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Saturday, 14 July 2012

Comments sought from our e-friends

I am seeking comment and advice from our wargaming and blogging e-friends, especially those with a strong interest in the Napoleonic Wars.

Have any of you read (or own a copy) of Brent Nosworthy's "Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies"? What is your assessment of the book? It is the case that it became the 'new standard' in the mid-nineties, but has now been surpassed (in English) by tomes such as Nafziger's "Imperial Bayonets", or do they complement one another?

I am thinking of purchasing a copy and have done my usual quick research (i.e. checked for reviews on Amazon and The Napoleon Series). Most of the reviews there are pretty glowing. They suggest that it is detailed and very much for the devotee of the period and/or wargamer. That sounds like me/us to a tee! It is readily available and reasonably priced. However, I don't want to get a copy if it won't add much beyond our easily accessible sources (personal library, internet or public library) for uses like scenario development, discussion about rules and general knowledge and understanding.

Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.
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4 comments:

  1. Gonsalvo15 July 2012 at 12:29

    I have the book, and definitely found it worthwhile. Certainly more detail about this subject than readily available in English elsewhere. No major revelations, but plenty of nice examples. I don't think it will change your thinking about the Napoleonic battlefield, but it will add some additional depth.

    OTOH, I suspect you'd get more immediately useable mileage out of a book about a specific battle or campaign. YOu *do* have Gill's 1809 Trilogy, and also his "With Eagles to Glory", right?

    Peter

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  2. James Fisher15 July 2012 at 23:20

    I have had my eyes on the Gill books for sometime and got a copy of volume 1 last week. On a quick flick through it looks all that I expected, and more. In the early 90s James Arnold produced a definitive account of the 1809 campaign with his two volume history (especially volume one), re-setting the bar for the writing of Napoleonic history in the process. After a quick flick through (and based on the reviews that I have read), it seems that Jack Gill has re-defined the definitive account of the 1809 campaign and taken that bar into the stratosphere! I won't get to read it for a little while as I have some more from 1812 and the Waterloo campaign to work through first (not to mention 1813 and 1814).

    We 'missed' 1809 in 2009 because our group did not yet exist, so we'll be looking at doing games from the 1809 campaign (and hopefully a campaign too) from mid-2015.

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  3. Millsy24 July 2012 at 07:28

    Hi James,

    I've also got a copy and thoroughly recommend it. I've yet to buy or read anything by him which has disappointed. Peter's comments are spot on too. Plenty of detail and great examples but nothing earth shakingly new as such.

    Cheers,
    Millsy

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  4. James Fisher24 July 2012 at 20:59

    Thanks for adding your comment Milsy.

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