Reviewing Stand

Armies of the Danube 1809

by Jay Hadley

by Scotty Bowden and Charlie Tarbox, Empire Games Press, $19.95

Over the past five years Scotty Bowden has become perhaps the best known writer of rules for historical miniature gaming in the country. Two remarkable qualities stand out in every Bowden effort. One is an obvious understanding of the strategical and tactical principles of a period and how they relate to the actual combat situations of the opposing armies. He has the magic touch when combining the two principles of playability and reality in a rule book. I enjoy the appendices in each set of rules simply for their historical information.

Bowden's other specialty is a dogged determination to produce the most playable set of rules for gamers of all levels of ability and interest. His most recent work, STARS 'N BARS offers the gamer both simple and complex scenarios. You can leam the basic rules after a game or two, but can spend as much time as you wish developing a strong grasp of the military realities of a period.

ARMIES ON THE DANUBE written in conjunction with Charlie Tarbox is Bowden's first attempt to produce a history of the Napoleonic Wars for the gamer and military historian. The information contained in this book was gathered at the Service Historique in France and the Kriegsarchiv in Germany. You won't find this information in your local library. In fact, the entire Bowden and Tarbox series is written to destroy the myths of Napoleonic organization that have been passed onto wargamers as writers continue to reprint and re-reprint the standard information -- often erroneously.

One of the strengths of ARMIES ON THE DANUBE is its easy style -- similar to many of the outstanding American Civil War writers such as Dowley or Catton -- full of color and excitement rather than the one dimensional fare that is so common in Napoleonic histories.

The majority of the volume is devoted to examining the major battles fought during the campaign (Eckmuhl, Aspern-Essling, and Wagram) plus the Italian and Polish sideshows. The dispositions of the troops and the ensuing action is quickly developed and carried through with a flare. If the narrative in ARMIES ON THE DANUBE doesn't get you excited about the Napoleonic period nothing will.

Another positive feature about the book is that there are orders of battle for both armies present at each major battle. These are not your normal order of battle. They are broken down into regimental, battalion and in some cases company level. The research for these sections was all done in Europe by national historians familiar with the organization and, perhaps more importantly, the language of the original works.

Enclosed with each volume are several maps depicting the troop dispositions on each side. The maps are very clear and were drawn after those found in the Kriegsarchiv.

This is an excellent work and a real value for the gamer interested in Napoleonic warfare. I am told that the next offerings will be on the Peninsular campaign and the Hundred Days leading up to Waterloo. Both should be excellent additions to your collection.

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