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Title: Napoleonic Battles (Vital Guide) by Jonathan Sutherland ISBN: 1-84037-423-3 Publisher: Airlife Pub Ltd Pub. Date: January, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Great resource!
Comment: This is a neat book in that it, by it's very nature, covers conflicts rarely mentioned in other histories of the period. For those used to the Peninsula, the campaigns in the east against Austria and Russia then this book will remind you of other far flung engagements of the period: Ireland and Buenos Aires are two that stand out. Also smaller battles between lesser players get pages alongside the more visible or popular fights like Waterloo, Austerlitz, etc.

Each entry is succint (several paragraphs to several pages) and in a small chart includes the date of the battle, the opposing forces and their numbers, their commander, the losses incurred and the victor. There is also at least a map of each and usually some relevant art. In additon, sprinkled through out, are photos from some re-enactment event that are appropriate to the battle desribed (more or less).

Things I'd rather not see:
1) The naval engagements and
2) some of the re-enactment shots are less than inspiring - mostly due to deficient numbers. (Page 9 has 6 French lancers menacing a 10 man Austrian square on a huge empty plain) Thes kinds of things undercut the gravity of these massive and important events.

Notable omission: the War of 1812. This is often overlooked in Napoleonic works but arguably it drew off resources Britain could have used in Spain so to leave it out seems like an error. I don't see how it can be justified. After all, it was Britain who finally put the First Empire to bed for good.

Still, as an introduction to the period, it has a colorful and an accessible USA Today type design which is perfect for people with a budding interest in the Napoleonc era. But for those with more experience in the period it is a useful and handy cheat sheet for getitng the quick facts on whatever engagement you want.