Customer Reviews

Eggmühl 1809: Storm Over Bavaria (Campaign)

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Ian Castle has written an excellent history of the first half of the Campaign of 1809. Using both Austrian and French sources, he has produced a totally reliable, well-written account of the Austrian invasion of Bavaria that almost caught the French by surprise. The account is balanced, authoritative, and logically presented. Errors and omissions are few, the most glaring being the often repeated mistake of naming Napoleon's Chief of Staff, Marshal Berthier, as the commander of the French Army of Germany before Napoleon's arrival from Paris, which he was definitely not. Other than that, however, the author has presented one of the best modern narratives of this campaign that can be used as a reliable reference by historians, enthusiasts, and wargamers. The artwork by Christa Hook is excellent, lively, and presents an accurate picture of the uniforms, deployments, and actions of the campaign. The other illustrations in this volume are superb and greatly enhance the excellent narrative. This book is highly recommended and is one of the best of the campaign series yet produced by Osprey.

This is best seen as a companion to the earlier volume on Aspern-Essling and Wagram. It is unfortunate that the earlier book has perhaps to large a subject while this one is possibly the ideal size for this format. It is a very accessible account of an engagement usually obscured by or glossed over in favour the larger battles that followed. As always very nicely illustrated, and presented.

I will not go into great detail as to the accepted excellence of Ian Castle's work, especially with the near god-like credibility of David G. Chandler as his consultant and editor, THE leading authority on Napoleonic Warfare in our lifetime. That has all been covered by far more intelligent people than myself, and in truth, what are we reviewing; the authors or their material? What I will discuss is the book itself.

Osprey Military Books has been putting out an amazing, reliable, and entertaining line of material for more years than I can remember. The books are well-researched and written, with wonderful coloured templates, original etchings, and pictures of relics and historical sites and places of import.

Eggmühl 1809 is one of the CAMPAIGN Series in the Osprey collection, and it is in a word - Amazing! There are 96 pages covering everything from: The Origins of the Campaign, The Opposing Commanders & their forces, their battle plans, and then coverage of the Campaign itself. It goes on to discuss the Aftermath and Reckoning of the battle, as well as what the battlefield looks like today. It provides information for 'Further Reading', and for the die-hards out there, it also furnishes how to Play Eggmühl as a War-Game.

The text is well written, easy and enjoyable to follow. The book is ripe with illustrations, both historical and contemporary, as well as maps, three dimensional diagrams of the battlefields, and illustrations all throughout.
There are contemporary 'battle scenes' by Christa Hook, as well as colored maps and charts with troop movement and battle locales. The only thing the book lacks is the templates of uniforms that we have so come to love and admire from Osprey. That aside, it is an excellent book.

This book is perfect for both the experienced and well-versed, and the interested first timer approaching the subject. Eggmühl 1809: STORM OVER BAVARIA is just one more superior piece of military literature that Osprey can claim as their own - and should - with pride.

A side note: as a Painter of Napoleonic Miniatures, and interested historian, this book is an excellent compliment to: OSPREY's: Napoleon's German Allies (4) Bavaria. Book 106 in the Men-At-Arms collection.

This book provides a good tactical picture of the battle but, unfortunately, not a very good picture on the operational and strategic levels. Hence it flows like a seemingly endless series of battles missing any perspective or strategic objectives.

A second major problem is the lack of discussion of the French (and their allies) armies as well as that of Austria (i.e., morale, troops, equipment, officer quality, etc.).

Thirdly, illustrations of typical troops from both sides are lacking though there are many contemporary etchings of key elements of the battle and officers as well as modern pictures of the battlefield.