"Austro-Prussian/Seven Weeks War Books?" Topic

Anybody want to recommend good books for the Austro-Prussian War? I'm reading a library copy of the Battle of Königgrätz by Craig and wondered what else was out there. Thanks!

Craig is quite good. Wawro, 'The Austro-Prussian War' is recent, but suffers from the author's anti-Austrian bias. He DOES, however, cover the Italian front, at least for the first part of the war.

Hozier, "The Seven Weeks War' is and older source, and is good for the broad picture, but was written too near the event. The author went with the best facts he had, but when you compare his accounts to Craig, Wawro, and the staff histories, you often wonder if he's writing about the same battles!

The English translation of the Prussian staff history has been reprinted by Battery Press. AFAIK, the Austrian staff history has never been translated or reprinted, but if you can lay hands on a copy through inter-library loan, it's chock full of hard data.

There have been a few sources written specifically for wargamers, notably C. A. Sapherson's 'The Seven Weeks' War 1866' and Nigel J. Smith's 'The Armies of 1866' and 'The Campaigns of 1866'. All three are, I believe, out of print, but they still show up at game shops and conventions.

Check out Pallas Armata's reprints as well.

"The Austro-Prussian War: Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866" by Geoffrey Wawro is an excellent, modern work on the subject. Thoroughly recommended, although I still turn to Craig when setting up scenarios. I don't agree with rmaker about anti-Austrian bias, I found Wawro's analysis of the Austrian command problems to be one of the most interesting parts of the book.

I'm merely following Scott Lackey's review in the Winter 1999 issue of 'The Historian'. He points out serious flaws in Wawro's methodology and conclusions, including the fact that, despite faulting the Austrians for poor intelligence, Wawro takes most of his numbers, dispositions, etc. from Austrian sources!

Also, unlike Craig, Wawro fails to point out the gag rule that was imposed on Benedek post-war, leaving only one side of the story available to the public. He also overdoes the "Austrian infantry always fought in column" nonsense, which is contradicted even in the German staff history.

The points that Lackey made are certainly valid, but I think it is a stretch to classify the book or Wawro as being anti-Austrian.

I believe that it is true that all authors (who write on historical events) approach their subjects with a certain bias, and in this particular case Wawro is more favorably inclined towards the Prussians, but he makes that pretty clear in the book (the fact that he points out that he didn't spend time in the Hapsburg archives pretty clearly signals this).

I read Lackey's critique as more of an indictment of Wawro's scholarly abilities than of his conclusions (but that may just be me).

- Joe

I have just ordered BITTER VICTORY by John Pocock on Custoza, from Barbarossa Books priced £12.00 GBP + £2.00 GBP P+P. It claims to be the only book dedicated to Custoza and its looks pretty impressive… I'll let you know how I get on!

Dennis Showalter's "The Wars of German Unification", published by Oxford University Press in 2004 is well worth a read. Some interesting analytical comparisons between these wars and the ACW, and some perceptive (code for I agree with them!!?) judgements. Covers both diplomatic and military aspects in some detail. It is difficult to study this period in English without getting Wawro's books on the A-P and F-P Wars (of which I found the FPW one to be the better) but they do need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They contain some very useful research but, after walking many of the battlefields myself and delving into the official histories, it sometimes seems to me as if Wawro decides his viewpoint first, and then chooses the supporting facts. Stuart Sutherland, in Canada, has translated the Bavarian and Saxon Official histories of 1866 into English, as well as the Austrian account of Koniggratz from their official history. Rumour has it he is working on other works of the period. These are difficult to find, but sometimes turn up on abebooks. Hope this helps.

Odd…I enjoyed Wawro (and it's been a few years since I read my copy), but what struck me odd was that he pretty much insisted that the Prussians had it their way due to superior training, firepower, etc.

And then, on the day of battle (K), he pretty much moves off message (as illustrated by the relatively recent board wargame "Blood and Iron") and pretty much posits that had the Austrians did this, reacted to that and were pro-active in this, they may very well have won the battle…pretty much blowing his original thesis outta the water if I remember correctly.

Reference has been made to Stuart Sutherland's books on the 1866 war. As the author in question, I can confirm they are all still available from me at 63 Madison Ave, Toronto, Canada M5R 2S3, prepayment in US dollars with 15 per cent for postage, etc. The Saxon official history is $43, the Bavarian history $38, and there are many other works available. Also note that I will be coming out with a six-volume translation of the Austrian general staff history, which includes an index of people and military units. Please email me with any questions, or write for a full list.
Stuart Sutherland