Full Description
This authoritative, comprehensive, and enthralling book describes and analyzes Napoleon's most powerful weapon,the Grande Armée which at its peak numbered over a million soldiers. Elting examines every facet of this incredibly complex human machine: its organization, command system, logistics, weapons, tactics, discipline, recreation, mobile hospitals, camp followers, and more. From the army's formation out of the turmoil of Revolutionary France through its swift conquests of vast territories across Europe to its legendary death at Waterloo, this book uses excerpts from soldiers' letters, eyewitness accounts, and numerous firsthand details to place the reader in the boots of Napoleon's conscripts and generals. In Elting's masterful hands the experience is truly unforgettable.
Contents
* All the Kings Horses and the Kings Men: the Royal Army * Libert, Egalit, Fraternit: The Armies of the Revolution * Enter la Grand Arme * The Imperial Way * Grand Quartier-Gnral * Tall in the Saddle and Under the Rose * Much High Brass and Some Low Brows * They Also Served * Garde Impriale * Poor Bloody Infantry * The High Horsemen * It Is with Artillery That One Makes War * Gnie: The Jesuits of the Army * Wherever a Comrade May Need My Help * Matters Nautical: La Marine * Remounts and Replacements * Trumpets and Drums and Cuckoos * Rgiments Etrangers * Allies and Auxilliaries * Law and Order: La Force Publique and LArme de LIntrieur * Discipline and Disciplinary Units * Dressed to Kill * Marches and Bivouacs * Haut les Armes!: Weapons and Ammunition * Voici lEnnemi! * Strategy and Tactics * Logistics * Soupe, Prt, et Comptbilit * Men, Morale, Loot and Baubles * Vivandires, Blanchisseuses, Enfants, et Bric--Brac * Legitimacy ReturnsTemporarily * Les Cent Jours * Tout Est Fini
