Book Review:
Austrian Napoleonic Artillery,
1792 to 1815

By David Hollins
Artwork by Brian Delf

 

Now I'm not sure how well trained the artillerymen of most nations were during the Napoleonic Wars, but one thing is for certain and that is that they'd have to be pretty good to better the Austrians.

Austrian artillery corporals and non-commissioned officers spent up to seven years studying their craft and learnt advanced maths, geometry, mechanics and ballistics.

Throw in the study of topography, siege warfare, tactics and logistics - plus actually handling and firing their cannon - they seemed superbly ready for their military tasks.

This is just one of many new things I learned about the Austrians in Austrian Napoleonic Artillery 1792 to 1815 by David Hollins.

Another was Vienna's Kavalry guns, which differed from other nations' forces in that they were there to go forward with the cavalry but not actually fight besides them. Instead their highly mobile cannons were used as forward support or defensive platforms if the horsemen were either attacking or covering a retreat.

The main subjects covered are within two main chapters - Organisation & Operations and Equipment - and then they look at various sub categories such as training, personnel, the very successful Lichtenstein system for artillery, gun manufacture, ammunition and many more. Panels offer good details on Austrians weights and measures, elevation, weapon size, gun wagon contents, effective ranges and crew sizes.

Austrian Napoleonic Artillery 1792 to 1815 contains eight fine colour plates from Brian Delf that go into excellent detail about cannons and equipment such as the 6-pounder kavalry gun, a 6-pounder field gun, a 12-pounder siege gun and a nice representation of kavalry gun tactics.

Having read a lot of Osprey's Napoleonic titles I would have to rate this volume as one of the best published as it opens the doors on a very professional branch of the Austrian army.

Hollins has packed a huge amount of information into his book, which is highly recommended for those needing to know about Austrian artillery.

- Richard Moore

9/10

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