Some great books while you're waiting

[Le Tondu]

Back on January 28th, Double Shot Design said :

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Here is a list of planned scenarios...the game focuses on the 1807 campaign but it is a true toolkit/editor. I expect community created scenarios will be the driving force for the game.

Pultusk (26 December 1806)

Golymin (26 December 1806)

Hof (6 Feb 1807)

Eylau (7-8 February 1807)

Heilsberg (10 June 1807)

Friedland (14 June 1807)

There were some more plus variants on the main list.

Once the game is in a final stage, I will be looking for scenario designers so there may be "bonus" scenarios as well.

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Reading some great Napoleonic books while waiting is a great way to "get into the mood."

I recommend :

"Napoleon's Campaign in Poland, 1806-1807" by F. Loraine Petre

"Campaigns in Poland, 1806 and 1807" by Sir Robert Wilson (Russian Army's perspective)

"Napoleon's Army" by Col. H.C.B. Rogers (also contains a great account of the Davout's Third Corps in 1806-1807.)

Enjoy.
Rick
[:)]

[Vyshka]

Another good Napoleon book is

"Napoleon's Campaigns" by David Chandler

This is the Nappy bible for miniature players apparently.
I picked it up recently and it does look good. It is a big
book though.

[sabreman1966mcs]

I can add the following to the list;

"Napoleons Campaigns in Miniature" by Bruce Quarrie (still available in small quantities at Amazon) My old bible from when I first started.

"Rifles" by Mark Urban (covers the battles and lives of the 1/95th from 1809-1815) It's well researched from several primary sources within the regiment and gives a good insight into the actions of the Light Division in Spain and France.

[Le Tondu]

My original premise was to suggest books about the campaigns that are highlighted in the scenarios for this game (two for 1806 and five for 1807.) That said, those are two excellent books.

Currently, I am reading "1815, The Return of Napoleon" by Paul Britten Austin to help me get into "the mood" for a new game that I have ordered while I await "Black Powder Wars: Battles of Napoleon" to be released.

[sol_invictus]

I guess we all are a bunch of loons.[;)] I have started to compile a stack of books on the Napoleonic era in anticipation of the release of EIA, CoG, and BoN. I will re-read both, Campaigns of Napoleon and Swords Around a Throne and I think I will grab Rifles as it sounds interesting. I haven't read much at all about the campaign in the Peninsula.

[sabreman1966mcs]

ORIGINAL: Arinvald

I haven't read much at all about the campaign in the Peninsula.

The definative work on the Peninsula is the seven volume set of "A history of the Peninsula Wars" by Sir Charles Oman. Not too sure if all seven volumes are still in print, the one publisher I have found seems to only be doing the first four volumes, which covers up to Fuentes d'Onoro.

ORIGINAL: Le Tondu

I recommend :

"Napoleon's Campaign in Poland, 1806-1807" by F. Loraine Petre

Added this to my reading list, along with "Napoleon's Conquest of Prussia 1806" by the same author.

[Le Tondu]

Gee, I thought that Oman had more than seven volumes. Oh well.

Another great book about the peninsula is "The Spanish Ulcer, A History of the Peninsular War" by David Gates. It covers the entire war, has many great battle maps, and OOBs. ---AND it is much cheaper than a multi-volume study.

[sol_invictus]

Thanks for the suggestions guys; time to hit amazon.

[Capt Cliff]

Don't forget; The Anatomy of Glory, Napoleon And His Guard: A Study In Leadership

By Commandant Henry Lachouque

[Suvoroff]

I'd add a few more "must reads".

Tactics of the Russian Army in the Napoleonic Wars
by A. & Y. Zhmodikov
More than just the experiences of the Russian armies, it also has a lot of detail on tactics applicable to all armies of the era.

Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon
by Rory Muir
Probably the best single book on the subject, though it *is* limited to British, and to a lesser extent French sources.

Tactics and Grand Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars
by George Jeffrey
A detailed study of what exactly it is that battalions and regiments do on the battlefield. Hard to find but really splendid. Less boring than Nafziger's Imperial Bayonets - though that is still useful.

Yours,
James D. Gray

[Le Tondu]

James,

I have Imperial Bayonets and Muir's work, but the Zhmodikov is new to me. Where does one get a copy? I cannot seem to find one anywhere.

Don't forget "With Musket, Cannon and Sword, Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies" by Brent Nosworthy.

Thanks.
Rick

[DavidI]

Arinvald - "Swords Around the Thone" - awesome book!
Le Tondu - "With Musket, Cannon and Sword..." - awesome book. (Liked CMETO did you?)
Suvoroff - Nafzlinger is without a doubt the worst writer I've ever stumbled across, great information, but boring, boring, boring. I'm going to Amazon right now to look up Muir's and Zhmodikov's books.

This book is pre-Napoleonic, but is a great primer - "Warfare in the Age of Enlightenment" by Christopher Duffy.

DavidI

[Suvoroff]

The two Zhmodikov books are available at;

http://home.fuse.net/nafziger/30yr.htm

Along with a lot of other, limited run books. The printing standards are not what I wish they were, but the books he publishes are not available elsewhere and probably never will be.

I certainly have to agree with David about Nafziger as a writer. There is a lot of information in his books, but he'll bore you to death.

I confess I can't stand Nosworthy.

Yours,
James D. Gray

[Le Tondu]

Thank you very much Suvoroff. Nafziger is quite prolific.

As to whether or not an author is boring, I really don't care too much. It is the information that I am after. To each their own, eh?

I will say that when a good author writes a Napoloenic book, it quite the bonus. One in particular that I found is Edward Ryan, who wrote "Napoleon's Shield and Guardian, The Unconquerable General Daumesnil."

[9thlegere]

You can get Omans flawed but still brilliant work now in paper back. I had the first there in hardback and was pleased to see the paper backs are the same size as the hard bacsk so fit nicely on the shelves!

Try amazon if I remeber or maybe it was Greenhill books.

Just for something a little different, why not try some of the excellent memiors still in print?

Marbot is great, funny even- although not intentionally. Parquin is good in parts too. I also enjoyed Von Brandts.

A lot of these memoirs have some ammusing antedoctes in them and it is always worthwhile hearing it from the horses mouth so to speak, even if they are biased.

[9thlegere]

http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/

is good for some free stuff!

[kc_chiefs]

Julian Paget's shorter work was good too. Its done on two levels - narrative about each campaign and battle and then he details each battle. Here is the link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 31-5365545

Wellington's Peninsular War: Battles and Battlefields

Its on two levels - narrative and detailed accounts of each battle. If all you want to do is get a good feeling for each of the campaigns and not have to read 8 volumes of Oman then this work is very good.

One other reviewer of Paget's work recommended Ian Robertson's WELLINGTON AT WAR IN THE PENINSULA.

Amazon had it at:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

Both books are priced in the 25-30 USD range.

[Le Tondu]

One incredible surprise that I found recently is "La Grande Armee" by Georges Blond. It is filled with an immense amount of knowledge.

Thanks for the link 9thlegere. [:)]