Armies of the Danube:

1809

review by Jim Birdseye

Armies of the Danube: 1809, by Scott Bowden and Charles Tarbox, with introduction by General de Division Forret, retired Chef du Service Historique de I'Armee de Terre Francaise. Chicago, III.: The Emperor's Press, Armies of the Napoleonic Wars Research Series, 1989. 241 pp., ill., maps, bib., notes. (Hardcover). This work is of value to both the scholar and wargamer. It includes detailed orders of battle as well as commentary on the various aspects of the 1809 campaign. The 1809 campaign is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is Napoleon at his best and the French command and staff at their best. Secondly, this campaign has the Austrians with a clearly improved army and staff.

The authors spend a great deal of time setting the stage and describing the military systems of the major combatants. Included in this section are the tactical doctrines of both armies and exerpts from their respective drill manuals. Once the two major forces are described the authors plunge into the campaign itself. Each major action and several minor ones are described and analyzed. Starting with Eckmuhl and running through Ebelsberg, AspemEssling, and finishing with the hard fought climax at Wagram. The authors also describe the ancillary actions in Poland, Hungary, Italy and Dalmatia, but the principle focus of this work is the clash in the Danube basin between Charles and Napoleon.

The illustrations contribute to the work and blend in well with the text. The maps are principally in black and white, but within this limitation they are also extremely useful to the reader and those wargamers looking for an action to simulate. Lastly, the tacked on chapter on visiting the battlefields today is a nice touch and now that Eastern Europe may be opening up to new scholarship perhaps even more fields will be open for study. As far as breaking new ground in the area of research, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the notes in the back of the book.

There is very little new source material tapped by the authors, but that does not detract from the usefulness of this work because the authors have assembled a very well organized presentation of the material that they do have. From an historian's perspective they have broken very little new ground, but have excellently cultivated what was already broken ground and produced a fine product. For the English speaking American reader much of this material is new ground and as such, Bowden and Tarbox are to be thanked. For those who wargame the Napoleonic period and especially those who wargame the campaigns in central Europe, this work is a must buy, but I caution the reader to use other sources besides this one and not to rely on the opinion of one author. There is always room for further research. The book sells for $26.95 and should be available from a number of sources.

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