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Lädt ... With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaignvon John H. Gill
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When Napoleon's Grand Armee went to war against the might of the Habsburg empire in 1809, its forces included more than 100,000 allied German troops. From his earliest imperial campaigns, these troops provided played a key role as Napoleon swept from victory to victory and in 1809 their fighting abilities were crucial to the campaign. With Napoleon's French troops depleted and debilitated after the long struggle in the Spanish War, the German troops for the first time played a major combat role in the centre of the battle line.Aiming at a union of German states under French protection to replace the decrepit Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon sought to expand French influence in central Germany at the expense of the Austrian and Prussian monarchies, ensuring Frances own security. The campaign Napoleon waged in 1809 was his career watershed. He suffered his first reverse at Aspern. Victory was achieved at Wagram was not the knock-out blow he had envisaged.In this epic work, John Gill presents an unprecedented and comprehensive study of this year of glory for the German soldiers fighting for Napoleon, When combat opened they were in the thick of the action, fighting within French divisions and often without any French support at all. They demonstrated tremendous skill, courage and loyalty. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)944.05History and Geography Europe France and region France First empire 1804-1815Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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Given that the Rheinbund’s territory was nearly equal to NATO’s West Germany (only Saxony being part of East Germany), the study can be read as a reassurance that the German soldiers would fight well alongside the Americans if properly equipped, trained and led. What the study misses is that the Habsburgs had, for centuries, had to rely on the often reluctant troops of these principalities, piecing together companies and regiments. Thus, Napoleon could perfect a system already in place, consolidating their efforts at a more efficient scale.
The book also examines the Bavarian campaign in Tirol, an unnecessary campaign that resulted out of Bavarian incompetence in integrating Tirol into the culturally similar Bavarian kingdom. The early Tyrolean successes were due to the difficult terrain and the absence of the best Bavarian forces which were fighting the Austrian main army with Napoleon. After the defeat of the Habsburgs, the Tyroleans could not resist the full Bavarian army (supported by the French – an inversion of the overall structure).
Overall, a very good read that, however, requires good basic knowledge about the Napoleonic Wars, German geography and the 1809 campaign. I’d recommend reading a shorter introduction to the 1809 campaign (e.g. Chandler), then this book and finally Gill’s monumental three volume strategic history of the 1809 campaign. ( )