Napoleon Bonaparte by John S. C. Abbott is a biography of one of the most famous and controversial figures of European history. The book provides a detailed account of Napoleon's life and achievements, from his humble beginnings on the island of Corsica to his rise to power as one of the most powerful emperors in European history.

The book begins with a description of Napoleon's early life, including his education and military training. It then goes on to describe his rise to power, including his military victories and political maneuvering. The book also delves into Napoleon's personal life, including his relationships with his family and mistresses, as well as his health problems and eventual downfall.

Throughout the book, Abbott provides an insightful and engaging look at Napoleon's life and legacy. He explores both the positive and negative aspects of Napoleon's reign, including his military genius, his contributions to French society, and his authoritarian tendencies. Overall, Napoleon Bonaparte is an informative and engaging biography that sheds new light on one of the most fascinating figures in European history.

Austerlitz, Wagram, Borodino, Trafalgar, Leipzig, Waterloo: these are the places most closely associated with the era of the Napoleonic Wars. But how did this period of nearly continuous conflict affect the world beyond Europe? The immensity of the fighting waged by France against England, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, and the immediate consequences of the tremors that spread throughout the world.

In this ambitious and far-ranging work, Alexander Mikaberidze argues that the Napoleonic Wars can only be fully understood in an international perspective. France struggled for dominance not only on the plains of Europe but also in the Americas, West and South Africa, Ottoman Empire, Iran, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Taking specific regions in turn, Mikaberidze discusses major political-military events around the world and situates geopolitical decision-making within its long- and short-term contexts. From the British expeditions to Argentina and South Africa to the Franco-Russian maneuvering in the Ottoman Empire, the effects of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would shape international affairs well into the next century. In Egypt, the wars led to the rise of Mehmed Ali and the emergence of a powerful state; in North America, the period transformed and enlarged the newly established United States; and in South America, the Spanish colonial empire witnessed the start of national-liberation movements that ultimately ended imperial control.

Skillfully narrated and deeply researched, here at last is the global history of the period, one that expands our view of the Napoleonic Wars and their role in laying the foundations of the modern world.

Explores the enigmatic Napoleon Bonaparte's intimate relationship with books and history, going far beyond his more militaristic and imperial fame.

Napoleon Bonaparte held absolute political power in France and his influence stretched across Europe and beyond. Yet he remained - between leading his armies and ruling over a vast empire - an indefatigable reader who even carried libraries into battle.

Bonaparte's love of the written word, birthed in childhood and nurtured as an adolescent and young adult, never left him. He was a lover of literature for its own sake - often swooning over melodramatic love stories - but he also understood the value of books as instruments of power. Before his campaigns, he poured over dozens of texts relating to the relevant theatres' geography, population, trade, and history. When contemplating grave decisions, such as his divorce to Empress Josephine, he consulted the historical record for useful precedents to justify and inform his actions. To bolster his troop's morale during challenging times, he constantly referenced history in his proclamations, making his contemporaries feel as if they were actively shaping history. They were.

The library of an individual is the key to his mind. Behind the grandiose paintings of the victorious conqueror and the constructions of the propagandist, stands the reader. This book is an attempt to glimpse Napoleon's character without the veneer of imperial glory.

What was he like, alone at night by his fireplace? What thoughts percolated in the mind of the ambitious 20-year-old, isolated in a little room while theorizing about man's happiness? Who are the literary and historical figures which can claim to have had impacted his life? Who were his favourite authors?

Through this book the reader will embark on a literary promenade with the great general and statemen. In these pages are found the emperor's favourite authors. And with them, the key to understanding his mind.

In this engrossing, (The New Yorker) vivid, and intensively researched volume, esteemed Napoleon scholar David Chandler outlines the military strategy that led the famous French emperor to his greatest victories--and to his ultimate downfall.

Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex--an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat.

The Campaigns of Napoleon is a masterful analysis and insightful critique of Napoleon's art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula (Je n'ai jamais eu un plan d'op rations), but military historian David Chandler demonstrates this was at best only a half-truth. To be sure, every operation Napoleon conducted contained unique improvisatory features. But there were from the first to the last certain basic principles of strategic maneuver and battlefield planning that he almost invariably put into practice. To clarify these underlying methods, as well as the style of Napoleon's fabulous intellect, Chandler examines in detail each campaign mounted and personally conducted by Napoleon, analyzing the strategies employed, revealing wherever possible the probable sources of his subject's military ideas.

Writing clearly and vividly, Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters (The Boston Globe) and this definitive work is a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader (The New York Review of Books).

This vintage book contains a detailed account of the Napoleonic Wars by A. G. Macdonell. A. G. Macdonell (1895-1941) was a Scottish novelist and journalist. His most famous works include: The Autobiography of a Cad, arguably amongst the funniest books ever written; Lords and Masters, a blunt and prescient satire, and England, Their England (1933) a classic satirical novel that affectionately explores English urban and rural society. Napoleon and his Marshals is widely considered to be one of the best accounts of the Napoleonic Wars ever written and is highly recommended for those with an interest in this chapter of history. Contents include: Contents include: The Army of Italy, The Old Republicans, Egypt, Massena and Suvorov, The Great Coup, Marengo, Making the Grande Armee, Austerlitz, Jena and Auserwstadt, Eylau and Friedland, The First Triumphs in Spain, Aspern-Essling and Wagram, et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with its original artwork and text. First published in 1934.

From the New York Times bestselling author and master of martial fiction comes the definitive, illustrated history of one of the greatest battles ever fought--a riveting nonfiction chronicle published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's last stand.

On June 18, 1815 the armies of France, Britain and Prussia descended upon a quiet valley south of Brussels. In the previous three days, the French army had beaten the Prussians at Ligny and fought the British to a standstill at Quatre-Bras. The Allies were in retreat. The little village north of where they turned to fight the French army was called Waterloo. The blood-soaked battle to which it gave its name would become a landmark in European history.

In his first work of nonfiction, Bernard Cornwell combines his storytelling skills with a meticulously researched history to give a riveting chronicle of every dramatic moment, from Napoleon's daring escape from Elba to the smoke and gore of the three battlefields and their aftermath. Through quotes from the letters and diaries of Emperor Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, and the ordinary officers and soldiers, he brings to life how it actually felt to fight those famous battles--as well as the moments of amazing bravery on both sides that left the actual outcome hanging in the balance until the bitter end.

Published to coincide with the battle's bicentennial in 2015, Waterloo is a tense and gripping story of heroism and tragedy--and of the final battle that determined the fate of nineteenth-century Europe.

A full assembly, of all 98 colour maps and plans (+ 7 in B&W) from Sir Charles Oman's History of the Peninsular War. The maps are in chronological in order and include the famous such as Ciudad Rodrigo & Badajoz and the not so famous as Battle of Espinosa. November 11, 1818.

The maps are full size, and faithful to the original cartography in all respects, allowing the reader to follow the War and its Battles, Campaigns and Skirmishes, as the fighting and it's various phases developed month by month and year by year. This is a very impressive map collection that should be part of every serious Napoleonic scholar's collection.

Details Russia's 1812 defense against Napoleon, covering key figures, battles, and operational details, enhanced with maps and critiques.

The Russian Patriotic War of 1812 is the only publicly available translation into English of Bogdanovich's official history of the Russian forces' involvement in the fight against Napoleon and his allies in Russia in 1812. This translation also includes extracts from Ivan Liprandi's critique of Bogdanovich's work.

Volume 2 of The Russian Patriotic War of 1812 covers Kutuzov's appointment as Field Marshal, details of the opolchenie (militia) and donations made in 1812, the meeting in Abo between Tsar Alexander I and the Crown Prince of Sweden (Jean- Baptiste Jules Bernadotte), and the situation in enemy occupied territory. Highly detailed descriptions of operations are included, from before the Battle of Borodino to the camp at Tarutino, as well as operations on the flanks by Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Outstanding feats were performed not only by prominent personalities but also by others who participated in this war. The composition of the forces are shown as clearly as possible, as are force numbers, casualties on each side, and so on. The maps attached to this work were drafted in such a way that they might serve to explain entire phases of the war. The battle plans show the locations of dominant terrain according to detailed state surveys, while villages, forests and roads have been copied from previously published plans.

Examines General Drouet d'Erlon's critical failures at Waterloo, revealing overlooked aspects of the battle's strategic decisions and impact.

Many have sought reasons why Napoleon lost the great battle at Waterloo, seen by many as the most famous conflict of the nineteenth century. Waterloo Casualties presents the litany of failures by one of Napoleon's key subordinates, General Drouet d'Erlon, which ultimately led to defeat. Using newly uncovered source material in archives in Paris, Dawson presents the campaign from the viewpoint of d'Erlon to explore his failings over four days that changed the course of European history.

The book explores for the first time what really happened at Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, and on the French right wing as the Prussians closed in. The actions between Papelotte and Frischermont were critical in the story of the battle, but have, so far, been seldom studied. As no red-coated soldiers fought here, and the Waterloo mythos says the red coats won the battle, the study of half of the battle has to a large extent been ignored. Dawson's meticulous analysis highlights key strategic decisions of one of the most significant military engagements of the last 500 years.

From the Treaty of Fontainebleau to the Battle of Corunna

The first part of Sir Charles Oman's classic history provides the background to the war and its origins, and covers the early stages of the conflict. Introducing the subject and many of its main players, this volume recounts the French invasion of Portugal and the forcible deposition of the Spanish royal family, the beginning of Spanish popular resistance, the arrival of the British in the Iberian Peninsula, the first victories of Sir Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington), Napoleon's personal participation in the Spanish campaign, the French surrender at Baylen, and Sir John Moore's terrible retreat, ending with his death in the hour of victory at the Battle of Corunna.

The first comprehensive history of the decisive Fall Campaign of 1813, which determined control of Central Europe following Napoleon's catastrophic defeat in Russia the previous year. Using German, French, British, Russian, Austrian and Swedish sources, Michael V. Leggiere provides a panoramic history which covers the full sweep of the struggle in Germany. He shows how Prussia, the weakest of the Great Powers, led the struggle against Napoleon and his empire. By reconstructing the principal campaigns and operations in Germany, the book reveals how the defeat of Napoleon in Germany was made possible by Prussian victories. In particular, it features detailed analysis of the strategy, military operations, and battles in Germany that culminated with the epic four-day Battle of Nations at Leipzig and Napoleon's retreat to France. This study not only highlights the breakdown of Napoleon's strategy in 1813, but constitutes a fascinating study in coalition warfare, international relations, and civil-military relations.

A new biography of possibly the most renowned light cavalryman

There can be few, if any, students of the military history of the Napoleonic period who are unaware of the career of the flamboyant Antoine Charles Lasalle. General Lasalle did not only epitomise the spirit of the French light cavalry officer of his time, he became truly iconic--the archetypal 'hussar' who was brave to the point of recklessness on the battlefield and a libertine when there was no battle to fight. A soldier by the time he was just eleven years old, Lasalle rose meteorically through the ranks of the French light cavalry to become a General of Division. He fought in the early revolutionary campaigns, during the campaign in Italy--where he became a favourite of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Egyptian Campaign, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, in Spain and in the War of the Fifth Coalition at the battles of Aspern-Essling and at Wagram in 1809 where he was killed in the closing moments of the battle. This new and original Leonaur title follows Lasalle and his peers through all these campaigns and battles, and includes many of first-hand accounts and anecdotes in which Lasalle featured. Included are many illustrations and maps to support the text and this new biography will be an entertaining and essential addition to every library of the warfare of the age of Napoleon.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

Complete facsimile of all the steel-plate engravings, containing 134 maps, colour coded for troop positions, covering campaigns and battles from the Italian Campaigns in the Valley of the Po in 1796, to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This is an important atlas of significance for Napoleonic students. Jomini was a Swiss officer who served as a general in the French and later in the Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers on the Napoleonic art of war. Jomini's ideas were a staple at military academies, the United States Military Academy at West Point being a prominent example; his theories were thought to have affected many officers who later served in the American Civil War. General Halleck commanded the Department of the Missouri and then the Department of the Mississippi. He led the Union forces during the Corinth campaign before he became the commanding general of the Army on 13 July 1862. He served as commanding general until 9 March 1864, when he was designated as the chief of staff.

The 1807-1814 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic necessity to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's 7-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants' accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.

Sir Charles Oman's classic 7-volume History of the Peninsular War is one of the most important histories of the period ever written. The work of a brilliant historian and writer, it presents a large amount of detailed and valuable information in a very readable style.

From The Battle of Corunna to the end of The Talavera Campaign

The fate of the Iberian Peninsula was very much in the balance during the period January-September 1809, when it seemed all too possible that Napoleon would achieve control over Spain and Portugal. This volume covers the continuing Spanish resistance to French occupation, the renewed French invasion of Portugal, and the return to the Peninsula and subsequent victories of Sir Arthur Wellesley, including his outmanoeuvring of the French from Oporto and culminating in the hard-fought victory at Talavera.

Valencia, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Madrid

Volume V covers the period during which the outcome of the war was effectively decided by Wellington's great advance from Portugal into Spain. The operations that took place at this time include the French campaigns of late 1811, with their conquest of Valencia and the siege of Tarifa; Wellington's offensive, involving the terrible sieges and storming of the border fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz; and his great victory at Salamanca, which did much to decide the fate of the French hold on Spain. Other notable actions include that at Garcia Hernandez, and there were also smaller operations such as those on the east coast of Spain. Orders of battle, lists of strengths and casualties, and an account of Wellington's intelligence officer and code-breaker Sir George Scovell, whose efforts contributed greatly to Wellington's plans of campaign, are given in the appendices.

Offers a comprehensive study of the uniforms and evolution of Napoleon's cuirassiers and carabiniers, utilizing extensive archival research to accurately portray their clothing and equipment.

Created during the Peace of Amiens, the nineteen regiments of cuirassiers that existed during the course of the 1e Empire were, after the Imperial Guard, perhaps the most famous and recognisable soldiers of the epoch. This book explores the long gestation of clothing and equipping the cuirassiers, the development of the arm from twelve regiments to twenty-one - if we include the carabiniers from 1811 - and how their clothing evolved across the period. As well as assessing the curiassiers, the story of the evolution of the uniforms of the carabiniers is also told. Much ink has been spilt on the two regiments and their uniforms, yet, as with the cuirassiers, precious little archive research has been carried out.

This is one of a series of ground-breaking books which will be the defacto study of this perennially popular subject for historians, researchers, wargamers, re-enactors and artists. Using archive records to 'set the record straight', as well as contemporary illustrations and original items of uniforms, the author sets out to describe the uniform of every regiment of Napoleon's army. Using archive sources found in the Archives Nationales and Service Historique du Armee de Terre in Paris, the author's unrivalled research over a period of twenty years, will reveal exactly how, for the first time in over 200 years, Napoleon's army was mounted, clothed and equipped.

Having been granted to access to over 1,000 archive boxes, the author assesses how the regulations were adopted in practice. This vast resource, as yet untapped by the majority of researchers and historians for understanding the Napoleonic era in general, include the many regimental archive boxes preserved in the French Army archives. These sources provide, potentially bias free empirical data from which we can reconstruct the life story of a regiment, its officers and above all its clothing. What did trumpeters wear? Did cavalry regiments really have sapeurs? We answer these questions and present the reality of how regiments were dressed derived from diaries, letters, inspection returns, regimental accounts and even cases of fraud.

For the first time, this unique series of books discusses the wide ranging 1806 uniform regulation and the more famous Bardin regulation which applied to all arms of the Army and explores the way in which regiments on campaign adopted and adapted their uniforms. For the first time since the days of Napoleon, we can say exactly what was worn by the French army.

A definitive guide to the dress, weapons and accruements of the the 17 regiments of hussars and the 32 regiments of chasseurs à cheval.

Small men, with big egos and moustaches, the hussars of Napoleon's army wore some of the most flamboyant and stylish uniforms of the epoch. In this book, the uniforms of the seventeen regiments of hussars are discussed in detail by renowned historian Paul L. Dawson, along with the dress of their brethren in the thirty-two regiments of Chasseurs à cheval, with an emphasis on the highly elaborate dress of the trumpeters.

Having been granted access to over 1,000 archive boxes, held in the Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre in Paris and the Archives Nationales, the author is able to assesses how the wide ranging 1806 uniform regulations and the more famous Bardin regulations were adopted in practice. This vast resource, as yet untapped by the majority of researchers and historians for understanding the Napoleonic era in general, provides detail never previously revealed to the general public.

This is possible because every year a regiment would be inspected, and the condition of the uniforms assessed. A return of all the clothing to be disposed of was made, and the appropriate number of new items ordered. Items of clothing and equipment needing repair were also recorded, as was how many pieces had been repaired since the last inspection. Upon joining a regiment, the recruit was given his first full set of clothing and equipment, which came from stoppages in his pay. Each item of clothing had a specified life - a bearskin had to last twenty years, for example. If the items needed repair or replacement inside the prescribed period due to misuse, the cost was borne by the soldier. All of this was recorded.

These invaluable sources provide bias free empirical data from which we can reconstruct the life story of a regiment, its officers and above all its clothing and equipment. In addition to the official records, the author has constructed how the regiments were dressed from diaries, letters, and even cases of fraud.

As well as providing the recorded details, this book shows in scores of beautiful illustrations exactly how each regiment appeared. These images include period paintings as well as works specifically commissioned for this book, plus unique photographs of existing items of uniform. Now, for the first time since the days of Napoleon, we can say exactly what was worn by Napoleon's light cavalry.

Ocaña, Cadiz, Bussaco, Torres Vedras

Volume III covers the period from September 1809 to December 1810, when the French were consolidating their hold on Spain, crushing resistance and attempting to drive the British out of Portugal. However, they could not wholly defeat their opponents. The forces of the Spanish Regency Council, with British and Portuguese aid, held out against the siege of Cadiz. Wellington's Allied army fought a model defensive battle at Bussaco, stalling the French drive into Portugal and enabling the British and Portuguese forces to retire to the shelter of the Torres Vedras fortifications. Here the Allies' defence led to a strategic victory, blunting the French offensive, and ultimately forcing the French to abandon their invasion of Portugal.

Three talented French artists, Carle Vernet, Horace Vernet (son of Carle) and Eugène Lami, capitalized on the wave of nostalgia for the First Empire brought on by the death of Napoleon in 1821 by producing a series of prints of French military uniforms of the French revolutionary and imperial armies. These colorful lithographs, each accompanied by a text by an unidentified author describing the unit depicted, were published in book form in 1822 as Collection des Uniformes des Armées Françaises de 1791 à 1814 (Paris: Gide fils, 1822). The broad range of uniforms depicted includes many from infrequently-illustrated foreign and auxiliary units in the French army. The images also include unusual back and side views of uniforms. The images in this book are contemporary watercolor copies of the prints and are reproduced with permission from the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, where they currently reside.