by Berhard Voykowitsch Helmet, ISBN 3-901923-00-4, 96 pages, $21.00 If I was Osprey, I'd be scared, very scared. Bernhard Voykowitsch has created a masterful study of the 1796 campaign to repulse Austrian forces in Italy. In larger format (8.25 x 11.75 inches) and with more detail, he has met and exceeded the Osprey standard. Castiglione 1796 contains a wealth of orders of battle and maps, plus a generally well-written account of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself, and some of the aftermath. If Herr Voykowitsch's English fractures every once in a while, it is more than made up for by the attention to detail that he dug out of the Austrian archives. The OB on pages 43 and 45 are worth the price of admission alone, and many more OBs from minor engagements are sprinkled throughout. The maps, mostly period and altered by superimposed locations of units, bring out the campaign to a new visual level. Plus, color and B&W photographs of the battlefields as they are today, highlight the terrain features depicted in maps and described in the test. While some allowance must be made for changes over time, it's a very effective 1-2 punch. Short profiles of the commanders, a section on the battlefield today, and period illustrations round out an exceptional work. Voykowitsch plans a whole series of these booklets for 1796-1800 and beyond. If he can keep the quality as brilliant as his first effort, I predict a long and very successful series. More Info: Contact: E-mail Bernhard Voykowitsch Back to MWAN #109 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum 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