Bernadotte: Napoleon's Marshal, Sweden's King

Book Description

An examination of the life of Marshal Jean Lannes, this study looks at the career of the only soldier of any rank who consistently said exactly what he thought to Napoleon at every stage of their amazing careers. The marshal not only survived these frank encounters, he was well rewarded for his abilities, which were remarkable even among the stellar senior officers who served the Emperor. While Lannes was best known for his military skill, especially as an advance-guard commander, his unconventional three-year diplomatic career was equally noteworthy, since his diplomatic tactics resulted in particular benefits for France. His career spanned much of what many historians and readers believe to be one of the most fascinating and controversial eras in French history. The marshal's personality and his tendency to lead by example rather than by orders won him the respect and the affection of his troops. He also charmed a diverse number of his contemporaries, from autocratic rulers to literary icons. Although his relationship with Napoleon was stormy at times, he earned and kept the Emperor's friendship and esteem. Chrisawn avoids the tendency of previous biographers to either canonize or condemn the marshal, providing instead a balanced treatment of her subject which includes both his strengths and his shortcomings. Marshal Jean Lannes emerges as a complete person within the context of his own intriguing world.

Customer Reviews:

History at its best.......2002-03-10

I loved this book, its biggest problem is that it is too short and you sometimes feel that the authoress has picked the highlights of each campaign and missed out on another data. Saying that the information that is included is informative, well presented and gives an unrivalled picture of Lannes's personality you leave the book feeling like you know him. I have no problem in recomending this book to anyone and hope that more books of this nature will appear in future.

Out in Front.......2001-10-26

MS.Chrisawn, a protégé of noted Napoleonist Dr. Donald Horward, has done students of the Napoleonic era a favor by producing a work on one of the foremost combatants of that period, Marshal Jean Lannes. While one can catch a glimpse of Lannes here and there in various volumes, e.g. Marbot, Caulaincourt, or DeSegur, it's certainly rewarding to finally have an affordable, English-language biography in print. MS. Chrisawn believes, and i have to concur, that too often members of the marshalate who missed the Russian campaign, fighting against Wellington, or going down to defeat at Waterloo, just aren't worthy of study. Dr. Horward must agree since he penned the Lannes chapters in David Chandler's NAPOLEON'S MARSHALS. The author bustles her prose along like the commander of an advance-guard but supports the text with indefatigable research among primary documents. The volume is happily shot through with excellent maps by Max Sewell. I enjoyed the work, learned a great deal about the protagonist but came away a bit disappointed with Lannes. I was surprised at his disobedience of orders, his often two-faced personal relationships, his really bad manners, and his complaining. I came away thinking him a competent corps commander but a touchy, hard to deal with subordinate, and a difficult comrade. I enjoyed the author's zesty "purple prose" which I'm sure irritated Dr. Horward, and am happy to fill another gap in the ranks of the marshalate on my shelf.

'A swordsman when I found him; a Paladin when I lost him'.......2001-10-16

Jean Lannes was one of the most talented of the French marshalate that served Napoleon and undoubtedly one of the most underrated. Starting as a lowly subaltern in a home-grown infantry unit from his native district, he grew into a thoughtful, aggressive, and intelligent corps commander who always did more than his assigned duty. He improved throughout his career, taking time out each day for professional study, learning to control a murderous temper, and was completely loyal, though also completely outspoken, to Napoleon. Blunt, loyal, and at times thoroughly uncombed (as when he told the traitorous foreign minister, Talleyrand, that he was nothing by a 'silk stocking full of [human excrement] to his face), he was also one of the leading soldiers of his day and contributed mightily to the success of French arms. His early death from wounds received in action at Essling in 1809 immeasurable hurt the Grande Armee, and the subsequent promotion of three generals of division to the marshalate at the end of that compaign prompted the army to dub them 'Lannes small change.'

In this new biography of Jean Lannes, author Margaret Chrisawn has hit the proverbial nail on the head. Blunt and outspoken as her topic, she has written one of the best, if not the best, biographies of one of Napoleon's generals that this reviewer has ever read. Thoroughly researched and documented, this book belongs on the bookshelf of every Napoleonic historian and enthusiast, and is definitely in the front rank of Napoleonic scholarship.

The author has captured the tone and spirit of the times and of her subject. Accurate and anecdotal (as when she quotes one of Lannes' neighbors who saw him as a general during the course of the wars on a return home, she still referred to him as a 'little twerp'), it is a lively account of one of the thorough roughnecks who made up the Grande Armee, yet does carefully recount how he continually strove to improve himself.

The author has also unearthed new material from extensive research in France and for a time stayed in Lannes' home district in France and in his hometown, tracing his descendants to get a feel for her character, both as a soldier and as a man. There is much personal material in this excellent volume, more than is generally expected in a biography of this period in history. The book definitely has more than its share of a 'whiff of grapeshot', yet paints Lannes as an entirely human person, and lets you know what and who he was.

Lannes is a thoroughly complex character, both admirable and mysterious. Typically, he exemplifies the men from varied backgrounds and who made up the top rank of the Grande Armee, those who actually, and quite literally, found a baton in their knapsacks. Lannes' relationship with Napoleon is carefully reconstructed here, being both loyal and tumultuous. His two interesting marriages, along with the character of the women he married, is also carefully recounted and is one of the areas in the book where new material has come to light because of the author's dedication to her subject. She writes as if she knew the man personally, and perhaps she really does, having walked in his footsteps in Europe. If other historians were as careful and meticulous as she, Napoleonic scholarship would reach a new high across the board.

The author paints a colorful picture of this most colorful of generals. She also carefully lays out a career that was just reaching its apex when he was killed. The conclusion of the book is interesting, and, in my opinion, most accurate. The author believes that Lannes would have made a definite impact in Napoleon's favor had he lived, a sentiment with which this reviewer heartily concurs. The author is a careful historian, skillfully weaving her tale of personal life and derring-do, and, although she admires her subject, she is also very critical of him and this shows in her narrative of both his professional and personal life.

This book is a keeper. It is a joy to read and is high quality, reliable reference material. The author with this first volume to her credit has taken her place with other Napoleonic historians of the first rank and we should all be looking forward to her next effort with great anticipation.

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Very good, unique look at Napoleon's Marshals

Excellent Read

All the King's Men

Extraordinary, engaging book

Too bad it had to end

Napoleon's Marshals
RiF Delderfield
Manufacturer: Cooper Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Napoleon | Napoleonic Wars | Military | History | Subjects | Books
General | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0815412134

Book Description

This masterful saga of Bonaparte's 26 military marshals is set against the brutal and dramatic backdrop of the French Revolution; Napoleon's rise to power, conquests, and fall; and the Bourbon restoration.

Customer Reviews:

Very good, unique look at Napoleon's Marshals.......2006-10-17

My only gripe is that it wasn't 2000 pages so it could have really covered all of the ground. As it was the book offers lots of good insights into many of the lesser known Marshals like Suchet and Davout, two fighting marshals who were sorely missed at Waterloo.

Excellent Read.......2006-05-01

I flew through this book. The narrative style of writing lent itself to a quick and enjoyable read. I came away with a better overall picture of those who were surrounding Napoleon.

Although the subject is broad in the sense that the author tackles so many people. He none-the-less does an excelent job of rounding out a solid picture of Naploeon's marshals, their personalites, their ambitons...flaws and credits.

There are several marshals that I would like to read more about based on the information gleaned from within these pages. Understandably the author could not devote as much time as he may have liked to each and every member of this group. He did, however achieve the goal of introducing us to all of them and more than just a basic glossing over.

What I liked most is that the author took the events and let time itself introduce and develop the marshals rather than simply lining each one up and giving the reader an encyclopedia type synopsis of each individual. This really brought each marshal into better focus in terms of what was going on at the time and why they entered the picture whent hey did, as well as what they were doing prior to entering into the service of the Empire.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Napoleon and also intersted in getting a better feel for those around him and what drove them to thier positions.

All the King's Men.......2006-03-24

Buy and read this book.

You will give Delderfield credit for his vision, his ambition and his broad coverage to the Age of Napoleon. This book is a synthesis of the age and a complement to all your other Napoleonic reading. It is an enjoyable book which weaves back and forth and round and round as the author tells about the personalities of and interrelationships among the 26 men who became Marshals of France.

There are many reasons I like Delderfield himself. The leading reason is that he values selflessness, effort, merit and ability. Though British, he could have hardly been more American in that respect. He was not the often encountered British snob who promotes the view that Napoleon was an ogre.

I share Delderfield's view, unabashedly, because I am a Son of the American Revolution and I hope also a true Patriot. While we owe our cultural heritige to the English in very large measure, I believe we owe our freedoms mostly to the French.

Delderfield is critical about the 26 men and their Emperor when needed, but he understands the great achievements of the time. He appreciates the blows that the French made and took in the name of liberty and progress.

I thought I was buying a book biographical portraits like Aubrey's Brief Lives, Seutonius' Twelve Caesars or Plutach's Lives. But, what I got was the whole story of the Age of Napoleon retold in a dramatic serial fashion (it would be a great HBO story) and in the action story form of Delderfield's own fiction Seven Men of Gascony.

The book organized according the normal conventions around the coalitions and campaigns. The story line begins at the end of the Age of Frederick the Great in order to bring the early lives of the oldest Marshals, such as Augereau, into focus. The story finally ends about 70 years later with the Funeral of Napoleon led by Marshal Soult to the tomb in the Invalides.

The story revolves around the twelve or so basic campaigns and the role of the respective Marshals. The book is fresh and it does not repeat known erroneous myths or trite cliches.

From this book we get insights into the interacting character of the 27 men (Napoleon included and chief among them). Very few of the faults of the Marshals are left unexposed by the end of the story. Those who achieve the highest place in Delderfield's pantheon and remain relatively unscathed are Davout the Iron Marshal; Ney, the Bravest of the Brave, Lannes, the Roland of France; and Poniatowski, Prince of Poland.

The other Marshals are treated well and complimented for their roles and abilities -- though depreciated for their weaknesses and vanities. They are put on a lesser shelf revealing more than anything the values of the author. I happen to agree with Delderfield that adherence to duty, bravery and loyalty are the three highest standards to judge these men.

All of the Marshals have an interesting personal story. We have to give all of them credit for ability and bravery beyond the common varieties. None of them became Marshals of France because they were incompetents or cowards. The abiding values of the Napoleonic Creed were merit and joie de virve or elan. The Marshals, on the whole, personified these values.

The Emperor could forgive vanity as in Murat; disloyalty as in Bernadotte and greed, as in Messena. He forgave them all, and many times, in the name of merit (also probably in the name of necessity which is often a reflection of the same thing).

I recommend this book for three reasons. First, it is organized. It gives a compact lucid picture of the chessboard of the age. It tells us a about how the campaigns and politics were structured. Second, it is complementary to other work such as Gallo, Tolstoy, Chandler and so on. It provides an additive perspective on the events which can enhance and enrich your reading of all the other literature on Napoleon. Third, it is literate and enjoyable. As I have already said, I share strongly the values and sensibilities expressed by Delderfield.

I suspect Delderfiled's perspectives on the French and Americans were shaped by interactions in World War II and World War I. The 20th Century Delderfeld, if placed in the 18th Century, would have been a political sympathizer in the American Revolution and he might have crossed the Channel to march with Davout, Lanne, Bessieres, Oudinot or Ney.

I don't mean to say he would be a traitor to England, I do not wish to dishonor him that way. What I mean is, from the benefit of perfect hindshight, he would have seen the vision of marking men by ability. He he would have marched off of the old Road to Serfdom, as Hayek called it, and onto the new Road to Freedom which was then being beaten across Europe by the French.

As will all books about this age the principal subject is Napoleon himself, who by any objective standard was the greatest leader of men in battle the world has evern known. As is usually the case with a leader, you will see in this book that any given leader cannot do everything in a complex enterprise and so must organize around himself a way that expresses his own goals, interests and competencies.

By examining the complexities of the individual Marhals and their interactions, you will be looking into the heart and mind of the Emperor himself. You will see why at Waterloo Napoleon was no longer himself. He was no longer able to articulate his visions without his Marshals of years gone by. You can speculate, for example, that if Berthier was present at Waterloo, the calvary would have stayed in reserve for the coup de grace and that Grouchy would have not been lost, hence blocking Blucher from the field, while Napoleon finished Wellington -- who was at the time already beaten on the hillsides of Waterloo.

While Richard the III would have given his kingdom for a horse, Napoleon lost his Empire for want of his Marshals.

Extraordinary, engaging book.......2005-10-24

There are many, many books on Napoleonic military history, but this one was extraordinary in that it captured the personalities and feel of the Napoleonic era unlike so many other dry tomes that concern theselves with the maps and events on such-and-such a date. Delderfield really enables one to understand the personalities of Napoleon's marshals and how their relationships helped to guide the rise and fall of the empire.

This book could be very good reading for those not even interested in the Napoleonic era, but rather those who lead organizations and must build talent for any endeavor. Napoleon identified and promoted the best men he could find - wherever they came from, and used each man's unique personality and talents to forge an army that conquered Europe. None of them were perfect, but his brilliant description of each marshal shows how the essence of true leadership is to use the best in each man, and subsidize his weaknesses with others' strengths. This book is not just a great Napoleonic history, but an extraordinary treatise on leadership as well as how to identify and manage extraordinary performers.

Too bad it had to end.......2005-07-07

One of those books I wished could go on and on...The author deftly handles all of the marshals in a relatively short read. A book sure to have you choosing your favorite marshals and doing further research to see if full biographies are available on them. Long live Ney and Davout!

The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I.: Vol. 5 (Armies of the First French Republic & the Rise of the Marsha)

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To Follow The Drum
To Follow The Drum

The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I.: Vol. 5 (Armies of the First French Republic & the Rise of the Marsha)
Ramsay Weston Phipps
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

"The marshals of Napoleon I ... constituted what is probably the most brilliant array of military genius the world has ever seen. All Europe was prostrate before them. Any book which sheds light upon their personalities and accomplishments is a genuine contribution to French history...."Boston Transcript. "Thoroughly documented, a work of really immense scholarship, this book is also the treatise of an experienced and seasoned military man."Independent. "[Phipps'] criticism of strategy and tactics is always intelligent and to the point, so that he contributes something new to the campaigns with which he deals even though his main interest in them is with the careers of the future marshals."Times [London] Literary Supplement

Customer Reviews:

To Follow The Drum.......2000-07-01

The only reason that this five volume work is rated with five stars is that is the highest I could go on this forum. It rates a 'ten' easily.

This monumnetal, authoritative, exhaustively researched work is also a great read. Ramsay Phipps delved into the lives and accomplishments of some of the greatest soldiers in history and came up with the definitive work on the period. Generally, we are given information and books from 1800-1815 on these same individuals, at least those that survived the French Revolutionary Wars. Here we see them at their beginnings, from peasant, private soldier, apprentice dyer, poor, but proud minor noblemen (of which Napoleon himself was one), smuggler, and are dragged or thrown onto the stage of one of the greatest events in the history of man, the French Revolution which launched Europe into almost 23 years of constant, bloody warfare that brought down kings, lay countries prostrate, and changed Europe, and the world forever.

High deeds and bloody battles flow through this work to tell of the high-hearted Marceau, the brilliant, dedicated Desaix, the monumental Kleber, who was described by Napoleon as looking like the god of war, Mars, as he led his troops into the fire. The multi-talented Berthier, who would become Napoleon's indispensable chief of staff, iron-hand Soult, incorruptible Davout, taciturn, deadly Reynier, they all pepper these volumes to weave a tale of valor, sacrifice, and victory for la patrie.

To Follow The Drum.......2000-07-01

The only reason that this five volume work is rated with five stars is that is the highest I could go on this forum. It rates a 'ten' easily.

Customer Reviews:

A penetrating but light-hearted study - very enjoyable.......2007-09-30

If all history books were written in A.G. Macdonell's style, there would be a lot more amateur historians about! For my money, this book is far more entertaining than most of the fiction I have read, and I felt that odd mixture of emotions when I finally closed it: awe and amazement at the incredible feats of that unique band of men, amusement at some of the tricks they got up to, and a deep regret that the story was over. The only book that I can compare to this one is Fletcher Pratt's "A short history of the American Civil War", a longer and perhaps even more ably-written overview of events some 60 years later. They really do not write that way any more!

If "Napoleon and his Marshals" could be summed up in a single word, it would have to be "humanity". Its pages are crowded with the best and worst of human nature: fantastic bravery, rich imagination, unbelievably hard work and dogged persistence, rubbing shoulders with spite, arrogance, jealousy, occasional cowardice, and - surprisingly enough - sheer downright incompetence. Even Napoleon was far from perfect: on one occasion, he put first Berthier, then Murat, in charge of the Grande Armee and its nearly 200,000 men; and then forgot both appointments and tried to run the show himself. Confusion reigned, with three sets of orders flying around and corps commanders jerked around like puppets on strings. Then there was the almost unbelievable folly of leaving over 200,000 men achieving next to nothing in Spain, while invading Russia 2000 miles away - the very antithesis of Napoleon's basic principle of war, concentration.

The first surprise is how many marshals there were: 18 in all, including less-well known names such as Moncey, Brune, Mortier, and Bessieres, as well as illustrious ones like Murat, Massena, Ney, and Davout. According to Macdonell, Davout was the best of them all and "the only pupil Napoleon ever had". Massena, the victor of Zurich in 1799, was next. Murat was the greatest cavalry leader who ever lived, while Ney, "the bravest of the brave" was the most loyal and unyielding (until his loyalty was tried too far).

On one level it is a fabulous, riotous tale of grand strategy, clever tactics, forced marches, massive battles, and coups d'etat. Cunningly interwoven with the main story, Macdonell gossips away delightfully, giving us pen-portraits of all the marshals as well as many others, and highlighting the individual weaknesses that counterbalanced their great strengths. After a while it begins to look as if the whole rise and fall of Napoleon was a moral lesson in the nemesis that is inevitably attracted to character flaws. But it also becomes clear that, for Macdonell at least, the whole enterprise was fundamentally unsound and contained the seeds of its own destruction. The more battles Napoleon won, the more he had to win. By marrying his family off to European royalty and nobility, and scattering titles in an attempt to set up a new dynasty, he created unbearable stresses that eventually tore his Empire apart before it got out of infancy.

If you have the slightest interest in history, military matters, or just the peaks and valleys of human nature, this book is a must-read!

Excellent Story Telling of Napoleon's Greatest Soldiers.......2007-07-05

I have just finished reading a 1934 hardback edition of A.G. MacDonell's "Napoleon and his Marshals". Bearing in mind that this book was first published over 70 years ago I found it immensely enjoyable. It does not offer a detailed account of Napoleon's great battles nor in-depth detail of movements, strategy & tactics but offers an interesting insight into the men Napoleon created as Marshals during his reign over the battlefields of Europe.

I would have liked to have read more of the battles of Eylau and Friedland and other great Napoleonic battles in the book but I still came away after finishing the story deeply satisfied and happy that I had indeed taken the time to read this account. The author makes no claims to providing a full and descriptive account of Napoleon and his Empire; the book is too small for that. However in 370 odd pages he brings to life the period between 1796 and 1852, the date of the death of the last Marshal, Auguste Frederic Louis Viesse de Marmont, Duke of Ragusa.

This is a great story, easy to read, full of information and accounts of some of the greatest soldiers of France. As some of the previous reviewers have mentioned, the chapter dealing with what happened to these great men after 1815 is at times saddening and I found, deeply moving. This book is well worth the time to sit down and enjoy and I think anyone who has an interest in the Napoleonic period will find this title a gem to keep in his or her library.

Very biased, poorly written, no analysis.......2003-03-16

The best thing about "Napoleon and His Marshals" is MacDonnell's description of how the Marshals interacted with eachother and with Napoleon. Unfortunately, A.G. MacDonnell writes poorly and provides no context for his arguments or support for many of his claims.

Books about Napoleon can be classified on two characteristics:
1)degree of military analysis vs general commentary and 2)author's overall assessment for or against Napoleon.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a brilliant general who built a vast empire and left a legacy in France's modern legal and political system, but he was also an egomaniac who covered France and Europe with death and destruction for 20 years. He was charming but could be very cruel and made massive military blunders.

Most biographers struggle to achieve balance with such a complex subject, and this book fails miserably on that score, as it is light on analysis and wildly pro-Bonaparte. The author tells us that Bonaparte was a brilliant military mind (which he was) and says Davout was the only Marshal to grasp that brilliance, but fails to show why Bonaparte succeeded when he did.

Worse, like most French historians, MacDonnell blames Bonaparte's military failures (notably Waterloo) on anyone and anything but Bonaparte. This flies in the face of strong evidence that Napoleon's own mistakes, overconfidence and tendency to improvise played a major role in his defeats. MacDonnell gives no credit to Wellington, Blucher, Kutuzov, or any of the other generals who opposed Napoleon.

I found the writing wordy. This example from page 56 is typical: "On October 30th Bonaparte threw off the aimlessness which had concealed a penetrating and exhaustive summing up of the political situation and joined Sieyes, and the intensive work began."

MacDonnell observes that the Marshals were younger than their defeated opponents, but fails to develop a thesis. He includes controversial observations from biased, contemporary accounts (for example, a French noblewoman claiming, "If Napoleon had had two [Marshal] Suchets, he would have captured and kept Spain,")but makes no effort to prove them as long as they support his view.

Important battles like Austerlitz and Waterloo are swept aside with glib generalizations or even totally unjustified comparisons, such as, "At Waterloo the Emperor resorted to the methods of Austerlitz and Borodino." If Napoleon had planned and executed Waterloo with the same subtlety he showed at Austerlitz, the outcome might have been different!

I'd recommend anything by John Keegan, David Chandler or Gunther Rothenburg over this book for a better-written understanding of Napoleon the general. Those interested in an account of Napoleon the man should read Alan Schom's scathing but well-documented "Napoleon Bonaparte". "The Black Room at Longwood" is a very pro-Bonaparte but well-written non-military account of the man by French journalist Kaufmann.

Napoleonic history without Napoleon -- a refreshing change.......2001-04-18

I've long been fascinated by the Napoleonic era, but I've always been put off by Napoleon himself. If you have similar sentiments, you'll enjoy this book. The author turns the spotlight on the remarkably colorful and diverse band of military leaders who accompanied Napoleon throughout his career, in the twenty-two years from Toulon to Waterloo, and won his battles for him. Originally published in 1934, the book is written in a rather mannered style which might not be to everyone's taste. Scholars will be startled by the author's cavalier approach to notes and bibliography. But it's a lively and entertaining read, which introduces some fascinating characters, whom I now want to learn more about. It's also a handy overview of the whole Napoleonic era. What's most poignant is how the surviving marshals conducted themselves during the first Bourbon restoration in 1814, the Hundred Days in 1815, and the second restoration after Waterloo, which I found to be a haunting precursor to what happened after France's defeat in 1940.

Superb Account of the Marshalate and the Napoleonic Wars.......2000-11-03

Macdonnel's work based upon telling the Napoleonic Wars with a viewpoint on the Marshals of Napoleon rather than the "Little Corporal" himself is a superb effort! The manner in which the Napoleonic Wars are told in this book was enthralling, and it allowed one to gain an intimate understanding of the contrasting characters of the proud men who composed the Marshalate, everyone from the flambuoyant Murat to the solemn Kellermann, to Victor (who never won a battle) to Davout (who never lost a battle.) I would undoubtably give this piece my highest recommnedation, especially for anyone who isn't already well versed in Napoleonic Wars history.

The campfires of Napoleon: comprising the most brilliant achievements of the Emperor and his marshals.

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The campfires of Napoleon: comprising the most brilliant achievements of the Emperor and his marshals.
Michigan Historical Reprint Series
Manufacturer: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | History | Historical Reproductions | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1418188441
Release Date: 2005-12-20

Product Description

This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program.

Bussaco 1810: Wellington defeats Napoleon's Marshals (Campaign)

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Adequate, but Needs Better Maps

Bussaco 1810: Wellington defeats Napoleon's Marshals (Campaign)
Rene Chartrand
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Portugal | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1841763101
Release Date: 2001-11-25

Book Description

By 1810, Napoleon reigned supreme over most of continental Europe. But the Iberian Peninsula remained unsubdued, particularly Portugal, which continued to resist. Napoleon ordered Marshal Masséna to crush this resistance with the Army of Portugal. Greatly strengthened, Masséna's army would drive the Portuguese and British into the sea. Facing the French were 60,000 British and Portuguese troops. No-one knew how the Portuguese would perform in battle, but on 27 September 1810, they received their baptism of fire. This title details the gruelling Bussaco campaign as French attempts to subdue Portugal reached their climax.

Customer Reviews:

Adequate, but Needs Better Maps.......2001-12-19

Bussaco 1810 is the second installment in René Chartrand's trilogy on the Portuguese phase of the Peninsula War. Like the previous volume, Vimeiro 1808, the author provides a solid summary of a crucial early phase in that particular theater of the Napoleonic Wars. This volume covers the period April-October 1810, with Marshal Massena's invasion of Portugal.

As standard in the Osprey Campaign series, the volume begins with a section on the origins of the campaign and a campaign chronology, followed by well-written sections on opposing plans, opposing commanders and opposing armies. While adequate, these sections are succinct and assume that the reader has access to other sources, particularly concerning the French and British armies in the Peninsula. One concern in these sections is the relative pro forma treatment of Marshall André Massena, which is inadequate given the crucial role that his leadership played in the campaign. The stock descriptions of Massena as a barely-literate looter appear in virtually every source, but they are used as substitutes for real insight into the man who was one of Napoleon's best marshals. Massena's brilliant battlefield performance at Aspern and Wagram the year before Bussaco are not even mentioned by Chartrand, but they are certainly relevant.

The campaign itself is covered in six phases: the Battle of the River Coa against the British covering force, the siege of Almeida, the march to Bussaco and preliminary deployments, the Battle of Bussaco and the aftermath. Three battle scenes depict the action at the River Coa Bridge, the explosion of Almeida's main powder magazine and the repulse of Ney's 6th Corps by Craufurd's Light Division at Bussaco. An excellent order of battle for both sides is included, which has units identified down to regimental level and with manpower strengths. The information on Allied artillery is good, but much less is provided on the French artillery.

While the text of this account is excellent, as is usual for Chartrand, the battle itself is difficult to analyze for two reasons. First, Massena's peculiar behavior in the days leading up to Bussaco is not well-addressed; the comments that he was pre-occupied with a mistress might explain a brief lapse, but not a string of bad decisions that were atypical of this otherwise excellent commander. Was Massena sick (for example, modern historians now suspect that heart problems undermined General Robert E. Lee's performance at Gettysburg in 1863), or suffering from post-Wagram battle fatigue? Unlike Wellington, Massena had been in the thick of two major battles in 1809. The other problem that makes analysis difficult is the lack of adequate maps. This volume has one 3-D map of the River Coa engagement, two 3-D maps of the main French attacks at Bussaco but only one small 2-D map that covers the movements toward Bussaco. It is thus difficult to adequately evaluate Massena's approach to Bussaco or Wellington's response to the French invasion. A vital question - could Massena have done anything differently at Bussaco - cannot be answered from this perspective. While Chartrand suggests that Ney's preference for a hasty assault the day before might have produced better results, this is unlikely.

As in the volume on Vimeiro, Chartrand has not attempted much analysis to explain the French failure. There is little doubt that Massena fumbled the Battle of Bussaco due to violation of the principles of security, surprise and maneuver. French pre-battle reconnaissance was abysmal. Wellington used the terrain effectively and was able to mass sufficient combat power to defeat the French column attacks. Yet Bussaco was not a true reflection of French contemporary tactics, since French cavalry was unengaged and their superiority in artillery was not exploited. Nor were Wellington's famous "reverse slope" tactics utilized to any great extent. If the French had attempted a methodical artillery preparation - particularly against the inexperienced Portuguese units - could Wellington have held? A little analysis of what went wrong for the French army at Bussaco would have been useful.

Execution Denied: The Story Of Marshal Ney: Napoleon's "Bravest of the Brave"
Average customer rating:

Ney: 18th Century Chameleon

Fascinating and Exciting Historical Novel

It's Too Factual for Fiction

Historical Thriller

Execution Denied: The Story Of Marshal Ney: Napoleon's "Bravest of the Brave"
H.H. (Pete) Bradshaw
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1413746217

Book Description

Three men were born in 1769 who would influence the future and each other: Michel Ney, Napoleon Bonaparte and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. They met only once, at Waterloo. On December 7, 1815, Marshal of France, Michel Ney, stood before a firing squad in Paris. Muskets crashed and he fell. Thirty-one years later he died in North Carolina. This is the dramatic story of Ney's probable escape from execution, of his dangerous early years in America, and his transformation into a highly respected educator. Execution Denied is also a tale of governmental deceit and attempted murder; of enormous courage and rock-solid loyalties across time and space. It imaginatively connects the many dots of historic evidence to create a carefully considered, but necessarily speculative story. In the absence of conclusive data, like DNA, we may never know the full truth. Still, I believe that this re-construction is close to what happened.

Customer Reviews:

Ney: 18th Century Chameleon.......2005-11-28

The time and research put forth on Execution Denied pay off in the finished product. You needn't be a history buff to be moved by this compelling novel. Marshall Ney had to be the "Bravest of the Brave", both in battle and in political suvival skills. Ney 's portrayal is fascinating on many levels. Bradshaw does a great job convincing you that Ney not only survived his enemies, but went forward to an intriguing life in the Carolinas. Well done!

Fascinating and Exciting Historical Novel.......2005-03-01

Bradshaw's dedicated, precise and unending research on Ney coupled with interesting, exciting and very probable historical events makes for an excellent novel about a fascinating man. I didn't want the book to end.

It's Too Factual for Fiction.......2005-02-28

Despite being an historical "novel" the research and inference suggest far more fact than assumption. The book flows and the story is compelling. Bradshaw has done an excellent job of engaging the reader and keeping the story alive. It is hard to put down once you atart. Whether a history buff or not it is a fine addition to the collection of books about Ney. Reading the research Bradshaw has done in support of the underlying theme one is driven to the conclusion that it is not only plausible that Ney was executed in France but died in the Carolinas, but probably true. One can only wonder what the French will say to this.

Historical Thriller .......2005-02-28

Villainous Bourbons try mightily to murder one of Napoleon's finest generals in an historical thriller about Marshal Michel Ney, whom the Emperor called "the bravest of the brave." When high ranking French and English rescue Ney from certain execution behind the Luxembourg Palace in 1815, the adventure begins. Bradshaw's thoroughly researched account of what became of this extraordinary man who spoke several languages, was an expert swordsman, and possessed a notable physique convinced this reader that Ney did, indeed, confound the French rulers and escape his ordered death. The historical detail and fast-paced narrative make this a story that will keep you on edge until the last page.

Napoleon's Peninsular marshals;: A reassessment

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Napoleon's Peninsular marshals;: A reassessment
Richard Humble
Manufacturer: Taplinger Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0800854659

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