French Napoleonic Infantry Tactics 1792–1815

French Napoleonic Infantry Tactics 1792–1815 cover

Description

Osprey's examination of French infantry tactics during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). For over 20 years France was the dominating, controlling and conquering power of the western world, a result not only of Napoleon's inspired leadership, but of the efforts of almost an entire generation of Frenchmen under arms. The French Revolution heralded both social change and a seismic shift in how armies were organized, trained and deployed.

This book provides an analysis of the preparation of French troops from manual regulations to the training ground, studying the changing quality of command and control within the army, which initially ensured that the French infantry were virtually unstoppable. Paddy Griffith not only explores the role of the French infantry at the apex of their powers and their actions in key battles, but also provides a detailed explanation of their eventual decline leading to defeat at Waterloo, providing a critical overview of French Napoleonic infantry tactics.

Table of Contents

Personnel, organization and tactics - line and column, firepower and bayonets · The role of skirmishers - Duhesme's manual · Joudain's recruiting law - Gribeauval guns - infantry in 'all-arms battle' - the squares in Egypt · Bonaparte's role - Ney's manual · Triumph in 1805-07 · The Peninsular, 1808-14 - performance vs British and Spanish · Deterioration 1809-14 - increased reliance on artillery · Waterloo

Product details

Published Nov 20 2007
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 64
ISBN 9781846032783
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 43 b/w; 2 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Elite
Short code ELI 159
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Illustrator

Peter Dennis

Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazine…

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