"Good books on infantry combat?" Topic

Looking to acquire a couple of books but I have a question:

Can anyone recommend a good book or two that cover infantry combat in the Napoleonic wars? There's tons of fantastic books about army movements and politics and campaigns and marshalls and all that jazz, but I am looking for something that delves into how infantry moved, fought (and ran away).

It's gotta be available in English.

Here you go:

link

I'm not quite so keen on these, but they're okay:

link

link

And this one is better:

link

Regards

If money is no object:

link

Regards

And interesting context from the point of view of morale and cohesion:

link

And good for the mechanics:

link

Hope that helps

Regards

Nosworthy's "With Musket, Cannon and Sword" is a great place to start, imho.

Good suggestions so far but without reading the works of Colin in French and Jany in German you will miss some most essential works about infantry battle tactics.

The problem is that I speak like 9 words of German and no French whatsoever.

Appreciate the suggestions so far.

G'Day

The translated book called "Neys Studies" which you can download are directly from the general principles of grande manoeuvres used by the French at the Camp de Boulogne, and became their l'ordre tactique for the French military system of 1805 onward.

Quite often the general principles within "Neys Studies" are mistaken as his own. But they are actually those that were applied by the entire French Army

Best Regards
Art

Yes, here: link

Regards

von Winterfeldt:

Which work of Jany's are you thinking of regarding infantry tactics?

Art:
Didn't Ney stick in some of his own preferences, such as using the third rank as skirmishers?

G'Day Bill

No…there is absolutely nothing that belongs to Ney…the use of the third rank as skirmishers can be found with the regles for the subdivisions de detail (which are de subdivision / aile / de division)…that pertain to peloton-compagnie of the fractured battalions.

But all that came to an end with the decret imperial du 18 fevrier 1808.

In 1811 Davouts has to remind the chef-bataillons to stop using the detached skirmishers en peloton-compagnie and use the regles de l'endivisionnement….which is also necessary for mass for a French battalion of six pelotons, in accordance to the the decret imperial du 18 fevrier 1808, article 7.

Best Regards
Art

The Instructions for the Troops Comprising The Left Corps are contained in Volume II of the Memoirs of Marshal Ney at the end of the second volume.

They also cover the organization and duties of the staff and are quite good.

B

@Kevin,

The last link I posted goes to Ney's instructions direct.

Regards

another vote for Nosworthy:
link

Nosworthy is very poor, Nafziger is much better and more accurate. Nosworthy is error-ridden and has conclusions that are inaccurate.

As mentioned, Ney's Instructions in his memoirs is very helpful and is a primary source.

Gates' The British Light Infantry Arm is worth getting and reading, and Lallemand's Principles of the Minor Operations of War is also very helpful.

Robert Quimby's The Background of Napoleonic Warfare is excellent for both theory and practice.

B

I'm intrigued as to which 9 words of German you know….presumably one of them is indeed "Nein"

:-) Nosworthy is a perfectly fine overview of warfare in the period for a wargamer. Had the OP indicated he was thinking of pursuing an advanced degree in the subject, then yes, he'd best polish his French, German and/or Russian.

Jany's book about the infantry tactics of 1806 – Die Infanterietaktik von 1806 – including a lot of battle reports of units, you certainly know it.