Neil Carey's reviews of Peter Hofschröer's "1815 - The Waterloo Campaign" in FE 41. John Cook complains that Hofschröer does not produce any material to validate Britain being "the architect of this anti-Prussian conspiracy". He may like to refer to Gregor Dallas' excellent work "1815 - The Roads to Waterloo", published shortly before The Book. The political background to the campaign is covered in enormous detail here. For instance, on p 147, Dallas writes "On 1 January 1815, Castlereagh submitted to the French and Austrian plenipotentiaries the draft for a Treaty of Defensive Alliance." It is clear from that quote who instigated the treaty. Hofschröer's point certainly seems to be validated here. Neil Carey complains that Hofschröer is missing the point on Wellington's promise to come to Ligny with 20,000 men "because he was already tying down 21,000 French, etc." Sorry, but I think Neil is missing the point. When, at the meeting at Brye, Wellington repeated his promise to support the Prussians with 20,000 men at Ligny that afternoon, he had 7,000 at Quatre Bras and had ordered 7,000 more to march there. Thus, even if he did not leave a single man to guard Quatre Bras, he could only have got a maximum of 14,000 men to Ligny if Ney had not attacked him. Surely the point is that the promise was insincere and Wellington was well aware of that. Where were the 6th . . . Dear Sir Can you or any of the readers of First Empire tell me the deposition of the French 6th Light Infantry regiment during the Waterloo Campaign? I have seen several "orders of battle" which show it as being with IV Corps, attached to the 3rd brigade; 12 the Division. However, Siborne shows the 12th Division as having only the 30eme, 96eme and 63eme Ligne Regiments, and makes no mention of it anywhere in the French dispositions at Waterloo. I am asking this question because I have a book written by a certain "M.M. Erckmann-Chatrian" entitled "Waterloo". He Served in the 6eme Legere at Ligny and again at Waterloo. Martinien's list shows the 6eme having taken casualties at Ligny, but stops there. It also shows the 63eme Ligne took casualties at Ligny also and as these two regiments were brigaded together, how did the 6eme go to Waterloo and become separated from the IV Corps? Yours Sincerely A Longing for Sharpe! Dear Dave As I sat watching the so called English football fans running amok in Marseilles recently I could not help wondering if this hooliganism was not some sort of modern incarnation of the English "warrior spirit" which gets little enough opportunity to show itself in uniform these days. I was therefore interested when a well known Conservative politician was met with widespread condemnation when he suggested just that. However, just as various commentators called the fans the "scum of the earth" who were driven by drink, so of course, they were merely echoing the words of Wellington himself. The logical conclusion of all this seems clear: perhaps the well documented draconian discipline of Wellington's army was ail there was between the "silent, still and unmoved" red coats as they stood on the Waterloo ridge and a chorus of "come on up if you think you're hard enough" accompanied by a shower of empty brandy bottles aimed at the Imperial Guard!? Just a thought. Another Longing for Sharpe! Dear Dave, First of all I'd just like to congratulate you on a superb magazine in First Empire. Well done, long may it continue! With terrestrial television taken up by the saturation coverage of the World Cup and Wimbledon, football and tennis, imagine my delight at hearing the rumours of a Sharpe Night scheduled for 18th June (subtle eh?!), a whole four hours of the scrummy Sean Bean in uniform. Then picture my dismay at finding the programmes are only shown on Satellite. When is ITV going to repeat some of the episodes again? They're too good and Sean Bean too handsome for them to be televised only once! Yours sincerely, Mameluke Organisation etc., Dear Sirs, I hope it is not too presumptuous but I would like to enquire if any readers have any information on the uniforms/organisation/ history of the late Mameluke Army 1807-1816 Yours sincerely Random Snippets from Le Moniteur(First Empire's On-line discussion Forum www.firstempire.ltd.uk) Neapolitan Italian Orders of Battle/Army lists Posted by Ivan McIntosh The recent comments on Neapolitan artillery reinforced a desire to form such a wargames army. Under the rules system I and my friends use, all games forces must be based on a historical order of battle or army list. As you can imagine, I have found tracking such sources down through regular channels quite difficult. Should anyone have an order of battle (including approx. numbers in each regt. if poss.) or army list for the Neapolitans (or indeed any of the other Italian States) I would be grateful for your assistance... Also, regiment numbers on the Russian side at Borodino? Even Mr Nafziger in his book does not have these . . . In Reply to: Neapolitan Italian Orders of Battle/Army lists posted by Ivan McIntosh.
Ivan, As far as Neapolitan Army lists are concerned you have to specify the period you are interested, since there were so many changes between 1806 and 1815. For the Order of Battle, below is that for 1812 in Russia: XI Corps Marechal Augereau - Chief of Staff: General de Brigade Menard) 33rd Division (Gen. de Division Destrees - Chef of Staff General Pepe)
6th Line Rgt.(2) (47, 1791) Guard Marines (2 Coy.) (8,203) 2nd Infantry Brigade (Gen. de Brigade D'Ambrosio)
Guard Velites a Pied Rgt. (2) (49, 1479) Cavalry Brigade (Gen. de Brigade Franceschi)
Gardes d'Honneur (3 Sqd.) (31, 395) Horse Artillery Battery (6, 75 , 4 x 6 pdrs & 2 howitzers) Hope this helps. Napoleonic Uniforms Posted by B. Spiecker Hi! Does anyone know if there's a book showing colour illustrations of uniforms worn by Dutch troops in the service of the l'Empire, roughly between 1805 - 1815? Also, most of the books I have on Napoleonic uniforms contain illustrations that are at best so-so. Any suggestions? Thanks. In Reply to: Napoleonic uniforms posted by B. Spiecker. Posted by Steven H. Smith. Two booklets contain, among others, contemporary coloured illustrations of Dutch uniforms. The first is presently available the second will be available in late June: Le manuscrit de Weiland @ 112F 159 colour plates Le manuscrit du Bourgeois de Hambourg @ 95F. 158 colour plates Both are available from: Tradition - LCV Services, 15, Rue Bargue, 75015 PARIS which takes VISA cards. I have no connection with this firm other then as a satisfied customer! Polish Napoleonic uniforms Posted by Richard Cudzilo I have always been interested in Napoleonic warfare, but especially the uniforms of Polish units. The ones I'm most interested in are the imperial guard. Can anyone tell me of any prints that can be obtained, I'm also interested in action type paintings of this same type. Thank you. In Reply to: Polish Napoleonic uniforms posted by Richard Cudzilo
There is an excellent book in French: "Les Polonais de Napoleon" by J. Tranie and J. C. Carminiani. This book is 224 pages with 64 pages of illustrations and is available from the following for 330 Francs plus postage: Tradition - LCV Services 15, Rue Bargue 75015 PARIS On British POWs Posted by Kevin Clark. Can anyone tell me where I may get info on a British POW where they stayed etc., my ancestor returned 8 years after war with a French girlfriend and child In Reply to: British POWs posted by Kevin Clark. Posted by Wendy Atkin, N.A. Research Member For the period 1793-1815 there are lists and accounts of British POWs in France transmitted by the agent for prisoners in Paris. These are to be found in class ADM103 at the Public Record Office at Kew in London. Most of the prisoners appear to have been naval and civilian internees. There is no general index of names. Hope this is of help. Reply Letter to Editor (FE#43) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #42 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 |
