History of Warfare: The Napoleonic Wars (Hardcover)

by Gunther Rothenberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Military historian Gunther Rothenberg provides a detailed account of the Napoleonic Wars in this installment of Cassell's multivolume series covering the history of warfare. The treatment is predominantly military rather than social. The matter-of-fact, dispassionate text is rich in tactical details and statistics, augmented by contemporary paintings, well-designed maps, and diagrams. The actions of the protagonists' commanders are also critically assessed, with much attention given to Napoleon himself, stressing the power of his charisma but showing that his insistence on sole control ultimately proved a weakness. Significantly, The Napoleonic Wars aims to show that, far from being the end of a military era, this was a period marking the origins of modern warfare. Developments in army organization, strategy, and weaponry gained from the experience of over 20 years of war are progressively described. The main points of Rothenberg's argument, that Napoleonic strategies continued to be followed and that the sheer scale of war was revolutionary, are summed up in the brief epilogue. The bulk of the broadly chronological text is uncluttered by too much speculation; military-history buffs will appreciate The Napoleonic Wars for its clarity. --Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description
He inherited the armies of the French Revolution that had overthrown a monarchy--and used them to conquer a continent on a scale never seen before. Napoleon developed what was perhaps the world's first "superpower," setting a pattern that would come to fruition in the twentieth century. From descriptions of Bonaparte's rise; through the years of the Second Coalition and the Grande Armée; to the heights of victory and the depths of defeat at Waterloo, a fascinating portrait emerges of a man and his methods. 224 pages, 70 color illus., 80 b/w illus., 7 3/4 x 10 3/8.


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (December 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304352675
• ISBN-13: 978-0304352678
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #327,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to the Napoleonic Wars, January 5, 2006

By	David C. Read (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Napoleonic Wars (Paperback)

This is a neat little book, with a nice variety of illustrations and a compact but very readable text. In only 217 pages, the author cannot and does not get bogged down in details. The work is intended only as an introduction and overview of the wars, which is all most American readers need. Personally, I knew almost nothing about the Napoleonic wars, and was just looking for some background in order to better enjoy novels and movies set during the period. This work met that need admirably, and I plowed through it in a couple of evenings.

Enthusiasts of the period will learn little from this, but again this book is not aimed at them. For those wanting more detail, and who are willing to spend the time it takes to study this period in detail, there are many longer works, including some by this author, as well as by Chandler, Esposito, Elting, etc. There are also excellent longer works dealing with specific campaigns, such as Austerlitz, Jena, Wagram, the 1812 Debacle in Russia, the Penninsular war, etc. But if you are looking for a brief, readable, and well illustrated introduction, this book will do the trick.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Survey of a Crucial Period in Military History, June 19, 2000

By	Julian Wan "wanchob" (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This work in the Cassell History of Warfare series edited by noted historian John Keegan concerns the Napoleonic Period. A phase of military history notable for large armies, the rise of nationalism as a motivating force, and the development of a class of professional officers who actually began to study and reconsider military theory. Rothenburg does an admirable job in covering these ideas and giving a broad survey of the major campaigns, weapon systems, and military theories. For the more serious specialist readers, books about specific campaigns and battles (i.e the endless number concerning Waterloo) can fill in the fine details. For the academically minded, David Chandler's classic Campaigns of Napoleon remains definitive, but only focuses on the Emperor. In short: excellent for the non-specialist browser who might be curious in the conflicts which led to the creation of modern Europe.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief Overview of the wars of Napoleon, February 17, 2003

By	David W. Nicholas (Montrose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Napoleonic Wars (Paperback)

Napoleon Bonaparte influenced warfare more than any other figure of his age, and arguably more than any other figure of history. He almost conquered Europe, and his influence spread through society in a myriad of ways, from sugar beet production (which he stimulated) to tactics (which he influenced but did not reinvent). This book concentrates on the military aspects of his influence, and the wars he beget over the last dozen years of his influence, 1803-15.

Cassell has a number of these histories out now, short books lavishly illustrated with pictures and beautiful maps. The Napoleonic Wars covers the central events of Europe 1803-15. The book begins with two chapters that summarize events before the period the book focuses on, and Napoleon's life before that era. We then get five chapters, about a hundred and fifty pages of narrative recounting the major campaigns of the wars of Napoleon. Each of the campaigns only gets a few pages, and battles often only are briefly mentioned. When there's more detail, as at Waterloo, the narrative still moves quickly and only a few pages suffice to recount what happened.

Rothenberg is one of the better-known historians of the Napoleonic age. His main point here (and he's made the point elsewhere) is that these wars weren't the last wars of the classical age, but the first ones of the modern one. I would submit that in ways they were both, but that's more of a nuance than an actual difference of opinion. The points he makes are generally well-reasoned, and the narrative tends to support them.

Books that deal with Napoleon tend to divide into two groups: those that praise him to the heavens, and those that are critical of him, to a lesser or greater extent. This book falls into the latter category, though the criticisms are generally gentle. The few other soldiers who get some attention (Wellington, Archduke Charles, and Blucher) are only cursorily covered.

The maps are gorgeous, and illustrate the narrative pretty well. I would recommend this book to the casual reader who wished to know something more about the Wars of this era.