Customer Reviews

The Austrian Army 1836-66 (1): Infantry (Men-at-Arms) (v. 1)

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In the 19 century Austria find a lot of problems with their multi-ethnic Empire and with their neighbors, Austria was one of the major powers in the era of the revolutions and was not
out of content when it refers to his army, in this first great work from Darko Pavlovic we start with the infantry, weapons and uniforms are the major points of this book, a small map would help us understand the problems with their borders and why was important to have a well prepare and trained army ready for any campaigns, photos of the time would make us see with more precision the weapons and uniforms without forgetting the 8 Uniforms plates by the author, remember this is the first part there is also the Calvary from the same author which also is a great work.

A typical Osprey offering with a wealth of information on Austrian uniforms. What I found troublesome is the text and plates only superficially covered some important areas. For example you get one useful plate on the 1859 Italian Campaign and not a lot of text. Given the overall lack of coverage of these large and important armies this IS better than nothing and is useful but far from in depth. Just wish it could have been further divided into two volumes with more detailed information present on the wartime forces.

The plates are well drawn - you get 3 plates covering the army in 1840 which was not at war - being of limited use for wargamers/hobbyists looking to cover the Franco-Austrian..Denmark Campaign or the Austro-Prussian Wars. 2 Plates cover 1848 which was a time of rebellion but not well known campaigns. 1 Plate Covering 1855 - again with not much going on. 1 Plate for the 1859 campaigns. 1 Plate for the 1865 period just after the War with Denmark and 1 plate for the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.

In summary - well drawn plates. Reasonably detailed text on uniforms - you get ZERO military or political history here but far to large a focus on the peactime forces to be really useful for the main audience.