With Musket, Cannon And Sword: Battle Tactics Of Napoleon And His Enemies [Hardcover]

Brent Nosworthy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1996

Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When discussing battles, military historians sometimes ignore details of tactics, ordnance and organization. Nosworthy (The Anatomy of Victory), by contrast, here emphasizes the central importance of these factors to the conduct of war?through infantry, cavalry and artillery?in the Napoleonic era. In doing so, he challenges conventional wisdom. Far from improvising tactics according to circumstances, French armies, he shows, possessed a large and coherent body of doctrine. The bayonet charge was at least as important to British tactics, meanwhile, as was the firepower of the "thin red line"; British musketry, Nosworthy contends, wasn't all that superior to that of the French. The author's major contribution, though, is to connect directly the tactical systems developed by Frederick the Great with those of this later era. That evolution rather than revolution shaped tactics between 1740 and 1815 is a drastic revision of generally accepted theory, making this work indispensable for all students of the period. Illustrations not seen by PW. Military Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A brilliant follow-up to the author's The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics 1689-1763 (Hippocrene, 1989), this ambitious volume is a study of the infantry, artillery, and cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic Wars. A detailed study of small-unit tactics of the period 1796 to 1815, it focuses on the evolution of tactics from the linear to the impulse method along with the coincidental evolution of arms and equipment. Nosworthy takes the reader right on to the battlefield through the use of primary sources and his analysis of the physical and psychological experience of being a Napoleonic soldier. His is one of the few texts in English to deal with the period on a tactical level. Recommended for all collections.?David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 516 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885119275
• ISBN-13: 978-1885119278
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,211,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the books on Napoleonic Battle Tactics, April 19, 1999

By 

James Daniel (Northridge, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With Musket, Cannon And Sword: Battle Tactics Of Napoleon And His Enemies (Hardcover)

This was the first of Brent Nosworthy's books I ever read and I was hooked from the first chapter. Like his earlier work on linear warfare this book is a gold mine of information that is easy to dig out the facts. Unlike most of the books I've read on tactics this book is anything but dry, Mr. Nosworthy tells you not only what the troops did but why they did it. He also very good about disguising between facts and opinion and when ever possible he uses contemporary sources to back up the opinions given. This is a the first study I've ever read that goes into the details as to why the British battle tactics were able to defeat the French. He does not, like so many works, say that it was the superiority of British firepower and professionalism of the troops. Mr. Nosworthy gives us a detailed look at both the technical and psychological differences between the to battle tactics and shows why the results were what they were.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding! A must for historians and wargamers., July 8, 1998

By 

"buffymeister" - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Musket, Cannon And Sword: Battle Tactics Of Napoleon And His Enemies (Hardcover)

This book covers all aspects of tactical doctrine and practice at the battlefield level - which most authors ignore in favour of grand tactics.

The detail is superb, but Nosworthy's prose never allows the attention to wander. Nosworthy's passion for the subject is evident in his rich and very readable style. This is no dry tome.

The analysis is well presented and supported, and in some cases quite revolutionary. Unlike some with revisionist theories, Nosworthy is very fair to those who have gone before him, and he is very good at presenting several points of view before coming to a conclusion.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough If you are interested in Napoleonic warfare then this book must sit beside your copy of Chandler!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Napoleonic tactics, June 16, 2000

By 

Milton Soong (Los Altos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Musket, Cannon And Sword: Battle Tactics Of Napoleon And His Enemies (Hardcover)

If you can read only one book on the Napoleonic War, read Chandler. If you want to read a second book, this is it. The author goes into meaty details, but the prose flows smoothly and it's never pedantic or boring.