Customer Reviews

Napoleon's Polish Troops (Men-at-Arms)

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This is a 32 years old publication, written during the Cold War when contacts and cultural exchange between the West and East were rather scarce and slow. Since then much has happened. Why Osprey chooses to reissue this weak publication about Napoleon's single biggest and most devoted ally is beyond me. The least they could do is to at least upgrade the poor illustrations of Michael Roffe, as done with Napoleons German Allies : Vol. I (first published in 1975), where the "effort" by Roffe has been replaced by the work of much more talented artist Rick Scollins. The remaining illustrations and photographs in Napoleon's Polish Troops are mostly completely irrelevant to anyone with the slightest interest in the Polish effort during the Napoleonic wars. Out of some 40 illustrations only about 10 concern Polish Napoleonic matters, the remaining only cover the pages residual space and portray Russian, Prussian, Dutch(!) and French generals and battles with little or no Polish participation. Besides the Polish Commander in Chief Poniatowski not one single Polish general or other Polish officer is portrayed. But the Prussian major Schill is not omitted... What he ever had in common with Napoleon's Polish troops this poor effort of a book do not let you know though.

The text by von Pivka (alias for a major Digby Smith) also leaves a lot to be wished for, both in missing facts and knowledge, obviously he is much more acquainted with German military history than Polish (I will leave out the misspelling of Polish names and language) .
Furthermore, in my view, the history and uniformology of the Napoleonic Polish infantry, artillery and cavalry of the Polish Legion in Italy, the Danaube Legion, the Vistula Legion, the Legion of the North , the main army of the Duchy of Warsaw, Napoleon's Polish Guard lancers, Napoleon's Polish Guard infantry battalion and all the other Polish units scattered over French Europe and the French West Indies, deserve a whole lot more than this weak single volume.
All in all a very weak and incomplete effort.