Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!

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.

First class - the outstanding general work in its field. Previous unfavourable reviews seem more concerned with superficial detail than with the key arguments of the book.

THIS BOOK IS THE DEFINITIVE BOOK ON NAPOLEONIC LAND TACTICS. ALL 3 ARMS ARE DISCUSSED IN RICH DETAIL AND NOSWORTHY HAS MANAGED TO TAKE EVEN DRY INFORMATION COME TO LIFE THROUGH HIS EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE TACTICS WERE USED IN ACTUAL BATTLES. HIS RECOUNTING OF THE FRENCH CAVALRY CHARGE THAT SAVED THE DAY FOR NAPOLEON AT MARENGO IS SPINE TINGLING. HE IS VERY OBJECTIVE AND FAIR TO THE TACTICAL THINKERS OF THE TIME IN HIS CRITIQUE OF THEIR IDEAS AND BACKS UP HIS VIEWS WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED USE OF OLD SOLDIERS WAR STORIES. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR HISTORIANS AND WARGAMERS ALIKE.

Hi everyone,

When it comes to actual tactics used during the Napoleonic period, VERY few books even mention that.
Well, this is one of those books.

Besides 3 books put out by the authors: H. Rogers, Gunther Rothenberg & Philip Haythornthwaite, really NO ONE else is talking about the Napoleonic tactics or logistics as such in the English language!

You'll find tons of books on Napoleon's Campaigns & Battles & His Army's Uniforms (Yay,) but not tactics.

If you want to learn about Napoleonic tactics, I know of only the authors previously mentioned including Mr. Nosworthy in this awesome book BTW, who touch upon the subject.

Period.
Steve K.

The tactics of the Napoleonic Wars have been poorly understood. Nosworthy gives excellent detailed examples from the era showing how each of the combat arms dealt with each of the combat arms of their opponents. He shows the importance of morale and how 18th century doctrine evolved into Napoleonic tactics. Skirmishers preceded attacking infantrymen, and columns were generally used not so much for attack as they were for maneuver toward the enemy where the men would then deploy into line. The French used lines more than has been generally thought. This system worked against everyone but the British, whose superior skirmishers kept the French columns in the dark until British infantry fired a volley and charged just as the French were attempting to deploy. This book is essential to understanding Napoleonic warfare.

This book is very well written, which perhaps explains all the good reviews it has recieved. Unfortunately, this means that all those people who gave the book a good review are now walking around with incorrect information in their heads. The preferred use of artillery of the period was counter-battery fire? Wrong. Counter-battery fire was only used very rarely, and then only as a last resort when one's own artillery was significantly weaker than the enemy's, and even then only when the enemy infantry or cavalry was under cover and there were NO other targets. The fact that the author states such an obvious untruth repeatedly, as if it were gospel shows he has little understanding of his topic, and is just repeating something he read somewhere.
This is just one of many mistakes, given as an example. There are plenty of well-researched books on this topic. Buy one of those.

I was privileged to to provide Mr. Noseworthy some research for this book, and therefor feel honored to be associated with it. Notwithstanding my own bias, this is still an impressive work which gives a perspective on the Napoleanic conflict which is unsurpassed. For far too long we have been influenced by the generalist view of the tactics and formations employed then. Even major historians like Chandler and Elting while providing great overall perspective of the period, are very scanty when it comes to describing how troops actually fought back then. This book provides a lot of answers and has a nuts and bolts perspective which is fascinating. Mr. Noseworthy's expalnation of how the aristocracy of the 18th Century limited the employment of non-linerar tactics in the French and other armies goes a long way toward explaining how the French were able to employ them in the Napoleanaic period. Here we see that the tactics of the French Revolution and Napoleanic periods did not simply fall out of the sky, but were already established principals whose time had finally come. Mr. Noseworthy discusses in detail how French formations fought and delivered fire, and dispels a lot of myths about the French army. Contrary to popular opinion, the French fought in a variety of formations besides column, and were not adverse to employing lines. Reference is made to how the British fought in this period, and we learn it was not platoon fire that defeated the French in Spain and Waterloo, but point blank vollies followed by spirited bayonet charges. The book quotes alot from primary sources, many of them seldem referred too before, even by major researchers in the field. This book goes a long way toward re-evaluating how we should understand Napoleanic Warfare, and as such is bound to ruffle a few feathers as far as popular established views are concerned. Mr. Noseworthy's writing is clear, subtle, and to the point. There is seldem a paragraph that does not contain some interesting fact. I look forward to a work on the US Civil War period where countless myths and falsehoods about the formations employed in that war could be addressed in the same logical fashion. It was a priviledge to be associated with this book, and look forward to do doing so again if the occasion arises. Buy this book wherever you can find it!