Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Napoleon's Great Adversaries: The Archduke Charles and Austrian Army, 1792-1814 by Gunther E. Rothenberg ISBN: 0-253-33969-3 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: December, 1982 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Portrait of a Dynastic Army in Turmoil
Comment: Napoleon's Great Adversary is a well-written military study of the evolution of the Austrian Army and the role of its best commander, the Archduke Charles, during the Napoleonic Wars from 1792-1814. Charles, brother of the Austrian emperor, saw his first combat in 1792 and rapidly rose to become the driving force behind the reform movement in the often-defeated Austrian army. The author, a veteran of both the British army and the US Air Force, is a distinguished scholar and expert on the Austrian military. Dr. Rothenberg brings the full weight of his scholarly research and military insights to provide one of the few English language accounts of the Austrian military in this key period.
The book is organized in nine chapters which cover the Hapsburg monarchy and its army in 1792, the wars of the first and second coalitions, the first reform period in 1801-1805, the Ulm/Austerlitz campaigns of 1805, the second reform period of 1806-1809, the campaigns of 1809 and the final phase of the war in 1810-1814. There are 17 maps in this volume, mostly taken from other sources such as Scott Bowden. There are also 23 illustrations, mostly from the Vienna Army Museum, that depict uniforms and notable commanders. Unfortunately, the editors have not done the authors any favors and he notes this in his introduction. Given the dearth of works on this subject and the research effort made by the author, this is a shame.
The author gives an excellent description of the condition, equipment, tactics and doctrine of the Austrian army at the outset of the Napoleonic Wars. However the description of Austrian military operations in 1792-1800 is overly succinct and focuses primarily on Charles' 1796 campaign in Germany. Napoleon's 1796-1797 campaign in Italy is covered in less than two pages and the Battle of Marengo in only one paragraph, with no new Austrian perspectives offered on either campaign. Instead, the author provides considerable detail on the reform programs pushed by Charles after the defeat at Marengo. These reforms were only partly accomplished when war broke out again in 1805, resulting in the catastrophes of Ulm and Austerlitz.
Clearly the author's main interest is the period of reform that followed the defeat at Austerlitz and culminated in Austria's decision to re-enter the war in 1809. It was during this period that Charles, despite the suspicion and hostility of his brother's court, made his greatest contributions as War Minister and field commander. While not equal to the hard-hitting and fast-moving French armies, Charles was able to restore the Austrian army's cohesion and modestly improve its staying power. While he essentially bungled the outset of the 1809 campaign by failing to strike quickly at the dispersed French forces in Bavaria, Charles opted to retire behind the formidable Danube River and await Napoleon's attack. Napoleon soon obliged him with a reckless hasty assault across the river at Aspern-Essling, but a combination of Austrian tenacity and bad luck contributed to Napoleon's first battlefield defeat. The chagrined emperor, who had taken Austrian incompetence for granted, then realized that only a better-prepared offensive could succeed against the stout Austrian defense. Charles, although victorious, elected to do nothing and await the next attack. Napoleon's second crossing was successful and resulted in the bloodbath Battle of Wagram. This costly French victory taught Napoleon that Austrian armies were no longer the small, fragile forces that quickly retreated if their lines of communication were threatened, but were evolving into an attrition-oriented force. However, defeat at Wagram was the end of Charles' career and retired into relative obscurity thereafter.
This account, while somewhat superficial in the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars, is graced with considerable data on Austrian forces. At times, Austrian leadership and tactics seem almost imbecilic and rigid to a fault. Even after the defeat at Wagram, Austrian reforms were reluctant to endorse open-order skirmishing tactics that the French had been using so successfully for the past 17 years. The Austrian army had some of the finest cavalry in Europe but wasted it by splitting it up in an infantry support role and using mounted units piece-meal, just as the French would later do with their armor in 1940. Good ideas, such as introducing all-arms corps formations, were negated by attempting to apply them in the chaos of mobilization. Nevertheless, the Austrian army continued to rise and fight again, even if it was a worn, threadbare force by 1814. Military reforms did not come easily to the hide-bound Hapsburg Empire as the author notes that, "the political and military leadership realized that radical innovations in the military sphere were linked to changes in government and society that neither party desired'Basically the Hapsburg army remained a dynastic force."
Rating: 5
Summary: Grosse oder Kleine Deutsch?
Comment: This is the definitive work on the subject in English, written by an acknowledged authority on the subject. Telling the story of the allied commander of the period whom Wellington thought the best and most talented of the commanders who fought Napoleon and his terrible Grande Armee, this volume neatly wraps up in easily understandable prose, the problems the Austrian army, and the Archduke Charles, had to face, both with the French and their own bureaucracy.
Essentially an 18th century fighting force, with a very conservative, and many times incompetent leadership, the Austrian army and state manfully took up the challenges brought to the fore by the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon as Emperor of the French. Defeated repeatedly by Napoleon in 1797, 1800, 1805, and 1809, both the army and the Empire it defended demonstrated admirable stamina in raising armies to continually send them into the fire. With the Archduke Charles, they had a world-class commander-in-chief, but even he could not rid the army of both its inherent conservatism, and its rigid adherence to methods by now far obsolete.
The book relies on a plethora of German and Austrian references, many of them archival, and it is the only book in English that has covered the Hapsburg army in any detail. The author is a master of his subject, and the book itself is easy to read, and full of first hand information that is invaluable to the student, historian, and researcher. It is a definite must for all enthusiasts and students of the period.
Rating: 5
Summary: This is a wonderful book!
Comment: If you are interested in the 1809 campaign, or want to know more about the Army that was Napoleon's main adversary during the entire period, then you should read this book.
 |
Title: Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armee by John Robert Elting ISBN: 0306807572 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
 |
Title: A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars by Vincent J. Esposito, John R. Elting ISBN: 1853673463 Publisher: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $80.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
