Book
Review:
Napoleon's Commanders (2)
By
Philip Haythornthwaite
Artwork by Patrice
Courcelle
Following
on the heels of the first of this two-volume examination of France's
major military leaders comes Napoleon's Commanders 2 1809-1815.
The
book begins with an explanation of Bonaparte's staff and headquarters
system and this is extremely helpful in working out who did what
in the French army.
Again
Philip Haythornthwaite has packed masses of personal information
into a small space and has done Napoleonic enthusiasts a great
favour in the process.
Instead
of having to hunt through numerous books to get info on your favourite
military leader of the period you can find the basic information
easily and quickly.
In
Napoleon's Commanders 2 1809-1815 Haythornthwaite details
the lives and military careers of Marshals St Cyr, Grouchy, Jourdan,
Macdonald, Marmont, Murat, Ney, Oudinot, Poniatowski, Soult, Suchet;
and Generals Beauharnais, Caulaincourt, Edouard Colbert, Drouot,
Foy, Gerard, Kellermann, Letort, Rapp; the eminent surgeon Larrey
and Napoleon's brothers Jerome and Joseph.
There
are 12 pages of colour plates - from the talented Patrice Courcelle
- featuring those highlighted and they also have black-and-white
portraits.
Like
Napoleon's Commanders (1)
1792-1809, this second volume is a must-have for those
interested in the men who helped create the Napoleonic legend.
-
Richard Moore
9/10
