Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations (Campaign) [Paperback]

Peter Hofschröer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: September 30, 1993

The battle of Leipzig was, in terms of the number of combatants involved, the largest engagement of the entire Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). It was the only battle of the wars in which all Allied armies (including even the Swedes) fielded troops against Napoleon. Peter Hofschroer looks at the run-up to this crucial encounter as well as the battle itself. A wealth of background information is chronicled, including the strategies of both sides and detailed information on each of the combatant forces. The numerous battles leading up to Leipzig are also discussed, providing a fascinating and illuminating overview of the whole campaign.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Peter Hofschroer is a recognised expert on the German campaigns of the Napoleonic wars and the Prussian army in particular.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855323540
• ISBN-13: 978-1855323544
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,481,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent survey of Napoleon's Real Waterloo, April 2, 2009

By 

Yoda (Hadera, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations (Campaign) (Paperback)

This book starts off by giving an excellent perspective, in a few pages, of the what the diplomatic and military picture in Europe was just before this battle. Hence the necessary perspective for the battle is provided.

The book then goes on to discuss the many aspects of the armies involved including their leadership (both at the highest level and the quality of lower ranking officers), political and command structure strengths and problems (for Napoleon, for example, the lack of subordinate quality field marshals, considering the size of the battle, probably led to the loss of this battle), troops, and logistical problems and strenghts and weaknesses in various arms (i.e., Napoleon's lack of cavalry in terms of both quality and quantity caused seriuos intelligence problems that played important role in his defeat). The book also illustrates well how troops from each national army looked and different aspects/geography of battle, along with maps.

The one weakness of the book (and hence 4 instead of 5 stars) is that it is a little difficult to follow the battle because the author makes too extensive a use of the various field marshals movements and actions without mentioning which side they were on. Not much of an oversight but one, unless the reader is very knowledgeable regarding these commanders, that is enough to cause some confusion. This problem is such a shame considering how easily it could have been rectified.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, June 13, 2007

By 

Brownbox - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations (Campaign) (Paperback)

Not much of a review really but a good read with good ilistrations.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good narrative of complex battle, February 12, 2002

By 

"jmbyrne25" (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations (Campaign) (Paperback)

The author does a nice job of breaking down the intricies of Leipzig and the smaller battles that lead up to it into clear and understandable points. As mentioned by another reviewer, there is an outstanding order of battle which is very helpful given the number of leaders on hand for this conflict.

Interesting points brought to light by Mr. Hofschroer are the conflicting agendas of the Allied Nations and the challenges that posed in formulating an effective strategy. Also detailed were the resource limitations and political pressures facing Napolean, that contributed to his defeat at Leipzig.

My only complaints are that there isn't the a biography section on the commanders that is prevalent in many of the Osprey books. This is more a limitation of the publisher's format than a fault of the author. In addition, the maps are not up to the usual standards of this series.

This author also wrote a book on the battle of Lutzen & Bautzen which occurred in the spring campaign, prior to this confilct. For greater appreciation of the Leipzig text, I would recommend reading the other before hand (although this is not necessary)