Osprey Warrior 63
Osprey Warrior 57
Under Review: Book Review
by Dave Hollins
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The popular image of Napoleon’s army is well-known through the rather romanticised (and even partially invented) works by the likes of Coignet and Marbot, followed by more modern works extolling the delights of “La Gloire”. It is perhaps time for a look at the realities of life behind the facade and in two well-illustrated Warriors, the author has gone back to the contemporary accounts of life at this time of near-continuous warfare. The dividing point of 1803 is of course convenient for its subject matter, but it also divides the more turbulent Revolutionary period, when the bulk of the supposedly “Napoleonic” changes actually took place. As with most Warriors, these books cover the realities for the ordinary soldier of conscription, training, camp life and combat. However, these works are most interesting as aside from a few quotes from the likes of Blaze and Coignet, the author uses a wide range of contemporary accounts, (about twenty contemporary authors in each book) which have not been seen in English before, to tell the story. Also, he covers both the drill every soldier learned (and a surprisingly large part of which was learned on the march) and the key tactical formations in which he might be deployed. The most interesting comparison is Plate E in the Napoleonic book, which shows skirmish deployment against Austrian infantry (shown on the edge as they are on Warrior 24: Austrian Grenadiers and Infantry Plate J), while Plate E in the revolutionary book shows the deployment from column into line, which was conducted at much closer range from enemy infantry and was a key tactic, when the troops were well trained enough. The lack of trained men in the later Napoleonic period consequently forced greater use of heavy column, which rarely deployed. The realities for the infantryman under the Revolutionaries and Napoleon were no different - to learn that your name had been drawn in the conscription lottery must have filled a new conscript with mixed feelings –- both the excitement of life away from the local village and trepidation at what was to come, especially as the accounts of the war in Spain filtered back from 1808 onwards, (this particular theatre being dramatically illustrated in the Napoleonic book, which will be revealing to most readers). The soldiers endured life in training and on campaign before, in the Napoleonic book, the drama of battle with some graphic accounts of the fighting as each soldier could only focus on the area immediately around him as the enemy was engaged and his comrades fell close by. Then there was the quiet of the end of the battle as soldiers looked at the devastation followed by the relief of (for some) returning home. As the battle experience for a simple soldier was no different in the earlier period, the author uses that space to look in more detail at how the populace were inspired and later conscripted to form Carnot’s mass armies in the 1790s. The equipment plates are an interesting mix –- the move from the 1793 white uniform to the 1800 blue uniform are mirrored by the attempt to reintroduce royal white in 1806 and the rather pathetic vision of a Marie Louise stripped down to the very basics, as the Empire ran out of money and men. For a clear look at the realities behind La Gloire, this is an excellent pair of books, which are both a good clear and informative read. The Warrior series has suffered from an uneven quality of output, but this is a very definite improvement on the Imperial Guard book (Warrior 22). Osprey have also made a poor job of marketing these Warriors, which fit in well with both enthusiasts and the desires of the wider historical market for the view from the frontline. In particular, the Revolutionary / Consulate period books have been lost among 18th century lists. You may also have missed Terry’s Warrior on the French Army of the Egypt Campaign and his upcoming first Men-At-Arms on French Revolutionary Infantry 1789-1801. Finally, I should say that I helped the author out on some technical aspects of this book, but nothing of the substantive work. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire # 76 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |
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