Citizen Emperor
Posts: 69
Joined: 12/28/2013 From: Memphis Status: offline
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I very recently finished reading John H. Gill's masterfully definitive, three-volume history 1809: Thunder on the Danube -- truly a stunning achievement in Napoleonic studies. All told, its 1,000+ pages offer the most meticulously detailed account of the War of the Fifth Coalition ever attempted in English. Every facet of Napoleon's last victorious campaign is covered in minute detail, backed by extensive notes, charts, OOBs and a multitude of truly excellent maps. (You'll get to know the geography of Bavaria and Austria like the back of your hand.) The secondary theaters of Italy, Poland and Dalmatia -- usually skimmed over in most histories -- receive extensive coverage as well. Gill's depiction of the Battle of Ebelsberg is particularly interesting... House-to-house urban combat wasn't a hallmark of the Napoleonic Wars, but at Ebelsberg (3 May 1809) the street fighting was like a mini-Stalingrad in its intensity. Anyone interested in the 1809 campaign, or Napoleonic military history in general, should not fail to seek these books out. They're astonishingly good. Between them, the books contain some 96 maps (covering everything from grand strategy to minor cavalry skirmishes). 1809: Thunder on the Danube, Vol. I - Politics, Strategy and the Road to Abensberg-Eggmuhl 1809: Thunder on the Danube, Vol. II - The Fall of Vienna and the Battle of Aspern 1809: Thunder on the Danube, Vol. III - Wagram and Znaim
< Message edited by Citizen Emperor -- 7/26/2014 9:57:20 AM >
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"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon."
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