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Product: Book
ISBN-10: 0-300-08270-3
ISBN-13: 9780300082708
Publisher: Yale University Press
Country:
Year: April 1, 2000
Size: 15.49 x 22.86 x 2.03cm
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 590gr
Binding: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-300-08270-3
ISBN-13: 9780300082708
Publisher: Yale University Press
Country:
Year: April 1, 2000
Size: 15.49 x 22.86 x 2.03cm
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 590gr
Binding: Paperback
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Dr. Rory Muir
Yale University Press; 1998
Hardcover
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Product Description
Drawing on memoirs, diaries, and letters of the time, this lively book explores what it was like to be a soldier on a Napoleonic battlefield. It considers the role of the artillery, infantry, and cavalry; the plight of the wounded; the way victories were decided; the mechanics of musketry, artillery, and cavalry charges; and much more.
Drawing on memoirs, diaries, and letters of the time, this lively book explores what it was like to be a soldier on a Napoleonic battlefield. It considers the role of the artillery, infantry, and cavalry; the plight of the wounded; the way victories were decided; the mechanics of musketry, artillery, and cavalry charges; and much more.
reviews
Heaps of paper do not make a book 
This is nothing more than a blind reclamation of Siborne and Mercer, It seems that Muir did not have any other sources … or neglected them on purpose. All the Anglo Saxon predudices of the last 2 centuries are blindly repeated over and over again. Muir has created a unreadable heap of paper that, if you are interested in this period, is a book you can absolutely afford to miss. Better buy the original work of Mercer and Siborne, and make your own conclusions.
This is nothing more than a blind reclamation of Siborne and Mercer, It seems that Muir did not have any other sources … or neglected them on purpose. All the Anglo Saxon predudices of the last 2 centuries are blindly repeated over and over again. Muir has created a unreadable heap of paper that, if you are interested in this period, is a book you can absolutely afford to miss. Better buy the original work of Mercer and Siborne, and make your own conclusions.
Burdensome and Inefficient in Some Ways, Helpful in Others 
I give it five stars only for its unique and thorough general focus and the likelihood that military men will like it more than I for technical reasons. However, I only think it will confirm their common sense on the subject already. Perhaps it will add the most value to undergraduates of Sandhurst and West Point. I bought and labored on this book because I wanted a coherent way to understand the nature of battle in the Napoleonic Age. There is depth, but not vision from this book. I discovered what I was looking for was the dynamics of battle. What I got here was a competent recitation of the unmoving elements of battle. 90% of what is important in this book can be gotten with more fun and efficiency from the preparatory chapters in Chandler's book, »The Campaigns of Napoleon,« and the chapters of similar purpose in »La Grand Armee« by Georges Blond and as translated by Marshall May for Arms and Armour … available via Amazon UK. If you want to read everything Napoleon … well then read this book –- it is technically sound and well written. There is no point in summarizing the book. The contents are exposed fully in the title. I do not believe this is a very original contribution to literature. I think it is duplicative and repetitive. I think it contains mostly conventional wisdom. A better book would have been one that labored less on the statics of logistical command and motivation of the soldiers. Organization can provide the former and fiction is better at the latter. The better book that was not written by Mr. Muir, but could be, is the one that gives the reader a dynamic vision of the battles. In this age of media evolution and simulation, a book can be planned and written that is simple and which aids readers in assembling that missing dynamism that is almost fully lost and secreted to anyone who does not have both the means and the motivation to visit the essential battlefields to see the reenactments and otherwise spend four or five days reliving the battle in their informed imagination. Sadly, however, even divorce can be produced by this level of hobby interest. I respect Mr. Muir very much. His other books I commend. This is a respectable book. He could write a better one, but in this iteration he did not.
I give it five stars only for its unique and thorough general focus and the likelihood that military men will like it more than I for technical reasons. However, I only think it will confirm their common sense on the subject already. Perhaps it will add the most value to undergraduates of Sandhurst and West Point. I bought and labored on this book because I wanted a coherent way to understand the nature of battle in the Napoleonic Age. There is depth, but not vision from this book. I discovered what I was looking for was the dynamics of battle. What I got here was a competent recitation of the unmoving elements of battle. 90% of what is important in this book can be gotten with more fun and efficiency from the preparatory chapters in Chandler's book, »The Campaigns of Napoleon,« and the chapters of similar purpose in »La Grand Armee« by Georges Blond and as translated by Marshall May for Arms and Armour … available via Amazon UK. If you want to read everything Napoleon … well then read this book –- it is technically sound and well written. There is no point in summarizing the book. The contents are exposed fully in the title. I do not believe this is a very original contribution to literature. I think it is duplicative and repetitive. I think it contains mostly conventional wisdom. A better book would have been one that labored less on the statics of logistical command and motivation of the soldiers. Organization can provide the former and fiction is better at the latter. The better book that was not written by Mr. Muir, but could be, is the one that gives the reader a dynamic vision of the battles. In this age of media evolution and simulation, a book can be planned and written that is simple and which aids readers in assembling that missing dynamism that is almost fully lost and secreted to anyone who does not have both the means and the motivation to visit the essential battlefields to see the reenactments and otherwise spend four or five days reliving the battle in their informed imagination. Sadly, however, even divorce can be produced by this level of hobby interest. I respect Mr. Muir very much. His other books I commend. This is a respectable book. He could write a better one, but in this iteration he did not.
A worthwhile read of the Napoleonic Era. 
I found this book to be an enjoyable read not just research. I am currently in the process of rewriting a set of Musket Era wargame rules, to which I am co-author. Along with Philip Haythornthwaite's two volumes, »Napoleonic Cavalry« and »Napoleonic Infantry«, I found this volume to be very helpful in understanding the ebb and flow of the battlefield. Muir reinforced a theory that I had been formulating as to the importance of morale to the cohesion of a unit and that morale is the factor that can be checked to determine the success of any unit on the field. This book helped me in determining just when morale should be checked. Now having read this book I am tempted to go back and re-read David Chandler's »Campaignes of Napoleon« with my new insight. If you are interested in reading history this book may be just a diversion for you, it's a different point of view, but if you are interested in what was actually taking place on the battlefield and why, I think you will find this to be worthwhile time spent.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read not just research. I am currently in the process of rewriting a set of Musket Era wargame rules, to which I am co-author. Along with Philip Haythornthwaite's two volumes, »Napoleonic Cavalry« and »Napoleonic Infantry«, I found this volume to be very helpful in understanding the ebb and flow of the battlefield. Muir reinforced a theory that I had been formulating as to the importance of morale to the cohesion of a unit and that morale is the factor that can be checked to determine the success of any unit on the field. This book helped me in determining just when morale should be checked. Now having read this book I am tempted to go back and re-read David Chandler's »Campaignes of Napoleon« with my new insight. If you are interested in reading history this book may be just a diversion for you, it's a different point of view, but if you are interested in what was actually taking place on the battlefield and why, I think you will find this to be worthwhile time spent.
Somewhat Flawed But Well Worth Reading
Perhaps better named, »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Peninsula War«, as the focus is on the British Peninsula experience, supposedly due to a lack of sources elsewhere. The author provides a good analysis of why Wellington was victorious, and he gives a good discussion of light infantry tactics also. Throughout the book psychological factors in battle are always highlighted. The examples given concerning infantry tactics are very useful but somewhat confusing without maps, and it is difficult to remember what action the author is discussing, so I found myself re-reading sections just to clear these things up. Differing troop densities are briefly discussed but are not elaborated upon, and there is less than I would have liked on the interaction of arms, perhaps because this was less important in the Peninsula. As a result, grand tactics are hinted at but largely ignored. Sadly only around half of the book is on tactics, with the rest on the experience of battle, making it like »The Face of Battle« but once again mainly on the Peninsula. Long passages from participants are featured which are usually useful and entertaining, but which can become a bit tiresome. Despite its flaws, this book is useful and well worth reading.
Perhaps better named, »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Peninsula War«, as the focus is on the British Peninsula experience, supposedly due to a lack of sources elsewhere. The author provides a good analysis of why Wellington was victorious, and he gives a good discussion of light infantry tactics also. Throughout the book psychological factors in battle are always highlighted. The examples given concerning infantry tactics are very useful but somewhat confusing without maps, and it is difficult to remember what action the author is discussing, so I found myself re-reading sections just to clear these things up. Differing troop densities are briefly discussed but are not elaborated upon, and there is less than I would have liked on the interaction of arms, perhaps because this was less important in the Peninsula. As a result, grand tactics are hinted at but largely ignored. Sadly only around half of the book is on tactics, with the rest on the experience of battle, making it like »The Face of Battle« but once again mainly on the Peninsula. Long passages from participants are featured which are usually useful and entertaining, but which can become a bit tiresome. Despite its flaws, this book is useful and well worth reading.
An Extended Version of the Face of Battle 
Rory Muir's »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon« is in many respects an extended version of the chapter on Waterloo in John Keegan's »The Face of Battle.« Muir, the author of an excellent study of the Battle of Salamanca, draws on a variety of sources to describe how the combat arms of infantry, artillery, and cavalry accomplished their missions on the battlefields of the Napoleonic age. His book also provides insights into the human aspects of battle in that age, including the experience of the individual soldier. Muir's selection of sources is rather British-centric, although he does include some selections from the other major combatants (France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Spain, for example). Perhaps reflecting the preponderance of British sources, many of the examples derive from the Peninsular War and the Waterloo Campaign. The discussion of tactics is at a fairly basic level, but does presume a general familiarity with the Napoleonic era and especially with the more important battles. There may be no great insights here for serious students of the military art or of the Napoleonic wars, but the book does provide very useful context for understanding the environment in which Napoleonic-era warfare took place. Although lacking the punch of Keegan's writing, Muir's prose is serviceable and easy to follow. Many of the first person accounts he includes are quite moving. The analysis sometimes seems anecdotal rather than systematic; this may have been a function of the limits of the available materials. »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon« may be most useful as a companion volume to the work of other authors who focus primarily on the strategic and operational levels of war. Muir has provided the astute reader with an appreciation of the capabilities and limitations of the combat arms in that time. Readers unfamiliar with the experience of combat should be forewarned that Muir's book includes some fairly graphic descriptions of the horrors of the Napoleonic battlefield.
Rory Muir's »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon« is in many respects an extended version of the chapter on Waterloo in John Keegan's »The Face of Battle.« Muir, the author of an excellent study of the Battle of Salamanca, draws on a variety of sources to describe how the combat arms of infantry, artillery, and cavalry accomplished their missions on the battlefields of the Napoleonic age. His book also provides insights into the human aspects of battle in that age, including the experience of the individual soldier. Muir's selection of sources is rather British-centric, although he does include some selections from the other major combatants (France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Spain, for example). Perhaps reflecting the preponderance of British sources, many of the examples derive from the Peninsular War and the Waterloo Campaign. The discussion of tactics is at a fairly basic level, but does presume a general familiarity with the Napoleonic era and especially with the more important battles. There may be no great insights here for serious students of the military art or of the Napoleonic wars, but the book does provide very useful context for understanding the environment in which Napoleonic-era warfare took place. Although lacking the punch of Keegan's writing, Muir's prose is serviceable and easy to follow. Many of the first person accounts he includes are quite moving. The analysis sometimes seems anecdotal rather than systematic; this may have been a function of the limits of the available materials. »Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon« may be most useful as a companion volume to the work of other authors who focus primarily on the strategic and operational levels of war. Muir has provided the astute reader with an appreciation of the capabilities and limitations of the combat arms in that time. Readers unfamiliar with the experience of combat should be forewarned that Muir's book includes some fairly graphic descriptions of the horrors of the Napoleonic battlefield.
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- Europe|France
- France
- History|General
- History|Military|General
- History|Military|War
- Land forces & warfare
- Literary studies: general
- Military
- Military History
- Military life & institutions
- Military Science
- Military tactics
- Military|Napoleonic Wars
- Military|Strategy
- Science: general issues
- Tactics
- Technology & Engineering
- World history: c 1750 to c 1900
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