Customer Reviews

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars: campaign maps; Provides an unrivalled source of visual information on the fighting men of the period

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book. Or if you have the money get Elting and Knotel's spectacular NAPOLEONIC UNIFORMS: 2 Volume Boxed Set and NAPOLEONIC UNIFORMS: Vassals and Enemies (2 Volume Set, Volumes III & IV).

The previous reviewer gave this book only one star; definately way off the mark...and not fair to this great book. For one volume, priced under USD $40, this is a great source of basic information on the uniforms of France, Austria, Russia, England and Prussia. Minor nations are mentioned, but their treatment is not very thorough.

The book is packed with hundreds of full color illustrations of uniforms from the various branches and unit types; hussars, lancers, artillery, guards, infantry, sappers and many more are all represented. Facing tables are included. The book does not contain enough detail for the grognards (hardcore wargamers), but it does contain a great deal more than many other books. I would highly recommend this book to someone just starting out. I would also recommend it as a painting guide for someone who did not have hundreds of dollars to spend on other books.

Certainly, this one book is a great replacement for my aging dog-eared volumes by Liliane and Fred Funcken. I do wish the book had more rear views of equipment, something the Funckens did quite well.

As a bonus, the book also contains an overview of the major campaigns and structure of each nations forces. Again, great information for someone just starting to learn about the period; or those more experienced who are looking for an overview in one volume.

As a napoleonic gamer, who would love to see the genre grow, a great book like this one is the stuff that will get us there. For a new gamer, napoleonics can easily seem inaccessible, because of the cost, and amount of information one must sift through to understand the period. So kudos to Digby Smith, for getting so much great information in one, well-priced book, and for a job well done!

Provides a very broad overview of campaigns and a decent amount of pictures, but no way is this an "encyclopedia" of "uniforms." That being said, it is a decent value. You could buy 5-6 other lesser cost books (such as Osprey) and end up with the same amount of media.

Many readers may already have the works of Digby Smith as he wrote numerous books for Osprey under the name Otto von Pivka. I waited a couple of years for this books and unlike what a poster said, none of the drawings from the book are rehashes from Osprey, they are all new.

The Napoleonic Wars is a huge subject and no single book can encompass all the uniforms worn in this era, so even though this book is filled with wonderful drawings, it can only be an introductory book, to whet one's appetite for more.

I highly recommend this book for someone getting his toes wet. It shows many uniforms from the most important combatants in this era and can be used as a springboard to get more interested in this era.

For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

Like several of the other reviewers, I was quite disappointed when I received this book. Given its size, you would expect it to be crammed with illustrations. While there are many fine drawings, the book neglects many of the various political entities that took part in the wars. The section on Spain, for instance, has few examples and there is nothing said about some smaller players such as Nassau. Meanwhile, a section on the U.S. in the War of 1812 is out of place; while that war may have been an offshoot of the Napoleonic conflict, it should be handled in another volume. There are only six pages that concern America, but those are six pages that could have been dedicated to forces more directly involved.
This deficiency is pretty common among books dealing with uniforms, and I always get frustrated when I experience it. This type of book is mainly going to attract a certain audience - namely modelers, grognards, and possibly those interested in fashion design. These people aren't buying it for the social/political/economic/ strategic ramifications of conflicts (another type of book altogether) - they simply want to know what was worn. In this light, it is important for publishers to either encompass the subject thoroughly or make it perfectly clear what they are (and are not) offering.
Here's the bottom line: if money is no object to you, I would recommend skipping this and purchasing Osprey's numerous titles on the subject. If you are on a budget, use this as a foundation and supplement it with Osprey's offerings.

I'll start by agreeing with another reviewer that many of the uniform illustrations are directly copied from a number of Osprey Men-At-Arms titles especially those of this title's author, Digby Smith. Case in point, the entire section of Bavarian & Saxon Troops as well as that of the British Infantry. Too many of the figures are unoriginal & lack imagination.....Do we really need another Sgt. of the 2nd Dragoon Guards in dismounted dress or another Scots Grey when they are common in other titles? Another "negative" is the depiction of too many musicians in the plates at the expense of "typical" privates & NCO's which is rather common to Digby Smith's books especially those on German Troops using the "Otto von Pivka" nom-de-plume. Some sections were far too brief such as the Poles & Spanish, I'd love to know why drum-majors take precedence over fighting men in the Spanish section? Despite the War of 1812 being a totally seperate conflict I was pleased to see some U.S. Army Regulars of the Infantry, Light Dragoons & Light Artillery but I was dismayed to see on the following page the same boring figures of a 25th Infantry Pioneer & Foot Artillery drummer lifted straight from an Osprey book. The tables of British Infantry regimental facing colors have so many errors as to be useless & in the cavalry section are included a similar table for 1768 which in terms of regiments & facings has no bearing on the 1792-1815 period at all. Also the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons are misidentified as "Carabiniers" (6th Dragoon Guards) and the 5th (Royal Irish) Dragoons ceased to exist in 1798 due to mutiny in the Irish Rebellion so had no uniforms forthe 1812 Regulations. A major fault to the book is covering too broad a period in that the French Revolution should have been omitted so only 1805-1815 would be covered. The extra space may have allowed the cavalry of Napoleon's Imperial Guard to be covered where the is only a Horse Grenadier. In contrast to the later Lorenz/Anness Uniform Encyclopedia titles there are far less errors, here they are mostly the wrong dates for the figures depicted & for some odd reason TWO drummers of the British 27th Foot, the second being misidentified as the 17th which had different facings from the 27th & was serving in India during this period.. The best thing to say about this & the other Lorenz/Anness books is the outstanding quality of the uniform illustrations for which the publishers are to be commended. While this is far from a definitive work it is a very good overview (especially of the Austrians,Russians & Prussians) & as long as you aren't paying the full cover price I do highly recommend this book.

I bought this book with high hopes, then returned it the day after I received it. The pictures are gorgeous, but just how many obscure uniforms do I really need to see? I expected to see the basic line and light infantry uniforms as well as various cavalry uniforms. Officers and musicians. Go from there. Instead I get sappers and drum majors and gendarmes and everything BUT what I really need. So no help at all. Maybe Smith felt the basic stuff is covered elsewhere by many other authors, so he should extend the range.

Much like the American War Of Independence companion volume this is not a true "Encyclopedia". It is a well illustrated excellent introduction to the period and will provide a lot of inspiration for history enthusiasts and wargamers alike.

The drawings are numerous and well done - not re-hashes. It is not exhaustive - if you want details on every regiments facing colors - this is not the book. Yet there is plenty of text, plenty of information and frankly for the price it is a TREMENDOUS bargain.

I think some are misled by the title of the book - this is not meant to be the one-stop reference for die-hard Napoleonic uniform enthusiasts - but IS a colorful, fun and excellent introductory overview to the period - and a fun quick reference even for the die-hards.

For the price a steal - just know what you are getting !

Having waited for ages for this book to be published I was mightily disappointed when it eventually arrived. I would accept that this subject is a huge area but this book doesn't even scratch the surface. Lets take for example the French infantry uniforms of the period - generally blue and given that the French are the main focus of the Napoleonic wars you might expect to see some pictures of infantry in Blue - not in this book.
This could have been the one stop shop for uniform info, sadly there are better sources elsewhere just not inside one cover yet.