"Recommend a book on Napoleon's 1809 Campaign" Topic

I am interested in reading more about Napoleon's 1809 Campaign against the Austrians. What do the learned members of TMP suggest?

Thanks!

Jack Gill, Thunder on the Danube (3 vols) is the gold standard, F.L. Petre's Napoleon and the Archduke Charles is old but still rewarding for the operational and tactical detail.

John Gill's Thunder on the Danube Trilogy is excellent.

Here is a link to volume 1 on Amazon.

link

Bowden's Armies on the Danube is still a very good reference.

In addition to the Danube Trilogy, Jack Gill's 'With Eagles to Glory' is a fascinating account of the actions of Confederation of the Rhine troops during the 1809 campaign and will give you lots of ideas for small-scale battles involving a few battalions on each side.

With regard to other recommendations, I personally, I find F.L. Petre's account of the campaign very hard going.

Petre needs good maps – the ones included in the originals are of their time and you need to be able to read them. Modern maps help greatly if you struggle with those he provides.

@artaxerxes

That's a good point. When I was attempting to read it I did find myself wishing I had access to a map that actually included the place names mentioned in the text. After a while I am afraid I just gave up.

In addition, the maps in my copy (indeed in all five volumes of his works) are all tipped in at the back and, while fold-outs, are cumbersome to use alongside the text, especially if reading on the train!

Petre's writing style is archaic, which makes for some heavy going. He is best read with a copy of this open to the appropriate pages:

Or, you can access the maps at this page:
link

Agreed Mserafin. To be fair, he was writing before the Great War, and assumptions about readability were a little different. I think he's worth reading still because of the levels of operational and tactical detail he handles. I think his book on the 1814 campaign in France is the best detailed primer on the subject *if* you want to really understand the mechanisms by which armies moved and fought in that era.

Reference books listed on my 1809 blog:

link

Cheers, Michael

Gill's books are a wargamer's dream; highly recommended.

Arnold's Crisis on the Danube is excellent – the best of any I have read at getting a real grip on Eggmuhl. I don't have the sequel, but should really pick it up now that there is an edition with decent maps (the maps in Crisis are very useful).

The narrative in the above Esposito/Elting Atlas is excellent and I would recommend it for an overview before reading Gill's trilogy on the campaign.

Gills book on the Confederation of the Rhine in the 1809 campaign is also worthwhile, With Eagles to Glory.

Sincerely,
M

Is there an online version of "Napoleon and the Archduke Charles" anywhere? The book must be out of copyright.

All of Petre's books are available online through Google Books(especially if you use a proxy to get access!).
regards,

Paul

Gill and Arnold, you won't need anything else.

All of Petre's books are available online through Google Books(especially if you use a proxy to get access!)

What I don't understand is why all of the others are available without using a proxy server, but that particular one does. Can anyone shed any light?

I have lots of books on this Campaign since its my favourite but if I had to cut down to a minimum I would say either Gill's 3 volumes or Arnolds 2 volumes. You'll get everything you need.

Another vote for Gill's three volume set, along with his Eagle's to Glory. Very readable.

Crisis on the Danube: Napoleon's Austrian Campaign of 1809 by Arnold is readable and has advice for gamers.

Little Scotty Bowden's Armies on the Danube:1809 is good on the French, his work on the Austrians is less so.

Gill 3 vols and Eagles to Glory as well as Petre should be your first choices.

in English

Gill – both his 3 vols as Eagles to Glory

in French

Saski and Buat

in German

Krieg von 1809

Anyone feel like translating Krieg von 1809 into English?

I would suggest that 'Krieg von 1809' has remained untranslated from German to English because its coverage ends with Aspern Essling. Besides, the tables of information contained within it are easy enough to understand and John Gill's trilogy makes extensive use of the narrative information, rather like George Nafziger's 1813 trilogy uses a good deal of the German staff histories.

Gill over Arnold. Arnold's narrative style is excellent but it is difficult to see how that narrative relates to the evidence, and that leads me to distrust elements of his story. Gill is dryer but more transparent; he doesn't just fill in the details to keep the narrative flowing, as many historians do. He is especially good on the smaller battles, of which he describes many. Excellent maps too. I felt a bit short-changed on Wagram though – he could have given more detail there. Read both if you have time though.

Castle's Ospreys on Eggmuhl and Wagram are worth a read for a shorter summary. Bowden reproduces some nice battle diagrams. I enjoyed Gilles Boué's Essling, especially its illustrations – though this just one battle.

Why are volumes 2 and 3 of Gill's trilogy available on Kindle, but not volume 1?

Agree on Bowden, Saski, Krieg 1809, and Arnold.

B