| Brandlin | 02 May 2008 7:01 a.m. PST |
As the title suggests, i know NOTHING about the napoleonic period (well other than what i gleaned watching a few episodes of Sharpe!). I can't tll the difference between a shako and a forage cap! I'm looking for easily accessible books on the napoleonic wars: big diagrams of battles, timelines, descriptions of key personalities, equipemtn that kind of thing… any suggestions? |
| 15th Hussar | 02 May 2008 7:27 a.m. PST |
Start small and in the same neighborhood where you have some knowledge (Sharpe)… Wellington in the Peninsula by Jac Weller is a very good start into the period and gets you involved in a small, but vital, corner of a huge war…you can expand from there. OR… Go big and jump in feet first and grab: Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler for an excellent over-view of the entire period. |
| Tachikoma | 02 May 2008 9:04 a.m. PST |
The Napoleonic Sourcebook by Philip Haythornthwaite would be a good place to start. |
| DeWolfe | 02 May 2008 9:14 a.m. PST |
I agree with Andrew, start small and since Sharpe has sparked you interest begin with the Peninsular War. Jac Weller is an excellent choice as a starting point. It was the Sharpe novels that first inspired me to start reading Napoleonic history. I found the Osprey Men-at-Arms and Campaign books very usefull as a introduction (I didn't know about Weller's Wellington books at the time). |
| quidveritas | 02 May 2008 10:33 a.m. PST |
If you can find one cheap, the West Point Military Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars is simply grand where maps and descriptions of campaigns are concerned. link dang, $9.00 USD is a great buy. If you like the Sharpe's books, you might want to run down Seven Men of Gascony by Delderfield. This is fiction but does a nice job of looking at the French side of things. link At $2.00 USD this won't break your budget either. mjc. |
| jonspaintingservice | 02 May 2008 10:38 a.m. PST |
The waterloo companion by mark adkin has pretty much everything you're after. It might be about waterloo, but by the time you have finished reading through it you should understand formations, orders of battles, rank structure, uniform details. It also has comprehensive maps of the battlefield. It also covers musket and artillery ranges. Another good book to get is Battle by alesandro babero. Again waterloo but if you like sharpe this is the historical counterpart, a breath taking read from start to finish. My final recomendation is austerlitz by robert goertz. OOBs, maps, and the full account of the battle. |
| quidveritas | 02 May 2008 10:39 a.m. PST |
Here's a work of fiction about battle of Essling. I found this very disturbing in places from an emotional standpoint, nothing like slaughtering 40,000 men in 48 hours -- It is very well done. link mjc |
| Gunfreak | 02 May 2008 11:03 a.m. PST |
I started with Chandlers Campaign of Napoleon, and found that a good start, it takes abit more effort as the book is long, but when you've finished it, you'll know more about the wars then 95% of the rest of the world the remaning 5% beeing historians and wargamers |
| EagleSixFive | 03 May 2008 7:04 a.m. PST |
G,day mate Start with these three, all very useful and you will get a far better understanding of the peninsular war from Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon as the author covers many of Wellington's engagements during that campaign.
link
link link By reading these books first you will appreciate the likes of Chandler much more. |
paints brigs for the British fleet.