Fai clic su di un'immagine per andare a Google Ricerca Libri.
Sto caricando le informazioni... 1809: Thunder on the Danube - Napoleon's Defeat of the Habsburgs, Vol. 3: Wagram and Znaimdi John H. Gill
Nessuno Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
Appartiene alle Serie
"A very impressive piece of work, and it is unlikely to be surpassed for many years . . . A very valuable guide to Napoleon's last great victory" (HistoryOfWar.org). With this third volume, John Gill brings to a close his magisterial study of the war between Napoleonic France and Habsburg Austria. The account begins with both armies recuperating on the banks of the Danube. As they rest, important action was taking place elsewhere: Eugene won a crucial victory over Johann on the anniversary of Marengo, Prince Poniatowski's Poles outflanked another Austrian archduke along the Vistula, and Marmont drove an Austrian force out of Dalmatia to join Napoleon at Vienna. These campaigns set the stage for the titanic Battle of Wagram. Second only in scale to the slaughter at Leipzig in 1813, Wagram saw more than 320,000 men and 900 guns locked in two days of fury that ended with an Austrian retreat. The defeat, however, was not complete: Napoleon had to force another engagement before Charles would accept a ceasefire. The battle of Znaim, its true importance often not acknowledged, brought an extended armistice that ended with a peace treaty signed in Vienna. Gill uses an impressive array of sources in an engaging narrative covering both the politics of emperors and the privations and hardship common soldiers suffered in battle. Enriched with unique illustrations, forty maps, and extraordinary order-of-battle detail, this work concludes an unrivalled English-language study of Napoleon's last victory. "Sheds new light on well-known stages in the battle . . . he has covered more than just an epochal battle in a magnificent book that will satisfy the most avid enthusiasts of Napoleonic era military history." --Foundation Napoleon Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
Discussioni correntiNessunoCopertine popolari
Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)940.274209436History and Geography Europe Europe Early Modern 1453-1914 Napoleonic period 1789-1815Classificazione LCVotoMedia:
Sei tu?Diventa un autore di LibraryThing. |
His emphasis on the side-shows is both a strength and a weakness. It is a strength because a general reader will be unlikely to read about the Polish or Dalmatian campaign theater. Gill's account fills gaps that are only covered by rather obscure sources. It is a weakness because these side-shows detract from the main events. The battle of Wagram is described in only eighty pages (the Znaim skirmish merits thirty pages), which results in a staccato treatment of the first day, the main casualties are the Saxons and an aggregated presentation of the Austrian actions. There is still room for a comprehensive battle study of Wagram.
A time line of the events and chapters would have been very helpful to the reader as would have been an overall campaign map which situated the different actions and theaters. Map 9 which comes closest to an overall campagin map does not include Germany or Poland (partially represented in Map 29). The content of the maps is fine, their presentation could have been improved. The half page design is an unfortunate choice which is further constricted by in-line legends and captions.
The discussion of the campaign does not mention the fact that Napoleon used the Austrian's own defensive network and roads against them. Austria's defenses are laid out to defend against Eastern invaders. By pushing the Austrians across the Danube, Napoleon used the old Roman road systems while his opponents were reduced to secondary roads (which remain terrible to this day).
Austrian dispositions were directed not only against the French and Allied forces but also to protect the home front against insurgencies (as did Saddam Hussein during the American invasion). The Austrians' greatest fear was not a defeat but an independent Bohemia similar to the Rheinbund. The need to control Bohemia fixed Charles' Hauptarmee. This strategic inflexibility was the main cause of his defeat.
Overall, a great read and a tremendous achievement. Highly recommended. ( )