Crisis on the Danube: Napoleon's Austrian Campaign of 1809 [Hardcover]

James R. Arnold (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Franco-Austrian War of 1809 has been relatively neglected by English-language scholars. This work focuses not on the climactic battles of Aspern-Essling and Wagram, as would be expected, but on the earlier operations that culminated in the Battle of Eckmuhl and the storming of Ratisbonne (Regensburg). Arnold's interpretation of the war's origins in terms of Talleyrand's betrayal of Napoleon is one-sided. He offers, however, an excellent portrait of a French army and emperor just past their peaks of 1805-07, yet significantly superior to their foes. Austria's military improvement meant that Napoleon was no longer master of the battlefield. He could, however, still dominate a theater of operations, outmaneuvering enemies it had become harder to fight. This work effectively complements Gunther Rothenberg's biography of Archduke Karl, Napoleon's Great Adversaries (Indiana Univ. Pr., 1982).
- Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Paragon House; 1 edition (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557781370
• ISBN-13: 978-1557781376
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate History written with the attraction of literature, January 29, 2002

By 

George Falco De Mats "Falco de Mats" (Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crisis on the Danube: Napoleon's Austrian Campaign of 1809 (Hardcover)

Mr Arnold combines good Historical accuracy with a very pleasant writing style. The narrative provides a good balance between strategic/grand tactics events, and small unit combat details.

On the large picture, Mr Arnold tries to analyse the decisions taken by the commanders with the information they had at the moment, not with the hindsight historians usually use to criticise great commanders. This is a refreshing way of seing the command-decision aspect that fascinates so many.

On the detail side, the book provides several minor actions taken by units from both opponent armies. For once, one does not feel that the author based his book exclusively on sources from one side.

There is only a little fault, probably a lapse: the maps are not numbered, although all text references made to them are! A minor problem, that I solved quickly with a pencil.

The book is a pleasure to read and highly recommended. Maybe somewhat less biased that Petre's, and much easier to read. With Scott-Bowden's book (for the organisation details) and Esposito's book (for the maps), you'll have everything you'll ever need to reproduce a full wargame of the campaign.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent study of Napoleon's 1809 Campaign, December 19, 2011

By 

Mark Cuomo (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crisis on the Danube; Napoleon's Austrian Campaign of 1809 (Perfect Paperback)

I read this book many years ago and recently re-purchased it after reading Volume One of Thunder on the Danube. I remember what an excellent book it was. While not as detailed and in depth as TotD, it gets right to the military aspects and I enjoyed reading it. I wish now I had not sold the follow up book on the Aspern-Essling and Wagram. Hopefully, they will reprint that volume also.