.
.
by John H. Gill.
Hardback (6.5×9.5 inches). 594 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Napoleon’s German Allies and the Campaigns of 1813
Volume 2 covers the Confederation of the Rhine, specifically the 1813 armies of Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Westphalia, and a number of smaller principalities. Like the first volume, you get a tremendous amount of detail of unit organization, numbers (where available), and combats about important, but oft-ignored, forces.
As each force receives its place in the limelight of history, so you will learn how each ally interacted with each other and with the French. Alas for greater glory, many of these smaller states suffered from significant defections and lackluster performance from hastily-raised troops after the Russian debacle of 1812. Indeed, the French come across as dismissive when it came to the smaller states’ troops, and sometimes that proved true in battle, but every once in a while, a contingent would prove superior. For example, Berg cavalry was so good, it was assigned under the same command as the Imperial Guard.
The recap of the reorganization of the Wurttemberg troops after the Battle of Dennewitz sets the tone for the the tome.
I had to look up the word “knout” (p167) — a whip of some sort.
One typo: “drag both guns out the river” (p271) should likely have “of” inserted.
Another typo: Napoleon’s birthday is listed as August 10 (p155), but it’s August 15.
A production gaffe: The top pages of the Footnotes section (p417-p506) says “Notes to pages xxx” — someone forgot to insert the page numbers.
Note that the bibliography (p518 – p568) is quite extensive.
The book contains two black and white diagrams, 23 black and white illustrations, 17 black and white maps, 33 color illustrations, and 32 Orders of Battle. Once again, Gill supplies lots of maps, including tactical ones that you can use to drop terrain on a tabletop and position troops. When you read about a battle, it’s always helpful to offer a map with the towns and such on them.
Once again, exceptional research, smooth prose, detailed orders of battle with numbers, and a cornucopia of tactical, operational, and strategic maps make this another brilliant examination of the Napoleonic era. Another excellent volume.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
