Arthur Wagner (Pallas Armata) A reprint by Gareth Simon of the lecture notes of a US Army officer on the climactic battle of the Austro-Prussian War. Like many Americans Wagner has a serious inferiority complex and spends a considerable time seeking to demonstrate that the terrible Europeans cannot quite make the grade with those fine Americans boys in the Secessionist War. This is by turns amusing, irritating and always sad, but do not let it deter you from this book. Wagner has some interesting things to say, he has toured the battlefields (a strong plus by itself) and his evidence as a professional soldier is much more to be respected than those of the current crop of wargamer-as-historian. He is also not persuaded by the argument that the Prussians were bound to win with the Needle gun, he thinks they had the advantage of numbers and superior tactics. Well I confess myself not strongly persuaded, their tactics would not have been so clever without a weapon that could kill storm-columns. It was, however, kind of the Austrians to launch such columns. I found the account lacked the analysis and the opinions of Wawro's longer work but this does not reduce its clear statement and useful maps. I enjoyed his conclusion that the prime cause of the Austrian defeat was "the neglect of the Austrian generals to watch the development of war on our side of the Atlantic". Of course, it was Arthur, now do not be getting excited or you'll have one of your turns! The real reason for Austrian defeat was based in the lack of professionalism, lack of moral courage and lack of intelligence (or is it imagination?) of the High Command. Even had they considered the ACW I doubt they had it in them to innovate. Wagner points out some excellent examples of what they might have learned (entrenchments and a proper use of cavalry). He fails, however, to grasp the statistical conclusions from bayonet wounds (if fatal they count as dead, as close combat is more likely, I think, to involve finishing the bastard off). A stimulating if off-base read. More Book Reviews Passchendaele in Perspective Giant of the Grand Siécle After The Deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War Tactics and The Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon War and Chivalry Fontenoy The Campaign of Koniggratz 1886 Hannibal's War Letters on Cavalry Fuzzy Wuzzy Back to Perfidious Albion #97 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. 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